Isaiah 44:1-45:13

American Standard Version

44 Yet now hear, O Jacob my servant, and Israel, who I have chosen: ² Thus saith Jehovah that made thee, and formed thee from the womb, who will help thee: Fear not, O Jacob my servant; and thou, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen. ³ For I will pour water upon ^[a]him that is thirsty, and streams upon the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring: ⁴ and they shall spring up among the grass, as willows by the watercourses. ⁵ One shall say, I am Jehovah’s; and another shall ^[b]call himself by the name of Jacob; and another shall ^[c]subscribe with his hand unto Jehovah, and ^[d]surname himself by the name of Israel.

⁶ Thus saith Jehovah, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, Jehovah of hosts: I am the first, and I am the last; and besides me there is no God. ^7 [e]And who, as I, shall call, and shall declare it, and set it in order for me, since I established the ancient people? and the things that are coming, and that shall come to pass, let them ^[f]declare. ⁸ Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have I not declared unto thee of old, and showed it? and ye are my witnesses. Is there a God besides me? yea, there is no Rock; I know not any.

⁹ They that fashion a graven image are all of them ^[g]vanity; and the things that they delight in shall not profit; and their own witnesses see not, nor know: that they may be put to shame. ¹⁰ Who hath fashioned a god, or molten an image that is profitable for nothing? ¹¹ Behold, ^[h]all his fellows shall be put to shame; and the workmen, they are of men: let them all be gathered together, let them stand up; they shall fear, they shall be put to shame together.

¹² The smith ^[i]maketh an axe, and worketh in the coals, and fashioneth it with hammers, and worketh it with his strong arm: yea, he is hungry, and his strength faileth; he drinketh no water, and is faint. ¹³ The carpenter stretcheth out a line; he marketh it out with ^[j]a pencil; he shapeth it with planes, and he marketh it out with the compasses, and shapeth it after the figure of a man, according to the beauty of a man, to dwell in a house. ¹⁴ He heweth him down cedars, and taketh the holm-tree and the oak, and strengtheneth for himself one among the trees of the forest: he planteth ^[k]a fir-tree, and the rain doth nourish it. ¹⁵ Then shall it be for a man to burn; and he taketh thereof, and warmeth himself; yea, he kindleth it, and baketh bread: yea, he maketh a god, and worshippeth it; he maketh it a graven image, and falleth down thereto. ¹⁶ He burneth ^[l]part thereof in the fire; with ^[m]part thereof he eateth flesh; he roasteth roast, and is satisfied; yea, he warmeth himself, and saith, Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire. ¹⁷ And the residue thereof he maketh a god, even his graven image; he falleth down unto it and worshippeth, and prayeth unto it, and saith, Deliver me; for thou art my god.

¹⁸ They know not, neither do they consider: for he hath ^[n]shut their eyes, that they cannot see; and their hearts, that they cannot understand. ¹⁹ And none calleth to mind, neither is there knowledge nor understanding to say, I have burned part of it in the fire; yea, also I have baked bread upon the coals thereof; I have roasted flesh and eaten it: and shall I make the residue thereof an abomination? shall I fall down to the stock of a tree? ²⁰ He feedeth on ashes; a deceived heart hath turned him aside; and he cannot deliver his soul, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right hand?

²¹ Remember these things, O Jacob, and Israel; for thou art my servant: I have formed thee; thou art my servant: O Israel, thou shalt not be forgotten of me. ²² I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins: return unto me; for I have redeemed thee. ²³ Sing, O ye heavens, for Jehovah hath done it; shout, ye lower parts of the earth; break forth into singing, ye mountains, O forest, and every tree therein: for Jehovah hath redeemed Jacob, and will glorify himself in Israel.

²⁴ Thus saith Jehovah, thy Redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb: I am Jehovah, that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth ^[o](who is with me?); ²⁵ that frustrateth the signs of the ^[p]liars, and maketh diviners mad; that turneth wise men backward, and maketh their knowledge foolish; ²⁶ that confirmeth the word of his servant, and performeth the counsel of his messengers; that saith of Jerusalem, She shall be inhabited; and of the cities of Judah, They shall be built, and I will raise up the waste places thereof; ²⁷ that saith to the deep, Be dry, and I will dry up thy rivers; ²⁸ That saith of ^[q]Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure, even saying of Jerusalem, She shall be built; ^[r]and of the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid.

45 Thus saith Jehovah to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him, and I will loose the loins of kings; to open the doors before him, and the gates shall not be shut: ² I will go before thee, and make the rough places smooth; I will break in pieces the doors of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron; ³ and I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that it is I, Jehovah, who call thee by thy name, even the God of Israel. ⁴ For Jacob my servant’s sake, and Israel my chosen, I have called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me. ⁵ I am Jehovah, and there is none else; besides me there is no God. I will gird thee, though thou hast not known me; ⁶ that they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none besides me: I am Jehovah, and there is none else. ⁷ I form the light, and create darkness; I make peace, and create evil; I am Jehovah, that doeth all these things.

⁸ Distil, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness: let the earth open, that ^[s]it may ^[t]bring forth salvation, and let it cause righteousness to spring up together; I, Jehovah, have created it.

⁹ Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! a potsherd among the potsherds of the earth! Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou? or thy work, He hath no hands? ¹⁰ Woe unto him that saith unto a father, What begettest thou? or to a woman, With what travailest thou?

¹¹ Thus saith Jehovah, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker: Ask me of the things that are to come; concerning my sons, and concerning the work of my hands, command ye me. ¹² I have made the earth, and created man upon it: I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens; and all their host have I commanded. ¹³ I have raised him up in righteousness, and I will make straight all his ways: he shall build my city, and he shall let my exiles go free, not for price nor reward, saith Jehovah of hosts.