LITV - Isaiah - 44

44:1  And now listen, My servant Jacob, and Israel whom I have chosen.

44:2  So says Jehovah, who made you and formed you from the womb. He helps you. Do not fear, My servant Jacob; and you, Jeshurun whom I have chosen.

44:3  For I will pour water on a thirsty place, and floods on the dry ground. I will pour My Spirit on your seed, and My blessing on your offspring.

44:4  And they shall sprout as among grass, as willows by streams of water.

44:5  One shall say, I am Jehovah's; and another will call by the name of Jacob; and this one shall write with his hand, For Jehovah; and be named by the name of Israel.

44:6  So says Jehovah, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, Jehovah of Hosts: I am the First and I am the last; and there is no God except Me.

44:7  And who, as I, shall call, and shall declare this, and set it in order before Me, since I placed the people of old? And as to things to come, even which shall come, let them declare concerning them.

44:8  Do not dread, nor be afraid. Have I not declared and made you hear since then? So you are My witnesses: Is there a God besides Me? Yea, there is none. I have not known a Rock.

44:9  Those who form a carved image are all of them vanity. And their delights do not profit; and they are their own witnesses. They do not see, nor know, that they may be ashamed.

44:10  Who has formed a god, or poured out an image, to no profit?

44:11  Behold, all his companions shall be ashamed; and the craftsmen, they are from men. They shall assemble, all of them shall stand; they shall dread; they shall be shamed together.

44:12  He carves iron with a tool; he works in the coals and forms it with hammers, and works it with his powerful arm; then he is hungry, and has no strength; he drinks no water and is weary.

44:13  He fashions wood, and stretches a line; he marks it with a stylus; he shapes it with a carving tool, and he marks it with a compass. And he makes it according to the figure of a man, as the beauty of a man, to sit in the house.

44:14  He cuts down cedars and takes cypress and oak, and he makes the trees of the forest strong for him. He plants a tree, and rain makes it grow.

44:15  And it shall be for a man to burn; yea, he takes of them and is warmed; and he kindles it and bakes bread. Yea, he makes a god and worships; he makes a carved image and bows to it.

44:16  He burns half of it in the fire; he eats flesh on half of it; he roasts roast, and is satisfied. Then he warms himself and says, Ah, I am warm; I have seen the fire.

44:17  And he makes a god of the rest, his carved image; he bows to it and worships, and prays to it, and says, Deliver me, for you are my god.

44:18  They do not know, nor discern; for He has smeared their eyes from seeing, their hearts from understanding.

44:19  And not one turns back to his heart, nor has knowledge nor discernment to say, I have burned half of it in the fire; and I also have baked bread on its coals. I have roasted flesh and have eaten it; and I have made the rest of it into an idol. Shall I bow to a product of a tree?

44:20  Feeding on ashes, a deceived heart turns him aside, and he does not deliver his soul, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right hand?

44:21  Remember these, O Jacob, and Israel. For you are My servant; I have formed you; you are My servant, O Israel; you shall not forget Me.

44:22  I have blotted out your transgressions like a thick cloud; and your sins like a cloud. Return to Me, for I have redeemed you.

44:23  Sing, O heavens, for Jehovah has done it . Shout, O lower parts of the earth; burst forth into praise, O mountains. O forest and every tree in it, sing praise , because Jehovah has redeemed Jacob, and glorifies Himself in Israel.

44:24  So says Jehovah, your Redeemer and your Former from the womb; I am Jehovah who makes all things; stretching out the heavens; I alone, spreading out the earth. Who was with Me,

44:25  frustrating the signs of liars; yea, He makes diviners mad; turning wise ones backward, and making their knowledge foolish.

44:26  He confirms the word of His servant, and completes the counsel of His messengers. He says to Jerusalem, You will be filled; and to the cities of Judah, You shall be built; and, I will raise up its ruins.

44:27  He says to the deep, Be a waste! And I will dry up your rivers!

44:28  He says to Cyrus, You are My shepherd; and he shall fulfill all My will, even to say to Jerusalem, You shall be built; and to the temple, You shall be set up.