Isaiah 44:6-48:11
New International Version
The Lord, Not Idols
6 “This is what the Lord says—
Israel’s King(A) and Redeemer,(B) the Lord Almighty:
I am the first and I am the last;(C)
apart from me there is no God.(D)
7 Who then is like me?(E) Let him proclaim it.
Let him declare and lay out before me
what has happened since I established my ancient people,
and what is yet to come—
yes, let them foretell(F) what will come.
8 Do not tremble, do not be afraid.
Did I not proclaim(G) this and foretell it long ago?
You are my witnesses. Is there any God(H) besides me?
No, there is no other Rock;(I) I know not one.”
9 All who make idols(J) are nothing,
and the things they treasure are worthless.(K)
Those who would speak up for them are blind;(L)
they are ignorant, to their own shame.(M)
10 Who shapes a god and casts an idol,(N)
which can profit nothing?(O)
11 People who do that will be put to shame;(P)
such craftsmen are only human beings.
Let them all come together and take their stand;
they will be brought down to terror and shame.(Q)
12 The blacksmith(R) 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.(S)
He gets hungry and loses his strength;
he drinks no water and grows faint.(T)
13 The carpenter(U) 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,(V)
human form in all its glory,
that it may dwell in a shrine.(W)
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,(X) and the rain made it grow.
15 It is used as fuel(Y) 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(Z) it;
he makes an idol and bows(AA) 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.(AB)”
17 From the rest he makes a god, his idol;
he bows down to it and worships.(AC)
He prays(AD) to it and says,
“Save(AE) me! You are my god!”
18 They know nothing, they understand(AF) nothing;
their eyes(AG) 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(AH) to say,
“Half of it I used for fuel;(AI)
I even baked bread over its coals,
I roasted meat and I ate.
Shall I make a detestable(AJ) thing from what is left?
Shall I bow down to a block of wood?”(AK)
20 Such a person feeds on ashes;(AL) a deluded(AM) heart misleads him;
he cannot save himself, or say,
“Is not this thing in my right hand a lie?(AN)”
21 “Remember(AO) these things, Jacob,
for you, Israel, are my servant.(AP)
I have made you, you are my servant;(AQ)
Israel, I will not forget you.(AR)
22 I have swept away(AS) your offenses like a cloud,
your sins like the morning mist.
Return(AT) to me,
for I have redeemed(AU) you.”
23 Sing for joy,(AV) you heavens, for the Lord has done this;
shout aloud, you earth(AW) beneath.
Burst into song, you mountains,(AX)
you forests and all your trees,(AY)
for the Lord has redeemed(AZ) Jacob,
he displays his glory(BA) in Israel.
Jerusalem to Be Inhabited
I am the Lord,
the Maker of all things,
who stretches out the heavens,(BE)
who spreads out the earth(BF) by myself,
25 who foils(BG) the signs of false prophets
and makes fools of diviners,(BH)
who overthrows the learning of the wise(BI)
and turns it into nonsense,(BJ)
26 who carries out the words(BK) of his servants
and fulfills(BL) the predictions of his messengers,
who says of Jerusalem,(BM) ‘It shall be inhabited,’
of the towns of Judah, ‘They shall be rebuilt,’
and of their ruins,(BN) ‘I will restore them,’(BO)
27 who says to the watery deep, ‘Be dry,
and I will dry up(BP) your streams,’
28 who says of Cyrus,(BQ) ‘He is my shepherd
and will accomplish all that I please;
he will say of Jerusalem,(BR) “Let it be rebuilt,”
and of the temple,(BS) “Let its foundations(BT) be laid.”’
45 “This is what the Lord says to his anointed,(BU)
to Cyrus,(BV) whose right hand I take hold(BW) of
to subdue nations(BX) 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(BY)
and will level(BZ) the mountains[a];
I will break down gates(CA) of bronze
and cut through bars of iron.(CB)
3 I will give you hidden treasures,(CC)
riches stored in secret places,(CD)
so that you may know(CE) that I am the Lord,
the God of Israel, who summons you by name.(CF)
4 For the sake of Jacob my servant,(CG)
of Israel my chosen,
I summon you by name
and bestow on you a title of honor,
though you do not acknowledge(CH) me.
5 I am the Lord, and there is no other;(CI)
apart from me there is no God.(CJ)
I will strengthen you,(CK)
though you have not acknowledged me,
6 so that from the rising of the sun
to the place of its setting(CL)
people may know(CM) there is none besides me.(CN)
I am the Lord, and there is no other.
7 I form the light and create darkness,(CO)
I bring prosperity and create disaster;(CP)
I, the Lord, do all these things.
8 “You heavens above, rain(CQ) down my righteousness;(CR)
let the clouds shower it down.
Let the earth open wide,
let salvation(CS) spring up,
let righteousness flourish with it;
I, the Lord, have created it.
9 “Woe to those who quarrel(CT) with their Maker,(CU)
those who are nothing but potsherds(CV)
among the potsherds on the ground.
Does the clay say to the potter,(CW)
‘What are you making?’(CX)
Does your work say,
‘The potter has no hands’?(CY)
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(CZ) of Israel, and its Maker:(DA)
Concerning things to come,
do you question me about my children,
or give me orders about the work of my hands?(DB)
12 It is I who made the earth(DC)
and created mankind on it.
My own hands stretched out the heavens;(DD)
I marshaled their starry hosts.(DE)
13 I will raise up Cyrus[b](DF) in my righteousness:
I will make all his ways straight.(DG)
He will rebuild my city(DH)
and set my exiles free,
but not for a price or reward,(DI)
says the Lord Almighty.”
14 This is what the Lord says:
“The products(DJ) of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush,[c]
and those tall Sabeans(DK)—
they will come over to you(DL)
and will be yours;
they will trudge behind you,(DM)
coming over to you in chains.(DN)
They will bow down before you
and plead(DO) with you, saying,
‘Surely God is with you,(DP) and there is no other;
there is no other god.(DQ)’”
15 Truly you are a God who has been hiding(DR) himself,
the God and Savior(DS) of Israel.
16 All the makers of idols will be put to shame and disgraced;(DT)
they will go off into disgrace together.
17 But Israel will be saved(DU) by the Lord
with an everlasting salvation;(DV)
you will never be put to shame or disgraced,(DW)
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,(DX)
he founded it;
he did not create it to be empty,(DY)
but formed it to be inhabited(DZ)—
he says:
“I am the Lord,
and there is no other.(EA)
19 I have not spoken in secret,(EB)
from somewhere in a land of darkness;(EC)
I have not said to Jacob’s descendants,(ED)
‘Seek(EE) me in vain.’
I, the Lord, speak the truth;
I declare what is right.(EF)
20 “Gather together(EG) and come;
assemble, you fugitives from the nations.
Ignorant(EH) are those who carry(EI) about idols of wood,
who pray to gods that cannot save.(EJ)
21 Declare what is to be, present it—
let them take counsel together.
Who foretold(EK) this long ago,
who declared it from the distant past?(EL)
Was it not I, the Lord?
And there is no God apart from me,(EM)
a righteous God(EN) and a Savior;(EO)
there is none but me.
22 “Turn(EP) to me and be saved,(EQ)
all you ends of the earth;(ER)
for I am God, and there is no other.(ES)
23 By myself I have sworn,(ET)
my mouth has uttered in all integrity(EU)
a word that will not be revoked:(EV)
Before me every knee will bow;(EW)
by me every tongue will swear.(EX)
24 They will say of me, ‘In the Lord alone
are deliverance(EY) and strength.(EZ)’”
All who have raged against him
will come to him and be put to shame.(FA)
25 But all the descendants(FB) of Israel
will find deliverance(FC) in the Lord
and will make their boast in him.(FD)
Gods of Babylon
46 Bel(FE) bows down, Nebo stoops low;
their idols(FF) are borne by beasts of burden.[d]
The images that are carried(FG) about are burdensome,
a burden for the weary.
2 They stoop and bow down together;
unable to rescue the burden,
they themselves go off into captivity.(FH)
3 “Listen(FI) to me, you descendants of Jacob,
all the remnant(FJ) of the people of Israel,
you whom I have upheld since your birth,(FK)
and have carried(FL) since you were born.(FM)
4 Even to your old age and gray hairs(FN)
I am he,(FO) I am he who will sustain you.
I have made you and I will carry you;
I will sustain(FP) 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?(FQ)
6 Some pour out gold from their bags
and weigh out silver on the scales;
they hire a goldsmith(FR) to make it into a god,
and they bow down and worship it.(FS)
7 They lift it to their shoulders and carry(FT) it;
they set it up in its place, and there it stands.
From that spot it cannot move.(FU)
Even though someone cries out to it, it cannot answer;(FV)
it cannot save(FW) them from their troubles.
8 “Remember(FX) this, keep it in mind,
take it to heart, you rebels.(FY)
9 Remember the former things,(FZ) those of long ago;(GA)
I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like me.(GB)
10 I make known the end from the beginning,(GC)
from ancient times,(GD) what is still to come.(GE)
I say, ‘My purpose will stand,(GF)
and I will do all that I please.’
11 From the east I summon(GG) a bird of prey;(GH)
from a far-off land, a man to fulfill my purpose.
What I have said, that I will bring about;
what I have planned,(GI) that I will do.(GJ)
12 Listen(GK) to me, you stubborn-hearted,(GL)
you who are now far from my righteousness.(GM)
13 I am bringing my righteousness(GN) near,
it is not far away;
and my salvation(GO) will not be delayed.
I will grant salvation to Zion,(GP)
my splendor(GQ) to Israel.
The Fall of Babylon
47 “Go down, sit in the dust,(GR)
Virgin Daughter(GS) Babylon;
sit on the ground without a throne,
queen city of the Babylonians.[e](GT)
No more will you be called
tender or delicate.(GU)
2 Take millstones(GV) and grind(GW) flour;
take off your veil.(GX)
Lift up your skirts,(GY) bare your legs,
and wade through the streams.
3 Your nakedness(GZ) will be exposed
and your shame(HA) uncovered.
I will take vengeance;(HB)
I will spare no one.(HC)”
5 “Sit in silence,(HH) go into darkness,(HI)
queen city of the Babylonians;(HJ)
no more will you be called
queen(HK) of kingdoms.(HL)
6 I was angry(HM) with my people
and desecrated my inheritance;(HN)
I gave them into your hand,(HO)
and you showed them no mercy.(HP)
Even on the aged
you laid a very heavy yoke.
7 You said, ‘I am forever(HQ)—
the eternal queen!’(HR)
But you did not consider these things
or reflect(HS) on what might happen.(HT)
8 “Now then, listen, you lover of pleasure,
lounging in your security(HU)
and saying to yourself,
‘I am, and there is none besides me.(HV)
I will never be a widow(HW)
or suffer the loss of children.’
9 Both of these will overtake you
in a moment,(HX) on a single day:
loss of children(HY) and widowhood.(HZ)
They will come upon you in full measure,
in spite of your many sorceries(IA)
and all your potent spells.(IB)
10 You have trusted(IC) in your wickedness
and have said, ‘No one sees me.’(ID)
Your wisdom(IE) and knowledge mislead(IF) you
when you say to yourself,
‘I am, and there is none besides me.’
11 Disaster(IG) 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(IH) come upon you.
12 “Keep on, then, with your magic spells
and with your many sorceries,(II)
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!(IJ)
Let your astrologers(IK) come forward,
those stargazers who make predictions month by month,
let them save(IL) you from what is coming upon you.
14 Surely they are like stubble;(IM)
the fire(IN) will burn them up.
They cannot even save themselves
from the power of the flame.(IO)
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(IP) with since childhood.
All of them go on in their error;
there is not one that can save(IQ) you.
Stubborn Israel
48 “Listen to this, you descendants of Jacob,
you who are called by the name of Israel(IR)
and come from the line of Judah,(IS)
you who take oaths(IT) in the name of the Lord(IU)
and invoke(IV) the God of Israel—
but not in truth(IW) or righteousness—
2 you who call yourselves citizens of the holy city(IX)
and claim to rely(IY) on the God of Israel—
the Lord Almighty is his name:(IZ)
3 I foretold the former things(JA) long ago,
my mouth announced(JB) them and I made them known;
then suddenly(JC) I acted, and they came to pass.
4 For I knew how stubborn(JD) you were;
your neck muscles(JE) were iron,
your forehead(JF) was bronze.
5 Therefore I told you these things long ago;
before they happened I announced(JG) them to you
so that you could not say,
‘My images brought them about;(JH)
my wooden image and metal god ordained them.’
6 You have heard these things; look at them all.
Will you not admit them?
“From now on I will tell you of new things,(JI)
of hidden things unknown to you.
7 They are created(JJ) now, and not long ago;(JK)
you have not heard of them before today.
So you cannot say,
‘Yes, I knew(JL) of them.’
8 You have neither heard nor understood;(JM)
from of old your ears(JN) have not been open.
Well do I know how treacherous(JO) you are;
you were called a rebel(JP) from birth.
9 For my own name’s sake(JQ) I delay my wrath;(JR)
for the sake of my praise I hold it back from you,
so as not to destroy you completely.(JS)
10 See, I have refined(JT) you, though not as silver;
I have tested(JU) you in the furnace(JV) of affliction.
11 For my own sake,(JW) for my own sake, I do this.
How can I let myself be defamed?(JX)
I will not yield my glory to another.(JY)
Footnotes
- Isaiah 45:2 Dead Sea Scrolls and Septuagint; the meaning of the word in the Masoretic Text is uncertain.
- Isaiah 45:13 Hebrew him
- Isaiah 45:14 That is, the upper Nile region
- Isaiah 46:1 Or are but beasts and cattle
- Isaiah 47:1 Or Chaldeans; also in verse 5
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