Isaiah 44
44
1 And now, listen, Jacob, my servant, and Israel, whom I have chosen.
2 Thus says the Lord, who made and formed you, your Helper from the womb: Do not be afraid, Jacob, my servant and my most righteous, whom I have chosen.
3 For I will pour out waters upon the thirsty ground, and rivers upon the dry land. I will pour out my Spirit upon your offspring, and my benediction upon your stock.
4 And they will spring up among the plants, like willows beside running waters.
5 This one will say, "I am the Lord's," and that one will call himself by the name of Jacob, and yet another will write with his hand, "For the Lord," and he will take the name Israel.
6 Thus 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 apart from me.
7 Who is like me? Let him call out and announce it. And let him explain to me the order of things, since it is I who appointed the ancient people. The things of the near and the distant future, let him announce them.
8 Do not be afraid, and do not be disturbed. From the time when I caused you to listen, I also announced it. You are my witnesses. Is there another God beside me, also a Maker, whom I have not known?
9 All of those who create idols are nothing, and their most beloved things will not benefit them. These are their witnesses, for they do not see, and they do not understand, so that they might be confounded.
10 Who has formed a god or cast a molten image, which is useful for nothing?
11 Behold, all those who partake in this will be confounded. For these makers are men. They will all assemble together. They will stand and be terrified. And they will be confounded together.
12 The maker of iron has wrought with his file. With coals and hammers, he has formed it, and he has wrought with the strength of his arm. He will hunger and grow faint. He will not drink water, and he will become weary.
13 The maker of wood has extended his ruler. He has formed it with a plane. He has made it with corners, and he has smoothed its curves. And he has made the image of a man, a seemingly beautiful man, dwelling in a house.
14 He has cut down cedars; he has taken the evergreen oak, and the oak that stood among the trees of the forest. He has planted the pine tree, which the rain has nourished.
15 And it is used by men for fuel. He took from it and warmed himself. And he set it on fire and baked bread. But from the remainder, he made a god, and he adored it. He made an idol, and he bowed down before it.
16 Part of it, he burned with fire, and with part of it, he cooked meat; he boiled food and was filled. And he was warmed, and so he said: "Ah, I am warm. I have gazed at the fire."
17 But from its remainder, he made a god and a graven image for himself. He bowed down before it, and he adored it, and he prayed to it, saying: "Free me! For you are my god."
18 They have neither known nor understood. For their eyes are obscured, lest they see with their eyes and understand with their heart.
19 They do not consider in their mind, nor do they know, nor do they think to say: "I have burned part of it in the fire, and I have baked bread upon its coals. I have cooked flesh and I have eaten. And from its remainder, should I make an idol? Should I fall prostrate before the trunk of a tree?"
20 Part of it is ashes. His foolish heart adores it. And he will not liberate his soul, and he will not say, "Perhaps there is a lie in my right hand."
21 Remember these things, O Jacob, O Israel. For you are my servant. I have formed you. You are my servant, Israel. Do not forget me.
22 I have wiped away your iniquities like a cloud, and your sins like a mist. Return to me, because I have redeemed you.
23 Give praise, O heavens! For the Lord has shown mercy. Shout with joy, O ends of the earth! Let the mountains resound with praise, with the forest and all its trees. For the Lord has redeemed Jacob, and Israel will be glorified.
24 Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, and your Maker from the womb: I am the Lord, who makes all things, who alone extends the heavens, who makes the earth firm. And there is no one with me.
25 I make the signs of the diviners useless, and I turn the seers to madness. I turn the wise backwards, and make their knowledge into foolishness.
26 I lift up the word of my servant, and I fulfill the counsel of my messengers. I say to Jerusalem, "You shall be inhabited," and to the cities of Judah, "You shall be rebuilt," and I will lift up its deserts.
27 I say to the depths, "Be desolate," and, "I will dry up your rivers."
28 I say to Cyrus, "You are my shepherd, and you will accomplish all that I will." I say to Jerusalem, "You shall be built," and to the Temple, "Your foundations shall be laid."
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Isaiah 44: CPDV
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Isaiah 44
44
The LORD is the Only God
1The LORD says,
“Listen now, Israel, my servant,
my chosen people, the descendants of Jacob.
2I am the LORD who created you;
from the time you were born, I have helped you.
Do not be afraid; you are my servant,
my chosen people whom I love.
3“I will give water to the thirsty land
and make streams flow on the dry ground.
I will pour out my spirit on your children
and my blessing on your descendants.
4They will thrive like well-watered grass,
like willows by streams of running water.
5“One by one, people will say, ‘I am the LORD's.’
They will come to join the people of Israel.
They will each mark the name of the LORD on their arms
and call themselves members of God's people.”
6 #
Is 48.12; Rev 1.17; 22.13 The LORD, who rules and protects Israel,
the LORD Almighty, has this to say:
“I am the first, the last, the only God;
there is no other god but me.
7Could anyone else have done what I did?
Who could have predicted all that would happen
from the very beginning to the end of time?#44.7 Verse 7 in Hebrew is unclear.
8Do not be afraid, my people!
You know that from ancient times until now
I have predicted all that would happen,
and you are my witnesses.
Is there any other god?
Is there some powerful god I never heard of?”
Idolatry is Ridiculed
9All those who make idols are worthless, and the gods they prize so highly are useless. Those who worship these gods are blind and ignorant — and they will be disgraced. 10It's no good making a metal image to worship as a god! 11Everyone who worships it will be humiliated. The people who make idols are human beings and nothing more. Let them come and stand trial — they will be terrified and will suffer disgrace.
12The metalworker takes a piece of metal and works with it over a fire. His strong arm swings a hammer to pound the metal into shape. As he works, he gets hungry, thirsty, and tired.
13The carpenter measures the wood. He outlines a figure with chalk, carves it out with his tools, and makes it in the form of a man, a handsome human figure, to be placed in his house. 14He might cut down cedars to use, or choose oak or cypress wood from the forest. Or he might plant a laurel-tree and wait for the rain to make it grow. 15A person uses part of a tree for fuel and part of it for making an idol. With one part he builds a fire to warm himself and bake bread; with the other part he makes a god and worships it. 16With some of the wood he makes a fire; he roasts meat, eats it, and is satisfied. He warms himself and says, “How nice and warm! What a beautiful fire!” 17The rest of the wood he makes into an idol, and then he bows down and worships it. He prays to it and says, “You are my god — save me!”
18Such people are too stupid to know what they are doing. They close their eyes and their minds to the truth. 19The maker of idols hasn't the wit or the sense to say, “Some of the wood I burnt up. I baked some bread on the embers and I roasted meat and ate it. And the rest of the wood I made into an idol. Here I am bowing down to a block of wood!”
20It makes as much sense#44.20 It makes as much sense; or It will do as much good. as eating ashes. His foolish ideas have so misled him that he is beyond help. He won't admit to himself that the idol he holds in his hand is not a god at all.
The LORD, the Creator and Saviour
21The LORD says,
“Israel, remember this;
remember that you are my servant.
I created you to be my servant,
and I will never forget you.
22I have swept your sins away like a cloud.
Come back to me; I am the one who saves you.”
23Shout for joy, you heavens!
Shout, deep places of the earth!
Shout for joy, mountains, and every tree of the forest!
The LORD has shown his greatness
by saving his people Israel.
24“I am the LORD, your saviour;
I am the one who created you.
I am the LORD, the Creator of all things.
I alone stretched out the heavens;
when I made the earth, no one helped me.
25 #
1 Cor 1.20
I make fools of fortune tellers
and frustrate the predictions of astrologers.
The words of the wise I refute
and show that their wisdom is foolishness.
26But when my servant makes a prediction,
when I send a messenger to reveal my plans,
I make those plans and predictions come true.
I tell Jerusalem that people will live there again,
and the cities of Judah that they will be rebuilt.
Those cities will rise from the ruins.
27With a word of command I dry up the ocean.
28 #
2 Chr 36.23; Ezra 1.2 I say to Cyrus, ‘You are the one who will rule for me;
you will do what I want you to do:
you will order Jerusalem to be rebuilt
and the Temple foundations to be laid.’ ”
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Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.