Isaiah 44

Yahweh Blesses Chosen Israel

¹“But now hear, Jacob my servant,

²Thus says Yahweh, who made you,

you must not fear, my servant Jacob,

³For I will pour out water on a thirsty land

I will pour my spirit out on your descendants

⁴And they shall sprout among the grass[#Literally “in between”]

⁵This one will say, ‘I belong to Yahweh!’

and another will write on his hand ‘Yahweh’s’

Yahweh the Only God

⁶Thus says Yahweh, the king of Israel,

“I am the first, and I am the last,

⁷And who is like me? Let him proclaim it![#Or “call”]

since I established an eternal people and things that are to come,

⁸You must not tremble,[#Or “be startled”]

Have I not made you hear from of old

Is there a god besides me?

Idolatry Is Ridiculous

⁹All those who form an idol are nothing,

And their witnesses do not see or know,

¹¹Look! all his companions shall be ashamed,

Let all of them assemble;

They shall tremble;

¹²The ironsmith works in the coals with his tool[#Literally “craftsman of iron”]

And he makes it with his strong arm;

¹³The woodworker stretches out a line;[#Literally “craftsman of wood”]

He makes it with a knife

He makes it like the image of a man,

¹⁴Cutting down cedars for himself,

and he lets it grow strong for him among the trees of the forest.

¹⁵And it becomes fuel for a human,[#Literally “will become for a man as burning”]

Also, he makes a god and bows in worship;

¹⁶He burns half of it in the fire;

Also he grows warm and says, “Ah!

¹⁷And he makes the remainder of it into a god!

He bows down to his idol,

¹⁸They do not know,

for their eyes are besmeared so that they cannot see,

¹⁹And no one takes it to heart, and there is no knowledge[#Literally “he does not bring back to his heart”]

and also I baked bread on its coals;

And I shall make the rest of it into an abomination!

²⁰He feeds on ashes; a deceived mind misleads him.[#Literally “heart deceived”]

Yahweh Remembers Israel

²¹Remember these things, Jacob,

I formed you; you are my servant;

²²I have wiped your transgressions out like a cloud

Return to me, for I have redeemed you!

²³Sing for joy, heavens, for Yahweh has done it!

Break forth, mountains, in rejoicing,

for Yahweh has redeemed Jacob,

Jerusalem Restored through Cyrus

²⁴Thus says Yahweh, your redeemer,

“I am Yahweh, who made everything,

²⁵who frustrates the signs of oracle priests[#Or “breaks”]

who drives the wise men back

²⁶who keeps the word of his servant[#Or “erects”]

who says of Jerusalem, ‘It shall be inhabited,’

²⁷who says to the deep, ‘Dry up!

²⁸who says of Cyrus, ‘My shepherd,’

and saying of Jerusalem, ‘It shall be rebuilt,’