The Book of the Prophet Isaiah
Isaiah, Chapter 44
And now listen, My servant Jacob, and Israel [whom] I have chosen.
So says Jehovah, who made you and formed you from the womb. He helps you. Do not fear, My servant Jacob; and you, Jeshurun whom I have chosen.
For I will pour water on a thirsty place, and floods on the dry ground. I will pour My Spirit on your seed, and My blessing on your offspring.
And they shall sprout as among grass, as willows by streams of water.
One shall say, I [am] Jehovah's; and another will call by the name of Jacob; and this [one] shall write with his hand, For Jehovah; and be named by the name of Israel.
So says Jehovah, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, Jehovah of Hosts: I [am] the First and I [am] the last; and [there is] no God except Me.
And who, as I, shall call, and shall declare this, and set it in order before Me, since I placed the people of old? And [as to] things to come, even which shall come, let them declare concerning them.
Do not dread, nor be afraid. Have I not declared and made you hear since then? So you [are] My witnesses: Is there a God besides Me? Yea, [there is] none. I have not known a Rock.
Those who form a carved image [are] all of them vanity. And their delights do not profit; and they [are] their own witnesses. They do not see, nor know, that they may be ashamed.
Who has formed a god, or poured out an image, to no profit?
Behold, all his companions shall be ashamed; and the craftsmen, they [are] from men. They shall assemble, all of them shall stand; they shall dread; they shall be shamed together.
He carves iron with a tool; he works in the coals and forms it with hammers, and works it with his powerful arm; then he is hungry, and has no strength; he drinks no water and is weary.
He fashions wood, and stretches a line; he marks it with a stylus; he shapes it with a carving tool, and he marks it with a compass. And he makes it according to the figure of a man, as the beauty of a man, to sit [in the] house.
He cuts down cedars and takes cypress and oak, and he makes the trees of the forest strong for him. He plants a tree, and rain makes [it] grow.
And it shall be for a man to burn; yea, he takes of them and is warmed; and he kindles [it] and bakes bread. Yea, he makes a god and worships; he makes a carved image and bows to it.
He burns half of it in the fire; he eats flesh on half of it; he roasts roast, and is satisfied. Then he warms himself and says, Ah, I am warm; I have seen the fire.
And he makes a god of the rest, his carved image; he bows to it and worships, and prays to it, and says, Deliver me, for you [are] my god.
They do not know, nor discern; for He has smeared their eyes from seeing, their hearts from understanding.
And not one turns back to his heart, nor has knowledge nor discernment to say, I have burned half of it in the fire; and I also have baked bread on its coals. I have roasted flesh and have eaten it; and I have made the rest of it into an idol. Shall I bow to a product of a tree?
Feeding on ashes, a deceived heart turns him aside, and he does not deliver his soul, nor say, [Is there] not a lie in my right hand?
Remember these, O Jacob, and Israel. For you [are] My servant; I have formed you; you [are] My servant, O Israel; you shall not forget Me.
I have blotted out your transgressions like a thick cloud; and your sins like a cloud. Return to Me, for I have redeemed you.
Sing, O heavens, for Jehovah has done [it]. Shout, O lower parts of the earth; burst forth into praise, O mountains. O forest and every tree in it, [sing praise], because Jehovah has redeemed Jacob, and glorifies Himself in Israel.
So says Jehovah, your Redeemer and your Former from the womb; I [am] Jehovah who makes all things; stretching out the heavens; I alone, spreading out the earth. Who [was] with Me,
frustrating the signs of liars; yea, He makes diviners mad; turning wise ones backward, and making their knowledge foolish.
He confirms the word of His servant, and completes the counsel of His messengers. [He] says to Jerusalem, You will be filled; and to the cities of Judah, You shall be built; and, I will raise up its ruins.
[He] says to the deep, Be a waste! And I will dry up your rivers!
[He] says to Cyrus, [You are] My shepherd; and he shall fulfill all My will, even to say to Jerusalem, You shall be built; and to the temple, You shall be set up.