Isaiah 44

44 ¹But now listen, Jacob my servant, Israel whom I have chosen. ²This is what our Father says—he who made you, who formed you from the womb and will help you: Do not be afraid, Jacob my servant, Jeshurun whom I have chosen. ^a a v2 Jeshurun is a tender, poetic name for Israel meaning "the upright one" — a term of affection for the people our Father chose. ³For I will pour water on the thirsty land and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out my Spirit on your children and my blessing on your descendants. ⁴They will spring up among the grass like willows by flowing streams. ⁵This one will say, 'I belong to the Father'; another will call himself by the name of Jacob; still another will write on his hand, 'The Father's,' and take the name of Israel.

The First and the Last

⁶This is what our Father says—the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the Father of heaven's armies: 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 lay it out before me, since the day I established an ancient people. Let them foretell what is coming, and what is yet to be. ⁸Do not tremble, do not be afraid. Did I not tell you long ago and declare it? You are my witnesses. Is there any Father besides me? There is no Rock; I know of none.

⁹All who make idols are nothing, and the things they treasure are worthless. Their own witnesses see nothing and know nothing, so they are put to shame. ¹⁰Who makes a god or casts an idol that does its maker no good? ¹¹Look—all his companions will be put to shame, for the craftsmen are only human. Let them all assemble and take their stand; they will be terrified and put to shame together.

¹²The blacksmith shapes an iron tool, working it over the coals; he forms it with hammers and forges it with his strong arm. Yet he grows hungry and his strength fails; he drinks no water and grows faint. ¹³The carpenter stretches out a measuring line and marks the wood with a stylus; he works it with chisels and marks it with a compass. He shapes it into the figure of a man, with human beauty, to dwell in a shrine. ¹⁴He cuts down cedars, or chooses a cypress or an oak and lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest. He plants a cedar, and the rain makes it grow. ¹⁵He uses it for fuel. He takes some of it and warms himself; he lights a fire and bakes bread. But he also makes a god and worships it; he makes an idol and bows down to it. ¹⁶He burns half the wood in the fire; over it he roasts meat, eats his fill, and warms himself. He says, 'Ah, I am warm; I can feel the fire.' ¹⁷And from what is left he makes a god, his idol; he bows down to it and worships, he prays to it and says, 'Save me, for you are my god!'

¹⁸They know nothing, they understand nothing; their eyes are plastered over so they cannot see, and their hearts too, so they cannot understand. ¹⁹No one stops to think, no one has the knowledge or insight to say, 'Half of it I burned in the fire; I even baked bread over its coals, I roasted meat and ate. Will I make the rest into an abomination? Will I bow down to a block of wood?' ²⁰He feeds on ashes; a deluded heart has led him astray. He cannot save himself or say, 'Am I not holding a lie in my right hand?'

²¹Remember these things, Jacob, and you, Israel, for you are my servant. I formed you; you are my servant. Israel, I will not forget you. ²²I have swept away your rebellions like a cloud, your sins like the morning mist. Return to me, for I have redeemed you.

²³Sing, heavens, for our Father has done it! Shout aloud, depths of the earth. Break into singing, mountains, forest, and every tree in it! For our Father has redeemed Jacob, and he displays his glory in Israel.

²⁴This is what our Father says—your Redeemer, who formed you from the womb: I am your Father, the Maker of all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth by myself, ²⁵who frustrates the signs of false prophets and makes fools of diviners, who overturns the learning of the wise and turns their knowledge into foolishness, ²⁶who confirms the word of his servant and fulfills the counsel of his messengers, who says of Jerusalem, 'She will be inhabited,' and of the cities of Judah, 'They will be rebuilt, and I will restore 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 will accomplish all that I please'; who says of Jerusalem, 'She will be rebuilt,' and of the temple, 'Your foundation will be laid.'