Parallel Bible results for "isaiah 44"

Isaiah 44

Hebrew Names Version HNV

1 Yet now hear, Ya`akov my servant, and Yisra'el, who I have chosen:

2 Thus says the LORD who made you, and formed you from the womb, who will help you: Don't be afraid, Ya`akov my servant; and you, Yeshurun, whom I have chosen.

3 For I will pour water on him who is thirsty, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit on your seed, and my blessing on your offspring:

4 and they shall spring up among the grass, as willows by the watercourses.

5 One shall say, I am the LORD's; and another shall call [himself] by the name of Ya`akov; and another shall subscribe with his hand to the LORD, and surname [himself] by the name of Yisra'el.

6 Thus says the LORD, the King of Yisra'el, and his Redeemer, the LORD of Hosts: I am the first, and I am the last; and besides me there is no God.

7 Who, as I, shall call, and shall declare it, and set it in order for me, since I established the ancient people? and the things that are coming, and that shall happen, let them declare.

8 Don't fear, neither be afraid: haven't I declared to you of old, and shown it? You are my witnesses. Is there a God besides me? Indeed, there is not. I don't know any Rock.

9 Those who fashion an engraved image are all of them vanity; and the things that they delight in shall not profit; and their own witnesses don't see, nor know: that they may be put to shame.

10 Who has fashioned a god, or molten an image that is profitable for nothing?

11 Behold, all his fellows shall be put to shame; and the workmen, they are of men: let them all be gathered together, let them stand up; they shall fear, they shall be put to shame together.

12 The smith [makes] an ax, and works in the coals, and fashions it with hammers, and works it with his strong arm: yes, he is hungry, and his strength fails; he drinks no water, and is faint.

13 The carpenter stretches out a line; he marks it out with a pencil; he shapes it with planes, and he marks it out with the compasses, and shapes it after the figure of a man, according to the beauty of a man, to dwell in a house.

14 He cuts down cedars for himself, and takes the cypress and the oak, and strengthens for himself one among the trees of the forest: he plants a fir tree, and the rain nourishes it.

15 Then shall it be for a man to burn; and he takes of it, and warms himself; yes, he kindles it, and bakes bread: yes, he makes a god, and worships it; he makes it an engraved image, and falls down to it.

16 He burns part of it in the fire; with part of it he eats flesh; he roasts roast, and is satisfied; yes, he warms himself, and says, Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire.

17 The residue of it he makes a god, even his engraved image; he falls down to it and worships, and prays to it, and says, Deliver me; for you are my god.

18 They don't know, neither do they consider: for he has shut their eyes, that they can't see; and their hearts, that they can't understand.

19 None calls to mind, neither is there knowledge nor understanding to say, I have burned part of it in the fire; yes, also I have baked bread on the coals of it; I have roasted flesh and eaten it: and shall I make the residue of it an abomination? shall I fall down to the stock of a tree?

20 He feeds on ashes; a deceived heart has turned him aside; and he can't deliver his soul, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right hand?

21 Remember these things, Ya`akov, and Yisra'el; for you are my servant: I have formed you; you are my servant: Yisra'el, you shall not be forgotten by me.

22 I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, your transgressions, and, as a cloud, your sins: return to me; for I have redeemed you.

23 Sing, you heavens, for the LORD has done it; shout, you lower parts of the eretz; break forth into singing, you mountains, O forest, and every tree therein: for the LORD has redeemed Ya`akov, and will glorify himself in Yisra'el.

24 Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, and he who formed you from the womb: I am the LORD, who makes all things; who stretches forth the heavens alone; who spreads abroad the eretz (who is with me?);

25 who frustrates the signs of the liars, and makes diviners mad; who turns wise men backward, and makes their knowledge foolish;

26 who confirms the word of his servant, and performs the counsel of his messengers; who says of Yerushalayim, She shall be inhabited; and of the cities of Yehudah, They shall be built, and I will raise up the waste places of it;

27 who says to the deep, Be dry, and I will dry up your rivers;

28 Who says of Koresh, [He is] my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure, even saying of Yerushalayim, She shall be built; and of the temple, Your foundation shall be laid.

The Message Bible MSG

1 "But for now, dear servant Jacob, listen - yes, you, Israel, my personal choice.

2 God who made you has something to say to you; the God who formed you in the womb wants to help you. Don't be afraid, dear servant Jacob, Jeshurun, the one I chose.

3 For I will pour water on the thirsty ground and send streams coursing through the parched earth. I will pour my Spirit into your descendants and my blessing on your children.

4 They shall sprout like grass on the prairie, like willows alongside creeks.

5 This one will say, 'I am God's,' and another will go by the name Jacob; That one will write on his hand 'God's property' - and be proud to be called Israel."

6 God, King of Israel, your Redeemer, God-of-the-Angel-Armies, says: "I'm first, I'm last, and everything in between. I'm the only God there is.

7 Who compares with me? Speak up. See if you measure up. From the beginning, who else has always announced what's coming? So what is coming next? Anybody want to venture a try?

8 Don't be afraid, and don't worry: Haven't I always kept you informed, told you what was going on? You're my eyewitnesses: Have you ever come across a God, a real God, other than me? There's no Rock like me that I know of." Lover of Emptiness

9 All those who make no-god idols don't amount to a thing, and what they work so hard at making is nothing. Their little puppet-gods see nothing and know nothing - they're total embarrassments!

10 Who would bother making gods that can't do anything, that can't "god"?

11 Watch all the no-god worshipers hide their faces in shame. Watch the no-god makers slink off humiliated when their idols fail them. Get them out here in the open. Make them face God-reality.

12 The blacksmith makes his no-god, works it over in his forge, hammering it on his anvil - such hard work! He works away, fatigued with hunger and thirst.

13 The woodworker draws up plans for his no-god, traces it on a block of wood. He shapes it with chisels and planes into human shape - a beautiful woman, a handsome man, ready to be placed in a chapel.

14 He first cuts down a cedar, or maybe picks out a pine or oak, and lets it grow strong in the forest, nourished by the rain.

15 Then it can serve a double purpose: Part he uses as firewood for keeping warm and baking bread; from the other part he makes a god that he worships - carves it into a god shape and prays before it.

16 With half he makes a fire to warm himself and barbecue his supper. He eats his fill and sits back satisfied with his stomach full and his feet warmed by the fire: "Ah, this is the life."

17 And he still has half left for a god, made to his personal design - a handy, convenient no-god to worship whenever so inclined. Whenever the need strikes him he prays to it, "Save me. You're my god."

18 Pretty stupid, wouldn't you say? Don't they have eyes in their heads? Are their brains working at all?

19 Doesn't it occur to them to say, "Half of this tree I used for firewood: I baked bread, roasted meat, and enjoyed a good meal. And now I've used the rest to make an abominable no-god. Here I am praying to a stick of wood!"

20 This lover of emptiness, of nothing, is so out of touch with reality, so far gone, that he can't even look at what he's doing, can't even look at the no-god stick of wood in his hand and say, "This is crazy."

21 "Remember these things, O Jacob. Take it seriously, Israel, that you're my servant. I made you, shaped you: You're my servant. O Israel, I'll never forget you.

22 I've wiped the slate of all your wrongdoings. There's nothing left of your sins. Come back to me, come back. I've redeemed you."

23 High heavens, sing! God has done it. Deep earth, shout! And you mountains, sing! A forest choir of oaks and pines and cedars! God has redeemed Jacob. God's glory is on display in Israel.

24 God, your Redeemer, who shaped your life in your mother's womb, says: "I am God. I made all that is. With no help from you I spread out the skies and laid out the earth."

25 He makes the magicians look ridiculous and turns fortunetellers into jokes. He makes the experts look trivial and their latest knowledge look silly.

26 But he backs the word of his servant and confirms the counsel of his messengers. He says to Jerusalem, "Be inhabited," and to the cities of Judah, "Be rebuilt," and to the ruins, "I raise you up."

27 He says to Ocean, "Dry up. I'm drying up your rivers."

28 He says to Cyrus, "My shepherd - everything I want, you'll do it." He says to Jerusalem, "Be built," and to the Temple, "Be established."