Isaiah 44 - Prayer Tents

44“But now, listen to me, Jacob my servant, Israel my chosen one.H8085H3290H5650H3478H977 2The Lord who made you and helps you says. Do not be afraid, O Jacob, my servant, O dear Israel, my chosen one.H559H3068H6213H3335H990H5826H3372H3290H5650H3484H977 3For I will pour out water to quench your thirst and to irrigate your parched fields. And I will pour out my Spirit on your descendants, and my blessing on your children.H3332H4325H6771H5140H3004H3332H7307H2233H1293H6631 4They will thrive like watered grass, like willows on a riverbank.H6779H996H2682H6155H4325H2988 5Some will proudly claim, ‘I belong to the Lord.’ Others will say, ‘I am a descendant of Jacob.’ Some will write the Lord’s name on their hands and will take the name of Israel as their own.”H559H3068H7121H8034H3290H3789H3027H3068H3655H8034H3478

The Foolishness of Idols

6This is what the Lord says—Israel’s King and Redeemer, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies: “I am the First and the Last; there is no other God.H559H3068H4428H3478H1350H3068H6635H7223H314H1107H430 7Who is like me? Let him step forward and prove to you his power. Let him do as I have done since ancient times when I established a people and explained its future.H7121H5046H6186H7760H5769H5971H857H935H5046 8Do not tremble; do not be afraid. Did I not proclaim my purposes for you long ago? You are my witnesses—is there any other God? No! There is no other Rock—not one!”H6342H7297H7297H8085H227H5046H5707H3426H433H1107H6697H3045 9How foolish are those who manufacture idols. These prized objects are really worthless. The people who worship idols don’t know this, so they are all put to shame.H3335H6459H8414H2530H3276H5707H7200H3045H954 10Who but a fool would make his own god—an idol that cannot help him one bit?H3335H410H5258H6459H3276H1115 11All who worship idols will be disgraced along with all these craftsmen—mere humans—who claim they can make a god. They may all stand together, but they will stand in terror and shame.H2270H954H2796H120H6908H5975H6342H954H3162 12The blacksmith stands at his forge to make a sharp tool, pounding and shaping it with all his might. His work makes him hungry and weak. It makes him thirsty and faint.H1270H2796H4621H6466H6352H3335H4717H6466H3581H2220H7457H3581H369H8354H4325H3286 13Then the wood-carver measures a block of wood and draws a pattern on it. He works with chisel and plane and carves it into a human figure. He gives it human beauty and puts it in a little shrine.H2796H6086H5186H6957H8388H8279H6213H4741H8388H4230H6213H8403H376H8597H120H3427H1004 14He cuts down cedars; he selects the cypress and the oak; he plants the pine in the forest to be nourished by the rain.H3772H730H3947H8645H437H553H6086H3293H5193H766H1653H1431 15Then he uses part of the wood to make a fire. With it he warms himself and bakes his bread. Then—yes, it’s true—he takes the rest of it and makes himself a god to worship! He makes an idol and bows down in front of it!H120H1197H3947H2552H5400H644H3899H6466H410H7812H6213H6459H5456 16He burns part of the tree to roast his meat and to keep himself warm. He says, “Ah, that fire feels good.”H8313H2677H1119H784H2677H398H1320H6740H6748H7646H2552H559H1889H2552H7200H217 17Then he takes what’s left and makes his god: a carved idol! He falls down in front of it, worshiping and praying to it. “Rescue me!” he says. “You are my god!”H7611H6213H410H6459H5456H7812H6419H559H5337H410 18Such stupidity and ignorance! Their eyes are closed, and they cannot see. Their minds are shut, and they cannot think.H3045H995H2902H5869H7200H3826H7919 19The person who made the idol never stops to reflect, “Why, it’s just a block of wood! I burned half of it for heat and used it to bake my bread and roast my meat. How can the rest of it be a god? Should I bow down to worship a piece of wood?”H7725H3820H1847H8394H559H8313H2677H1119H784H644H3899H1513H6740H1320H398H6213H3499H8441H5456H944H6086 20The poor, deluded fool feeds on ashes. He trusts something that can’t help him at all. Yet he cannot bring himself to ask, “Is this idol that I’m holding in my hand a lie?”H7462H665H2048H3820H5186H5337H5315H559H8267H3225

Restoration for Jerusalem

21“Pay attention, O Jacob, for you are my servant, O Israel. I, the Lord, made you, and I will not forget you.H2142H3290H3478H5650H3335H5650H3478H5382 22I have swept away your sins like a cloud. I have scattered your offenses like the morning mist. Oh, return to me, for I have paid the price to set you free.”H4229H5645H6588H6051H2403H7725H1350 23Sing, O heavens, for the Lord has done this wondrous thing. Shout for joy, O depths of the earth! Break into song, O mountains and forests and every tree! For the Lord has redeemed Jacob and is glorified in Israel.H7442H8064H3068H6213H7321H8482H776H6476H7440H2022H3293H6086H3068H1350H3290H6286H3478 24This is what the Lord says—your Redeemer and Creator. “I am the Lord, who made all things. I alone stretched out the heavens. Who was with me when I made the earth?H559H3068H1350H3335H990H3068H6213H5186H8064H7554H776 25I expose the false prophets as liars and make fools of fortune-tellers. I cause the wise to give bad advice, thus proving them to be fools.H6565H226H907H7080H1984H7725H2450H268H1847H5528 26But I carry out the predictions of my prophets! By them I say to Jerusalem, ‘People will live here again,’ and to the towns of Judah, ‘You will be rebuilt; I will restore all your ruins!’H6965H1697H5650H7999H6098H4397H559H3389H3427H5892H3063H1129H6965H2723 27When I speak to the rivers and say, ‘Dry up!’ they will be dry.H559H6683H2717H3001H5104 28When I say of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd,’ he will certainly do as I say. He will command, ‘Rebuild Jerusalem’; he will say, ‘Restore the Temple.’”H559H3566H7462H7999H2656H559H3389H1129H1964H3245