Isa 44 | NASB2020 | STEP | “But now listen , Jacob , My servant , And Israel , whom I have chosen :

Isaiah 44

The Blessings of Israel

1 “But now listen, Jacob, My ^aservant,
And Israel, whom I have chosen:
2 This is what the Lord says, He who made you
And ^bformed you from the womb, who ^cwill help you:
‘ ^dDo not fear, Jacob My servant,
And ^{▼▼I.e., Israel
,} ^fJeshurun, whom I have chosen.
3 ‘For ^gI will pour water on ^{▼▼Or him who is thirsty}the thirsty land
And streams on the dry ground;
I will ⁱpour out My Spirit on your ^joffspring,
And My blessing on your descendants;
4 And they will spring up ^{▼▼Another reading is like grass among the waters}among the grass
Like ^lpoplars 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 ⁿwrite ^{▼▼Or with}on his hand, ‘Belonging to the Lord,’
And will give himself Israel’s name with honor.
6 “This is what the Lord says, He who is the ^pKing of Israel and his ^qRedeemer, the Lord of armies:

‘I am the ^rfirst and I am the last,
And there is no God ^sbesides Me.
7 ‘Who is like Me? ^tLet him proclaim and declare it;
And, let him confront Me
^{▼▼Lit From My establishing of}Beginning with My establishing of the ancient ^{▼▼Or people}nation.
Then 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;
^wHave I not long since announced it to you and declared it?
And ^xyou are My witnesses.
Is there any God ^ybesides Me,
Or is there any other ^zRock?
I know of none.’”

The Foolishness of Idolatry

9 Those who fashion an idol are all futile, and their treasured things are of no benefit; 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 an idol to ^abno benefit? 11 Behold, all his companions will be ^acput to shame, for the craftsmen themselves are mere men. Let them all assemble themselves, let them stand up, let them tremble, let them be put to shame together.

12 The ^adcraftsman of iron shapes 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 ^agThe craftsman of wood extends a measuring line; he outlines it with a marker. He works it with carving knives and outlines it with a compass, and makes it like the form of a man, like the beauty of ^ahmankind, so that it may sit in a ^aihouse. 14 He will cut cedars for himself, and he takes a holm-oak or another oak and lets it grow strong for himself among the trees of the forest. He plants a laurel tree, and the rain makes it grow. 15 Then it becomes something for a person to burn, so he takes one of them and gets warm; he also makes a fire and bakes bread. He also ^ajmakes a god and worships it; he makes it a carved image and ^akbows down before it. 16 Half of it he burns in the fire; over this half he eats meat, he roasts a roast, and is satisfied. He also warms himself and says, “Aha! I am warm, I have seen the fire.” 17 Yet the rest of it he ^almakes into a god, his carved image. He bows down before it and worships; he also ^amprays to it and says, “Save me, for you are my god.”

18 They do not ^anknow, nor do they understand, for He has ^aosmeared over their eyes so that they cannot see, and their hearts so that they cannot comprehend. 19 No one ^{▼▼Lit returns to his heart}remembers, nor is there ^aqknowledge 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 ^asabomination, ^{▼▼Or shall I bow...?}I bow down before a block of wood!” 20 He ^{▼▼Or is a companion of ashes
,} ^avfeeds on ashes; a ^awdeceived heart has misled him. And he cannot save ^{▼▼Lit his soul}himself, nor say, “ ^ayIs there not a lie in my right hand?”

God Forgives and Redeems

21 “ ^azRemember these things, Jacob,
And Israel, for you are ^baMy servant;
I have formed you, you are My servant,
Israel, you will ^bbnot be forgotten by Me.
22 “I have ^bcwiped out your wrongdoings like a thick cloud
And your sins like a ^{▼▼Or cloud}heavy mist.
^beReturn to Me, for I have ^bfredeemed you.”
23 ^bgShout for joy, you heavens, for the Lord has done it!
Shout joyfully, you lower parts of the earth;
^bhBreak into a shout of jubilation, you mountains,
Forest, and every tree in it;
For ^bithe Lord has redeemed Jacob,
And in Israel He ^bjshows His glory.
24 This is what the Lord says, He who is your ^bkRedeemer, and the one who ^blformed you from the womb:

“I, the Lord, am the maker of all things,
^bmStretching out the heavens by Myself
And spreading out the earth ^{▼▼Or who was with Me?}alone,
25 ^boCausing the ^{▼▼Lit signs}omens of diviners to fail,
^{▼▼Lit He makes}Making fools of fortune-tellers;
^brCausing wise men to turn back
And ^{▼▼Lit He turns}making their knowledge ridiculous,
26 ^btConfirming the word of His servant
And ^{▼▼Lit He performs}carrying out the purpose of His messengers.
It is I who says of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be inhabited!’
And of the ^bvcities of Judah, ‘ ^bwThey shall be built.’
And I will raise her ruins again.
27 “I am the One who says to the depth of the sea, ‘Dry up!’
And I will make your rivers ^bxdry up.
28 “It is I who says of ^byCyrus, ‘He is My shepherd,
And he will carry out all My desire.’
And ^{▼▼Lit to say}he says of Jerusalem, ‘ ^caShe will be built,’
And of the temple, ‘ ^{▼▼Lit You will be founded}Your foundation will be laid.’”