Isaiah 44-48

New International Version

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

¹² The blacksmith^(AK) 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.^(AL)
He gets hungry and loses his strength;
    he drinks no water and grows faint.^(AM)
13 The carpenter^(AN) 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,^(AO)
    human form in all its glory,
    that it may dwell in a shrine.^(AP)
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,^(AQ) and the rain made it grow.
¹⁵ It is used as fuel^(AR) 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^(AS) it;
    he makes an idol and bows^(AT) 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.^(AU)”
¹⁷ From the rest he makes a god, his idol;
    he bows down to it and worships.^(AV)
He prays^(AW) to it and says,
    “Save^(AX) me! You are my god!”
¹⁸ They know nothing, they understand^(AY) nothing;
    their eyes^(AZ) 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^(BA) to say,
“Half of it I used for fuel;^(BB)
    I even baked bread over its coals,
    I roasted meat and I ate.
Shall I make a detestable^(BC) thing from what is left?
    Shall I bow down to a block of wood?”^(BD)
20 Such a person feeds on ashes;^(BE) a deluded^(BF) heart misleads him;
    he cannot save himself, or say,
    “Is not this thing in my right hand a lie?^(BG)”

²¹ “Remember^(BH) these things, Jacob,
    for you, Israel, are my servant.^(BI)
I have made you, you are my servant;^(BJ)
    Israel, I will not forget you.^(BK)
22 I have swept away^(BL) your offenses like a cloud,
    your sins like the morning mist.
Return^(BM) to me,
    for I have redeemed^(BN) you.”

²³ Sing for joy,^(BO) you heavens, for the Lord has done this;
    shout aloud, you earth^(BP) beneath.
Burst into song, you mountains,^(BQ)
    you forests and all your trees,^(BR)
for the Lord has redeemed^(BS) Jacob,
    he displays his glory^(BT) in Israel.

I am the Lord,
    the Maker of all things,
    who stretches out the heavens,^(BX)
    who spreads out the earth^(BY) by myself,
²⁵ who foils^(BZ) the signs of false prophets
    and makes fools of diviners,^(CA)
who overthrows the learning of the wise^(CB)
    and turns it into nonsense,^(CC)
26 who carries out the words^(CD) of his servants
    and fulfills^(CE) the predictions of his messengers,

who says of Jerusalem,^(CF) ‘It shall be inhabited,’
    of the towns of Judah, ‘They shall be rebuilt,’
    and of their ruins,^(CG) ‘I will restore them,’^(CH)
27 who says to the watery deep, ‘Be dry,
    and I will dry up^(CI) your streams,’
²⁸ who says of Cyrus,^(CJ) ‘He is my shepherd
    and will accomplish all that I please;
he will say of Jerusalem,^(CK) “Let it be rebuilt,”
    and of the temple,^(CL) “Let its foundations^(CM) be laid.”’

45 “This is what the Lord says to his anointed,^(CN)
    to Cyrus,^(CO) whose right hand I take hold^(CP) of
to subdue nations^(CQ) 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^(CR)
    and will level^(CS) the mountains^[b];
I will break down gates^(CT) of bronze
    and cut through bars of iron.^(CU)
3 I will give you hidden treasures,^(CV)
    riches stored in secret places,^(CW)
so that you may know^(CX) that I am the Lord,
    the God of Israel, who summons you by name.^(CY)
4 For the sake of Jacob my servant,^(CZ)
    of Israel my chosen,
I summon you by name
    and bestow on you a title of honor,
    though you do not acknowledge^(DA) me.
⁵ I am the Lord, and there is no other;^(DB)
    apart from me there is no God.^(DC)
I will strengthen you,^(DD)
    though you have not acknowledged me,
⁶ so that from the rising of the sun
    to the place of its setting^(DE)
people may know^(DF) there is none besides me.^(DG)
    I am the Lord, and there is no other.
⁷ I form the light and create darkness,^(DH)
    I bring prosperity and create disaster;^(DI)
    I, the Lord, do all these things.

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

⁹ “Woe to those who quarrel^(DM) with their Maker,^(DN)
    those who are nothing but potsherds^(DO)
    among the potsherds on the ground.
Does the clay say to the potter,^(DP)
    ‘What are you making?’^(DQ)
Does your work say,
    ‘The potter has no hands’?^(DR)
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^(DS) of Israel, and its Maker:^(DT)
Concerning things to come,
    do you question me about my children,
    or give me orders about the work of my hands?^(DU)
12 It is I who made the earth^(DV)
    and created mankind on it.
My own hands stretched out the heavens;^(DW)
    I marshaled their starry hosts.^(DX)
13 I will raise up Cyrus^[c](DY) in my righteousness:
    I will make all his ways straight.^(DZ)
He will rebuild my city^(EA)
    and set my exiles free,
but not for a price or reward,^(EB)
    says the Lord Almighty.”

“The products^(EC) of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush,^[d]
    and those tall Sabeans^(ED)—
they will come over to you^(EE)
    and will be yours;
they will trudge behind you,^(EF)
    coming over to you in chains.^(EG)
They will bow down before you
    and plead^(EH) with you, saying,
‘Surely God is with you,^(EI) and there is no other;
    there is no other god.^(EJ)’”

¹⁵ Truly you are a God who has been hiding^(EK) himself,
    the God and Savior^(EL) of Israel.
¹⁶ All the makers of idols will be put to shame and disgraced;^(EM)
    they will go off into disgrace together.
¹⁷ But Israel will be saved^(EN) by the Lord
    with an everlasting salvation;^(EO)
you will never be put to shame or disgraced,^(EP)
    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,^(EQ)
    he founded it;
he did not create it to be empty,^(ER)
    but formed it to be inhabited^(ES)—
he says:
“I am the Lord,
    and there is no other.^(ET)
19 I have not spoken in secret,^(EU)
    from somewhere in a land of darkness;^(EV)
I have not said to Jacob’s descendants,^(EW)
    ‘Seek^(EX) me in vain.’
I, the Lord, speak the truth;
    I declare what is right.^(EY)

²⁰ “Gather together^(EZ) and come;
    assemble, you fugitives from the nations.
Ignorant^(FA) are those who carry^(FB) about idols of wood,
    who pray to gods that cannot save.^(FC)
21 Declare what is to be, present it—
    let them take counsel together.
Who foretold^(FD) this long ago,
    who declared it from the distant past?^(FE)
Was it not I, the Lord?
    And there is no God apart from me,^(FF)
a righteous God^(FG) and a Savior;^(FH)
    there is none but me.

²² “Turn^(FI) to me and be saved,^(FJ)
    all you ends of the earth;^(FK)
    for I am God, and there is no other.^(FL)
23 By myself I have sworn,^(FM)
    my mouth has uttered in all integrity^(FN)
    a word that will not be revoked:^(FO)
Before me every knee will bow;^(FP)
    by me every tongue will swear.^(FQ)
24 They will say of me, ‘In the Lord alone
    are deliverance^(FR) and strength.^(FS)’”
All who have raged against him
    will come to him and be put to shame.^(FT)
25 But all the descendants^(FU) of Israel
    will find deliverance^(FV) in the Lord
    and will make their boast in him.^(FW)

³ “Listen^(GB) to me, you descendants of Jacob,
    all the remnant^(GC) of the people of Israel,
you whom I have upheld since your birth,^(GD)
    and have carried^(GE) since you were born.^(GF)
4 Even to your old age and gray hairs^(GG)
    I am he,^(GH) I am he who will sustain you.
I have made you and I will carry you;
    I will sustain^(GI) 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?^(GJ)
6 Some pour out gold from their bags
    and weigh out silver on the scales;
they hire a goldsmith^(GK) to make it into a god,
    and they bow down and worship it.^(GL)
7 They lift it to their shoulders and carry^(GM) it;
    they set it up in its place, and there it stands.
    From that spot it cannot move.^(GN)
Even though someone cries out to it, it cannot answer;^(GO)
    it cannot save^(GP) them from their troubles.

⁸ “Remember^(GQ) this, keep it in mind,
    take it to heart, you rebels.^(GR)
9 Remember the former things,^(GS) those of long ago;^(GT)
    I am God, and there is no other;
    I am God, and there is none like me.^(GU)
10 I make known the end from the beginning,^(GV)
    from ancient times,^(GW) what is still to come.^(GX)
I say, ‘My purpose will stand,^(GY)
    and I will do all that I please.’
¹¹ From the east I summon^(GZ) a bird of prey;^(HA)
    from a far-off land, a man to fulfill my purpose.
What I have said, that I will bring about;
    what I have planned,^(HB) that I will do.^(HC)
12 Listen^(HD) to me, you stubborn-hearted,^(HE)
    you who are now far from my righteousness.^(HF)
13 I am bringing my righteousness^(HG) near,
    it is not far away;
    and my salvation^(HH) will not be delayed.
I will grant salvation to Zion,^(HI)
    my splendor^(HJ) to Israel.

⁴ Our Redeemer^(HW)—the Lord Almighty^(HX) is his name^(HY)—
    is the Holy One^(HZ) of Israel.

⁵ “Sit in silence,^(IA) go into darkness,^(IB)
    queen city of the Babylonians;^(IC)
no more will you be called
    queen^(ID) of kingdoms.^(IE)
6 I was angry^(IF) with my people
    and desecrated my inheritance;^(IG)
I gave them into your hand,^(IH)
    and you showed them no mercy.^(II)
Even on the aged
    you laid a very heavy yoke.
⁷ You said, ‘I am forever^(IJ)—
    the eternal queen!’^(IK)
But you did not consider these things
    or reflect^(IL) on what might happen.^(IM)

⁸ “Now then, listen, you lover of pleasure,
    lounging in your security^(IN)
and saying to yourself,
    ‘I am, and there is none besides me.^(IO)
I will never be a widow^(IP)
    or suffer the loss of children.’
⁹ Both of these will overtake you
    in a moment,^(IQ) on a single day:
    loss of children^(IR) and widowhood.^(IS)
They will come upon you in full measure,
    in spite of your many sorceries^(IT)
    and all your potent spells.^(IU)
10 You have trusted^(IV) in your wickedness
    and have said, ‘No one sees me.’^(IW)
Your wisdom^(IX) and knowledge mislead^(IY) you
    when you say to yourself,
    ‘I am, and there is none besides me.’
¹¹ Disaster^(IZ) will come upon you,
    and you will not know how to conjure it away.
A calamity will fall upon you
    that you cannot ward off with a ransom;
a catastrophe you cannot foresee
    will suddenly^(JA) come upon you.

¹² “Keep on, then, with your magic spells
    and with your many sorceries,^(JB)
    which you have labored at since childhood.
Perhaps you will succeed,
    perhaps you will cause terror.
¹³ All the counsel you have received has only worn you out!^(JC)
    Let your astrologers^(JD) come forward,
those stargazers who make predictions month by month,
    let them save^(JE) you from what is coming upon you.
¹⁴ Surely they are like stubble;^(JF)
    the fire^(JG) will burn them up.
They cannot even save themselves
    from the power of the flame.^(JH)
These are not coals for warmth;
    this is not a fire to sit by.
¹⁵ That is all they are to you—
    these you have dealt with
    and labored^(JI) with since childhood.
All of them go on in their error;
    there is not one that can save^(JJ) you.

“From now on I will tell you of new things,^(KB)
    of hidden things unknown to you.
⁷ They are created^(KC) now, and not long ago;^(KD)
    you have not heard of them before today.
So you cannot say,
    ‘Yes, I knew^(KE) of them.’
⁸ You have neither heard nor understood;^(KF)
    from of old your ears^(KG) have not been open.
Well do I know how treacherous^(KH) you are;
    you were called a rebel^(KI) from birth.
⁹ For my own name’s sake^(KJ) I delay my wrath;^(KK)
    for the sake of my praise I hold it back from you,
    so as not to destroy you completely.^(KL)
10 See, I have refined^(KM) you, though not as silver;
    I have tested^(KN) you in the furnace^(KO) of affliction.
¹¹ For my own sake,^(KP) for my own sake, I do this.
    How can I let myself be defamed?^(KQ)
    I will not yield my glory to another.^(KR)

¹⁴ “Come together,^(KZ) all of you, and listen:
    Which of the idols has foretold^(LA) these things?
The Lord’s chosen ally^(LB)
    will carry out his purpose^(LC) against Babylon;^(LD)
    his arm will be against the Babylonians.^[g]
15 I, even I, have spoken;
    yes, I have called^(LE) him.
I will bring him,
    and he will succeed^(LF) in his mission.

“From the first announcement I have not spoken in secret;^(LI)
    at the time it happens, I am there.”

And now the Sovereign Lord^(LJ) has sent^(LK) me,
    endowed with his Spirit.^(LL)

¹⁷ This is what the Lord says—
    your Redeemer,^(LM) the Holy One^(LN) of Israel:
“I am the Lord your God,
    who teaches^(LO) you what is best for you,
    who directs^(LP) you in the way^(LQ) you should go.
¹⁸ If only you had paid attention^(LR) to my commands,
    your peace^(LS) would have been like a river,^(LT)
    your well-being^(LU) like the waves of the sea.
¹⁹ Your descendants^(LV) would have been like the sand,^(LW)
    your children like its numberless grains;^(LX)
their name would never be blotted out^(LY)
    nor destroyed from before me.”

²⁰ Leave Babylon,
    flee^(LZ) from the Babylonians!
Announce this with shouts of joy^(MA)
    and proclaim it.
Send it out to the ends of the earth;^(MB)
    say, “The Lord has redeemed^(MC) his servant Jacob.”
²¹ They did not thirst^(MD) when he led them through the deserts;
    he made water flow^(ME) for them from the rock;
he split the rock
    and water gushed out.^(MF)

²² “There is no peace,”^(MG) says the Lord, “for the wicked.”^(MH)