Isaiah 44–45

The Lord Is the Only God

44The Lord says, “People of Jacob, you are my servants. Listen to me!

People of Israel, I chose you.”

²This is what the Lord says, who made you,

who formed you in your mother’s body,

who will help you:

“People of Jacob, my servants, don’t be afraid.

Israel, I chose you.

³I will pour out water for the thirsty land

and make streams flow on dry land.

I will pour out my Spirit into your children

and my blessing on your descendants.

⁴Your children will grow like a tree in the grass,

like poplar trees growing beside streams of water.

⁵One person will say, ‘I belong to the Lord,’

and another will use the name Jacob.

Another will sign his name ‘I am the Lord’s,’

and another will use the name Israel.”

⁶The Lord, the king of Israel,

is the Lord All-Powerful, who saves Israel.

This is what he says: “I am the beginning and the end.

I am the only God.

⁷Who is a god like me?

That god should come and prove it.

Let him tell and explain all that has happened since I set up my ancient people.

He should also tell what will happen in the future.

⁸Don’t be afraid! Don’t worry!

I have always told you what will happen.

You are my witnesses.

There is no other God but me.

I know of no other Rock; I am the only One.”

Idols Are Useless

⁹Some people make idols, but they are worth nothing.

People treasure them, but they are useless.

Those people are witnesses for the statues, but those people cannot see.

They know nothing, so they will be ashamed.

¹⁰Who made these gods?

Who made these useless idols?

¹¹The workmen who made them will be ashamed,

because they are only human.

If they all would come together,

they would all be ashamed and afraid.

¹²One workman uses tools to heat iron,

and he works over hot coals.

With his hammer he beats the metal and makes a statue,

using his powerful arms.

But when he becomes hungry, he loses his power.

If he does not drink water, he becomes tired.

¹³Another workman uses a line and a compass

to draw on the wood.

Then he uses his chisels to cut a statue

and his calipers to measure the statue.

In this way, the workman makes the wood look exactly like a person,

and this statue of a person sits in the house.

¹⁴He cuts down cedars

or cypress or oak trees.

Those trees grew by their own power in the forest.

Or he plants a pine tree, and the rain makes it grow.

¹⁵Then he burns the tree.

He uses some of the wood for a fire to keep himself warm.

He also starts a fire to bake his bread.

But he uses part of the wood to make a god, and then he worships it!

He makes the idol and bows down to it!

¹⁶The man burns half of the wood in the fire.

He uses the fire to cook his meat,

and he eats the meat until he is full.

He also burns the wood to keep himself warm. He says,

“Good! Now I am warm. I can see because of the fire’s light.”

¹⁷But he makes a statue from the wood that is left and calls it his god.

He bows down to it and worships it.

He prays to it and says,

“You are my god. Save me!”

¹⁸Those people don’t know what they are doing. They don’t understand!

It is as if their eyes are covered so they can’t see.

Their minds don’t understand.

¹⁹They have not thought about these things;

they don’t understand.

They have never thought to themselves,

“I burned half of the wood in the fire

and used the hot coals to bake my bread.

I cooked and ate my meat.

And I used the wood that was left to make this hateful thing.

I am worshiping a block of wood!”

²⁰He doesn’t know what he is doing;

his confused mind leads him the wrong way.

He cannot save himself

or say, “This statue I am holding is a false god.”

The Lord Is the True God

²¹“People of Jacob, remember these things!

People of Israel, remember you are my servants.

I made you, and you are my servants.

So Israel, I will not forget you.

²²I have swept away your sins like a big cloud;

I have removed your sins like a cloud that disappears into the air.

Come back to me because I saved you.”

²³Skies, sing for joy because the Lord did great things!

Earth, shout for joy, even in your deepest parts!

Sing, you mountains, with thanks to God.

Sing, too, you trees in the forest!

The Lord saved the people of Jacob!

He showed his glory when he saved Israel.

²⁴This is what the Lord says, who saved you,

who formed you in your mother’s body:

“I, the Lord, made everything,

stretching out the skies by myself

and spreading out the earth all alone.

²⁵I show that the signs of the lying prophets are false;

I make fools of those who do magic.

I confuse even the wise;

they think they know much, but I make them look foolish.

²⁶I make the messages of my servants come true;

I make the advice of my messengers come true.

I say to Jerusalem,

‘People will live in you again!’

I say to the towns of Judah,

‘You will be built again!’

I say to Jerusalem’s ruins,

‘I will repair you.’

²⁷I tell the deep waters, ‘Become dry!

I will make your streams become dry!’

²⁸I say of Cyrus, ⁿ ‘He is my shepherd

and will do all that I want him to do.

He will say to Jerusalem, “You will be built again!”

He will tell the Temple, “Your foundations will be rebuilt.” ’ ”

God Chooses Cyrus to Free Israel

45This is what the Lord says to Cyrus, his appointed king:

“I hold your right hand

and will help you defeat nations

and take away other kings’ power.

I will open doors for you

so city gates will not stop you.

²I will go before you

and make the mountains flat.

I will break down the bronze gates of the cities

and cut through their iron bars.

³I will give you the wealth that is stored away

and the hidden riches

so you will know I am the Lord,

the God of Israel, who calls you by name.

⁴I do these things for my servants, the people of Jacob,

and for my chosen people, the Israelites.

Cyrus, I call you by name,

and I give you a title of honor even though you don’t know me.

⁵I am the Lord. There is no other God;

I am the only God.

I will make you strong,

even though you don’t know me,

⁶so that everyone will know

there is no other God.

From the east to the west they will know

I alone am the Lord.

⁷I made the light and the darkness.

I bring peace, and I cause troubles.

I, the Lord, do all these things.

⁸“Sky above, make victory fall like rain;

clouds, pour down victory.

Let the earth receive it,

and let salvation grow,

and let victory grow with it.

I, the Lord, have created it.

⁹“How terrible it will be for those who argue with the God who made them.

They are like a piece of broken pottery among many pieces.

The clay does not ask the potter,

‘What are you doing?’

The thing that is made doesn’t say to its maker,

‘You have no hands.’

¹⁰How terrible it will be for the child who says to his father,

‘Why are you giving me life?’

How terrible it will be for the child who says to his mother,

‘Why are you giving birth to me?’ ”

¹¹This is what the Lord,

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

“You ask me about what will happen.

You question me about my children.

You give me orders about what I have made.

¹²I made the earth

and all the people living on it.

With my own hands I stretched out the skies,

and I commanded all the armies in the sky.

¹³I will bring Cyrus to do good things,

and I will make his work easy.

He will rebuild my city

and set my people free

without any payment or reward.

The Lord All-Powerful says this.”

¹⁴The Lord says,

“The goods made in Egypt and Cush

and the tall people of Seba

will come to you

and will become yours.

The Sabeans will walk behind you,

coming along in chains.

They will bow down before you

and pray to you, saying,

‘God is with you,

and there is no other God.’ ”

¹⁵God and Savior of Israel,

you are a God that people cannot see.

¹⁶All the people who make idols will be put to great shame;

they will go off together in disgrace.

¹⁷But Israel will be saved by the Lord,

and that salvation will continue forever.

Never again will Israel be put to shame.

¹⁸The Lord created the heavens.

He is the God who formed the earth and made it.

He did not want it to be empty,

but he wanted life on the earth.

This is what the Lord says:

“I am the Lord. There is no other God.

¹⁹I did not speak in secret

or hide my words in some dark place.

I did not tell the family of Jacob

to look for me in empty places.

I am the Lord, and I speak the truth;

I say what is right.

²⁰“You people who have escaped from other nations,

gather together and come before me;

come near together.

People who carry idols of wood don’t know what they are doing.

They pray to a god who cannot save them.

²¹Tell these people to come to me.

Let them talk about these things together.

Who told you long ago that this would happen?

Who told about it long ago?

I, the Lord, said these things.

There is no other God besides me.

I am the only good God. I am the Savior.

There is no other God.

²²“All people everywhere,

follow me and be saved.

I am God. There is no other God.

²³I will make a promise by my own power,

and my promise is true;

what I say will not be changed.

I promise that everyone will bow before me

and will promise to follow me.

²⁴People will say about me, ‘Goodness and power

come only from the Lord.’ ”

Everyone who has been angry with him

will come to him and be ashamed.

²⁵But with the Lord’s help, the people of Israel

will be found to be good,

and they will praise him.