You are my witnesses

¹But now hear this, Jacob my servant,

and Israel, whom I have chosen.

²The LORD your maker,

who formed you in the womb and will help you, says:

Don’t fear, my servant Jacob,

Jeshurun, whom I have chosen.

³I will pour out water upon thirsty ground

and streams upon dry land.

I will pour out my spirit upon your descendants

and my blessing upon your offspring.

⁴They will spring up from among the reeds

like willows by flowing streams.

⁵This one will say, “I am the LORD ’s,”

Another will write on his hand, “The LORD ’s”

⁶The LORD , Israel’s king and redeemer,

the LORD of heavenly forces, says:

I am the first, and I am the last,

and besides me there are no gods.

⁷Who is like me?

Let them speak up, explain it, and lay it out for me.

Who announced long ago what is to be?

Let them tell us what is to come.

⁸Don’t tremble; have no fear!

Didn’t I proclaim it?

Didn’t I inform you long ago?

You are my witnesses!

Is there a God besides me?

There is no other rock; I know of none.

Idol-makers mocked

⁹Idol-makers are all as nothing;

their playthings do no good.

Their promoters neither see nor know anything,

so they ought to be ashamed.

¹⁰Who would form a god or cast an idol

that does no good?

¹¹All its worshippers will be ashamed,

and its artisans, who are only human.

They will all gather and stand,

tremble and be ashamed together.

¹²A blacksmith with his tools

works it over coals,

and shapes it with hammers,

and works it with his strong arm.

He even becomes hungry and weak.

If he didn’t drink water, he’d pass out.

¹³A carpenter stretches out a string,

marks it out with a stylus,

fashions it with carving tools,

and marks it with a compass.

He makes it into a human form,

like a splendid human,

to live in a temple.

¹⁴He cuts down cedars for himself,

or chooses a cypress or oak,

selecting from all the trees of the forest.

He plants a pine, and the rain makes it grow.

¹⁵It becomes suitable to burn for humans,

He kindles fire and bakes bread.

He fashions a god and worships it;

he makes an idol and bows down to it.

¹⁶Half of it he burns in the fire;

on that half he roasts and eats meat, and he is satisfied.

He warms himself and says,

“Ah, I’m warm, watching the fire!”

¹⁷And the rest of it he makes into a god,

into his idol,

and he bows down, worships, and prays to it, saying, “Save me, for you are my god!”

¹⁸They don’t know or comprehend,

for their eyes can’t see

and their minds can’t comprehend.

¹⁹He doesn’t think,

and has no knowledge or understanding to think:

Half of it I burned in the fire,

and I baked bread on its coals,

and roasted meat and ate.

Should I make the rest into something detestable?

Should I bow down to a block of wood?

²⁰He’s feeding on ashes;

his deluded mind has led him astray.

He can’t save himself and say,

“Isn’t this thing in my hand a lie?”

Promises to Jacob and Jerusalem

²¹Remember these things, Jacob;

Israel, for you are my servant.

I formed you; you are my servant!

I won’t forget you, Israel.

²²I swept away your rebellions like a cloud,

and your sins like fog.

Return to me,

because I have redeemed you.

²³Sing, heavens, for the LORD has acted;

shout, depths of the earth!

Burst out with a ringing cry,

you mountains, forest, and every tree in it.

The LORD has redeemed Jacob,

and will glorify himself through Israel.

²⁴The LORD your redeemer

who formed you in the womb says:

I am the LORD , the maker of all,

who alone stretched out the heavens,

who spread out the earth by myself,

²⁵who frustrates the omens of diviners

who turns back the wise

²⁶But who confirms the word of my servant,[#44.26 Or his ; also in next line]

who says about Jerusalem, “It will be resettled”;

“Dry up; I will dry your streams”;

²⁸who says about Cyrus, “My shepherd—

who says about Jerusalem,

and who says about the temple,