Isaiah 44 (New American Standard)

The Blessings of Israel

1 "But now listen, O Jacob, My ¹servant, And Israel, whom I have chosen : 2 Thus says the LORD who made you And ²formed you from the womb, who ³will help you, '⁴Do not fear, O Jacob My servant ; And you ⁵Jeshurun whom I have chosen. 3 'For ⁶I will pour out water on ^athe thirsty land And streams on the dry ground ; I will ⁷pour out My Spirit on your ⁸offspring And My blessing on your descendants ; 4 And they will spring up ^bamong the grass Like ⁹poplars by streams of water.' 5 "This one will say, 'I am the LORD'S '; And that one ^cwill call on the name of Jacob ; And another will ¹⁰write ^don his hand, 'Belonging to the LORD,' And will name Israel's name with honor. 6 "Thus says the LORD, the ¹¹King of Israel and his ¹²Redeemer, the LORD of hosts : 'I am the ¹³first and I am the last, And there is no God ¹⁴besides Me. 7 'Who is like Me? ¹⁵Let him proclaim and declare it; Yes, let him recount it to Me in order, ^eFrom the time that I established the ancient ^fnation. And let them declare to them the things that are coming And the events that are going to take place. 8 'Do not tremble and do not be afraid ; ¹⁶Have I not long since announced it to you and declared it? And ¹⁷you are My witnesses. Is there any God ¹⁸besides Me, Or is there any other ¹⁹Rock ? I know of none.' "

The Folly of Idolatry

9 Those who fashion ^ga graven image are all of them futile, and their precious things are of no profit ; even their own witnesses fail to see or know, so that they will be ²⁰put to shame. 10 Who has fashioned a god or cast ^han idol to ²¹no profit ? 11 Behold, all his companions will be ²²put to shame, for the craftsmen themselves are mere men. Let them all assemble themselves, let them stand up, let them tremble, let them together be put to shame. 12 The ²³man shapes iron into a cutting tool and does his work over the coals, ⁱfashioning it with hammers and working it with his strong arm. He also gets hungry and ^jhis strength fails ; he drinks no water and becomes weary. 13 ²⁴Another shapes wood, he extends a measuring line ; he outlines it with red chalk. He works it with planes and outlines it with a compass, and makes it like the form of a man, like the beauty of ²⁵man, so that it may sit in a ²⁶house. 14 Surely he cuts cedars for himself, and takes a ^kcypress or an oak and ^lraises it for himself among the trees of the forest. He plants a fir, and the rain makes it grow. 15 Then it becomes something for a man to burn, so he takes one of them and warms himself; he also makes a fire to bake bread. He also ²⁷makes a god and worships it; he makes it a graven image and ²⁸falls down before it. 16 Half of it he burns in the fire ; over this half he eats meat as he roasts a roast and is satisfied. He also warms himself and says, "Aha ! I am warm, I have seen the fire." 17 But the rest of it he ²⁹makes into a god, his graven image. He falls down before it and worships ; he also ³⁰prays to it and says, "Deliver me, for you are my god." 18 They do not ³¹know, nor do they understand, for He has ³²smeared over their eyes so that they cannot see and their hearts so that they cannot comprehend. 19 No one ^mrecalls , nor is there ³³knowledge or understanding to say, "I have burned half of it in the fire and also have baked bread over its coals. I roast meat and eat it. Then ⁿI make the rest of it into an ³⁴abomination, ^oI fall down before a block of wood !" 20 He ^p35feeds on ashes ; a ³⁶deceived heart has turned him aside. And he cannot deliver ^qhimself, nor say, "³⁷Is there not a lie in my right hand ?"

God Forgives and Redeems

21 "³⁸Remember these things, O Jacob, And Israel, for you are ³⁹My servant ; I have formed you, you are My servant, O Israel, you will ⁴⁰not be forgotten by Me. 22 "I have ⁴¹wiped out your transgressions like a thick cloud And your sins like a ^rheavy mist. ⁴²Return to Me, for I have ⁴³redeemed you." 23 ⁴⁴Shout for joy, O heavens, for the LORD has done it! Shout joyfully, you lower parts of the earth ; ⁴⁵Break forth into a shout of joy, you mountains, O forest, and every tree in it; For ⁴⁶the LORD has redeemed Jacob And in Israel He ⁴⁷shows forth His glory. 24 Thus says the LORD, your ⁴⁸Redeemer, and the one who ⁴⁹formed you from the womb, "I, the LORD, am the maker of all things, ⁵⁰Stretching out the heavens by Myself And spreading out the earth ^sall alone , 25 ⁵¹Causing the ^tomens of boasters to fail, ^uMaking fools out of diviners, ⁵²Causing wise men to draw back And ^vturning their knowledge into foolishness, 26 ⁵³Confirming the word of His servant And ^wperforming the purpose of His messengers. It is I who says of Jerusalem, 'She shall be inhabited !' And of the ⁵⁴cities of Judah, '⁵⁵They shall be built.' And I will raise up her ruins again. 27 "It is I who says to the depth of the sea, 'Be dried up!' And I will make your rivers ⁵⁶dry. 28 "It is I who says of ⁵⁷Cyrus, 'He is My shepherd ! And he will perform all My desire.' And ^xhe declares of Jerusalem, '⁵⁸She will be built,' And of the temple, '^yYour foundation will be laid.' "