"But now listen
, O Jacob
, My aservant
, And Israel
, whom I have chosen
:
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
.
`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
;
And they will spring up 1among
the grass
Like apoplars
by streams
of water
.'
"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
.
"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.
`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
.
`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
.' "
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
.
Who has fashioned
a god
or cast
1an idol
to ano
profit
?
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
.
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
.
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
.
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
.
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.
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
."
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
."
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
.
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
!"
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
?"
" 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.
"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."
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
.
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
,
aCausing the 1omens of boasters
to fail
, 2Making
fools
out of diviners
, bCausing wise
men
to draw
back
And 3turning
their knowledge
into foolishness
,
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.
"It is I who says to the depth
of the sea
, `Be dried
up!' And I will make
your rivers
adry
.
"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
.' "