Isaiah 44
44
The Lord's Promise to Israel
1People of Israel,
I have chosen you
as my servant.
2I am your Creator.
You were in my care
even before you were born.
Israel, don't be terrified!
You are my chosen servant,
my very favorite.#44.2 my very favorite: Or “Jeshurun.”
3I will bless the thirsty land
by sending streams of water;
I will bless your descendants
by giving them my Spirit.
4They will spring up like grass#44.4 like grass: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
or like willow trees
near flowing streams.
5They will worship me
and become my people.
They will write my name
on the back of their hands.#44.5 write … hands: To show that they belong to the Lord and to Israel.
6 #
Is 48.12; Rev 1.17; 2.8; 22.13. I am the Lord All-Powerful,
the first and the last,
the one and only God.
Israel, I have rescued you!
I am your King.
7Can anyone compare with me?
If so, let them speak up
and tell me now.
Let them say what has happened
since I made my nation
long ago,
and let them tell
what is going to happen.#44.7 Let them say … happen: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
8Don't tremble with fear!
Didn't I tell you long ago?
Didn't you hear me?
I alone am God—
no one else is a mighty rock.#44.8 mighty rock: See the note at 17.10.
Idols Can't Do a Thing
The Lord said:
9Those people who make idols
are nothing themselves,
and the idols they treasure
are just as worthless.
Worshipers of idols are blind,
stupid, and foolish.
10Why make an idol or an image
that can't do a thing?
11Everyone who makes idols
and all who worship them
are mere humans,
who will end up
sadly disappointed.
Let them face me in court
and be terrified.
Idols and Firewood
12A metalworker shapes an idol
by using a hammer#44.12 by using a hammer: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
and heat from the fire.
In his powerful hand
he holds a hammer,
as he pounds the metal
into the proper shape.
But he gets hungry and thirsty
and loses his strength.
13Some woodcarver measures
a piece of wood,
then draws an outline.
The idol is carefully carved
with each detail exact.
At last it looks like a person
and is placed in a temple.
14Either cedar, cypress, oak,
or any tree from the forest
may be chosen.
Or even a pine tree planted
by the woodcarver
and watered by the rain.
15 #
Ws 13.11-19. Some of the wood is used
to make a fire for heating
or for cooking.
One piece is made into an idol,
then the woodcarver bows down
and worships it.
16He enjoys the warm fire
and the meat that was roasted
over the burning coals.
17Afterwards, he bows down
to worship the wooden idol.
“Protect me!” he says.
“You are my god.”
18Those who worship idols are stupid and blind! 19They don't have enough sense to say to themselves, “I made a fire with half of the wood and cooked my bread and meat on it. Then I made something worthless with the other half. Why worship a block of wood?”
20How can anyone be stupid enough to trust something that can be burned to ashes?#44.20 How … ashes: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text. No one can save themselves like that. Don't they realize that the idols they hold in their hands are not really gods?
The Lord Won't Forget His People
21People of Israel,
you are my servant,
so remember all of this.
Israel, I created you,
and you are my servant.
I won't forget you.#44.21 I won't forget you: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
22Turn back to me!
I have rescued you
and swept away your sins
as though they were clouds.
Sing Praises to the Lord
23Tell the heavens and the earth
to start singing!
Tell the mountains
and every tree in the forest
to join in the song!
The Lord has rescued his people;
now they will worship him.
The Lord Created Everything
24Israel, I am your Lord,
the source of your life,
and I have rescued you.
I created everything
from the sky above
to the earth below.
25 #
1 Co 1.20. I make liars of false prophets
and fools of fortunetellers.
I take human wisdom
and turn it into nonsense.
26I will make the message
of my prophets come true.
They are saying, “Jerusalem
will be filled with people,
and the Lord will rebuild
the towns of Judah.”
27I am the one who commands
the sea and its streams
to run dry.
28 #
2 Ch 36.23; Ezra 1.2,3. I am also the one who says,
“Cyrus will lead my people
and obey my orders.
Jerusalem and the temple
will be rebuilt.”
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Isaiah 44: CEV
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.
Isaiah 44
44
The Lord Has Chosen Israel
1But now listen, O Jacob My servant,
Israel, whom I have chosen.
2This is the word of the Lord, your Maker,
who formed you from the womb and who will help you:
“Do not be afraid, O Jacob My servant,
Jeshurun,#44:2 Jeshurun means the upright one, a term of endearment for Israel. whom I have chosen.
3For I will pour water on the thirsty land,
and currents on the dry ground.
I will pour out My Spirit on your descendants,
and My blessing on your offspring.
4They will sprout among the grass
like willows #44:4 Or poplars by flowing streams.
5One will say, ‘I belong to the Lord,’
another will call himself by the name of Jacob,
and still another will write on his hand, ‘The Lord’s,’
and will take the name of Israel.”
6Thus says the Lord,
the King and Redeemer of Israel, the Lord of Hosts:
“I am the first and I am the last,
and there is no God but Me.
7Who then is like Me?
Let him say so!
Let him declare his case before Me,
since I established an ancient people.
Let him foretell the things to come,
and what is to take place.
8Do not tremble or fear.
Have I not told you and declared it long ago?
You are My witnesses!
Is there any God but Me?
There is no other Rock;
I know not one.”
9All makers of idols are nothing,
and the things they treasure are worthless.
Their witnesses fail to see or comprehend,
so they are put to shame.
10Who fashions a god or casts an idol
which profits him nothing?
11Behold, all his companions will be put to shame,
for the craftsmen themselves are only human.
Let them all assemble and take their stand;
they will all be brought to terror and shame.
12The blacksmith takes a tool
and labors over the coals;
he fashions an idol with hammers
and forges it with his strong arms.
Yet he grows hungry and loses his strength;
he fails to drink water and grows faint.
13The woodworker extends a measuring line;
he marks it out with a stylus;
he shapes it with chisels
and outlines it with a compass.
He fashions it in the likeness of man,
like man in all his glory,
that it may dwell in a shrine.
14He cuts down cedars
or retrieves a cypress #44:14 Or pine or juniper or fir or oak.
He lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest.
He plants a laurel, and the rain makes it grow.
15It serves as fuel for man.
He takes some of it to warm himself,
and he kindles a fire
and bakes his bread;
he even fashions it into a god and worships it;
he makes an idol and bows down to it.
16He burns half of it in the fire,
and he roasts meat on that half.
He eats the roast and is satisfied.
Indeed, he warms himself and says,
“Ah! I am warm; I see the fire.”
17From the rest he makes a god, his graven image.
He bows down to it and worships;
he prays to it and says,
“Save me, for you are my god.”
18They do not comprehend or discern,
for He has shut their eyes so they cannot see
and closed their minds so they cannot understand.
19And no one considers in his heart,
no one has the knowledge or insight to say,
“I burned half of it in the fire,
and I baked bread on its coals;
I roasted meat and I ate.
Shall I make something detestable with the rest of it?
Shall I bow down to a block of wood?”
20He feeds on ashes.
His deluded heart has led him astray,
and he cannot deliver himself or say,
“Is not this thing in my right hand a lie?”
Jerusalem to Be Restored
21Remember these things, O Jacob,
for you are My servant, O Israel.
I have made you, and you are My servant;
O Israel, I will never forget you.
22I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud,
and your sins like a mist.
Return to Me, for I have redeemed you.
23Sing for joy, O heavens, for the Lord has done this;
shout aloud, O depths of the earth.
Break forth in song, O mountains,
you forests and all your trees.
For the Lord has redeemed Jacob,
and revealed His glory in Israel.
24Thus says the Lord,
your Redeemer who formed you from the womb:
“I am the Lord,
who has made all things,
who alone stretched out the heavens,
who by Myself spread out the earth,
25who foils the signs of false prophets
and makes fools of diviners,
who confounds the wise
and turns their knowledge into nonsense,
26who confirms the message of His servant
and fulfills the counsel of His messengers,
who says of Jerusalem,
‘She will be inhabited,’
and of the cities of Judah,
‘They will be rebuilt, and I will restore their ruins,’
27who says to the depths of the sea,
‘Be dry, and I will dry up your currents,’
28who says of Cyrus,
‘My shepherd will fulfill all that I desire,’
who says of Jerusalem,
‘She will be rebuilt,’
and of the temple,
‘Let its foundation be laid.’”
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The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible, BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee. This text of God's Word has been dedicated to the public domain.