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.

¹⁴ Thus saith Jehovah, The labor of Egypt, and the merchandise of Ethiopia, and the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over unto thee, and they shall be thine: they shall go after thee, in chains they shall come over; and they shall fall down unto thee, they shall make supplication unto thee, saying, Surely God is in thee; and there is none else, there is no God. ¹⁵ Verily thou art a God that hidest thyself, O God of Israel, the Saviour. ¹⁶ They shall be put to shame, yea, confounded, all of them; they shall go into confusion together that are makers of idols. ¹⁷ But Israel shall be saved by Jehovah with an everlasting salvation: ye shall not be put to shame nor confounded world without end.

¹⁸ For thus saith Jehovah that created the heavens, the God that formed the earth and made it, that established it and created it not ^[u]a waste, that formed it to be inhabited: I am Jehovah; and there is none else. ¹⁹ I have not spoken in secret, in a place of the land of darkness; I said not unto the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me ^[v]in vain: I, Jehovah, speak righteousness, I declare things that are right.

²⁰ Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, ye that are escaped of the nations: they have no knowledge that carry the wood of their graven image, and pray unto a god that cannot save. ²¹ Declare ye, and ^[w]bring it forth; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath showed this from ancient time? who hath declared it of old? have not I, Jehovah? and there is no God else besides me, a just God and a Saviour; there is none besides me. ²² Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is none else. ²³ By myself have I sworn, ^[x]the word is gone forth from my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, that unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear. ²⁴ Only in Jehovah, it is said of me, is righteousness and strength; even to him shall men come; and all they that were incensed against him shall be put to shame. ²⁵ In Jehovah shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory.

46 Bel boweth down, Nebo stoopeth; their idols are upon the beasts, and upon the cattle: the things that ye carried about are made a load, a burden to the weary beast. ² They stoop, they bow down together; they could not deliver the burden, but themselves are gone into captivity.

³ Hearken unto me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel, that have been borne by me from their birth, that have been carried from the womb; ⁴ and even to old age I am he, and even to hoar hairs will I carry you; I have made, and I will bear; yea, I will carry, and will deliver. ⁵ To whom will ye liken me, and make me equal, and compare me, that we may be like? ⁶ Such as lavish gold out of the bag, and weigh silver in the balance, they hire a goldsmith, and he maketh it a god; they fall down, yea, they worship. ⁷ They bear it upon the shoulder, they carry it, and set it in its place, and it standeth, from its place shall it not remove: yea, one may cry unto it, yet can it not answer, nor save him out of his trouble.

⁸ Remember this, and ^[y]show yourselves men; bring it again to mind, O ye transgressors. ⁹ Remember the former things of old: ^[z]for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me; ¹⁰ declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done; saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure; ¹¹ calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man of ^[aa]my counsel from a far country; yea, I have spoken, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed, I will also do it.

¹² Hearken unto me, ye stout-hearted, that are far from righteousness: ¹³ I bring near my righteousness, it shall not be far off, and my salvation shall not tarry; and I will ^[ab]place salvation in Zion for Israel my glory.

47 Come down, and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon; sit on the ground without a throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans: for thou shalt no more be called tender and delicate. ² Take the millstones, and grind meal; remove thy veil, strip off the train, uncover the leg, pass through the rivers. ³ Thy nakedness shall be uncovered, yea, thy shame shall be seen: I will take vengeance, and will spare no man. ⁴ Our Redeemer, Jehovah of hosts is his name, the Holy One of Israel. ⁵ Sit thou silent, and get thee into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans; for thou shalt no more be called The mistress of kingdoms. ⁶ I was wroth with my people, I profaned mine inheritance, and gave them into thy hand: thou didst show them no mercy; upon the aged hast thou very heavily laid thy yoke. ⁷ And thou saidst, I shall be mistress for ever; so that thou didst not lay these things to thy heart, neither didst remember the latter end thereof.

⁸ Now therefore hear this, thou that art given to pleasures, that ^[ac]sittest securely, that sayest in thy heart, I am, and there is none else besides me; I shall not sit as a widow, neither shall I know the loss of children: ⁹ but these two things shall come to thee in a moment in one day, the loss of children, and widowhood; in their full measure shall they come upon thee, in the multitude of thy sorceries, and the great abundance of thine enchantments. ¹⁰ For thou hast trusted in thy wickedness; thou hast said, None seeth me; thy wisdom and thy knowledge, it hath perverted thee, and thou hast said in thy heart, I am, and there is none else besides me. ¹¹ Therefore shall evil come upon thee; thou shalt not know ^[ad]the dawning thereof: and mischief shall fall upon thee; thou shalt not be able to put it away: and desolation shall come upon thee suddenly, which thou knowest not.

¹² Stand now with thine enchantments, and with the multitude of thy sorceries, wherein thou hast labored from thy youth; if so be thou shalt be able to profit, if so be thou mayest ^[ae]prevail. ¹³ Thou art wearied in the multitude of thy counsels: let now the ^[af]astrologers, the star-gazers, the monthly prognosticators, stand up, and save thee from the things that shall come upon thee. ¹⁴ Behold, they shall be as stubble; the fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame: it shall not be a coal to warm at, nor a fire to sit before. ¹⁵ Thus shall the things be unto thee wherein thou hast labored: they that have trafficked with thee from thy youth shall wander every one to ^[ag]his quarter; there shall be none to save thee.

48 Hear ye this, O house of Jacob, who are called by the name of Israel, and are come forth out of the waters of Judah; who swear by the name of Jehovah, and make mention of the God of Israel, but not in truth, nor in righteousness ² (for they call themselves of the holy city, and stay themselves upon the God of Israel; Jehovah of hosts is his name): ³ I have declared the former things from of old; yea, they went forth out of my mouth, and I showed them: suddenly I did them, and they came to pass. ⁴ Because I knew that thou art obstinate, and thy neck is an iron sinew, and thy brow brass; ⁵ therefore I have declared it to thee from of old; before it came to pass I showed it thee; lest thou shouldest say, Mine idol hath done them, and my graven image, and my molten image, hath commanded them. ⁶ Thou hast heard it; behold all this; and ye, will ye not declare it? ^[ah]I have showed thee new things from this time, even hidden things, which thou hast not known. ⁷ They are created now, and not from of old; and before this day thou heardest them not; lest thou shouldest say, Behold, I knew them. ⁸ Yea, thou heardest not; yea, thou knewest not; yea, from of old thine ear was not opened: for I knew that thou didst deal very treacherously, and wast called a transgressor from the womb. ⁹ For my name’s sake will I defer mine anger, and for my praise will I refrain for thee, that I cut thee not off. ¹⁰ Behold, I have refined thee, but not as silver; I have ^[ai]chosen thee in the furnace of affliction. ¹¹ For mine own sake, for mine own sake, will I do it; for how should my name be profaned? and my glory will I not give to another.

¹² Hearken unto me, O Jacob, and Israel my called: I am he; I am the first, I also am the last. ¹³ Yea, my hand hath laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spread out the heavens: when I call unto them, they stand up together. ¹⁴ Assemble yourselves, all ye, and hear; who among them hath declared these things? ^[aj]He whom Jehovah loveth shall perform his pleasure on Babylon, and his arm shall be on the Chaldeans. ¹⁵ I, even I, have spoken; yea, I have called him; I have brought him, and he shall make his way prosperous. ¹⁶ Come ye near unto me, hear ye this; from the beginning I have not spoken in secret; from the time that it was, there am I: and now the Lord Jehovah hath sent me, and his Spirit.

¹⁷ Thus saith Jehovah, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: I am Jehovah thy God, who teacheth thee to profit, who leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go. ^18 [ak]Oh that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments! then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea: ¹⁹ thy seed also had been as the sand, and the offspring of thy bowels like ^[al]the grains thereof: his name would not be cut off nor destroyed from before me.

²⁰ Go ye forth from Babylon, flee ye from the Chaldeans; with a voice of singing declare ye, tell this, utter it even to the end of the earth: say ye, Jehovah hath redeemed his servant Jacob. ²¹ And they thirsted not when he led them through the deserts; he caused the waters to flow out of the rock for them; he clave the rock also, and the waters gushed out. ²² There is no peace, saith Jehovah, to the wicked.