1 “ But now listen, O Jacob My servant, and Israel whom I have chosen.

¶ Yet now hear, O Jacob my slave and Israel, whom I have chosen:

2 T his is what the Lord Who made you, Who put you together before you were born, Who will help you, says, ‘Do not be afraid, O Jacob My servant, and you Jeshurun whom I have chosen.

Thus saith the LORD that made thee and formed thee from the womb, who will help thee; Fear not, O Jacob, my slave, and thou, Jesurun, whom I have chosen.

3 F or I will pour water on the thirsty land and rivers on the dry ground. I will pour out My Spirit on your children, and will bring good to your children’s children.

For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty and floods upon the dry ground; I will pour my spirit upon thy seed and my blessing upon thine offspring:

4 T hey will grow like grass in the fields, and like poplar trees by the rivers.’

And they shall spring up as among the grass, as willows by the water courses.

5 T his one will say, ‘I am the Lord’s.’ And that one will call on the name of Jacob. Another will write on his hand, ‘I belong to the Lord,’ and will name Israel’s name with honor.” Only One God

One shall say, I am the LORD’s; and another shall call himself by the name of Jacob; and another shall subscribe with his hand unto the LORD and surname himself by the name of Israel.

6 T he Lord, the King of Israel and the One Who saves and frees from sin, the Lord of All, says, “I am the first and I am the last. There is no God besides Me.

Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel and his redeemer, the LORD of the hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.

7 W ho is like Me? Let him make it known. Yes, let him tell Me what happened from the time I made people long ago. And let him tell the things that are coming and what is going to happen.

And who shall call as I do and declare this in advance and set it in order for me, since I made the people of the world? Let them declare unto them the things that are near and the things that shall come.

8 D o not fear. Do not be afraid. Have I not made it known to you from long ago? And you have heard Me. Is there a God besides Me? No, there is no other Rock. I know of none.” Following False Gods Is Sinful

Do not fear, neither be afraid; have I not caused thee to hear from of old and declared unto thee beforehand that which was to come? Then ye are my witnesses that there is no God but me, and there is no Strong One that I do not know.

9 A ll who make objects to worship are for nothing. The things they think are worth much are worth nothing. Those who speak for them do not see or know, so they will be put to shame.

¶ Those that make a graven image are all of them vanity; and that which is most precious to them is useful for nothing; and they are their own witnesses that they do not see, nor understand; therefore, they shall be ashamed.

10 W ho has made a false god or an object of worship that is of no worth?

Who has formed God? And who cast a graven image that is profitable for nothing?

11 S ee, all his friends will be put to shame, for the workmen themselves are only men. Let them all gather, let them stand up, let them shake with fear, and let them together be put to shame.

Behold, all his fellows shall be ashamed; for the workmen, they are of men; even if all of them are gathered together and stand, they shall fear and shall be ashamed together.

12 T he one who works with iron makes a sharp tool for cutting, working over a fire. He makes it by beating it with his strong arm. He becomes hungry and has no strength. He drinks no water and becomes tired.

The smith shall take the tongs; he shall work among the coals; he shall give it form with the hammers and bring forth in it the arm of his strength; though he is hungry and his strength fails: he shall not drink water, even if he faints.

13 O ne works with wood, he marks it, and draws on it with a red marker. He makes it smooth and makes it like a man, like the beauty of a man, so that it may sit in a house.

The carpenter stretches out his rule; he measures it with a line; he fits it with planes; he marks it out with the compass; he makes it after the form of a noble man, in the likeness of the beauty of a man; that it may remain in the house.

14 H e cuts down cedar trees, and takes a cypress or an oak, and lets it grow strong among the trees. He plants a fir tree, and the rain makes it grow.

He shall hew down cedars and take the cypress and the oak, and he shall strengthen himself with the trees of the forest; he shall plant a fir tree, which shall be nourished with the rain.

15 T hen it becomes something for a man to burn, so he takes one of them and warms himself. He makes a fire to bake bread. He also makes a god and worships it. He makes an object of worship and bows down in front of it.

The man shall then use of it for firewood; for he will take thereof and warm himself; he will kindle it and bake bread; he will also make a god and worship it; he will fabricate an idol and shall kneel down before it.

16 H e burns half of it in the fire. Over this half he eats meat as he makes it ready, and is filled. He also warms himself and says, “O, I am warm. I see the fire.”

He shall burn part of it in the fire; with another part thereof he shall eat flesh; he shall roast meat and shall satisfy himself. Afterwards he shall warm himself and say, Aha, I have warmed myself, I have seen fire;

17 B ut he makes the rest of it into a god, his object of worship. He bows down in front of it and worships. He prays to it and says, “Bring me out of my trouble, for you are my god.”

the residue of it he turns into god, into his graven image; he humbles himself before it and worships it and prays unto it and says, Deliver me; for thou art my god.

18 T hey do not know, and they do not understand. For the Lord has covered their eyes so that they cannot see and their hearts so that they cannot understand.

They did not know nor understand; for he has anointed their eyes that they not see and their hearts that they not understand.

19 A nd no one remembers about it, or knows or understands enough to say, “I have burned half of it in the fire, and have baked bread over the fire. I have cooked the meat over a fire and have eaten it. Should I make the rest of it into an object the Lord hates? Should I bow down in front of a block of wood?”

He does not return to his right mind; he does not have knowledge nor intelligence to say, I have burned part of it in the fire; I have also baked bread upon the coals of it; I have roasted flesh and eaten it and shall I make the residue of it an abomination? Do I have to humble myself before the trunk of a tree?

20 H e eats ashes! A false idea in his heart has led him the wrong way. And he cannot save himself or say, “Is not what I have here in my right hand a lie?” The Lord Does Not Forget Israel

The ashes feed him; his deceived heart inclines him, that he not deliver his soul and say, Is not the lie at my right hand?

21 “ Remember these things, O Jacob and Israel, for you are My servant. I have made you, you are My servant. O Israel, I will not forget you.

¶ Remember these things, O Jacob and Israel: that thou art my slave: I have formed thee; thou art my slave, O Israel, do not forget me.

22 I have taken away your wrong-doing like a dark cloud, and your sins like a fog. Return to Me, for I have bought you and set you free.”

I have undone, as a cloud, thy rebellions, and thy sins, as a mist, return unto me; for I have redeemed thee.

23 C all out for joy, O heavens, for the Lord has done it! Call out for joy, you deep places of the earth. Break out into singing, you mountains and every tree. For the Lord has bought Jacob and set him free and has shown His shining-greatness in Israel! People Will Live in Jerusalem Again

Sing praises, O ye heavens; for the LORD has done it; shout with joy, ye lower parts of the earth; break forth into praise, ye mountains, O forest, and every tree therein, for the LORD has redeemed Jacob, and in Israel he shall be glorified.

24 T he Lord, Who makes you, bought you and saves you, and the One Who put you together before you were born, says, “I am the Lord, Who made all things. I alone spread out the heavens, and I alone spread out the earth.

Thus saith the LORD, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb, I am the LORD that makes all things, that stretches forth the heavens alone, that spreads abroad the earth by myself;

25 I allow trouble to come on the special things done by men who lie and speak in pride. I make fools out of those who tell the future using their secret ways. I turn back wise men, and make their learning foolish.

that undoes the signs of the fortune tellers and makes the diviners mad; that turns the wise men backward and makes their wisdom fade away;

26 I make the word of My servant sure, and act upon the words of the men who speak for Me. It is I Who says of Jerusalem, ‘She will have people living in her,’ and of the cities of Judah, ‘They will be built.’ And I will build her up again.

that awakes the word of his slave and fulfills the counsel of his messengers, that says unto Jerusalem, Thou shalt be inhabited and to the cities of Judah, Ye shall be rebuilt, and I will raise up thy ruins

27 I t is I Who says to the deep sea, ‘Dry up!’ And I will dry up your rivers.

that says to the deep, Be dry, and I will dry up thy rivers

28 I t is I Who says of Cyrus, ‘He is My shepherd, and he will do all that I want him to do,’ even saying of Jerusalem, ‘She will be built,’ and of the house of God, ‘Your first stones will be laid again.’”

that calls Cyrus, my shepherd, and all that I desire, he shall fulfil, by saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid.