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Isaiah  


44 : 1 But now hear,O Jacob my servant,Israel whom I have chosen!
44 : 2 Thus says theLordwho made you,who formed you from the womb and will help you:Fear not, O Jacob my servant,Jeshurun whom I have chosen.
44 : 3 For I will pour water on the thirsty land,and streams on the dry ground;I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring,and my blessing on your descendants.
44 : 4 They shall spring up among the grasslike willows by flowing streams.
44 : 5 This one will say,I am theLord's,another will call on the name of Jacob,and another will write on his hand,TheLord's,and name himself by the name of Israel.
44 : 6 Thus says theLord, the King of Israelandhis Redeemer, theLordof hosts:I am the first and I am the last;besides me there is no god.
44 : 7 Who is like me? Let him proclaim it.Let him declare and set it before me,since I appointed an ancient people.Let them declare what is to come, and what will happen.
44 : 8 Fear not, nor be afraid;have I not told you from of old and declared it?And you are my witnesses!Is there a God besides me?There is noRock; I know not any.
44 : 9 All who fashion idols are nothing, and the things they delight in do not profit. Their witnesses neither see nor know, that they may be put to shame.
44 : 10 Who fashions a god or casts an idol that is profitable for nothing?
44 : 11 Behold, all his companions shall be put to shame, and the craftsmen are only human. Let them all assemble, let them stand forth. They shall be terrified; they shall be put to shame together.
44 : 12 The ironsmith takes a cutting tool and works it over the coals. He fashions it with hammers and works it with his strong arm. He becomes hungry, and his strength fails; he drinks no water and is faint.
44 : 13 The carpenter stretches a line; he marks it out with a pencil. He shapes it with planes and marks it with a compass.He shapes it into the figure of a man, with the beauty of a man, to dwell in a house.
44 : 14 He cuts down cedars, or he chooses a cypress tree or an oak and lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest. He plants a cedar and the rain nourishes it.
44 : 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.
44 : 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!
44 : 17 And the rest of it he makes into a god, his idol, and falls down to it and worships it.He prays to it and says,Deliver me, for you are my god!
44 : 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.
44 : 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 anabomination? Shall I fall down before a block of wood?
44 : 20 He feeds onashes; a deluded heart has led him astray, and he cannot deliver himself or say,Is there nota lie in my right hand?
44 : 21 Remember these things, O Jacob,and Israel, for you aremy servant;I formed you; you are my servant;O Israel, you will not be forgotten by me.
44 : 22 I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloudand your sins like mist;return to me, for I have redeemed you.
44 : 23 Sing, O heavens, for theLordhas done it;shout, Odepths of the earth;break forth into singing, O mountains,O forest, and every tree in it!For theLordhas redeemed Jacob,and will be glorifiedin Israel.
44 : 24 Thus says theLord,your Redeemer,who formed you from the womb:I am theLord, who made all things,who alone stretched out the heavens,who spread out the earth by myself,
44 : 25 who frustrates the signs of liarsand makes fools of diviners,who turns wise men backand makes their knowledge foolish,
44 : 26 who confirms the word of his servantand fulfills the counsel of his messengers,who says of Jerusalem,She shall be inhabited,and of the cities of Judah,They shall be built,and I will raise up their ruins;
44 : 27 who says to the deep,Be dry;I will dry up your rivers;
44 : 28 who says ofCyrus,He ismy shepherd,and he shall fulfill all my purpose;saying of Jerusalem,She shall be built,and of the temple,Your foundation shall be laid.