Isaiah 44
44 Yet now hear, aO Jacob my servant;
And aIsrael, whom I have chosen:
2 Thus saith the Lord bthat made thee,
And cformed thee from the womb, which will help thee;
cFear not, aO Jacob, my servant;
And thou, dJesurun, awhom I have chosen.
3 For eI will pour water upon him that is thirsty,
And floods upon the dry ground:
fI will pour my spirit upon thy seed,
And my blessing upon thine goffspring:
4 And ethey shall spring up as among the grass,
As hwillows by ithe water courses.
5 One shall say, I am the Lord’s;
And another shall call himself by the name of Jacob;
And another shall ksubscribe with his hand unto the Lord,
And lsurname himself by the name of Israel.
6 Thus saith the Lord the King of Israel,
And mhis redeemer the Lord of hosts;
I nam the first, and I am the last;
And obeside me there is no God.
7 And pwho, as I, shall call,
And shall declare it, and set it in order for me,
Since I qappointed the ancient people?
And rthe things that are coming, and shall come, let them shew unto them.
8 Fear ye not, neither be afraid:
sHave not I told thee tfrom that time,
And have declared it? uye are even my witnesses.
Yea, wthere is no †God; I know not any.
9 xThey that make a graven image are all of them vanity;
And their †delectable things shall not profit;
And ythey are their own witnesses;
zThey see not, nor know; that they may be ashamed.
10 Who hath formed a god, or molten a graven image
aThat is profitable for nothing?
11 Behold, all his fellows bshall be ashamed:
And the workmen, they are of men:
Let them all be gathered together, let them stand up;
Yet they shall fear, and they shall be ashamed together.
12 cThe smith ||with the tongs both worketh in dthe coals,
And fashioneth it ewith hammers,
And worketh it with the strength of his arms:
Yea, he is hungry, and his strength faileth:
He drinketh no water, and is faint.
13 The carpenter stretcheth out his rule; he marketh it out with a line;
He fitteth it with planes, and he marketh it out with the compass,
And maketh it after the figure of a man, according to the beauty of a man;
That it may remain in the house.
14 He heweth him down cedars, and taketh fthe cypress and the oak,
Which ||ghe strengtheneth for himself among the trees of the forest:
He planteth an ash, and the rain doth nourish it.
15 hThen shall it be for a man ito burn:
For he will take thereof, and warm himself;
Yea, he kindleth it, and baketh bread;
Yea, he maketh a god, and worshippeth it;
He maketh it a graven image, and jfalleth down thereto.
16 He burneth part thereof in the fire;
With part thereof he eateth flesh;
He roasteth roast, and is satisfied:
Yea, he warmeth himself, and saith, Aha,
I am warm, I have seen kthe fire:
17 And the residue thereof he maketh a god, even his graven image:
He ifalleth down unto it, and worshippeth it, and lprayeth unto it,
And saith, Deliver me; for thou art my god.
18 mThey have not known nor understood:
For he hath †shut their eyes, that they cannot see;
And their hearts, that they cannot understand.
19 And none †considereth in his heart,
Neither is there knowledge nor understanding to say,
I have burned part of it in the fire;
Yea, also I have baked bread upon the coals thereof;
I have roasted flesh, and eaten it:
And shall I make the residue thereof an abomination?
Shall I ifall down to †the stock of a tree?
20 He nfeedeth on ashes:
oA deceived heart hath turned him aside,
That he cannot deliver his soul, nor say,
Is there not pa lie in my right hand?
And Israel; for qthou art my servant:
I qhave formed thee; thou art my servant:
O Israel, thou shalt not be forgotten of me.
22 I rhave blotted out, sas a thick cloud, thy transgressions,
And, as a cloud, thy sins:
Return unto me; for tI have redeemed thee.
23 uSing, O ye heavens; for the Lord hath done it:
Shout, vye lower parts of the earth:
uwBreak forth into singing, ye mountains,
xO forest, and every tree therein:
For tthe Lord hath redeemed Jacob,
And yglorified himself in Israel.
24 Thus saith the Lord, zthy redeemer,
And ahe that formed thee from the womb,
I am the Lord that maketh all things;
bcThat stretcheth forth the heavens alone;
cdThat spreadeth abroad the earth cby myself;
25 That frustrateth the tokens of fthe liars,
That turneth wise men backward,
And kmaketh their knowledge foolish;
26 That confirmeth the word of lhis servant,
And performeth the counsel of his messengers;
That saith to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be inhabited;
And mto the cities of Judah, Ye shall be built,
And I will raise up the †decayed places thereof:
27 nThat saith to the deep, Be dry,
And I will dry up thy rivers:
28 That saith of oCyrus, He is my shepherd,
And shall perform pall my pleasure:
Even saying qto Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built;
And to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid.