Isa 44 | NASB1995 | STEP | “ But now listen , O Jacob , My servant , And Israel , whom I have chosen :

‏ Isaiah 44

The Blessings of Israel

1 “But now listen, O Jacob, My ^aservant,
And Israel, whom I have chosen:
2 Thus says the Lord who made you
And ^bformed you from the womb, who ^cwill help you,
‘ ^dDo not fear, O Jacob My servant;
And you ^eJeshurun whom I have chosen.
3 ‘For ^fI will pour out water on ^{▼▼ Or him who is thirsty}the thirsty land
And streams on the dry ground;
I will ^hpour out My Spirit on your ⁱoffspring
And My blessing on your descendants;
4 And they will spring up ^{▼▼ Another reading is like grass among the waters}among the grass
Like ^kpoplars 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 ^mwrite ^{▼▼ Or with} on his hand, ‘Belonging to the Lord,’
And will name Israel’s name with honor.

6 “Thus says the Lord, the ^oKing of Israel and his ^pRedeemer, the Lord of hosts: ‘I am the ^qfirst and I am the last,
And there is no God ^rbesides Me.
7 ‘Who is like Me? ^sLet him proclaim and declare it;
Yes, let him recount it to Me in order,
^{▼▼ Lit From My establishing of}From the time that I established the ancient ^{▼▼ Or people}nation.
And 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;
^vHave I not long since announced it to you and declared it?
And ^wyou are My witnesses.
Is there any God ^xbesides Me,
Or is there any other ^yRock?
I know of none.’”

The Folly of Idolatry

9 Those who fashion ^{▼▼ Or an idol}a graven image are all of them futile, and their precious things are of no profit; even their own witnesses fail to see or know, so that they will be ^aaput to shame. 10 Who has fashioned a god or cast ^{▼▼ Or a graven image}an idol to ^acno profit? 11 Behold, all his companions will be ^adput to shame, for the craftsmen themselves are mere men. Let them all assemble themselves, let them stand up, let them tremble, let them together be put to shame.

12 The ^aeman shapes iron into 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 ^ah Another shapes wood, he extends a measuring line; he outlines it with red chalk. He works it with planes and outlines it with a compass, and makes it like the form of a man, like the beauty of ^aiman, so that it may sit in a ^ajhouse. 14 Surely he cuts cedars for himself, and takes a ^{▼▼ Or holm-oak}cypress or an oak and ^{▼▼ Lit makes strong}raises it for himself among the trees of the forest. He plants a fir, and the rain makes it grow. 15 Then it becomes something for a man to burn, so he takes one of them and warms himself; he also makes a fire to bake bread. He also ^ammakes a god and worships it; he makes it a graven image and ^anfalls down before it. 16 Half of it he burns in the fire; over this half he eats meat as he roasts a roast and is satisfied. He also warms himself and says, “Aha! I am warm, I have seen the fire.” 17 But the rest of it he ^aomakes into a god, his graven image. He falls down before it and worships; he also ^apprays to it and says, “Deliver me, for you are my god.”

18 They do not ^aqknow, nor do they understand, for He has ^arsmeared over their eyes so that they cannot see and their hearts so that they cannot comprehend. 19 No one ^{▼▼ Lit returns to his heart}recalls, nor is there ^atknowledge 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 ^avabomination, ^{▼▼ Or shall I fall...?}I fall down before a block of wood!” 20 He ^{▼▼ Or is a companion of ashes
,} ^ayfeeds on ashes; a ^azdeceived heart has turned him aside. And he cannot deliver ^{▼▼ Lit his soul}himself, nor say, ^bb“Is there not a lie in my right hand?”

God Forgives and Redeems

21 ^bc“Remember these things, O Jacob,
And Israel, for you are ^bdMy servant;
I have formed you, you are My servant,
O Israel, you will ^benot be forgotten by Me.
22 “I have ^bfwiped out your transgressions like a thick cloud
And your sins like a ^{▼▼ Or cloud}heavy mist.
^bhReturn to Me, for I have ^biredeemed you.”
23 ^bjShout for joy, O heavens, for the Lord has done it!
Shout joyfully, you lower parts of the earth;
^bkBreak forth into a shout of joy, you mountains,
O forest, and every tree in it;
For ^blthe Lord has redeemed Jacob
And in Israel He ^bmshows forth His glory.

24 Thus says the Lord, your ^bnRedeemer, and the one who ^boformed you from the womb, “I, the Lord, am the maker of all things,
^bpStretching out the heavens by Myself
And spreading out the earth ^{▼▼ Or who was with Me?}all alone,
25 ^brCausing the ^{▼▼ Lit signs}omens of boasters to fail,
^{▼▼ Lit He makes}Making fools out of diviners,
^buCausing wise men to draw back
And ^{▼▼ Lit He turns}turning their knowledge into foolishness,
26 ^bwConfirming the word of His servant
And ^{▼▼ Lit He performs}performing the purpose of His messengers.
It is I who says of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be inhabited!’
And of the ^bycities of Judah, ‘ ^bzThey shall be built.’
And I will raise up her ruins again.
27 “It is I who says to the depth of the sea, ‘Be dried up!’
And I will make your rivers ^cadry.
28 “It is I who says of ^cbCyrus, ‘He is My shepherd!
And he will perform all My desire.’
And ^{▼▼ Lit to say}he declares of Jerusalem, ‘ ^cdShe will be built,’
And of the temple, ‘ ^{▼▼ Lit You will be founded}Your foundation will be laid.’”