Isa 44:15-47:1 | ESV | STEP | Then it becomes fuel for a man . He takes a part of it and warms himself ; he kindles a fire and bakes bread . Also he makes a god and worships it; he makes it an idol and falls down before it.

15 Then it becomes fuel for a man. He takes a part of it and warms himself; he kindles a fire and bakes bread. Also he makes a god and worships it; he makes it an idol and falls down before it. 16 Half of it he burns in the fire. Over the half he eats meat; he roasts it and is satisfied. Also he warms himself and says, “Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire!” 17 And the rest of it he makes into a god, his idol, and falls down to it and worships it. ^aHe prays to it and says, “Deliver me, for you are my god!”

18 They know not, nor do they discern, for he has shut their eyes, so that they cannot see, and their hearts, so that they cannot understand. 19 No one considers, nor is there knowledge or discernment to say, “Half of it I burned in the fire; I also baked bread on its coals; I roasted meat and have eaten. And shall I make the rest of it an ^babomination? Shall I fall down before a block of wood?” 20 ^cHe feeds on ^dashes; a deluded heart has led him astray, and he cannot deliver himself or say, “Is there not ^ea lie in my right hand?”

The Lord Redeems Israel

21 Remember these things, O Jacob,
and Israel, for you are ^fmy servant;
I formed you; you are my servant;
^gO Israel, you will not be forgotten by me.
22 ^hI have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud
and your sins like mist;
return to me, for I have redeemed you.
23 ⁱSing, O heavens, for the Lord has done it;
shout, O ^jdepths of the earth;
break forth into singing, O mountains,
O forest, and every tree in it!
For the Lord has redeemed Jacob,
^kand will be glorified ^{▼▼Or will display his beauty} in Israel.
24 Thus says the Lord, ^myour Redeemer,
ⁿwho formed you from the womb:
^o“I am the Lord, who made all things,
^pwho alone stretched out the heavens,
who spread out the earth by myself,
25 who frustrates the signs of liars
and makes fools of diviners,
^qwho turns wise men back
and makes their knowledge foolish,
26 ^rwho confirms the word of his servant
and fulfills the counsel of his messengers,
who says of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be inhabited,’
^sand of the cities of Judah, ‘They shall be built,
and I will raise up their ruins’;
27 ^twho says to the deep, ‘Be dry;
I will dry up your rivers’;
28 who says of ^uCyrus, ‘He is ^vmy shepherd,
and he shall fulfill all my purpose’;
saying of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be built,’
^wand of the temple, ‘Your foundation shall be laid.’”

Isaiah 45

Cyrus, God’s Instrument

1 Thus says the Lord to ^xhis anointed, to Cyrus,
^ywhose right hand I have grasped,
to subdue nations before him
and ^zto loose the belts of kings,
to open doors before him
that gates may not be closed:
2 “I will go before you
and ^aalevel the exalted places, ^{▼▼Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scroll, Septuagint level the mountains}
^acI will break in pieces the doors of bronze
and cut through the bars of iron,
3 ^adI will give you the treasures of darkness
and the hoards in secret places,
that you may know that it is I, the Lord,
the God of Israel, ^aewho call you by your name.
4 For the sake of my servant Jacob,
and Israel my chosen,
^afI call you by your name,
^agI name you, though you do not know me.
5 ^ahI am the Lord, and there is no other,
besides me there is no God;
^aiI equip you, though you do not know me,
6 ^ajthat people may know, from the rising of the sun
and from the west, that there is none besides me;
I am the Lord, and there is no other.
7 I form light and create darkness,
I make well-being and ^akcreate calamity;
I am the Lord, who does all these things.
8 ^al“Shower, O heavens, from above,
and ^amlet the clouds rain down righteousness;
let the earth open, that salvation and righteousness may bear fruit;
let the earth cause them both to sprout;
I the Lord have created it.
9 ^an“Woe to him who strives with him who formed him,
a pot among earthen pots!
^aoDoes the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?’
or ‘Your work has no handles’?
10 Woe to him who says to a father, ‘What are you begetting?’
or to a woman, ‘With what are you in labor?’”
11 Thus says ^apthe Lord,
the Holy One of Israel, and the one who formed him:
^aq“Ask me of things to come;
will you command me ^arconcerning my children and ^asthe work of my hands? ^{▼▼A slight emendation yields will you question me about my children, or command me concerning the work of my hands?}
12 ^auI made the earth
and created man on it;
it was my hands ^avthat stretched out the heavens,
and ^awI commanded all their host.
13 ^axI have stirred him up in righteousness,
^ayand I will make all his ways level;
^azhe shall build my city
^baand set my exiles free,
not for price or reward,”
says the Lord of hosts.

The Lord, the Only Savior

14 Thus says the Lord:
^bb“The wealth of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush,
and the Sabeans, men of stature,
shall come over to you ^bcand be yours;
they shall follow you;
they shall come over in chains and bow down to you.
They will plead with you, saying:
‘Surely God is in you, and there is no other,
no god besides him.’”
15 ^bdTruly, you are a God who hides himself,
O God of Israel, the Savior.
16 ^beAll of them are put to shame and confounded;
the makers of idols go in confusion together.
17 But Israel is saved by the Lord
with everlasting salvation;
^bfyou shall not be put to shame or confounded
to all eternity.
18 ^bgFor thus says the Lord,
who created the heavens
(he is God!),
who formed the earth and made it
(he established it;
he ^bhdid not create it empty,
^bihe formed it to be inhabited!):
“I am the Lord, and there is no other.
19 ^bjI did not speak in secret,
in a land of darkness;
I did not say to the offspring of Jacob,
^bk‘Seek me in vain.’ ^{▼▼Hebrew in emptiness}
I the Lord speak ^bmthe truth;
I declare what is right.
20 ^bn“Assemble yourselves and come;
draw near together,
you survivors of the nations!
^boThey have no knowledge
who ^bpcarry about their wooden idols,
^bqand keep on praying to a god
that cannot save.
21 ^brDeclare and present your case;
let them take counsel together!
Who told this long ago?
Who declared it of old?
Was it not I, the Lord?
And there is no other god besides me,
a righteous God ^bsand a Savior;
there is none besides me.
22 “Turn to me and be saved,
^btall the ends of the earth!
For I am God, and there is no other.
23 ^buBy myself I have sworn;
from my mouth has gone out in ^bvrighteousness
a word that shall not return:
^bw‘To me every knee shall bow,
every tongue shall swear allegiance.’ ^{▼▼Septuagint every tongue shall confess to God}
24 ^by“Only in the Lord, it shall be said of me,
are righteousness and ^bzstrength;
to him shall come and be ashamed
^caall who were incensed against him.
25 In the Lord all the offspring of Israel
shall be justified and shall glory.”

Isaiah 46

The Idols of Babylon and the One True God

1 ^cbBel bows down; Nebo stoops;
their idols are on beasts and livestock;
these things you carry are borne
as burdens on weary beasts.
2 They stoop; they bow down together;
they cannot save the burden,
but ^ccthemselves go into captivity.
3 “Listen to me, O house of Jacob,
all the remnant of the house of Israel,
^cdwho have been borne by me from before your birth,
carried from the womb;
4 ^ceeven to your old age I am he,
and to gray hairs I will carry you.
I have made, and I will bear;
I will carry and will save.
5 ^cf“To whom will you liken me and make me equal,
and compare me, that we may be alike?
6 ^cgThose who lavish gold from the purse,
and weigh out silver in the scales,
hire a goldsmith, and he makes it into a god;
^chthen they fall down and worship!
7 ^ciThey lift it to their shoulders, they carry it,
they set it in its place, and it stands there;
^cjit cannot move from its place.
If one cries to it, it does not answer
or save him from his trouble.
8 “Remember this and stand firm,
recall it to mind, ^ckyou transgressors,
9 remember the former things of old;
for I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like me,
10 ^cldeclaring the end from the beginning
and from ancient times things not yet done,
saying, ^cm‘My counsel shall stand,
and I will accomplish all my purpose,’
11 ^cncalling a bird of prey from the east,
the man of my counsel from a far country.
^coI have spoken, and I will bring it to pass;
I have purposed, and I will do it.
12 “Listen to me, you stubborn of heart,
you who are far from righteousness:
13 ^cpI bring near my righteousness; it is not far off,
and my salvation will not delay;
^cqI will put salvation in Zion,
for Israel my glory.”

Isaiah 47:1

The Humiliation of Babylon

1 ^crCome down and sit in the dust,
O virgin ^csdaughter of Babylon;
^ctsit on the ground without a throne,
O daughter of ^cuthe Chaldeans!
^cvFor you shall no more be called
tender and delicate.