Isaiah 44–45

SPIRITUAL BLESSING

44“And now listen, Jacob my servant,

Israel whom I have chosen.ⁿ

²This is the word of the Lord

your Maker, the one who formed you from the womb:

He will help you.

Do not fear, Jacob my servant,

Jeshurun^A whom I have chosen.^o

³For I will pour water on the thirsty land

and streams on the dry ground;

I will pour out my Spirit^p on your descendants

and my blessing on your offspring.

⁴They will sprout among^B the grass

like poplars by flowing streams.

⁵This one will say, ‘I am the Lord’s’;

another will use the name of Jacob;

still another will write on his hand, ‘The Lord’s,’

and take on the name of Israel.”

NO GOD OTHER THAN THE LORD

⁶This is what the Lord, the King of Israel and its Redeemer,^q the Lord of Armies, says:

I am the first and I am the last.^r

There is no God but me.^s

⁷Who, like me, can announce the future?

Let him say so and make a case before me,^t

since I have established an ancient people.

Let these gods declare^C the coming things,

and what will take place.

⁸Do not be startled or afraid.

Have I not told you and declared it long ago?

You are my witnesses!^u

Is there any God but me?^v

There is no other Rock;^w I do not know any.

⁹All who make idols are nothing,

and what they treasure benefits no one.

Their witnesses do not see or know anything,

so they will be put to shame.^x

¹⁰Who makes a god or casts a metal image

that benefits no one?^y

¹¹Look, all its worshipers will be put to shame,

and the craftsmen are humans.

They all will assemble and stand;

they all will be startled and put to shame.

¹²The ironworker labors over the coals,

shapes the idol with hammers,

and works it with his strong arm.

Also he grows hungry and his strength fails;

he doesn’t drink water and is faint.

¹³The woodworker stretches out a measuring line,

he outlines it with a stylus;

he shapes it with chisels

and outlines it with a compass.

He makes it according to a human form,^a

like a beautiful person,

to dwell in a temple.

¹⁴He cuts down^A cedars for his use,

or he takes a cypress or an oak.

He lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest.

He plants a laurel, and the rain makes it grow.

¹⁵A person can use it for fuel.

He takes some of it and warms himself;

also he kindles a fire and bakes bread;

he even makes it into a god and worships it;

he makes an idol from it and bows down to it.

¹⁶He burns half of it in a fire,

and he roasts meat on that half.

He eats the roast and is satisfied.

He warms himself and says, “Ah!

I am warm, I see the blaze.”

¹⁷He makes a god or his idol with the rest of it.

He bows down to it and worships;

he prays to it,^b “Save me, for you are my god.”

¹⁸Such people^B do not comprehend

and cannot understand,

for he has shut their eyes^C so they cannot see,

and their minds so they cannot understand.

¹⁹No one comes to his senses;^D

no one has the perception or insight to say,

“I burned half of it in the fire,

I also baked bread on its coals,

I roasted meat and ate.

Should I make something detestable^c with the rest of it?

Should I bow down to a block of wood?”

²⁰He feeds on^E ashes.

His deceived mind has led him astray,

and he cannot rescue himself,

or say, “Isn’t there a lie in my right hand?”^d

²¹Remember these things, Jacob,

and Israel, for you are my servant;

I formed you, you are my servant;

Israel, you will never be forgotten by me.^Fe

²²I have swept away your transgressions like a cloud,^f

and your sins like a mist.

Return to me,^g

for I have redeemed you.^h

²³Rejoice, heavens,ⁱ for the Lord has acted;

shout, depths of the earth.

Break out into singing, mountains,

forest, and every tree in it.

For the Lord has redeemed Jacob,

and glorifies himself through Israel.^j

RESTORATION OF ISRAEL THROUGH CYRUS

²⁴This is what the Lord, your Redeemer^k who formed you from the womb,^l says:

I am the Lord, who made everything;

who stretched out the heavens by myself;^m

who alone spread out the earth;

²⁵who destroys the omens of the false prophets

and makes fools of diviners;

who confounds the wise

and makes their knowledge foolishness;ⁿ

²⁶who confirms the message of his servant

and fulfills the counsel of his messengers;

who says to Jerusalem, “She will be inhabited,”

and to the cities of Judah, “They will be rebuilt,”

and I will restore her ruins;

²⁷who says to the depths of the sea, “Be dry,”

and I will dry up your rivers;

²⁸who says to Cyrus,^o “My shepherd,

he will fulfill all my pleasure”^p

and says to Jerusalem, “She will be rebuilt,”^q

and of the temple, “Its foundation will be laid.”

45The Lord says this to Cyrus, his anointed,^r

whose right hand I have grasped^s

to subdue nations before him

and disarm^A kings,^a

to open doors before him,

and even city gates will not be shut:

²“I will go before you

and level the uneven places;^Bb

I will shatter the bronze doors

and cut the iron bars in two.^c

³I will give you the treasures of darkness

and riches from secret places,^d

so that you may know that I am the Lord.

I am the God of Israel, who calls you by your name.^e

⁴I call you by your name,

for the sake of my servant Jacob^f

and Israel my chosen one.

I give a name to you,

though you do not know me.

⁵I am the Lord, and there is no other;^g

there is no God but me.^h

I will strengthen^C you,

though you do not know me,

⁶so that all may know from the rising of the sun to its setting

that there is no one but me.ⁱ

I am the Lord, and there is no other.

⁷I form light and create darkness,^j

I make success and create disaster;^k

I am the Lord, who does all these things.

⁸“Heavens, sprinkle from above,

and let the skies shower righteousness.^l

Let the earth open up

so that salvation will sprout

and righteousness will spring up with it.^m

I, the Lord, have created it.

⁹“Woe to the one who argues with his Maker—

one clay pot among many.^A

Does clay say to the one forming it,

‘What are you making?’ⁿ

Or does your work say,

‘He has no hands’?^B

¹⁰Woe to the one who says to his father,

‘What are you fathering?’

or to his mother,^C

‘What are you giving birth to?’ ”

¹¹This is what the Lord,

the Holy One of Israel^o and its Maker, says:

“Ask me what is to happen to^D my sons,^p

and instruct me about the work of my hands.^q

¹²I made the earth,

and created humans on it.

It was my hands that stretched out the heavens,^r

and I commanded everything in them.

¹³I have stirred him up in righteousness,^s

and will level all roads for him.

He will rebuild my city,^t

and set my exiles free,^u

not for a price or a bribe,”

says the Lord of Armies.

GOD ALONE IS THE SAVIOR

¹⁴This is what the Lord says:

“The products of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush

and the Sabeans, men of stature,^v

will come over to you^w

and will be yours;

they will follow you,

they will come over in chains

and bow down to you.

They will confess^E to you,

‘God is indeed with you,^x and there is no other;

there is no other God.’ ”

¹⁵Yes, you are a God who hides,^y

God of Israel, Savior.^z

¹⁶All of them are put to shame, even humiliated;^aa

the makers of idols go in humiliation together.

¹⁷Israel will be saved by the Lord

with an everlasting salvation;

you will not be put to shame or humiliated

for all eternity.^ab

¹⁸For this is what the Lord says—

the Creator of the heavens,

the God who formed the earth and made it,

the one who established it

(he did not create it to be a wasteland,

but formed it to be inhabited)^ac—

he says, “I am the Lord,

and there is no other.

¹⁹I have not spoken in secret,^a

somewhere in a land of darkness.

I did not say to the descendants of Jacob:

Seek me in a wasteland.^b

I am the Lord, who speaks righteously,^c

who declares what is right.

²⁰“Come, gather together,

and approach, you fugitives of the nations.

Those who carry their wooden idols

and pray to a god who cannot save^d

have no knowledge.^e

²¹Speak up and present your case^Af—

yes, let them consult each other.

Who predicted this long ago?

Who announced it from ancient times?

Was it not I, the Lord?

There is no other God but me,

a righteous God and Savior;^g

there is no one except me.^h

²²Turn to me and be saved,

all the ends of the earth.

For I am God,

and there is no other.

²³By myself I have sworn;ⁱ

truth has gone from my mouth,^j

a word that will not be revoked:

Every knee will bow^k to me,

every tongue will swear allegiance.

²⁴It will be said about me, ‘Righteousness and strength

are found only in the Lord.’ ”

All who are enraged against him

will come to him and be put to shame.^l

²⁵All the descendants of Israel

will be justified and boast in the Lord.