Isaiah 42-46

New International Version

⁵ This is what God the Lord says—
the Creator of the heavens,^(P) who stretches them out,
    who spreads out the earth^(Q) with all that springs from it,^(R)
    who gives breath^(S) to its people,
    and life to those who walk on it:
⁶ “I, the Lord, have called^(T) you in righteousness;^(U)
    I will take hold of your hand.^(V)
I will keep^(W) you and will make you
    to be a covenant^(X) for the people
    and a light^(Y) for the Gentiles,^(Z)
7 to open eyes that are blind,^(AA)
    to free^(AB) captives from prison^(AC)
    and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.^(AD)

⁸ “I am the Lord;^(AE) that is my name!^(AF)
    I will not yield my glory to another^(AG)
    or my praise to idols.^(AH)
9 See, the former things^(AI) have taken place,
    and new things I declare;
before they spring into being
    I announce^(AJ) them to you.”

¹⁴ “For a long time I have kept silent,^(BC)
    I have been quiet and held myself back.^(BD)
But now, like a woman in childbirth,
    I cry out, I gasp and pant.^(BE)
15 I will lay waste^(BF) the mountains^(BG) and hills
    and dry up all their vegetation;
I will turn rivers into islands
    and dry up^(BH) the pools.
¹⁶ I will lead^(BI) the blind^(BJ) by ways they have not known,
    along unfamiliar paths I will guide them;
I will turn the darkness into light^(BK) before them
    and make the rough places smooth.^(BL)
These are the things I will do;
    I will not forsake^(BM) them.
¹⁷ But those who trust in idols,
    who say to images, ‘You are our gods,’^(BN)
    will be turned back in utter shame.^(BO)

²³ Which of you will listen to this
    or pay close attention^(CB) in time to come?
²⁴ Who handed Jacob over to become loot,
    and Israel to the plunderers?^(CC)
Was it not the Lord,^(CD)
    against whom we have sinned?
For they would not follow^(CE) his ways;
    they did not obey his law.^(CF)
25 So he poured out on them his burning anger,^(CG)
    the violence of war.
It enveloped them in flames,^(CH) yet they did not understand;^(CI)
    it consumed them, but they did not take it to heart.^(CJ)

⁸ Lead out those who have eyes but are blind,^(DP)
    who have ears but are deaf.^(DQ)
9 All the nations gather together^(DR)
    and the peoples assemble.
Which of their gods foretold^(DS) this
    and proclaimed to us the former things?
Let them bring in their witnesses to prove they were right,
    so that others may hear and say, “It is true.”
¹⁰ “You are my witnesses,^(DT)” declares the Lord,
    “and my servant^(DU) whom I have chosen,
so that you may know^(DV) and believe me
    and understand that I am he.
Before me no god^(DW) was formed,
    nor will there be one after me.^(DX)
11 I, even I, am the Lord,^(DY)
    and apart from me there is no savior.^(DZ)
12 I have revealed and saved and proclaimed—
    I, and not some foreign god^(EA) among you.
You are my witnesses,^(EB)” declares the Lord, “that I am God.
¹³     Yes, and from ancient days^(EC) I am he.^(ED)
No one can deliver out of my hand.
    When I act, who can reverse it?”^(EE)

¹⁶ This is what the Lord says—
    he who made a way through the sea,
    a path through the mighty waters,^(EM)
17 who drew out^(EN) the chariots and horses,^(EO)
    the army and reinforcements together,^(EP)
and they lay^(EQ) there, never to rise again,
    extinguished, snuffed out like a wick:^(ER)
18 “Forget the former things;^(ES)
    do not dwell on the past.
¹⁹ See, I am doing a new thing!^(ET)
    Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness^(EU)
    and streams in the wasteland.^(EV)
20 The wild animals^(EW) honor me,
    the jackals^(EX) and the owls,
because I provide water^(EY) in the wilderness
    and streams in the wasteland,
to give drink to my people, my chosen,
²¹     the people I formed^(EZ) for myself^(FA)
    that they may proclaim my praise.^(FB)

²² “Yet you have not called on me, Jacob,
    you have not wearied^(FC) yourselves for^[c] me, Israel.^(FD)
23 You have not brought me sheep for burnt offerings,^(FE)
    nor honored^(FF) me with your sacrifices.^(FG)
I have not burdened^(FH) you with grain offerings
    nor wearied you with demands^(FI) for incense.^(FJ)
24 You have not bought any fragrant calamus^(FK) for me,
    or lavished on me the fat^(FL) of your sacrifices.
But you have burdened me with your sins
    and wearied^(FM) me with your offenses.^(FN)

²⁵ “I, even I, am he who blots out
    your transgressions,^(FO) for my own sake,^(FP)
    and remembers your sins^(FQ) no more.^(FR)
26 Review the past for me,
    let us argue the matter together;^(FS)
    state the case^(FT) for your innocence.
²⁷ Your first father^(FU) sinned;
    those I sent to teach^(FV) you rebelled^(FW) against me.
²⁸ So I disgraced the dignitaries of your temple;
    I consigned Jacob to destruction^[d](FX)
    and Israel to scorn.^(FY)

⁹ All who make idols^(HB) are nothing,
    and the things they treasure are worthless.^(HC)
Those who would speak up for them are blind;^(HD)
    they are ignorant, to their own shame.^(HE)
10 Who shapes a god and casts an idol,^(HF)
    which can profit nothing?^(HG)
11 People who do that will be put to shame;^(HH)
    such craftsmen are only human beings.
Let them all come together and take their stand;
    they will be brought down to terror and shame.^(HI)

¹² The blacksmith^(HJ) takes a tool
    and works with it in the coals;
he shapes an idol with hammers,
    he forges it with the might of his arm.^(HK)
He gets hungry and loses his strength;
    he drinks no water and grows faint.^(HL)
13 The carpenter^(HM) measures with a line
    and makes an outline with a marker;
he roughs it out with chisels
    and marks it with compasses.
He shapes it in human form,^(HN)
    human form in all its glory,
    that it may dwell in a shrine.^(HO)
14 He cut down cedars,
    or perhaps took a cypress or oak.
He let it grow among the trees of the forest,
    or planted a pine,^(HP) and the rain made it grow.
¹⁵ It is used as fuel^(HQ) for burning;
    some of it he takes and warms himself,
    he kindles a fire and bakes bread.
But he also fashions a god and worships^(HR) it;
    he makes an idol and bows^(HS) down to it.
¹⁶ Half of the wood he burns in the fire;
    over it he prepares his meal,
    he roasts his meat and eats his fill.
He also warms himself and says,
    “Ah! I am warm; I see the fire.^(HT)”
¹⁷ From the rest he makes a god, his idol;
    he bows down to it and worships.^(HU)
He prays^(HV) to it and says,
    “Save^(HW) me! You are my god!”
¹⁸ They know nothing, they understand^(HX) nothing;
    their eyes^(HY) are plastered over so they cannot see,
    and their minds closed so they cannot understand.
¹⁹ No one stops to think,
    no one has the knowledge or understanding^(HZ) to say,
“Half of it I used for fuel;^(IA)
    I even baked bread over its coals,
    I roasted meat and I ate.
Shall I make a detestable^(IB) thing from what is left?
    Shall I bow down to a block of wood?”^(IC)
20 Such a person feeds on ashes;^(ID) a deluded^(IE) heart misleads him;
    he cannot save himself, or say,
    “Is not this thing in my right hand a lie?^(IF)”

²¹ “Remember^(IG) these things, Jacob,
    for you, Israel, are my servant.^(IH)
I have made you, you are my servant;^(II)
    Israel, I will not forget you.^(IJ)
22 I have swept away^(IK) your offenses like a cloud,
    your sins like the morning mist.
Return^(IL) to me,
    for I have redeemed^(IM) you.”

²³ Sing for joy,^(IN) you heavens, for the Lord has done this;
    shout aloud, you earth^(IO) beneath.
Burst into song, you mountains,^(IP)
    you forests and all your trees,^(IQ)
for the Lord has redeemed^(IR) Jacob,
    he displays his glory^(IS) in Israel.

I am the Lord,
    the Maker of all things,
    who stretches out the heavens,^(IW)
    who spreads out the earth^(IX) by myself,
²⁵ who foils^(IY) the signs of false prophets
    and makes fools of diviners,^(IZ)
who overthrows the learning of the wise^(JA)
    and turns it into nonsense,^(JB)
26 who carries out the words^(JC) of his servants
    and fulfills^(JD) the predictions of his messengers,

who says of Jerusalem,^(JE) ‘It shall be inhabited,’
    of the towns of Judah, ‘They shall be rebuilt,’
    and of their ruins,^(JF) ‘I will restore them,’^(JG)
27 who says to the watery deep, ‘Be dry,
    and I will dry up^(JH) your streams,’
²⁸ who says of Cyrus,^(JI) ‘He is my shepherd
    and will accomplish all that I please;
he will say of Jerusalem,^(JJ) “Let it be rebuilt,”
    and of the temple,^(JK) “Let its foundations^(JL) be laid.”’

45 “This is what the Lord says to his anointed,^(JM)
    to Cyrus,^(JN) whose right hand I take hold^(JO) of
to subdue nations^(JP) before him
    and to strip kings of their armor,
to open doors before him
    so that gates will not be shut:
² I will go before you^(JQ)
    and will level^(JR) the mountains^[f];
I will break down gates^(JS) of bronze
    and cut through bars of iron.^(JT)
3 I will give you hidden treasures,^(JU)
    riches stored in secret places,^(JV)
so that you may know^(JW) that I am the Lord,
    the God of Israel, who summons you by name.^(JX)
4 For the sake of Jacob my servant,^(JY)
    of Israel my chosen,
I summon you by name
    and bestow on you a title of honor,
    though you do not acknowledge^(JZ) me.
⁵ I am the Lord, and there is no other;^(KA)
    apart from me there is no God.^(KB)
I will strengthen you,^(KC)
    though you have not acknowledged me,
⁶ so that from the rising of the sun
    to the place of its setting^(KD)
people may know^(KE) there is none besides me.^(KF)
    I am the Lord, and there is no other.
⁷ I form the light and create darkness,^(KG)
    I bring prosperity and create disaster;^(KH)
    I, the Lord, do all these things.

⁸ “You heavens above, rain^(KI) down my righteousness;^(KJ)
    let the clouds shower it down.
Let the earth open wide,
    let salvation^(KK) spring up,
let righteousness flourish with it;
    I, the Lord, have created it.

⁹ “Woe to those who quarrel^(KL) with their Maker,^(KM)
    those who are nothing but potsherds^(KN)
    among the potsherds on the ground.
Does the clay say to the potter,^(KO)
    ‘What are you making?’^(KP)
Does your work say,
    ‘The potter has no hands’?^(KQ)
10 Woe to the one who says to a father,
    ‘What have you begotten?’
or to a mother,
    ‘What have you brought to birth?’

¹¹ “This is what the Lord says—
    the Holy One^(KR) of Israel, and its Maker:^(KS)
Concerning things to come,
    do you question me about my children,
    or give me orders about the work of my hands?^(KT)
12 It is I who made the earth^(KU)
    and created mankind on it.
My own hands stretched out the heavens;^(KV)
    I marshaled their starry hosts.^(KW)
13 I will raise up Cyrus^[g](KX) in my righteousness:
    I will make all his ways straight.^(KY)
He will rebuild my city^(KZ)
    and set my exiles free,
but not for a price or reward,^(LA)
    says the Lord Almighty.”

“The products^(LB) of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush,^[h]
    and those tall Sabeans^(LC)—
they will come over to you^(LD)
    and will be yours;
they will trudge behind you,^(LE)
    coming over to you in chains.^(LF)
They will bow down before you
    and plead^(LG) with you, saying,
‘Surely God is with you,^(LH) and there is no other;
    there is no other god.^(LI)’”

¹⁵ Truly you are a God who has been hiding^(LJ) himself,
    the God and Savior^(LK) of Israel.
¹⁶ All the makers of idols will be put to shame and disgraced;^(LL)
    they will go off into disgrace together.
¹⁷ But Israel will be saved^(LM) by the Lord
    with an everlasting salvation;^(LN)
you will never be put to shame or disgraced,^(LO)
    to ages everlasting.

¹⁸ For this is what the Lord says—
he who created the heavens,
    he is God;
he who fashioned and made the earth,^(LP)
    he founded it;
he did not create it to be empty,^(LQ)
    but formed it to be inhabited^(LR)—
he says:
“I am the Lord,
    and there is no other.^(LS)
19 I have not spoken in secret,^(LT)
    from somewhere in a land of darkness;^(LU)
I have not said to Jacob’s descendants,^(LV)
    ‘Seek^(LW) me in vain.’
I, the Lord, speak the truth;
    I declare what is right.^(LX)

²⁰ “Gather together^(LY) and come;
    assemble, you fugitives from the nations.
Ignorant^(LZ) are those who carry^(MA) about idols of wood,
    who pray to gods that cannot save.^(MB)
21 Declare what is to be, present it—
    let them take counsel together.
Who foretold^(MC) this long ago,
    who declared it from the distant past?^(MD)
Was it not I, the Lord?
    And there is no God apart from me,^(ME)
a righteous God^(MF) and a Savior;^(MG)
    there is none but me.

²² “Turn^(MH) to me and be saved,^(MI)
    all you ends of the earth;^(MJ)
    for I am God, and there is no other.^(MK)
23 By myself I have sworn,^(ML)
    my mouth has uttered in all integrity^(MM)
    a word that will not be revoked:^(MN)
Before me every knee will bow;^(MO)
    by me every tongue will swear.^(MP)
24 They will say of me, ‘In the Lord alone
    are deliverance^(MQ) and strength.^(MR)’”
All who have raged against him
    will come to him and be put to shame.^(MS)
25 But all the descendants^(MT) of Israel
    will find deliverance^(MU) in the Lord
    and will make their boast in him.^(MV)

³ “Listen^(NA) to me, you descendants of Jacob,
    all the remnant^(NB) of the people of Israel,
you whom I have upheld since your birth,^(NC)
    and have carried^(ND) since you were born.^(NE)
4 Even to your old age and gray hairs^(NF)
    I am he,^(NG) I am he who will sustain you.
I have made you and I will carry you;
    I will sustain^(NH) you and I will rescue you.

⁵ “With whom will you compare me or count me equal?
    To whom will you liken me that we may be compared?^(NI)
6 Some pour out gold from their bags
    and weigh out silver on the scales;
they hire a goldsmith^(NJ) to make it into a god,
    and they bow down and worship it.^(NK)
7 They lift it to their shoulders and carry^(NL) it;
    they set it up in its place, and there it stands.
    From that spot it cannot move.^(NM)
Even though someone cries out to it, it cannot answer;^(NN)
    it cannot save^(NO) them from their troubles.

⁸ “Remember^(NP) this, keep it in mind,
    take it to heart, you rebels.^(NQ)
9 Remember the former things,^(NR) those of long ago;^(NS)
    I am God, and there is no other;
    I am God, and there is none like me.^(NT)
10 I make known the end from the beginning,^(NU)
    from ancient times,^(NV) what is still to come.^(NW)
I say, ‘My purpose will stand,^(NX)
    and I will do all that I please.’
¹¹ From the east I summon^(NY) a bird of prey;^(NZ)
    from a far-off land, a man to fulfill my purpose.
What I have said, that I will bring about;
    what I have planned,^(OA) that I will do.^(OB)
12 Listen^(OC) to me, you stubborn-hearted,^(OD)
    you who are now far from my righteousness.^(OE)
13 I am bringing my righteousness^(OF) near,
    it is not far away;
    and my salvation^(OG) will not be delayed.
I will grant salvation to Zion,^(OH)
    my splendor^(OI) to Israel.