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NASB Bible

Isaiah 44

The Blessings of Israel

1

"But now listen, O Jacob, My  aservant, And Israel, whom I have chosen:

2

Thus says the LORD who made you And  aformed you from the womb, who  bwill help you, ` cDo not fear, O Jacob My servant; And you  dJeshurun whom I have chosen.

3

`For  aI will pour out water on  1the thirsty land And streams on the dry ground; I will  bpour out My Spirit on your  coffspring And My blessing on your descendants;

4

And they will spring up  1among the grass Like  apoplars by streams of water.'

5

"This one will say, `I am the LORD'S'; And that one  1will call on the name of Jacob; And another will  awrite  2on his hand, `Belonging to the LORD,' And will name Israel's name with honor.

6

"Thus says the LORD, the  aKing of Israel and his  bRedeemer, the LORD of hosts: `I am the  cfirst and I am the last, And there is no God  dbesides Me.

7

`Who is like Me?  aLet him proclaim and declare it; Yes, let him recount it to Me in order,  1From the time that I established the ancient  2nation. And 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;  aHave I not long since announced it to you and declared it? And  byou are My witnesses. Is there any God  cbesides Me, Or is there any other  dRock? I know of none.' "

The Folly of Idolatry

9

Those who fashion  1a graven image are all of them futile, and their precious things are of no profit; even their own witnesses fail to see or know, so that they will be  aput to shame.

10

Who has fashioned a god or cast  1an idol to  ano profit?

11

Behold, all his companions will be  aput to shame, for the craftsmen themselves are mere men. Let them all assemble themselves, let them stand up, let them tremble, let them together be put to shame.

12

The  aman shapes iron into a cutting tool and does his work over the coals,  1fashioning it with hammers and working it with his strong arm. He also gets hungry and  2his strength fails; he drinks no water and becomes weary.

13

 aAnother shapes wood, he extends a measuring line; he outlines it with red chalk. He works it with planes and outlines it with a compass, and makes it like the form of a man, like the beauty of  bman, so that it may sit in a  chouse.

14

Surely he cuts cedars for himself, and takes a  1cypress or an oak and  2raises it for himself among the trees of the forest. He plants a fir, and the rain makes it grow.

15

Then it becomes something for a man to burn, so he takes one of them and warms himself; he also makes a fire to bake bread. He also  amakes a god and worships it; he makes it a graven image and  bfalls down before it.

16

Half of it he burns in the fire; over this half he eats meat as he roasts a roast and is satisfied. He also warms himself and says, "Aha! I am warm, I have seen the fire."

17

But the rest of it he  amakes into a god, his graven image. He falls down before it and worships; he also  bprays to it and says, "Deliver me, for you are my god."

18

They do not  aknow, nor do they understand, for He has  bsmeared over their eyes so that they cannot see and their hearts so that they cannot comprehend.

19

No one  1recalls, nor is there  aknowledge 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  2I make the rest of it into an  babomination,  3I fall down before a block of wood!"

20

He  1 afeeds on ashes; a  bdeceived heart has turned him aside. And he cannot deliver  2himself, nor say, " cIs there not a lie in my right hand?"

God Forgives and Redeems

21

aRemember these things, O Jacob, And Israel, for you are  bMy servant; I have formed you, you are My servant, O Israel, you will  cnot be forgotten by Me.

22

"I have  awiped out your transgressions like a thick cloud And your sins like a  1heavy mist.  bReturn to Me, for I have  credeemed you."

23

 aShout for joy, O heavens, for the LORD has done it! Shout joyfully, you lower parts of the earth;  bBreak forth into a shout of joy, you mountains, O forest, and every tree in it; For  cthe LORD has redeemed Jacob And in Israel He  dshows forth His glory.

24

Thus says the LORD, your  aRedeemer, and the one who  bformed you from the womb, "I, the LORD, am the maker of all things,  cStretching out the heavens by Myself And spreading out the earth  1all alone,

25

 aCausing the  1omens of boasters to fail,  2Making fools out of diviners,  bCausing wise men to draw back And  3turning their knowledge into foolishness,

26

 aConfirming the word of His servant And  1performing the purpose of His messengers. It is I who says of Jerusalem, `She shall be inhabited!' And of the  bcities of Judah, ` cThey shall be built.' And I will raise up her ruins again.

27

"It is I who says to the depth of the sea, `Be dried up!' And I will make your rivers  adry.

28

"It is I who says of  aCyrus, `He is My shepherd! And he will perform all My desire.' And  1he declares of Jerusalem, ` bShe will be built,' And of the temple, ` 2Your foundation will be laid.' "



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by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved.
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(Produced: Sat Dec 22 11:23:40 2007)

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