The Lord Will Renew Israel

44:1 “Now, listen, Jacob my servant,
Israel whom I have chosen!”
44:2 This is what the LORD, the one made you, says,
the one who formed you in the womb and helps you:
“Don’t be afraid, my servant Jacob,
Jeshurun,¹ whom I have chosen!
44:3 For I will pour water on the parched ground,²
and cause streams to flow³ on the dry land.
I will pour my spirit on your offspring,
and my blessing on your children.
44:4 They will sprout up like a tree in the grass,⁴
like poplars beside channels of water.
44:5 One will say, ‘I belong to the LORD,’
and another will use⁵ the name ‘Jacob.’
One will write on his hand, ‘The LORD’s,’
and use the name ‘Israel.’”⁶

The Absurdity of Idolatry

44:6 This is what the LORD, Israel’s king, says,
their protector,⁷ the LORD who leads armies:⁸
“I am the first and I am the last,
there is no God but me.
44:7 Who is like me? Let him make his claim!⁹
Let him announce it and explain it to me!
As for those who predict from antiquity what will happen—¹⁰
let them announce future events!¹¹
44:8 Don’t panic! Don’t be afraid!¹²
Did I not tell you beforehand and decree?
You are my witnesses. Is there any God but me?
There is no other protector;¹³ I know of none.
44:9 All who form idols are nothing,
the things in which they delight are worthless.
Their witnesses cannot see,
they recognize nothing, so they are put to shame.
44:10 Who forms a god and casts an idol
that will prove worthless?¹⁴
44:11 Look, all his associates¹⁵ will be put to shame,
the craftsmen are mere men.¹⁶
Let them all assemble and take their stand!
They will panic and be put to shame.
44:12 A blacksmith works with his tool,¹⁷
and forges metal over the coals.
He forms it¹⁸ with hammers,
he makes it with his strong arm.
He gets hungry and loses his energy,¹⁹
he drinks no water and gets tired.
44:13 A carpenter takes measurements,²⁰
he marks out an outline of its form,²¹
he scrapes²² it with chisels,
and marks it with a compass.
He patterns it after a man,²³
like a well-built man,
and puts it in a shrine.²⁴
44:14 He cuts down cedars,
and acquires a cypress²⁵ or an oak.
He gets²⁶ trees from the forest,
he plants a cedar²⁷ and the rain makes it grow.
44:15 A man uses it to make a fire,²⁸
he takes some of it and warms himself;
Yes, he kindles a fire and bakes bread.
Then he makes a god and worships it,
he makes an idol and bows down to it.²⁹
44:16 Half of it he burns in the fire,
over that half he eats meat,
he roasts a meal and fills himself.
Yes, he warms himself and says,
‘Ah! I am warm as I look at the fire.’
44:17 With the rest of it he makes a god, his idol,
he bows down to it and worships it.
He prays to it, saying,
‘Rescue me, for you are my god.’
44:18 They do not comprehend or understand,
for their eyes are blind and cannot see,
their minds do not discern.³⁰
44:19 No one thinks to himself,
nor do they comprehend or understand and say to themselves:
‘I burned half of it in the fire,
yes, I baked bread over the coals,
I roasted meat and ate it.
With the rest of it should I make a disgusting idol?
Should I bow down to dry wood?’³¹
44:20 He feeds on ashes,³²
his deceived mind misleads him.
He cannot rescue himself,
nor does he say, ‘Is this not a false god I hold in my right hand?’³³
44:21 Remember these things, O Jacob,
O Israel, for you are my servant.
I formed you to be my servant;
O Israel, do not forget me.³⁴
44:22 I remove the guilt of your rebellious deeds as if they were a cloud,
the guilt of your sins as if they were a cloud.³⁵
Come back to me, for I protect³⁶ you.”
44:23 Shout for joy, O sky, for the LORD intervenes,³⁷
shout out, you subterranean regions³⁸ of the earth.
O mountains, give a joyful shout,
you too, O forest and all your trees!³⁹
For the LORD protects⁴⁰ Jacob,
he reveals his splendor through Israel.⁴¹

The Lord Empowers Cyrus

44:24 This is what the LORD, your protector,⁴² says,
the one who formed you in the womb:
I am the LORD, who made everything,
who alone stretched out the sky,
who fashioned the earth all by myself,⁴³
44:25 who frustrates the omens of the seers,⁴⁴
and humiliates⁴⁵ the omen readers,
who overturns the counsel of the wise men,⁴⁶
and makes their advice⁴⁷ seem foolish,
44:26 who fulfills the oracles of his prophetic servants,⁴⁸
and brings to pass the announcements⁴⁹ of his messengers,
who says about Jerusalem, ‘She will be inhabited,’
and about the towns of Judah, ‘They will be rebuilt,
her ruins I will raise up,’
44:27 who says to the deep sea, ‘Be dry,
I will dry up your sea currents,’
44:28 who commissions⁵⁰ Cyrus, the one I appointed as shepherd⁵¹
to carry out all my wishes⁵²
and to decree concerning Jerusalem, ‘She will be rebuilt,’
and concerning the temple, ‘It will be reconstructed.’“⁵³