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.
Currently Selected:
Isaiah 44: TEG
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Translated by Rev John Jones (Ioan Tegid).Published at Oxford in 1830, second edition 1842.
Isaiah 44
44
Isaiah 44
God’s Blessing on Israel
1 #
Isa 41.8; Jer 30.10; 46.27, 28 But now hear, O Jacob my servant,
Israel whom I have chosen!
2 #
Deut 32.15; Isa 43.1, 7 Thus says the Lord who made you,
who formed you in the womb and will help you:
Do not fear, O Jacob my servant,
Jeshurun whom I have chosen.
3 #
Isa 35.7; Joel 2.28; Jn 7.38; Acts 2.18 For I will pour water on the thirsty land
and streams on the dry ground;
I will pour my spirit upon your descendants
and my blessing on your offspring.
4They shall spring up like a green tamarisk,#44.4 Q ms: MT in the midst of grass
like willows by flowing streams.
5 #
Isa 19.21; Zech 8.20–22 This one will say, “I am the Lord’s”;
another will be called by the name of Jacob;
yet another will write on the hand, “The Lord’s,”
and adopt the name of Israel.
6 #
Isa 41.4; 43.1, 14; 48.12; Rev 1.8, 17; 22.13 Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel,
and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts:
I am the first, and I am the last;
besides me there is no god.
7 #
Isa 41.4, 22 Who is like me? Let them proclaim it;
let them declare and set it forth before me.
Who has announced from of old the things to come?#44.7 Cn: Heb from my placing an eternal people and things to come
Let them tell us#44.7 Tg: Heb them what is yet to be.
8 #
Deut 4.35; 1 Sam 2.2; Isa 26.4; 41.22; 43.10 Do not fear or be afraid;
have I not told you from of old and declared it?
You are my witnesses!
Is there any god besides me?
There is no other rock; I know not one.
The Absurdity of Idol Worship
9 #
Isa 41.24; 42.17; 43.9; 66.3 All who make idols are nothing, and the things they delight in do not profit; their witnesses neither see nor know, and so they will be put to shame. 10#Jer 10.5; Hab 2.18Who would fashion a god or cast an image that can do no good? 11#Isa 1.29; 42.17All its devotees shall be put to shame; the artisans, too, are merely human. Let them all assemble; let them stand up; they shall be terrified; they shall all be put to shame.
12 #
Isa 40.19; 41.6; Jer 10.3–5 The blacksmith works it with a tool over the coals, shaping it with hammers and forging it with his strong arm; he becomes hungry, and his strength fails; he drinks no water and is faint. 13#Ps 115.5–7; Isa 41.7The carpenter stretches a line, marks it out with a stylus, fashions it with planes, and marks it with a compass; he makes it in human form, with human beauty, to be set up in a shrine. 14He cuts down cedars or chooses a holm tree or an oak and lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest. He plants a cedar and the rain nourishes it. 15#vv 17, 19; 2 Chr 25.14Then it can be used as fuel. Part of it he takes and warms himself; he kindles a fire and bakes bread. Then he makes a god and worships it, makes it a carved image and bows down before it. 16Half of it he burns in the fire; over this half he roasts meat, eats it,#44.16 Cn Compare Gk Syr: Heb he eats, he roasts a roast and is satisfied. He also warms himself and says, “Ah, I am warm#44.16 Q ms: MT I see by the fire!” 17#v 15; 1 Kings 18.26, 28; Isa 45.20The rest of it he makes into a god, his idol, bows down to it and worships it; he prays to it and says, “Save me, for you are my god!”
18 #
Isa 1.3; 6.9, 10 They do not know, nor do they comprehend, for their eyes are shut, so that they cannot see, and their minds as well, so that they cannot understand. 19#Deut 27.15; Isa 5.13; 27.11; 45.20No 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. Now shall I make the rest of it an abomination? Shall I fall down before a block of wood?” 20#Job 15.31; Ps 102.9; Isa 57.11He feeds on ashes; a deluded mind has led him astray, and he cannot save himself or say, “Is not this thing in my right hand a fraud?”
Israel Is Not Forgotten
21 #
vv 1, 2
; Isa 46.8; 49.15Remember these things, O Jacob,
and Israel, for you are my servant;
I formed you, you are my servant;
O Israel, do not forget me.#44.21 Q ms Compare Gk Syr Tg: MT you will not be forgotten by me
22 #
Isa 43.1, 25; 55.7; 1 Pet 1.18, 19 I have swept away your transgressions like a cloud
and your sins like mist;
return to me, for I have redeemed you.
23 #
Isa 42.10; 43.1; 55.12; 61.3 Sing, O heavens, for the Lord has done it;
shout, O depths of the earth;
break forth into singing, O mountains,
O forest and every tree in it!
For the Lord has redeemed Jacob
and will be glorified in Israel.
24 #
v 2
; Isa 40.14, 22; 43.14Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer,
who formed you in the womb:
I am the Lord, who made all things,
who alone stretched out the heavens,
who by myself spread out the earth;
25 #
Isa 29.14; 40.14; 1 Cor 1.20, 27 who frustrates the omens of soothsayers
and makes fools of diviners;
who turns back the wise
and makes their knowledge foolish;
26 #
Isa 49.7–20; 55.11; Jer 32.15, 44 who confirms the word of his servant
and fulfills the prediction of his messengers;
who says of Jerusalem, “It shall be inhabited,”
and of the cities of Judah, “They shall be rebuilt,
and I will raise up their ruins”;
27 #
Isa 42.15; 43.16 who says to the deep, “Be dry—
I will dry up your rivers”;
28 #
Isa 14.32; 45.1, 13 who says of Cyrus, “He is my shepherd,
and he shall carry out all my purpose”;
and who says of Jerusalem, “It shall be rebuilt,”
and of the temple, “Your foundation shall be laid.”
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition, copyright © 2021 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.