Isaiah 44

¹But now hear , O Jacob my servant , Israel whom I have chosen !

²Thus says the Lord who made you, who formed you from the womb and will help you: Fear not , O Jacob my servant , Jeshurun whom I have chosen .

³For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground ; I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring , and my blessing on your descendants .

⁴They shall spring up among the grass like willows by flowing streams .

⁵This one will say , I am the Lord ’s, another will call on the name of Jacob , and another will write on his hand , The Lord ’s, and name himself by the name of Israel .

⁶Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel and his Redeemer , the Lord of hosts : I am the first and I am the last ; besides me there is no god .

⁷Who is like me? Let him proclaim it. Let him declare and set it before me, since I appointed an ancient people . Let them declare what is to come , and what will happen .

⁸Fear not , nor be afraid ; have I not told you from of old and declared it? And you are my witnesses ! Is there a God besides me? There is no Rock ; I know not any.

⁹All who fashion idols are nothing , and the things they delight in do not profit . Their witnesses neither see nor know , that they may be put to shame .

¹⁰Who fashions a god or casts an idol that is profitable for nothing ?

¹¹Behold , all his companions shall be put to shame , and the craftsmen are only human . Let them all assemble , let them stand forth . They shall be terrified ; they shall be put to shame together .

¹²The ironsmith takes a cutting tool and works it over the coals . He fashions it with hammers and works it with his strong arm . He becomes hungry , and his strength fails ; he drinks no water and is faint .

¹³The carpenter stretches a line ; he marks it out with a pencil . He shapes it with planes and marks it with a compass . He shapes it into the figure of a man , with the beauty of a man , to dwell in a house .

¹⁴He cuts down cedars , or he chooses a cypress tree or an oak and lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest . He plants a cedar and the rain nourishes it.

¹⁵Then it becomes fuel for a man . He takes a part of it and warms himself ; he kindles a fire and bakes bread . Also he makes a god and worships it; he makes it an idol and falls down before it.

¹⁶Half of it he burns in the fire . Over the half he eats meat ; he roasts it and is satisfied . Also he warms himself and says , Aha , I am warm , I have seen the fire !

¹⁷And the rest of it he makes into a god , his idol , and falls down to it and worships it. He prays to it and says , Deliver me, for you are my god !

¹⁸They know not , nor do they discern , for he has shut their eyes , so that they cannot see , and their hearts , so that they cannot understand .

¹⁹No one considers , nor is there knowledge or discernment to say , Half of it I burned in the fire ; I also baked bread on its coals ; I roasted meat and have eaten . And shall I make the rest of it an abomination ? Shall I fall down before a block of wood ?

²⁰He feeds on ashes ; a deluded heart has led him astray , and he cannot deliver himself or say , Is there not a lie in my right hand ?

²¹Remember these things , O Jacob , and Israel , for you are my servant ; I formed you; you are my servant ; O Israel , you will not be forgotten by me.

²²I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud and your sins like mist ; return to me, for I have redeemed you.

²³Sing , O heavens , for the Lord has done it; shout , O depths of the earth ; break forth into singing , O mountains , O forest , and every tree in it! For the Lord has redeemed Jacob , and will be glorified in Israel .

²⁴Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer , who formed you from the womb : I am the Lord, who made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens , who spread out the earth by myself ,

²⁵who frustrates the signs of liars and makes fools of diviners , who turns wise men back and makes their knowledge foolish ,

²⁶who confirms the word of his servant and fulfills the counsel of his messengers , who says of Jerusalem , She shall be inhabited , and of the cities of Judah , They shall be built , and I will raise up their ruins ;

²⁷who says to the deep , Be dry ; I will dry up your rivers ;

²⁸who says of Cyrus , He is my shepherd , and he shall fulfill all my purpose ; saying of Jerusalem , She shall be built , and of the temple , Your foundation shall be laid .