Isaiah 44-48
Common English Bible
You are my witnesses
44 But now hear this, Jacob my servant,
and Israel, whom I have chosen.
2 The Lord your maker,
who formed you in the womb and will help you, says:
Don’t fear, my servant Jacob,
Jeshurun, whom I have chosen.
3 I will pour out water upon thirsty ground
and streams upon dry land.
I will pour out my spirit upon your descendants
and my blessing upon your offspring.
4 They will spring up from among the reeds
like willows by flowing streams.
5 This one will say, “I am the Lord’s,”
and that one will be named after Jacob.
Another will write on his hand, “The Lord’s”
and will take the name Israel.
6 The Lord, Israel’s king and redeemer,
the Lord of heavenly forces, says:
I am the first, and I am the last,
and besides me there are no gods.
7 Who is like me?
Let them speak up, explain it, and lay it out for me.
Who announced long ago what is to be?[a]
Let them tell us[b] what is to come.
8 Don’t tremble; have no fear!
Didn’t I proclaim it?
Didn’t I inform you long ago?
You are my witnesses!
Is there a God besides me?
There is no other rock; I know of none.
Idol-makers mocked
9 Idol-makers are all as nothing;
their playthings do no good.
Their promoters neither see nor know anything,
so they ought to be ashamed.
10 Who would form a god or cast an idol
that does no good?
11 All its worshippers will be ashamed,
and its artisans, who are only human.
They will all gather and stand,
tremble and be ashamed together.
12 A blacksmith with his tools
works it over coals,
and shapes it with hammers,
and works it with his strong arm.
He even becomes hungry and weak.
If he didn’t drink water, he’d pass out.
13 A carpenter stretches out a string,
marks it out with a stylus,
fashions it with carving tools,
and marks it with a compass.
He makes it into a human form,
like a splendid human,
to live in a temple.
14 He cuts down cedars for himself,
or chooses a cypress[c] or oak,
selecting from all the trees of the forest.
He plants a pine,[d] and the rain makes it grow.
15 It becomes suitable to burn for humans,
so he takes some of the wood and warms himself.
He kindles fire and bakes bread.
He fashions a god and worships it;
he makes an idol and bows down to it.
16 Half of it he burns in the fire;
on that half he roasts and eats meat, and he is satisfied.
He warms himself and says,
“Ah, I’m warm, watching the fire!”
17 And the rest of it he makes into a god,
into his idol,
and he bows down, worships, and prays to it, saying, “Save me, for you are my god!”
18 They don’t know or comprehend,
for their eyes can’t see
and their minds can’t comprehend.
19 He doesn’t think,
and has no knowledge or understanding to think:
Half of it I burned in the fire,
and I baked bread on its coals,
and roasted meat and ate.
Should I make the rest into something detestable?
Should I bow down to a block of wood?
20 He’s feeding on ashes;
his deluded mind has led him astray.
He can’t save himself and say,
“Isn’t this thing in my hand a lie?”
Promises to Jacob and Jerusalem
21 Remember these things, Jacob;
Israel, for you are my servant.
I formed you; you are my servant!
I won’t forget you, Israel.
22 I swept away your rebellions like a cloud,
and your sins like fog.
Return to me,
because I have redeemed you.
23 Sing, heavens, for the Lord has acted;
shout, depths of the earth!
Burst out with a ringing cry,
you mountains, forest, and every tree in it.
The Lord has redeemed Jacob,
and will glorify himself through Israel.
24 The Lord your redeemer
who formed you in the womb says:
I am the Lord, the maker of all,
who alone stretched out the heavens,
who spread out the earth by myself,
25 who frustrates the omens of diviners
and makes a mockery of magicians,
who turns back the wise
and turns their knowledge into folly.
26 But who confirms the word of my[e] servant,
and fulfills the predictions of my messengers;
who says about Jerusalem, “It will be resettled”;
and who says about the cities of Judah, “They will be rebuilt,
and I will restore their ruins”;
27 who says to the ocean depths,
“Dry up; I will dry your streams”;
28 who says about Cyrus, “My shepherd—
he will do all that I want”;
who says about Jerusalem,
“She will be rebuilt”;
and who says about the temple,
“You will be founded once again.”
Cyrus as God’s anointed
45 The Lord says to his anointed, to Cyrus,
whom I have grasped by the strong hand,
to conquer nations before him,
disarming kings,
and opening doors before him,
so no gates will be shut:
2 I myself will go before you,
and I will level mountains.
I will shatter bronze doors;
I will cut through iron bars.
3 I will give you hidden treasures of secret riches,
so you will know that I am the Lord,
the God of Israel, who calls you by name.
4 For the sake of my servant Jacob and Israel my chosen,
I called you by name.
I gave you an honored title,
though you didn’t know me.
5 I am the Lord, and there is no other;
besides me there is no God.
I strengthen you—
though you don’t know me—
6 so all will know, from the rising of the sun to its setting,
that there is nothing apart from me.
I am the Lord; there’s no other.
7 I form light and create darkness,
make prosperity and create doom;
I am the Lord, who does all these things.
8 Pour down, you heavens above,
and let the clouds flow with righteousness.
Let the earth open for salvation to bear fruit;
let righteousness sprout as well.
I, the Lord, have created these things.
Potter and clay
9 Doom to the one who argues with the potter,[f]
as if he were just another clay pot!
Does the clay say to the potter, “What are you making?”
or “Your work has no handles”?
10 Doom to one who says to a father,
“What have you fathered?”
and to a woman,
“With what are you in labor?”
11 The Lord, the holy one of Israel and its maker,[g] says:
Are you questioning me[h] about my own children?
Are you telling me what to do with the work of my hands?
12 I myself made the earth,
and created humans upon it.
My own hands stretched out the heavens.
I commanded all their forces.
13 I have a right to awaken Cyrus;
I will smooth all his paths.
He will build my city
and set my exiles free,
not for a price and not for a bribe,
says the Lord of heavenly forces.
14 The Lord says:
Egypt will grow weary, Cush will be sold,[i]
and the tall Sabeans will cross over to you.
They will be yours, and after you they will go.
In chains they will come;
to you they will bow down.
They will plead with you:
“Truly God is with you;
there’s no other, no other God.”
15 Surely you are a god who hides himself,
Israel’s God and savior.
Idols contrasted with God
16 They will all be shamed and disgraced;
the makers of idols will end up disgraced together.
17 Israel has been saved by the Lord of everlasting salvation.
You won’t be shamed,
and you won’t be disgraced forever and always.
18 For this is what the Lord said, who created the heavens,
who is God,
who formed the earth and made it,
who established it,
who didn’t create it a wasteland but formed it as a habitation:
I, the Lord, and none other!
19 I didn’t speak in secret
or in some land of darkness;
I didn’t say to the offspring of Jacob,
“Seek me in chaos.”
I am the Lord, the one who speaks truth,
who announces what is correct.
20 Gather and come,
draw near together,
fugitives of the nations!
Those who carry their wooden idols don’t know;
those who pray to a god who won’t save.
21 Announce! Approach! Confer together!
Who proclaimed this from the beginning, announced it from long ago?
Wasn’t it I, the Lord?
There’s no other God except me,
a righteous God and a savior;
there’s none besides me!
22 Turn to me and be saved,
all you ends of the earth,
for I am God, and there’s no other.
23 I have sworn a solemn pledge;
a word has left my mouth;
it is reliable and won’t fail.
Surely every knee will bow
and every tongue will confess;
24 they will say, “Righteousness and strength come only from the Lord.
All who are angry with him will come to shame.
25 All the Israelites
will be victorious and rejoice.”
Babylon’s idols can’t compare
46 Bel crouches down; Nebo cowers.
Their idols sit on animals, on beasts.
The objects you once carried about
are now borne as burdens by the weary animals.
2 They crouch down and cower together.
They aren’t able to rescue the burden,
but they themselves go into captivity.
3 Listen to me, house of Jacob,
all that remains from the house of Israel
who have been borne by me since pregnancy,
whom I carried from the womb
4 until you grow old. I am the one,
and until you turn gray I will support you.
I have done it, and I will continue to bear it;
I will support and I will rescue.
5 To whom will you liken me and count me equal
and compare me so that we are alike?
6 Those who pour out gold from a bag
and weigh silver with a balance
hire a metalworker; then he makes a god.
They bow down; they worship;
7 they carry the idol[j] on their shoulders and support it;
they set it down, and it stands still,
unable to move from its place.
If one cries out to it, it doesn’t answer.
It can’t save people from their distress.
Remember past events
8 Remember this and take courage;
take it to heart, you rebels.
9 Remember the prior things—from long ago;
I am God, and there’s no other.
I am God! There’s none like me,
10 who tells the end at the beginning,
from ancient times things not yet done,
saying, “My plan will stand;
all that I decide I will do,”
11 I call a bird of prey from the east,
a man from a distant land for my plan.
As surely as I have spoken, I’ll make it happen;
I have planned, and yes, I’ll do it.
12 Listen to me, you bullheaded people
who are far from victory:
13 I’m bringing my victory near—it isn’t far,
and my salvation—it won’t delay.
I will establish salvation in Zion
and grant my splendor to Israel.
Daughter Babylon dethroned
47 Go down and sit in the dust,
virgin Daughter Babylon!
Sit on the ground without a throne,
Daughter Chaldea,
because they will no longer call you tender and pampered.
2 Take the millstones and grind flour!
Remove your veil, strip off your robe,
expose your thighs, wade through the rivers!
3 Your nakedness will be exposed,
and your disgrace will be seen.
I will take vengeance;
no one will intervene.[k]
4 Our redeemer has spoken;
the Lord of heavenly forces is his name,
the holy one of Israel.
5 Sit silent and go into darkness, Daughter Chaldea,
because they will no longer call you Queen of Kingdoms.
6 I was enraged with my people;
I made my inheritance impure
and put them under your power.
You took no pity on them.
You made your yoke heavy even on the elderly.
7 You said, “I’m forever; I’m the eternal mistress.”
You didn’t stop and think;
you didn’t consider the outcome.
8 So listen to this,
luxuriant one who sits secure,
who says in her heart, I’m utterly unique;
I’ll never sit as a widow;
I’ll never know childlessness:
9 Both of these will happen to you at once, on a single day:
childlessness and widowhood
will envelop you in full measure,
despite your many sorceries,
despite your very powerful spells.
10 You felt secure in your evil;
you said, “No one sees me.”
Your wisdom and knowledge spun you around.
You thought to yourself, I and no one else.
11 Now evil will come against you,
something you won’t anticipate.
A curse will fall upon you,
something you won’t be able to dispel.
Destruction will come upon you suddenly,
something you won’t foresee.
12 Continue with your enchantments,
and with your many spells,
which you have practiced since childhood.
Maybe you will be able to succeed.
Maybe you will inspire terror.
13 You are weary from all your consultations;
let the astrologers stand up and save you,
those who gaze at the stars,
and predict what will happen to you at each new moon.
14 They are just like stubble;
the fire burns them.
They won’t save themselves from the powerful flames.
This is no warming ember or fire to sit beside.
15 Those with whom you have wearied yourself are like this,
those with whom you were in business from your youth:
each has wandered off on their own way;
none will save you.
New things from now on
48 Listen to this, house of Jacob,
who are known by the name of Israel,
descendants of Judah,[l]
who swear by the Lord’s name
and invoke Israel’s God dishonestly and unrighteously.
2 They are known as residents of the holy city,
those who depend upon the God of Israel—
the Lord of heavenly forces is his name.
3 Past things I announced long ago;
from my mouth I proclaimed them.
I acted suddenly, and they came about.
4 Because I know that you are stubborn,
your neck is made of iron,
and your forehead is bronze.
5 I informed you long ago;
before they came about I proclaimed them to you
so you wouldn’t say, “My idol did them;
my wood statue and metal god commanded them.”
6 You’ve heard and seen all this—
won’t you admit it?
From now on I’ll tell you new things,
guarded secrets that you don’t know.
7 They are created now, not long ago;
before today you hadn’t heard of them,
so you won’t say, “I already knew them.”
8 You haven’t heard, nor have you known;
as in ages past your ears are closed,
because I knew what a traitor you were;
you were known as a rebel from birth.
9 For the sake of my reputation I control my anger;
for your sake I restrain my powerful radiance
so as to not destroy you.
10 See, I have refined you, but not like silver;
I have tested you[m] in the furnace of misery.
11 For the sake of my reputation, for my own sake, I will act,
for why will my name be made impure?
I won’t give my glory to another.
12 Listen to me, Jacob;
Israel, whom I called:
I am the one;
I am the first and I am the last.
13 My hand founded the earth;
my strong hand spread out the heavens.
When I call to them, they all stand up.
14 Gather yourselves, all of you, and listen.
Who among you announced these things?
“The Lord loves him.
He will do what God wants with Babylon
and with the descendants[n] of Chaldea.”
15 I, I have spoken and told him
the things that will happen to him;
I will make him succeed.
16 Come close to me; listen to this:
Since the very beginning I haven’t spoken in secret.
Whenever anything happens, I am there.
(And now the Lord God has sent me with his spirit.)
17 The Lord your redeemer,
the holy one of Israel, proclaims:
I am the Lord your God
who teaches you for your own good,
who leads you in the way you should go.
18 If you would pay attention to my commands,
your well-being would be like a river,
and your righteousness like the waves of the sea.
19 Your offspring would be like the sand,
and your descendants like its grains.
Their name would never be eliminated,
never wiped out from before me.
20 Go out from Babylon;
flee from the Chaldeans!
Report this with a loud shout, proclaim it;
broadcast it out to the end of the earth.
Say, “The Lord has redeemed his servant Jacob!”
21 They weren’t thirsty when he led them through the deserts.
God made water flow from the rock for them;
split the rock, and water flowed out.
22 There is no well-being, says the Lord, for the wicked.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 44:7 Or Since I placed an ancient people and coming things
- Isaiah 44:7 Or them
- Isaiah 44:14 Species uncertain
- Isaiah 44:14 Species uncertain
- Isaiah 44:26 Or his; also in next line
- Isaiah 45:9 Or maker
- Isaiah 45:11 Or potter
- Isaiah 45:11 Or about future things ask me
- Isaiah 45:14 Heb uncertain
- Isaiah 46:7 Or it
- Isaiah 47:3 Syr, cf Vulg; MT I won’t meet a man
- Isaiah 48:1 Or came out from the waters of Judah
- Isaiah 48:10 Or I have chosen
- Isaiah 48:14 LXX; MT his arm
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible
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