Isaiah 44

New American Standard Bible

The Blessings of Israel

44 “But now listen, Jacob, My ^(A)servant,
And Israel, whom I have chosen:
²This is what the Lord says, He who made you
And ^(B)formed you from the womb, who ^(C)will help you:
‘^(D)Do not fear, Jacob My servant,
And ^[a]^(E)Jeshurun, whom I have chosen.
³For ^(F)I will pour water on ^[b]the thirsty land
And streams on the dry ground;
I will ^(G)pour out My Spirit on your ^(H)offspring,
And My blessing on your descendants;
⁴And they will spring up ^[c]among the grass
Like ^(I)poplars by streams of water.’
⁵This one will say, ‘I am the Lord’s’;
And that one ^[d]will call on the name of Jacob;
And another will ^(J)write ^[e]on his hand, ‘Belonging to the Lord,’
And will give himself Israel’s name with honor.

⁶“This is what the Lord says, He who is the ^(K)King of Israel and his ^(L)Redeemer, the Lord of armies:

‘I am the ^(M)first and I am the last,
And there is no God ^(N)besides Me.
⁷Who is like Me? ^(O)Let him proclaim and declare it;
And, let him confront Me
^[f]Beginning with My establishing of the ancient ^[g]nation.
Then let them declare to them the things that are coming
And the events that are going to take place.
⁸Do not tremble and do not be afraid;
^(P)Have I not long since announced it to you and declared it?
And ^(Q)you are My witnesses.
Is there any God ^(R)besides Me,
Or is there any other ^(S)Rock?
I know of none.’”

The Foolishness of Idolatry

⁹Those who fashion an idol are all futile, and their treasured things are of no benefit; even their own witnesses fail to see or know, so that they will be ^(T)put to shame. ¹⁰Who has fashioned a god or cast an idol to ^(U)no benefit? ¹¹Behold, all his companions will be ^(V)put to shame, for the craftsmen themselves are mere men. Let them all assemble themselves, let them stand up, let them tremble, let them be put to shame together.

¹²The ^(W)craftsman of iron shapes a cutting tool and does his work over the coals, ^[h]fashioning it with hammers and working it with his strong arm. He also gets hungry and ^[i]his strength fails; he drinks no water and becomes weary. ¹³^(X)The craftsman of wood extends a measuring line; he outlines it with a marker. He works it with carving knives and outlines it with a compass, and makes it like the form of a man, like the beauty of ^(Y)mankind, so that it may sit in a ^(Z)house. ¹⁴He will cut cedars for himself, and he takes a holm-oak or another oak and lets it grow strong for himself among the trees of the forest. He plants a laurel tree, and the rain makes it grow. ¹⁵Then it becomes something for a person to burn, so he takes one of them and gets warm; he also makes a fire and bakes bread. He also ^(AA)makes a god and worships it; he makes it a carved image and ^(AB)bows down before it. ¹⁶Half of it he burns in the fire; over this half he eats meat, he roasts a roast, and is satisfied. He also warms himself and says, “Aha! I am warm, I have seen the fire.” ¹⁷Yet the rest of it he ^(AC)makes into a god, his carved image. He bows down before it and worships; he also ^(AD)prays to it and says, “Save me, for you are my god.”

¹⁸They do not ^(AE)know, nor do they understand, for He has ^(AF)smeared over their eyes so that they cannot see, and their hearts so that they cannot comprehend. ¹⁹No one ^[j]remembers, nor is there ^(AG)knowledge or understanding to say, “I have burned half of it in the fire and also have baked bread over its coals. I roast meat and eat it. Then ^[k]I make the rest of it into an ^(AH)abomination, ^[l]I bow down before a block of wood!” ²⁰He ^[m]^(AI)feeds on ashes; a ^(AJ)deceived heart has misled him. And he cannot save ^[n]himself, nor say, “^(AK)Is there not a lie in my right hand?”

God Forgives and Redeems

²¹“^(AL)Remember these things, Jacob,
And Israel, for you are ^(AM)My servant;
I have formed you, you are My servant,
Israel, you will ^(AN)not be forgotten by Me.
²²I have ^(AO)wiped out your wrongdoings like a thick cloud
And your sins like a ^[o]heavy mist.
^(AP)Return to Me, for I have ^(AQ)redeemed you.”
²³^(AR)Shout for joy, you heavens, for the Lord has done it!
Shout joyfully, you lower parts of the earth;
^(AS)Break into a shout of jubilation, you mountains,
Forest, and every tree in it;
For ^(AT)the Lord has redeemed Jacob,
And in Israel He ^(AU)shows His glory.

²⁴This is what the Lord says, He who is your ^(AV)Redeemer, and the one who ^(AW)formed you from the womb:

“I, the Lord, am the maker of all things,
^(AX)Stretching out the heavens by Myself
And spreading out the earth ^[p]alone,
²⁵^(AY)Causing the ^[q]omens of diviners to fail,
^[r]Making fools of fortune-tellers;
^(AZ)Causing wise men to turn back
And ^[s]making their knowledge ridiculous,
²⁶^(BA)Confirming the word of His servant
And ^[t]carrying out the purpose of His messengers.
It is I who says of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be inhabited!’
And of the ^(BB)cities of Judah, ‘^(BC)They shall be built.’
And I will raise her ruins again.
²⁷I am the One who says to the depth of the sea, ‘Dry up!’
And I will make your rivers ^(BD)dry up.
²⁸It is I who says of ^(BE)Cyrus, ‘He is My shepherd,
And he will carry out all My desire.’
And ^[u]he says of Jerusalem, ‘^(BF)She will be built,’
And of the temple, ‘^[v]Your foundation will be laid.’”