Isaiah 44
44YET NOW hear, O Jacob, My servant and Israel, whom I have chosen.H8085H3290H5650H3478H9772Thus says the Lord, Who made you and formed you from the womb, Who will help you: Fear not, O Jacob, My servant, and you Jeshurun [the upright one--applied to Israel as a type of the Messiah], whom I have chosen.H559H3068H6213H3335H990H5826H3372H3290H5650H3484H9773For I will pour water upon him who is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground. I will pour My Spirit upon your offspring, and My blessing upon your descendants.H3332H4325H6771H5140H3004H3332H7307H2233H1293H66314And they shall spring up among the grass like willows {or} poplars by the watercourses.H6779H996H2682H6155H4325H29885One will say, I am the Lord's; and another will call himself by the name of Jacob; and another will write [even brand or tattoo] upon his hand, I am the Lord's, and surname himself by the [honorable] name of Israel.H559H3068H7121H8034H3290H3789H3027H3068H3655H8034H34786Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: I am the First and I am the Last; besides Me there is no God.H559H3068H4428H3478H1350H3068H6635H7223H314H1107H4307Who is like Me? Let him [stand and] proclaim it, declare it, and set [his proofs] in order before Me, since I made {and} established the people of antiquity. [Who has announced from of old] the things that are coming? Then let them declare yet future things.H7121H5046H6186H7760H5769H5971H857H935H50468Fear not, nor be afraid [in the coming violent upheavals]; have I not told it to you from of old and declared it? And you are My witnesses! Is there a God besides Me? There is no [other] Rock; I know not any.H6342H7297H7297H8085H227H5046H5707H3426H433H1107H6697H30459All who make graven idols are confusion, chaos, {and} worthlessness. Their objects (idols) in which they delight do not profit them, and their own witnesses (worshipers) do not see or know, so that they are put to shame.H3335H6459H8414H2530H3276H5707H7200H3045H95410Who is [such a fool as] to fashion a god or cast a graven image that is profitable for nothing?H3335H410H5258H6459H3276H111511Behold, all his fellows shall be put to shame, and the craftsmen, [how can they make a god?] they are but men. Let them all be gathered together, let them stand forth; they shall be terrified, they shall be put to shame together.H2270H954H2796H120H6908H5975H6342H954H316212The ironsmith sharpens {and} uses a chisel and works it over the coals; he shapes [the core of the idol] with hammers and forges it with his strong arm. He becomes hungry and his strength fails; he drinks no water and is faint.H1270H2796H4621H6466H6352H3335H4717H6466H3581H2220H7457H3581H369H8354H4325H328613The carpenter stretches out a line, he marks it out with a pencil {or} red ocher; he fashions [an idol] with planes and marks it out with the compasses; and he shapes it to have the figure of a man, with the beauty of a man, that it may dwell in a house.H2796H6086H5186H6957H8388H8279H6213H4741H8388H4230H6213H8403H376H8597H120H3427H100414He hews for himself cedars, and takes the holm tree and the oak and lets them grow strong for himself among the trees of the forest; he plants a fir tree {or} an ash, and the rain nourishes it.H3772H730H3947H8645H437H553H6086H3293H5193H766H1653H143115Then it becomes fuel for a man to burn; a part of it he takes and warms himself, yes, he kindles a fire and bakes bread. [Then out of the remainder, the leavings] he also makes a god and worships it! He [with his own hands] makes it into a graven image and falls down and worships it!H120H1197H3947H2552H5400H644H3899H6466H410H7812H6213H6459H545616He burns part of the wood in the fire; with part of it he [cooks and] eats flesh, he roasts meat and is satisfied. Also he warms himself and says, Aha! I am warm, I have seen the fire!H8313H2677H1119H784H2677H398H1320H6740H6748H7646H2552H559H1889H2552H7200H21717And from what is left [of the log] he makes a god, his graven idol. He falls down to it, he worships it and prays to it and says, Deliver me, for you are my god!H7611H6213H410H6459H5456H7812H6419H559H5337H41018They do not know or understand, for their eyes God has let become besmeared so that they cannot see, {and} their minds as well so that they cannot understand.H3045H995H2902H5869H7200H3826H791919And no one considers in his mind, nor has he knowledge and understanding [enough] to say [to himself], I have burned part of this log in the fire, and also I have baked bread on its coals and have roasted meat and eaten it. And shall I make the remainder of it into an abomination [the very essence of what is disgusting, detestable, and shamefully vile in the eyes of a jealous God]? Shall I fall down {and} worship the stock of a tree [a block of wood without consciousness or life]?H7725H3820H1847H8394H559H8313H2677H1119H784H644H3899H1513H6740H1320H398H6213H3499H8441H5456H944H608620That kind of man feeds on ashes [and finds his satisfaction in ashes]! A deluded mind has led him astray, so that he cannot release {and} save himself, or ask, Is not [this thing I am holding] in my right hand a lie?H7462H665H2048H3820H5186H5337H5315H559H8267H322521Remember these things [earnestly], O Jacob, O Israel, for you are My servant! I formed you, you are My servant; O Israel, you shall not be forgotten by Me.H2142H3290H3478H5650H3335H5650H3478H538222I have blotted out like a thick cloud your transgressions, and like a cloud your sins. Return to Me, for I have redeemed you.H4229H5645H6588H6051H2403H7725H135023Sing, O heavens, for the Lord has done it; shout, you depths of the earth; break forth into singing, you mountains, O forest and every tree in it! For the Lord has redeemed Jacob, and He glorifies Himself in Israel.H7442H8064H3068H6213H7321H8482H776H6476H7440H2022H3293H6086H3068H1350H3290H6286H347824Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, and He Who formed you from the womb: I am the Lord, Who made all things, Who alone stretched out the heavens, Who spread out the earth by Myself [who was with Me]?--H559H3068H1350H3335H990H3068H6213H5186H8064H7554H77625[I am the Lord] Who frustrates the signs {and} confounds the omens [upon which the false prophets' forecasts of the future are based] of the [boasting] liars and makes fools of diviners, Who turns the wise backward and makes their knowledge foolishness,H6565H226H907H7080H1984H7725H2450H268H1847H552826[The Lord] Who confirms the word of His servant and performs the counsel of His messengers, Who says of Jerusalem, She shall [again] be inhabited, and of the cities of Judah, They shall [again] be built, and I will raise up their ruins,H6965H1697H5650H7999H6098H4397H559H3389H3427H5892H3063H1129H6965H272327Who says to the deep, Be dry, and I will dry up your rivers,H559H6683H2717H3001H510428Who says of Cyrus, He is My shepherd (ruler), and he shall perform all My pleasure {and} fulfill all My purpose--even saying of Jerusalem, She shall [again] be built, and of the temple, Your foundation shall [again] be laid.H559H3566H7462H7999H2656H559H3389H1129H1964H3245
Columbus, OH
