44 “Now listen, O Yacob my servant,
And you, O Isra'Al, whom I have chosen.
2 This is what Ahv'ah {Heb. Yahvah} says,
Your Maker and the One who formed you,
Who has helped you from the womb:
‘Do not be afraid, my servant Yacob,
And you, Yeshʹu·run, whom I have chosen.
3 For I will pour out water on the thirsty one
And flowing streams on the dry ground.
I will pour out my spirit on your offspring
And my blessing on your descendants.
4 And they will spring up as among the green grass,
Like poplars by the streams of water.
5 One will say: “I belong to Ahv'ah {Heb. Yahvah}.”
Another will call himself by the name of Yacob,
And yet another will write on his hand: “Belonging to Ahv'ah {Heb. Yahvah}.”
And he will adopt the name of Isra'Al.’
6 This is what Ahv'ah {Heb. Yahvah} says,
The King of Isra'Al and his Repurchaser, Ahv'ah {Heb. Yahvah} of armies:
‘I am the first and I am the last.
There is no Al {pre. Ahl} but me.
7 Who is there like me?
Let him call out and tell it and prove it to me!
From the time I established the people of long ago,
Let them tell both the things to come
And what will yet happen.
8 Do not be in dread,
And do not become paralyzed with fear.
Have I not told each of you beforehand and declared it?
You are my witnesses.
Is there any Al {pre. Ahl} but me?
No, there is no other Rock; I know of none.’”
9 All who form carved images amount to nothing,
And their cherished objects will be of no benefit.
As their witnesses, they see nothing and know nothing,
So those who made them will be put to shame.
10 Who would form a god or cast a metal image
That can bring no benefit?
11 Look! All his associates will be put to shame!
The craftsmen are mere humans.
Let them all assemble and take their stand.
They will be terrified and be put to shame together.
12 The metalsmith works the iron over the coals with his tool.
He forms it with hammers,
Working it with his powerful arm.
Then he grows hungry and his strength fails;
He drinks no water and grows tired.
13 The wood-carver stretches the measuring line, tracing out the pattern with red chalk.
He works it with a wood scraper and traces it with a compass.
He patterns it after a man,
With the beauty of a man,
14 There is one whose work is to cut down cedars.
He selects a certain type of tree, an oak,
And he lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest.
He plants a laurel tree, and the rain makes it grow.
15 Then it becomes fuel for a man to make fires.
He takes part of it to warm himself;
He builds a fire and bakes bread.
But he also makes a god and worships it.
He makes it into a carved image, and he bows down before it.
16 Half of it he burns up in a fire;
With that half he roasts the meat that he eats, and he is satisfied.
He also warms himself and says:
“Ah! I am warm as I watch the fire.”
17 But the rest of it he makes into a god, into his carved image.
He bows down to it and worships it.
He prays to it and says:
“Save me, for you are my god.”
18 They know nothing, they understand nothing,
Because their eyes are sealed shut and they cannot see,
And their heart has no insight.
19 No one reflects in his heart
Or has knowledge or understanding, saying:
“Half of it I burned up in a fire,
And on its coals I baked bread and roasted meat to eat.
Should I, then, make the rest of it into a detestable thing?
Should I worship a block of wood from a tree?”
20 He feeds on ashes.
His own deluded heart has led him astray.
He cannot save himself, nor does he say:
“Is there not a lie in my right hand?”
21 “Remember these things, O Yacob, and you, O Isra'Al,
For you are my servant.
I formed you, and you are my servant.
O Isra'Al, I will not forget you.
22 I will blot out your transgressions as with a cloud
And your sins as with a thick cloud.
Return to me, for I will repurchase you.
23 Shout joyfully, you heavens,
For Ahv'ah {Heb. Yahvah} has acted!
Shout in triumph, you depths of the earth!
Shout for joy, you mountains,
You forest, and all your trees!
For Ahv'ah {Heb. Yahvah} has repurchased Yacob,
And on Isra'Al he displays his splendor.”
24 This is what Ahv'ah {Heb. Yahvah} says, your Repurchaser,
Who formed you since you were in the womb:
“I am Ahv'ah {Heb. Yahvah}, who made everything.
I stretched out the heavens by myself,
And I spread out the earth.
Who was with me?
25 I am frustrating the signs of the empty talkers,
And I am the One who makes diviners act like fools;
The One confounding the wise men
And turning their knowledge into foolishness;
26 The One making the word of his servant come true
And completely fulfilling the predictions of his messengers;
The One saying of Yerushalom, ‘She will be inhabited,’
And of the cities of Judah, ‘They will be rebuilt,
And I will restore her ruins’;
27 The One saying to the deep waters, ‘Be evaporated,
And I will dry up all your rivers’;
28 The One saying of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd,
And he will completely carry out all my will’;
The One saying of Yerushalom, ‘She will be rebuilt,’
And of the temple, ‘Your foundation will be laid.’”