Isaiah 44–45

44TH CHAPTER

¹But now listen, my servant Jacob, 

Israel, whom I have chosen. 

²The Lord made you, formed you in the womb, and will help you. 

This is what the Lord says: 

Don’t be afraid, my servant Jacob, 

Jeshurun,^awhom I have chosen. 

³I will pour water on thirsty ground and rain on dry land. 

I will pour my Spirit on your offspring 

and my blessing on your descendants. 

⁴They will spring up with the grass 

as poplars spring up by streams. 

⁵One person will say, “I belong to the Lord.” 

Another will call on the name of Jacob. 

Another will write on his hand, “The Lord’s,” 

and he will adopt the name of Israel. 

The Nations Form Idols, but the Lord Formed Israel

⁶The Lord is Israel’s king and defender. 

He is the Lord of Armies. 

This is what the Lord says: 

I am the first and the last, 

and there is no God except me. 

⁷If there is anyone like me, let him say so. 

Let him tell me what happened 

when I established my people long ago. 

Then let him predict what will happen to them. 

⁸Don’t be terrified or afraid. 

Didn’t I make this known to you long ago? 

You are my witnesses. 

Is there any God except me? 

There is no ⸤other⸥ rock; I know of none. 

⁹All who make idols are nothing. Their precious treasures are worthless. Their own witnesses do not see or know anything, so they will be put to shame. ¹⁰Nothing comes from making gods or casting metal idols. ¹¹Everyone associated with the gods will be put to shame. The craftsmen themselves are only human. Let them all get together and take their stand. They will be frightened and ashamed together. 

¹²Blacksmiths shape iron into tools. They work them over the coals and shape them with hammers, working them with their strong arms. They get hungry, and their strength fails. If they don’t drink water, they will faint. 

¹³Carpenters measure blocks of wood with ⸤chalk⸥ lines. They mark them with pens. They carve them with chisels and mark them with compasses. They carve them into forms of people, beautiful people, so the idols can live in shrines. 

¹⁴They cut down cedars for themselves. Then they choose fir trees or oaks. They let them grow strong among the trees in the forest. Then they plant cedars, and the rain makes them grow. ¹⁵These trees become ⸤fuel⸥ for people to burn. So they take some of them and warm themselves with them. They start fires and bake bread. They also make gods from these trees and worship them. They make them into carved statues and bow in front of them. ¹⁶Half of the wood they burn in the fire. Over this half they roast meat that they can eat until they are full. They also warm themselves and say, “Ah! We are warm. We can see the fire!” ¹⁷But the rest of the wood they make into gods, carved statues. They bow to them and worship them. They pray to them, saying, “Rescue us, because you are our gods.” 

¹⁸They don’t know or understand anything. Their eyes are plastered shut, so they can’t see. And their minds are closed, so they can’t understand. ¹⁹No one stops to think. No one has enough knowledge or understanding to say, “I burned half of the wood in the fire. I also baked bread over its coals. I roasted meat and ate it. Now I am making the rest of the wood into a disgusting thing and bowing to a block of wood.” ²⁰They eat ashes because they are deceived. Their own misguided minds lead them astray. They can’t rescue themselves or ask themselves, “Isn’t what I hold in my right hand a false god?” 

²¹Remember these things, Jacob: 

You are my servant, Israel. 

I formed you; you are my servant. 

Israel, I will not forget you. 

²²I made your rebellious acts disappear like a thick cloud 

and your sins like the morning mist. 

Come back to me, because I have reclaimed you. 

²³Sing with joy, you heavens, because the Lord has done this. 

Rejoice, you deep places of the earth. 

Break into shouts of joy, you mountains, 

you forests and every tree in them. 

The Lord has reclaimed Jacob. 

He will display his glory in Israel. 

Through Cyrus the Lord Will Set Israel Free

²⁴The Lord reclaimed you. 

He formed you in the womb. 

This is what the Lord says: 

I, the Lord, made everything. 

I stretched out the heavens by myself. 

I spread out the earth all alone. 

²⁵I cause the signs of false prophets to fail 

and make fools of fortunetellers. 

I make wise men retreat 

and turn their knowledge into foolishness. 

²⁶He confirms the word of his servant 

and fulfills the plan of his messengers. 

He says about Jerusalem, “It will be inhabited.” 

He says about the cities of Judah, “They will be rebuilt.” 

He says about their ruins, “I will restore them.” 

²⁷He says to the deep water, “Dry up.” 

So I will dry up your rivers. 

²⁸He says about Cyrus, “He is my shepherd. 

He will do everything I want him to do.” 

He says about Jerusalem, “It will be rebuilt.” 

He says about the temple, “Your foundation will be laid.” 

45TH CHAPTER

¹This is what the Lord says about Cyrus, his^aanointed one: 

I have held him by his right hand 

so he could conquer the nations ahead of him, 

strip kings of their power, 

and open doors ahead of him 

so that the gates would not be shut. 

²I will go ahead of you, Cyrus, and smooth out the rough places. 

I will break down the bronze doors and cut through the iron bars. 

³I will give you treasures from dark places and hidden stockpiles. 

Then you will know that I, the Lord God of Israel, 

have called you by name. 

⁴For the sake of my servant Jacob, 

Israel, my chosen one, 

I have called you by name. 

I have given you a title of honor, although you don’t know me. 

⁵I am the Lord, and there is no other. 

There is no other God besides me. 

I will strengthen you, although you don’t know me, 

⁶so that from the east to the west people will know 

that there is no God except me. 

I am the Lord, and there is no other. 

⁷I make light and create darkness. 

I make blessings and create disasters. 

I, the Lord, do all these things. 

⁸Rain down from above, you heavens, 

and pour down righteousness, you skies. 

Let the earth open. 

Let salvation and righteousness sprout. 

Let them spring up. 

I, the Lord, have created them. 

⁹How horrible it will be for the one who quarrels with his maker. 

He is pottery among other earthenware pots. 

Does the clay ask the one who shapes it, “What are you making?” 

Does your work say to you, “There are no handles”? 

¹⁰How horrible it will be for the one 

who says to his father, “Why did you conceive me?” 

or to his mother, “Why did you go through labor pains for me?” 

¹¹The Lord is the Holy One and the maker of Israel. 

This is what the Lord says: 

Ask me about what is going to happen to my children! 

Are you going to give me orders concerning my handiwork? 

¹²I made the earth and created humans on it. 

I stretched out the heavens with my own hands. 

I commanded all the stars ⸤to shine⸥. 

¹³I prepared Cyrus for my righteous purpose. 

I will make all his roads straight. 

He will build my city and let my exiles go free 

without any payment or any reward, says the Lord of Armies. 

¹⁴This is what the Lord says: 

The products from Egypt, the merchandise from Sudan, 

and the important Sabaeans will come to you. 

They will belong to you. 

They will follow you. 

They will come to you in chains. 

They will bow to you and pray to you, 

“Certainly God is with you alone, and there is no other God.” 

¹⁵Certainly, you are a God who has hidden himself. 

You are the God of Israel, the Savior! 

¹⁶Those who make idols will be ashamed and disgraced. 

They will go away completely disgraced. 

¹⁷Israel has been saved by the Lord forever. 

You will never again be ashamed or disgraced. 

¹⁸The Lord created the heavens. 

God formed the earth and made it. 

He set it up. 

He did not create it to be empty 

but formed it to be inhabited. 

This is what the Lord says: 

I am the Lord, and there is no other. 

¹⁹I haven’t spoken privately or in some dark corner of the world. 

I didn’t say to Jacob’s descendants, 

“Search for me in vain!” 

I, the Lord, speak what is fair and say what is right. 

²⁰Come here, you refugees from the nations. 

Ignorant people carry wooden idols 

and pray to gods that cannot save ⸤anyone⸥. 

²¹Speak and present your case. Yes, let them consult one another. 

Who revealed this in the distant past and predicted it long ago? 

Wasn’t it I, the Lord? 

There is no other God except me. 

There is no other righteous God and Savior besides me. 

²²Turn to me and be saved, all who live at the ends of the earth, 

because I am God, and there is no other. 

²³I have bound myself with an oath. 

A word has gone out from my righteous mouth that will not be recalled, 

“Every knee will bow to me 

and every tongue will swear ⸤allegiance⸥.” 

²⁴It will be said of me, 

“Certainly, righteousness and strength are found in the Lord alone.” 

All who are angry with him will come to him and be ashamed. 

²⁵All the descendants of Israel will be declared righteous, 

and they will praise the Lord.