Isaiah 43:22–44:22
Pleading with Unfaithful Israel
22 “But you have not called upon Me, O Jacob;
And you hhave been weary of Me, O Israel.
23 iYou have not brought Me the sheep for your burnt offerings,
Nor have you honored Me with your sacrifices.
I have not caused you to serve with grain offerings,
Nor wearied you with incense.
24 You have bought Me no sweet cane with money,
Nor have you satisfied Me with the fat of your sacrifices;
But you have burdened Me with your sins,
You have jwearied Me with your iniquities.
25 “I, even I, am He who kblots out your transgressions lfor My own sake;
mAnd I will not remember your sins.
Let us contend together;
State your case, that you may be 1acquitted.
And your 2mediators have transgressed against Me.
28 Therefore I will profane the princes of the sanctuary;
nI will give Jacob to the curse,
And Israel to reproaches.
44 “Yet hear me now, O Jacob My servant,
And Israel whom I have chosen.
2 Thus says the Lord who made you
And formed you from the womb, who will help you:
‘Fear not, O Jacob My servant;
And you, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen.
3 For I will pour water on him who is thirsty,
And floods on the dry ground;
I will pour My Spirit on your descendants,
And My blessing on your offspring;
4 They will spring up among the grass
Like willows by the watercourses.’
5 One will say, ‘I am the Lord’s’;
Another will call himself by the name of Jacob;
Another will write with his hand, ‘The Lord’s,’
And name himself by the name of Israel.
6 “Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel,
And his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts:
a‘I am the First and I am the Last;
Besides Me there is no God.
7 And bwho can proclaim as I do?
Then let him declare it and set it in order for Me,
Since I appointed the ancient people.
And the things that are coming and shall come,
Let them show these to them.
cHave I not told you from that time, and declared it?
dYou are My witnesses.
Is there a God besides Me?
Indeed ethere is no other Rock;
I know not one.’ ”
9 fThose who make an image, all of them are useless,
And their precious things shall not profit;
They are their own witnesses;
gThey neither see nor know, that they may be ashamed.
10 Who would form a god or mold an image
hThat profits him nothing?
11 Surely all his companions would be iashamed;
And the workmen, they are mere men.
Let them all be gathered together,
Let them stand up;
Yet they shall fear,
They shall be ashamed together.
12 jThe blacksmith with the tongs works one in the coals,
Fashions it with hammers,
And works it with the strength of his arms.
Even so, he is hungry, and his strength fails;
He drinks no water and is faint.
13 The craftsman stretches out his rule,
He marks one out with chalk;
He fashions it with a plane,
He marks it out with the compass,
And makes it like the figure of a man,
According to the beauty of a man, that it may remain in the house.
14 He cuts down cedars for himself,
And takes the cypress and the oak;
He 1secures it for himself among the trees of the forest.
He plants a pine, and the rain nourishes it.
15 Then it shall be for a man to burn,
For he will take some of it and warm himself;
Yes, he kindles it and bakes bread;
Indeed he makes a god and worships it;
He makes it a carved image, and falls down to it.
16 He burns half of it in the fire;
With this half he eats meat;
He roasts a roast, and is satisfied.
He even warms himself and says,
“Ah! I am warm,
I have seen the fire.”
17 And the rest of it he makes into a god,
His carved image.
He falls down before it and worships it,
Prays to it and says,
“Deliver me, for you are my god!”
18 kThey do not know nor understand;
For lHe has 2shut their eyes, so that they cannot see,
And their hearts, so that they cannot munderstand.
19 And no one nconsiders in his heart,
Nor is there knowledge nor understanding to say,
“I have burned half of it in the fire,
Yes, I have also baked bread on its coals;
I have roasted meat and eaten it;
And shall I make the rest of it an abomination?
Shall I fall down before a block of wood?”
oA deceived heart has turned him aside;
And he cannot deliver his soul,
Nor say, “Is there not a plie in my right hand?”
21 “Remember these, O Jacob,
And Israel, for you are My servant;
I have formed you, you are My servant;
O Israel, you will not be qforgotten by Me!
22 rI have blotted out, like a thick cloud, your transgressions,
And like a cloud, your sins.
Return to Me, for sI have redeemed you.”