Isaiah 44
44
XLIV
1Yet now hear, O Jacob, my servant!
And Israel! whom I have chosen:
2Thus saith Jehovah who made thee,
And formed thee from the womb, He will help thee;
Fear not, my servant Jacob,
And thou Jeshurun, whom I have chosen.
3For I will pour waters upon the thirsty soil,
And flowing streams upon the dry ground;
I will pour my Spirit upon thy seed,
And my blessing upon thine offspring.
4And they shall spring up as among the grass,
As willows by the water-courses.
5One shall say: I am Jehovah’s;
And another shall call himself by the name of Jacob:
And another shall inscribe upon his hand, I am Jehovah’s;
And shall be surnamed by the name of Israel.
6Thus saith Jehovah, the King of Israel,
And his Redeemer, Jehovah of hosts:
I am the first, and I am the last;
And beside me there is no God.
7And who like me could foretell,
And declare it; or who could dispose it for me,
From the time that I have appointed the ancient people;
So that the things which are now coming, and what shall come hereafter, should become known unto them?
8Fear ye not, neither be afraid:
Have I not of old made it known unto thee, and declared it?
And ye are my witnesses.
Is there a God beside me?
Yea, there is no Rock; I know not any.
9They that form a graven image are all of them vanity;
And their objects of delight shall not profit:
Yea, they are their witnesses, that they see not,
Nor understand; so that they may be ashamed.
10Who hath formed a god, or molten a graven image,
That is profitable for nothing?
11Behold, all his associates shall be ashamed;
And the workmen themselves who are of men:
Let them assemble, all of them; let them stand up;
They shall fear, and be ashamed together.
12The smith maketh an axe,
And worketh in the coals, and fashioneth it with hammers;
And worketh it with the strength of his arm:
Yea, he is hungry, and his strength faileth him;
He drinketh no water, and is faint.
13The carpenter stretcheth out the line;
He marketh out the form of it with red ochre:
He worketh it with planes,
And with the compass he marketh it out:
He maketh it after the figure of a man,
According to the beauty of the human form, that it may abide in the house.
14He heweth him down cedars,
He taketh also the pine, and the oak;
And he chooseth for himself among the trees of the forest:
He planteth the ash, and the rain nourisheth it.
15Then shall it be for man to burn;
And he taketh thereof, and warmeth himself;
Yea, he kindleth it, and baketh bread;
Yea, he formeth a god, and worshippeth it;
He maketh of it a graven image, and falleth down thereto.
16Part of it he burneth in the fire;
On a part of it he eateth flesh:
He roasteth meat, and is satisfied;
Yea, he warmeth himself, and saith:
Aha! I am warm, I have seen the fire.
17And the residue thereof he maketh a god, even his graven image:
He falleth down unto it, and worshippeth it;
And he prayeth unto it, and saith:
Deliver me, for thou art my God!
18They know not, neither do they understand;
For he hath closed up their eyes, that they cannot see;
And their hearts, that they cannot rightly discern.
19Neither doth he consider in his heart;
Neither hath he knowledge, nor understanding to say, I have burned part of it in the fire;
I have also baked bread upon the coals thereof;
I have roasted flesh, and eaten it:
And shall I make the residue thereof an abomination?
Shall I fall down to the stock of a tree?
20He feedeth on ashes: a deluded heart leadeth him aside,
So that he cannot deliver his soul, nor say,
Is there not a lie in my right hand?
21Remember these things, O Jacob,
And, Israel; for thou art my servant:
I have formed thee; thou art my servant;
O Israel, thou shalt not be forgotten by me.
22I have blotted out as a thick cloud thy transgressions,
And as a light cloud thy sins:
Return unto me; for I have redeemed thee.
23Sing, O ye heavens, for Jehovah hath done it;
Utter a joyful sound, ye lower parts of the earth:
Burst forth into song, O ye mountains:
Thou forest, and every tree therein:
For Jehovah hath redeemed Jacob,
And will be glorified in Israel.
24Thus saith Jehovah, thy Redeemer,
Even He that formed thee from the womb:
I am Jehovah who maketh all things,
Who stretcheth out the heavens alone;
Who spreadeth abroad the earth by myself:
25I am He who frustrated the foretokens of the impostors,
And maketh the diviners mad;
Who turneth the wise men backward,
And maketh their knowledge foolish:
26Who established the word of his servant,
And accomplished the counsel of his messengers:
Who saith to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be inhabited;
And to the cities of Judah, Ye shall be built;
And I will restore her desolate places:
27Who saith to the deep, Be dry;
And I will make dry thy rivers:
28Who saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd;
And he shall fulfill all my pleasure:
Who saith of Jerusalem, She shall be built;
And to the Temple, Thy foundations shall be laid.
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Isaiah 44: TEG
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Translated by Rev John Jones (Ioan Tegid).Published at Oxford in 1830, second edition 1842.
Isaiah 44
44
Israel the Lord’s Chosen
1“But now hear, #See ch. 41:8O Jacob my servant,
Israel whom I have chosen!
2Thus says the Lord who made you,
# ver. 24; ch. 49:15; [Ps. 71:6; Jer. 1:5; Gal. 1:15] who formed you from the womb and will help you:
# See ch. 43:5 Fear not, O Jacob my servant,
#
Deut. 32:15
Jeshurun whom I have chosen.
3 #
Joel 2:28; John 7:38; Acts 2:18; See ch. 35:6 For I will pour water on the thirsty land,
and streams on the dry ground;
I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring,
and my blessing on your descendants.
4They shall spring up among the grass
# [Ps. 1:3] like willows by flowing streams.
5 # [ch. 14:1] This one will say, ‘I am the Lord’s,’
another will call on the name of Jacob,
and another will write on his hand, ‘The Lord’s,’
and name himself by the name of Israel.”
Besides Me There Is No God
6Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel
and #See ch. 43:14 his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts:
# ch. 48:12; Rev. 1:8; See ch. 41:4 “I am the first and I am the last;
besides me there is no god.
7 # ch. 41:26, 27 Who is like me? Let him proclaim it.#44:7 Or Who like me can proclaim it?
Let him declare and set it before me,
since I appointed an ancient people.
Let them declare what is to come, and what will happen.
8Fear not, nor be afraid;
have I not told you from of old and declared it?
# ch. 43:10 And you are my witnesses!
# ch. 45:5; Deut. 4:35, 39; 32:39; 1 Sam. 2:2; Joel 2:27 Is there a God besides me?
There is no #See ch. 30:29Rock; I know not any.”
The Folly of Idolatry
9 # ch. 41:24, 29 All who fashion idols are nothing, and the things they delight in do not profit. Their witnesses neither see nor know, that they may be put to shame. 10#[ch. 40:19, 20; 41:6, 7; 46:6, 7; Hab. 2:18]; See Jer. 10:3-5Who fashions a god or casts an idol that is profitable for nothing? 11#ch. 45:16; Ps. 115:8; See ch. 42:17Behold, all his companions shall be put to shame, and the craftsmen are only human. Let them all assemble, let them stand forth. They shall be terrified; they shall be put to shame together.
12 # [See ver. 10 above] The ironsmith takes a cutting tool and works it over the coals. He fashions it with hammers and works it with his strong arm. He becomes hungry, and his strength fails; he drinks no water and is faint. 13The carpenter stretches a line; he marks it out with a pencil.#44:13 Hebrew stylus He shapes it with planes and marks it with a compass. #See Ps. 115:5-7He shapes it into the figure of a man, with the beauty of a man, to dwell in a house. 14#[ch. 40:20]He cuts down cedars, or he chooses a cypress tree or an oak and lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest. He plants a cedar and the rain nourishes it. 15Then it becomes fuel for a man. He takes a part of it and warms himself; he kindles a fire and bakes bread. Also he makes a god and worships it; he makes it an idol and falls down before it. 16Half of it he burns in the fire. Over the half he eats meat; he roasts it and is satisfied. Also he warms himself and says, “Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire!” 17And the rest of it he makes into a god, his idol, and falls down to it and worships it. #[ch. 45:20]He prays to it and says, “Deliver me, for you are my god!”
18They know not, nor do they discern, for he has shut their eyes, so that they cannot see, and their hearts, so that they cannot understand. 19No one considers, nor is there knowledge or discernment to say, “Half of it I burned in the fire; I also baked bread on its coals; I roasted meat and have eaten. And shall I make the rest of it an #Deut. 27:15abomination? Shall I fall down before a block of wood?” 20#Hos. 12:1 He feeds on #[Job 13:12] ashes; a deluded heart has led him astray, and he cannot deliver himself or say, “Is there not #Ps. 144:8; [Rom. 1:25]a lie in my right hand?”
The Lord Redeems Israel
21Remember these things, O Jacob,
and Israel, for you are #ch. 42:19; See ch. 42:1 my servant;
I formed you; you are my servant;
# [ch. 49:15] O Israel, you will not be forgotten by me.
22 # ch. 43:25 I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud
and your sins like mist;
return to me, for I have redeemed you.
23 # ch. 49:13; [ch. 55:12; Ps. 69:34; Jer. 51:48] Sing, O heavens, for the Lord has done it;
shout, O #Ps. 63:9; [Hos. 2:21, 22] depths of the earth;
break forth into singing, O mountains,
O forest, and every tree in it!
For the Lord has redeemed Jacob,
# ch. 49:3; [ch. 55:5; 60:9] and will be glorified#44:23 Or will display his beauty in Israel.
24Thus says the Lord, #See ch. 43:14 your Redeemer,
# See ver. 2 who formed you from the womb:
# [ch. 42:5] “I am the Lord, who made all things,
# ch. 42:5; 45:12 who alone stretched out the heavens,
who spread out the earth by myself,
25who frustrates the signs of liars
and makes fools of diviners,
# [ch. 19:3, 14] who turns wise men back
and makes their knowledge foolish,
26 # [2 Chr. 36:22] who confirms the word of his servant
and fulfills the counsel of his messengers,
who says of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be inhabited,’
# [Jer. 32:15, 44] and of the cities of Judah, ‘They shall be built,
and I will raise up their ruins’;
27 # ch. 11:15; [ch. 51:10] who says to the deep, ‘Be dry;
I will dry up your rivers’;
28who says of #ch. 45:1 Cyrus, ‘He is #[2 Sam. 5:2; Ps. 78:72] my shepherd,
and he shall fulfill all my purpose’;
saying of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be built,’
# ch. 45:13; See 2 Chr. 36:22, 23; Ezra 1:1-3 and of the temple, ‘Your foundation shall be laid.’”
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