UST GEN EXO LEV NUM DEU JOS JDG RUTH 1 SAM 2 SAM 1 KI 2 KI 1 CHR 2 CHR EZRA NEH EST JOB PSA PROV ECC SNG ISA JER LAM EZE DAN HOS JOEL AMOS OBA YNA MIC NAH HAB ZEP HAG ZEC MAL MAT MARK LUKE YHN ACTs ROM 1 COR 2 COR GAL EPH PHP COL 1 TH 2 TH 1 TIM 2 TIM TIT PHM HEB YAC 1 PET 2 PET 1 YHN 2 YHN 3 YHN YUD REV

ISA C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 C10 C11 C12 C13 C14 C15 C16 C17 C18 C19 C20 C21 C22 C23 C24 C25 C26 C27 C28 C29 C30 C31 C32 C33 C34 C35 C36 C37 C38 C39 C40 C41 C42 C43 C44 C45 C46 C47 C48 C49 C50 C51 C52 C53 C54 C55 C56 C57 C58 C59 C60 C61 C62 C63 C64 C65 C66

UST ISA Chapter 44

◄ ISA 44 ► ║ ═ ©

44 “I have chosen you Israelites, who are descendants of Jacob,

to be my servants. So now listen to me.”

2 Yahweh is the one who originally made you. He helps you.

This is what he says.

“You descendants of Jacob who serve me, do not be afraid.

I call you Jeshurun because you are special to me.

3 Do not be afraid, because I will make streams of water flow

onto the land that is now dry.

I will give my Spirit to your descendants,

and I will bless them.

4 They will grow up as grass does in a meadow

and as willow trees do along a riverbank.

5 They will proudly say that they are descendants of Jacob

and that they belong to me, Yahweh.

They will write on their hands that they belong to me, Yahweh,

and when they say their names, they will add that they are Israelites.”

6 Yahweh is the true king of the Israelites,

and he is rescuing them.

Yahweh is the commander of the heavenly armies.

This is what he says.

“I have always existed, and I will always exist.

I am the only God.

7 No one is like me!

If anyone thinks he is, he should say so and give me evidence.

He should say what has happened since I first created my people of Israel long ago,

and he should also say what is just about to happen

and what will happen later in the future.

8 You Israelites should not be afraid at all.

Long ago I certainly told you what would happen.

You can confirm that I did.

I am the only God.

Indeed, there is none other whom you can depend on.

I know that for certain!”

9 The people who make idols are all wasting their time.

The idols that they value can not help them at all.

The people who say that they are real gods do not recognize what is true.

This shames them.

10 An idol does not help anyone,

so it does not make sense for someone to make one and say that it is a god!

11 Listen! Everyone who joins in making idols will feel shame.

The craftsmen who make them are only human beings.

Suppose they all had to gather together and stand before Yahweh

to account for why they made idols.

They would all be very afraid and feel great shame.

12 To make an idol from metal,

a metalworker uses a tool to hold metal over hot coals to heat it.

Then he pounds the hot metal with a hammer to shape it.

This is very hard work.

So it uses up the energy that the man gets from eating.

It is hot work, so he becomes weary if he does not drink water.

13 To make an idol from wood,

a woodworker stretches out a line as a guide.

Then he uses red material to mark the outline of an idol on the wood.

He uses a compass to mark where the round parts should be.

Then he uses chisels to carve the wood into the shape of a human being.

He makes it look like a beautiful human figure.

Then someone puts it in a shrine.

14 To get wood to make idols, woodworkers get trees from the forest.

They may cut down cedar, cypress, or oak trees.

They may even plant pine trees

and wait for them to grow as the rain waters them.

15 People take some of the wood from those trees

to make fires to warm their homes.

They also burn the wood so they can bake bread.

But from that same wood, people also make idols that represent gods,

and then people bow down to worship those idols!

16 Yes, people burn part of that wood

to make fires on which they roast meat.

They eat the meat until they have had enough.

People also make fires to warm their homes.

A person says, “Ah! I can feel the heat from the fire. It is warming me up.”

17 But people take the rest of the wood from those trees

and carve it into the shape of an idol that represents a god.

They bow down to it to worship it.

People also pray to it, saying,

“You are my god, so rescue me!”

18 People who make and worship idols do not recognize what is true.

It is as if someone has smeared clay over their eyes to keep them from seeing.

It is as if someone is keeping them from thinking clearly with their minds.

19 None of them thinks carefully about this.

None of them knows or understands enough to say to himself,

“I burned half of this wood in a fire

and baked bread over its coals.

I roasted meat and ate it.

So I should not take what remains and make something from it that Yahweh detests!

I should not bow down to a block of wood!”

20 A person like that depends on something that cannot help him.

People have deceived him into thinking that idols are real gods,

and so he worships them instead of Yahweh.

He does not get himself out of that situation by realizing,

“What I am doing is certainly wrong!”

21 “You Israelites who are descendants of Jacob are my servants,

so remember these things.

I created you, and you are my servants.

I will never forget you Israelites.

22 I have completely forgiven your sins.

They are gone, just as clouds disappear from the sky.

I have rescued you,

so worship me as your God again.”

23 Yahweh is rescuing the descendants of Jacob.

What he does for the Israelites will show how great he is.

So everything throughout the creation

should sing and shout because Yahweh is doing this.

If they could, the mountains and all the trees in the forests

should shout joyfully.

24 Yahweh is the one who originally made you Israelites.

He is rescuing you.

This is what he says.

“I am Yahweh. I made everything.

I alone created the sky,

and I formed the earth without help from anyone.

25 Some people falsely claim that certain signs predict the future,

but I show that this is not true.

I prove that what fortunetellers say is false.

Some people claim to be wise,

but I show that they are not.

I show that what they think they know is foolish.

26 However, when I send prophets as my messengers

to say that something is going to happen,

I always make it happen.

I say about Jerusalem, ‘People will live there again.’

I say about the cities of Judah, ‘People will rebuild them.

They will restore their ruins.’

27 I can tell the ocean that I am going to dry it up

so that no current flows through it, and this will happen.

28 I say about King Cyrus, ‘He is the leader I have chosen,

and he will do everything I want him to do.’

He will decree that people should rebuild Jerusalem

and that they should lay the foundation of the temple again

so that workers can rebuild it.