Isa 43:21-44:23 | NASB2020 | STEP | “The people whom I formed for Myself Will declare My praise .

Isaiah 43:21-28

21 “The people whom ^aI formed for Myself
^bWill declare My praise.

The Shortcomings of Israel

22 “Yet you have not called on Me, Jacob;
But you have become ^cweary of Me, Israel.
23 “You have ^dnot brought to Me the sheep of your burnt offerings,
Nor have you ^ehonored Me with your sacrifices.
I have not ^fburdened you with ^{▼▼Or a meal offering}offerings,
Nor wearied you with ^hincense.
24 “You have not bought Me ^{▼▼Or calamus
,} ^jsweet cane with money,
Nor have you satisfied Me with the fat of your sacrifices;
Rather, you have burdened Me with your sins,
You have ^kwearied Me with your wrongdoings.

25 “I, I alone, am the one who ^lwipes out your wrongdoings ^mfor My own sake,
And I will ⁿnot remember your sins.
26 “ ^{▼▼Or Report to Me}Meet Me in court, ^plet’s argue our case together;
State your cause, ^qso that you may be proved right.
27 “Your ^rfirst ^{▼▼Lit father}forefather sinned,
And your ^{▼▼Or interpreters
,} ^uspokesmen have rebelled against Me.
28 “So I will profane the ^{▼▼Or holy princes}officials of the sanctuary,
And I will turn Jacob over to ^wdestruction and Israel to ^xabuse.

Isaiah 44:1-23

The Blessings of Israel

1 “But now listen, Jacob, My ^yservant,
And Israel, whom I have chosen:
2 This is what the Lord says, He who made you
And ^zformed you from the womb, who ^aawill help you:
‘ ^abDo not fear, Jacob My servant,
And ^{▼▼I.e., Israel
,} ^adJeshurun, whom I have chosen.
3 ‘For ^aeI will pour water on ^{▼▼Or him who is thirsty}the thirsty land
And streams on the dry ground;
I will ^agpour out My Spirit on your ^ahoffspring,
And My blessing on your descendants;
4 And they will spring up ^{▼▼Another reading is like grass among the waters}among the grass
Like ^ajpoplars by streams of water.’
5 “This one will say, ‘I am the Lord’s’;
And that one ^{▼▼Another reading is will be called by the name of Jacob}will call on the name of Jacob;
And another will ^alwrite ^{▼▼Or with}on his hand, ‘Belonging to the Lord,’
And will give himself Israel’s name with honor.

6 “This is what the Lord says, He who is the ^anKing of Israel and his ^aoRedeemer, the Lord of armies:
‘I am the ^apfirst and I am the last,
And there is no God ^aqbesides Me.
7 ‘Who is like Me? ^arLet him proclaim and declare it;
And, let him confront Me
^{▼▼Lit From My establishing of}Beginning with My establishing of the ancient ^{▼▼Or people}nation.
Then let them declare to them the things that are coming
And the events that are going to take place.
8 ‘Do not tremble and do not be afraid;
^auHave I not long since announced it to you and declared it?
And ^avyou are My witnesses.
Is there any God ^awbesides Me,
Or is there any other ^axRock?
I know of none.’”

The Foolishness of Idolatry

9 Those who fashion an idol are all futile, and their treasured things are of no benefit; even their own witnesses fail to see or know, so that they will be ^ayput to shame. 10 Who has fashioned a god or cast an idol to ^azno benefit? 11 Behold, all his companions will be ^baput to shame, for the craftsmen themselves are mere men. Let them all assemble themselves, let them stand up, let them tremble, let them be put to shame together.

12 The ^bbcraftsman of iron shapes a cutting tool and does his work over the coals, ^{▼▼Lit and fashions}fashioning it with hammers and working it with his strong arm. He also gets hungry and ^{▼▼Lit there is no strength}his strength fails; he drinks no water and becomes weary. 13 ^beThe craftsman of wood extends a measuring line; he outlines it with a marker. He works it with carving knives and outlines it with a compass, and makes it like the form of a man, like the beauty of ^bfmankind, so that it may sit in a ^bghouse. 14 He will cut cedars for himself, and he takes a holm-oak or another oak and lets it grow strong for himself among the trees of the forest. He plants a laurel tree, and the rain makes it grow. 15 Then it becomes something for a person to burn, so he takes one of them and gets warm; he also makes a fire and bakes bread. He also ^bhmakes a god and worships it; he makes it a carved image and ^bibows down before it. 16 Half of it he burns in the fire; over this half he eats meat, he roasts a roast, and is satisfied. He also warms himself and says, “Aha! I am warm, I have seen the fire.” 17 Yet the rest of it he ^bjmakes into a god, his carved image. He bows down before it and worships; he also ^bkprays to it and says, “Save me, for you are my god.”

18 They do not ^blknow, nor do they understand, for He has ^bmsmeared over their eyes so that they cannot see, and their hearts so that they cannot comprehend. 19 No one ^{▼▼Lit returns to his heart}remembers, nor is there ^boknowledge or understanding to say, “I have burned half of it in the fire and also have baked bread over its coals. I roast meat and eat it. Then ^{▼▼Or shall I make?}I make the rest of it into an ^bqabomination, ^{▼▼Or shall I bow...?}I bow down before a block of wood!” 20 He ^{▼▼Or is a companion of ashes
,} ^btfeeds on ashes; a ^budeceived heart has misled him. And he cannot save ^{▼▼Lit his soul}himself, nor say, “ ^bwIs there not a lie in my right hand?”

God Forgives and Redeems

21 “ ^bxRemember these things, Jacob,
And Israel, for you are ^byMy servant;
I have formed you, you are My servant,
Israel, you will ^bznot be forgotten by Me.
22 “I have ^cawiped out your wrongdoings like a thick cloud
And your sins like a ^{▼▼Or cloud}heavy mist.
^ccReturn to Me, for I have ^cdredeemed you.”
23 ^ceShout for joy, you heavens, for the Lord has done it!
Shout joyfully, you lower parts of the earth;
^cfBreak into a shout of jubilation, you mountains,
Forest, and every tree in it;
For ^cgthe Lord has redeemed Jacob,
And in Israel He ^chshows His glory.