Isaiah 44
44
1Hear then, Jacob, my servant,
Israel, whom I have chosen.
2Thus says the Lord who made you,
your help, who formed you from the womb:
Do not fear, Jacob, my servant,
Jeshurun,#Jeshurun: see note on Dt 32:15; cf. also Dt 33:5, 26. whom I have chosen.
3I will pour out water upon the thirsty ground,
streams upon the dry land;
I will pour out my spirit upon your offspring,
my blessing upon your descendants.
4They shall spring forth amid grass
like poplars beside flowing waters.#Is 54:1–3.
5One shall say, “I am the Lord’s,”
another shall be named after Jacob,
And this one shall write on his hand,#Write on his hand: an allusion to the Babylonian custom of tattooing the owner’s name on the hand of his slave. “The Lord’s,”
and receive the name Israel.#Is 43:7; 45:14.
The True God and False Gods
6#Prediction and fulfillment are here seen as the hallmarks of true divinity. See note on 43:9. Thus says the Lord, Israel’s king,
its redeemer, the Lord of hosts:
I am the first, I am the last;
there is no God but me.#No god but me: with Second Isaiah, Israel’s faith is declared to be explicitly monotheistic. However implicit it may have been, earlier formulas did not exclude the existence of other gods, not even that of the first commandment: “You shall not have other gods besides me” (Ex 20:3). Cf. also note on 41:21–29. #Is 41:4; 43:15; 45:21; 48:3, 12; 51:15; 54:5.
7Who is like me? Let him stand up and declare,
make it evident, and confront me with it.
Who of old announced future events?
Let them foretell to us the things to come.
8Do not fear or be troubled.
Did I not announce it to you long ago?
I declared it, and you are my witnesses.
Is there any God but me?
There is no other Rock,#Rock: place of refuge, a title here used of God; cf., e.g., Dt 32:4, 18; 1 Sm 2:2; Ps 18:3. I know of none!#Is 43:10, 12; Dt 32:4.
9#A satire on the makers and worshipers of idols. Those who fashion idols are all nothing;
their precious works are of no avail.
They are their witnesses:#Their witnesses: Israel has been called to bear witness to the awesome power of God (cf. 43:10, 12; 44:8), but idol makers cannot testify in support of their creations, for idols cannot act (Dt 4:28; Ps 135:15–18).
they see nothing, know nothing,
and so they are put to shame.#Is 48:5, 7.
10Who would fashion a god or cast an idol,
that is of no use?
11Look, all its company will be shamed;
they are artisans, mere human beings!
They all assemble and stand there,
only to cower in shame.
12The ironsmith fashions a likeness,
he works it over the coals,
Shaping it with hammers,
working it with his strong arm.
With hunger his strength wanes,
without water, he grows faint.#Wis 13:11–16.
13The woodworker stretches a line,
and marks out a shape with a stylus.
He shapes it with scraping tools,
with a compass measures it off,
Making it the copy of a man,#Copy of a man: in the biblical view human beings are made in the image of God; here gods are made in the image of human beings.
human display, enthroned in a shrine.
14He goes out to cut down cedars,
takes a holm tree or an oak.
He picks out for himself trees of the forest,
plants a fir, and the rain makes it grow.
15It is used for fuel:
with some of the wood he warms himself,
makes a fire and bakes bread.
Yet he makes a god and worships it,
turns it into an idol and adores it!
16Half of it he burns in the fire,
on its embers he roasts meat;
he eats the roast and is full.
He warms himself and says, “Ah!
I am warm! I see the flames!”
17The rest of it he makes into a god,
an image to worship and adore.
He prays to it and says,
“Help me! You are my god!”
18They do not know, do not understand;
their eyes are too clouded to see,
their minds, to perceive.
19He does not think clearly;
he lacks the wit and knowledge to say,
“Half the wood I burned in the fire,
on its embers I baked bread,
I roasted meat and ate.
Shall I turn the rest into an abomination?
Shall I worship a block of wood?”
20He is chasing ashes!#Chasing ashes: an exercise in futility.
A deluded mind has led him astray;
He cannot save himself,
does not say, “This thing in my right hand—is it not a fraud?”
21Remember these things, Jacob,
Israel, for you are my servant!
I formed you, a servant to me;
Israel, you shall never be forgotten by me:
22I have brushed away your offenses like a cloud,
your sins like a mist;
return to me, for I have redeemed you.
23Raise a glad cry, you heavens—the Lord has acted!
Shout, you depths of the earth.
Break forth, mountains, into song,
forest, with all your trees.
For the Lord has redeemed Jacob,
shows his glory through Israel.
Cyrus, Anointed of the Lord, Agent of Israel’s Liberation
24Thus says the Lord, your redeemer,
who formed you from the womb:
I am the Lord, who made all things,
who alone stretched out the heavens,
I spread out the earth by myself.#Is 40:22; Jb 9:8.
25I bring to nought the omens of babblers,
make fools of diviners,
Turn back the wise
and make their knowledge foolish.
26I confirm the words of my servant,
carry out the plan my messengers announce.
I say to Jerusalem, Be inhabited!
To the cities of Judah, Be rebuilt!
I will raise up their ruins.
27I say to the deep, Be dry!
I will dry up your rivers.#Is 42:15; 51:10.
28I say of Cyrus,#Cyrus: king of Persia (559–529 B.C.); cf. note on 41:1–4. My shepherd!
He carries out my every wish,
Saying of Jerusalem, “Let it be rebuilt,”
and of the temple, “Lay its foundations.”#Jer 3:15; Ez 34:23.
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Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc
Yeshayah (Isaiah) 44
44
1“But now hear, O Ya‛aqoḇ My servant, and Yisra’ĕl whom I have chosen.
2Thus said יהוה who made you and formed you from the womb, who helps you, ‘Do not fear, O Ya‛aqoḇ My servant, and Yeshurun,#A poetical title for Yisra’ĕl, meaning the Straight One or the Upright One. This poetical title is also found in Deu. 32:15; Deu. 33:5; Deu. 33:26 whom I have chosen.
3For I pour water on the thirsty, and floods on the dry ground. I pour My Spirit on your seed, and My blessing on your offspring,
4and they shall spring up among the grass like willows by streams of water.’
5“One says, ‘I belong to יהוה; another calls himself by the name of Ya‛aqoḇ; another writes with his hand, ‘Unto יהוה,’ and names himself by the name of Yisra’ĕl.
6“Thus said יהוה, Sovereign of Yisra’ĕl, and his Redeemer, יהוה of hosts, ‘I am the First and I am the Last, besides Me there is no Elohim.
7And who is like Me? Let him call and declare it, and lay it before Me, since I appointed the everlasting people. And the events that are coming and those that do come, let them declare these to them.
8Do not fear, nor be afraid. Have I not since made you hear, and declared it? You are My witnesses. Is there an Eloah besides Me? There is no other Rock, I know not one.’ ”
9Those who make an idol, all of them are emptiness, and their delights do not profit. And they are their own witnesses; they neither see nor know, so that they are put to shame.
10Who would form a mighty one or cast an idol that is of no value?
11See, all his companions are ashamed, and the workmen, they are but men. Let them all be gathered together, let them stand up, let them fear, let them be put to shame, altogether.
12The craftsman in iron with the tools works one in the coals, and fashions it with hammers, and works it with the strength of his arms. Even so, he shall be hungry, and has no strength; he drinks no water and is weary.
13The carpenter stretches out his rule, he outlines it with chalk; he fashions it with a plane, and he outlines it with the compass, and makes it like the figure of a man, according to the comeliness of a man, to remain in the house.
14He cuts down cedars for himself, and takes cypress and oak, which he raised among the trees of the forest. He has planted a pine, and the rain nourishes it.
15And it shall be for a man to burn, for he takes some of it and warms himself. He also kindles it and shall bake bread. He also makes a mighty one and bows himself to it – has made it a carved image and falls down before it.
16Half of it he shall burn in the fire; with this half he eats meat. He roasts a roast, and is satisfied. He also warms himself and says, “Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire.”
17And the rest of it he makes into a mighty one, his carved image. He falls down before it and worships, prays to it and says, “Deliver me, for you are my mighty one.”
18They do not know nor understand, for He has smeared their eyes from seeing, and their hearts from understanding.
19And no one recalls it to his heart, nor is there knowledge nor understanding to say, “I have burned half of it in the fire, and I have also baked bread on its coals; I have roasted meat and eaten it. And shall I make the rest of it an abomination? Should I fall down before a log of wood?”
20Feeding on ashes, a deceived heart turns him aside, and he does not deliver his being, nor says, “Is there not a lie in my right hand?”
21“Remember these matters, O Ya‛aqoḇ, and Yisra’ĕl, for you are My servant! I have formed you, you are My servant, O Yisra’ĕl, do not forget Me!
22“I shall wipe out your transgressions like a cloud, and your sins like a mist. Return to Me, for I shall redeem you.”
23Sing, O heavens, for יהוה shall do it! Shout, O depths of the earth! Break forth into singing, O mountains, forest, and every tree in it! For יהוה shall redeem Ya‛aqoḇ, and make Himself clear in Yisra’ĕl.
24Thus said יהוה, your Redeemer, and He who formed you from the womb, “I am יהוה, doing all, stretching out the heavens all alone, spreading out the earth, with none beside Me,
25frustrating the signs of the babblers, and driving diviners mad, turning wise men backward, and making their knowledge foolish,
26confirming the word of His servant, and completing the counsel of His messengers, who says of Yerushalayim, ‘Be inhabited,’ and of the cities of Yehuḏah, ‘They shall be built, and her ruins raised up by Me,’
27who is saying to the deep, ‘Be dry, and your rivers I dry up,’
28who is saying of Koresh, ‘He is My shepherd, and he completes all My pleasure, even saying to Yerushalayim, “Let her be built,” and to the Hĕḵal, “Let her foundation be laid.” ’
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