The Blessings of Israel

1“But now listen, O Jacob, My servant,

And Israel, whom I have chosen:

2Thus says the Lord who made you

And formed you from the womb, who will help you,

‘Do not fear, O Jacob My servant;

And you Jeshurun whom I have chosen.

3For I will pour out water on the thirsty land

And streams on the dry ground;

I will pour out My Spirit on your offspring

And My blessing on your descendants;

4And they will spring up among the grass

Like poplars by streams of water.’

5This one will say, ‘I am the Lord’s’;

And that one will call on the name of Jacob;

And another will write on his hand, ‘Belonging to the Lord,’

And will name Israel’s name with honor.

6“Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts:

‘I am the first and I am the last,

And there is no God besides Me.

7Who is like Me? Let him proclaim and declare it;

Yes, let him recount it to Me in order,

From the time that I established the ancient nation.

And let them declare to them the things that are coming

And the events that are going to take place.

8Do not tremble and do not be afraid;

Have I not long since announced it to you and declared it?

And you are My witnesses.

Is there any God besides Me,

Or is there any other Rock?

I know of none.’ ”

The Folly of Idolatry

9Those who fashion a 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 put to shame. 10Who has fashioned a god or cast an idol to no profit? 11Behold, all his companions will be put 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.

12The man shapes iron into a cutting tool and does his work over the coals, fashioning it with hammers and working it with his strong arm. He also gets hungry and his strength fails; he drinks no water and becomes weary. 13Another 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 man, so that it may sit in a house. 14Surely he cuts cedars for himself, and takes a cypress or an oak and raises it for himself among the trees of the forest. He plants a fir, and the rain makes it grow. 15Then 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 makes a god and worships it; he makes it a graven image and falls down before it. 16Half 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.” 17But the rest of it he makes into a god, his graven image. He falls down before it and worships; he also prays to it and says, “Deliver me, for you are my god.”

18They do not know, nor do they understand, for He has smeared over their eyes so that they cannot see and their hearts so that they cannot comprehend. 19No one recalls, nor is there knowledge 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 I make the rest of it into an abomination, I fall down before a block of wood!” 20He feeds on ashes; a deceived heart has turned him aside. And he cannot deliver himself, nor say, “Is there not a lie in my right hand?”

God Forgives and Redeems

21“Remember these things, O Jacob,

And Israel, for you are My servant;

I have formed you, you are My servant,

O Israel, you will not be forgotten by Me.

22I have wiped out your transgressions like a thick cloud

And your sins like a heavy mist.

Return to Me, for I have redeemed you.”

23Shout for joy, O heavens, for the Lord has done it!

Shout joyfully, you lower parts of the earth;

Break forth into a shout of joy, you mountains,

O forest, and every tree in it;

For the Lord has redeemed Jacob

And in Israel He shows forth His glory.

24Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, and the one who formed you from the womb,

“I, the Lord, am the maker of all things,

Stretching out the heavens by Myself

And spreading out the earth all alone,

25Causing the omens of boasters to fail,

Making fools out of diviners,

Causing wise men to draw back

And turning their knowledge into foolishness,

26Confirming the word of His servant

And performing the purpose of His messengers.

It is I who says of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be inhabited!’

And of the cities of Judah, ‘They shall be built.’

And I will raise up her ruins again.

27It is I who says to the depth of the sea, ‘Be dried up!’

And I will make your rivers dry.

28It is I who says of Cyrus, ‘He is My shepherd!

And he will perform all My desire.’

And he declares of Jerusalem, ‘She will be built,’

And of the temple, ‘Your foundation will be laid.’ ”

God Uses Cyrus

1Thus says the Lord to Cyrus His anointed,

Whom I have taken by the right hand,

To subdue nations before him

And to loose the loins of kings;

To open doors before him so that gates will not be shut:

2“I will go before you and make the rough places smooth;

I will shatter the doors of bronze and cut through their iron bars.

3I will give you the treasures of darkness

And hidden wealth of secret places,

So that you may know that it is I,

The Lord, the God of Israel, who calls you by your name.

4For the sake of Jacob My servant,

And Israel My chosen one,

I have also called you by your name;

I have given you a title of honor

Though you have not known Me.

5I am the Lord, and there is no other;

Besides Me there is no God.

I will gird you, though you have not known Me;

6That men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun

That there is no one besides Me.

I am the Lord, and there is no other,

7The One forming light and creating darkness,

Causing well-being and creating calamity;

I am the Lord who does all these.

God’s Supreme Power

8“Drip down, O heavens, from above,

And let the clouds pour down righteousness;

Let the earth open up and salvation bear fruit,

And righteousness spring up with it.

I, the Lord, have created it.

9“Woe to the one who quarrels with his Maker—

An earthenware vessel among the vessels of earth!

Will the clay say to the potter, ‘What are you doing?’

Or the thing you are making say, ‘He has no hands’?

10Woe to him who says to a father, ‘What are you begetting?’

Or to a woman, ‘To what are you giving birth?’ ”

11Thus says the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker:

“Ask Me about the things to come concerning My sons,

And you shall commit to Me the work of My hands.

12It is I who made the earth, and created man upon it.

I stretched out the heavens with My hands

And I ordained all their host.

13I have aroused him in righteousness

And I will make all his ways smooth;

He will build My city and will let My exiles go free,

Without any payment or reward,” says the Lord of hosts.

14Thus says the Lord,

“The products of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush

And the Sabeans, men of stature,

Will come over to you and will be yours;

They will walk behind you, they will come over in chains

And will bow down to you;

They will make supplication to you:

‘Surely, God is with you, and there is none else,

No other God.’ ”

15Truly, You are a God who hides Himself,

O God of Israel, Savior!

16They will be put to shame and even humiliated, all of them;

The manufacturers of idols will go away together in humiliation.

17Israel has been saved by the Lord

With an everlasting salvation;

You will not be put to shame or humiliated

To all eternity.

18For thus says the Lord, who created the heavens (He is the God who formed the earth and made it, He established it and did not create it a waste place, but formed it to be inhabited),

“I am the Lord, and there is none else.

19I have not spoken in secret,

In some dark land;

I did not say to the offspring of Jacob,

‘Seek Me in a waste place’;

I, the Lord, speak righteousness,

Declaring things that are upright.

20“Gather yourselves and come;

Draw near together, you fugitives of the nations;

They have no knowledge,

Who carry about their wooden idol

And pray to a god who cannot save.

21Declare and set forth your case;

Indeed, let them consult together.

Who has announced this from of old?

Who has long since declared it?

Is it not I, the Lord?

And there is no other God besides Me,

A righteous God and a Savior;

There is none except Me.

22Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth;

For I am God, and there is no other.

23I have sworn by Myself,

The word has gone forth from My mouth in righteousness

And will not turn back,

That to Me every knee will bow, every tongue will swear allegiance.

24They will say of Me, ‘Only in the Lord are righteousness and strength.’

Men will come to Him,

And all who were angry at Him will be put to shame.

25In the Lord all the offspring of Israel

Will be justified and will glory.”

Babylon’s Idols and the True God

1Bel has bowed down, Nebo stoops over;

Their images are consigned to the beasts and the cattle.

The things that you carry are burdensome,

A load for the weary beast.

2They stooped over, they have bowed down together;

They could not rescue the burden,

But have themselves gone into captivity.

3“Listen to Me, O house of Jacob,

And all the remnant of the house of Israel,

You who have been borne by Me from birth

And have been carried from the womb;

4Even to your old age I will be the same,

And even to your graying years I will bear you!

I have done it, and I will carry you;

And I will bear you and I will deliver you.

5“To whom would you liken Me

And make Me equal and compare Me,

That we would be alike?

6Those who lavish gold from the purse

And weigh silver on the scale

Hire a goldsmith, and he makes it into a god;

They bow down, indeed they worship it.

7They lift it upon the shoulder and carry it;

They set it in its place and it stands there.

It does not move from its place.

Though one may cry to it, it cannot answer;

It cannot deliver him from his distress.

8“Remember this, and be assured;

Recall it to mind, you transgressors.

9Remember the former things long past,

For I am God, and there is no other;

I am God, and there is no one like Me,

10Declaring the end from the beginning,

And from ancient times things which have not been done,

Saying, ‘My purpose will be established,

And I will accomplish all My good pleasure’;

11Calling a bird of prey from the east,

The man of My purpose from a far country.

Truly I have spoken; truly I will bring it to pass.

I have planned it, surely I will do it.

12“Listen to Me, you stubborn-minded,

Who are far from righteousness.

13I bring near My righteousness, it is not far off;

And My salvation will not delay.

And I will grant salvation in Zion,

And My glory for Israel.

Lament for Babylon

1“Come down and sit in the dust,

O virgin daughter of Babylon;

Sit on the ground without a throne,

O daughter of the Chaldeans!

For you shall no longer be called tender and delicate.

2Take the millstones and grind meal.

Remove your veil, strip off the skirt,

Uncover the leg, cross the rivers.

3Your nakedness will be uncovered,

Your shame also will be exposed;

I will take vengeance and will not spare a man.”

4Our Redeemer, the Lord of hosts is His name,

The Holy One of Israel.

5“Sit silently, and go into darkness,

O daughter of the Chaldeans,

For you will no longer be called

The queen of kingdoms.

6I was angry with My people,

I profaned My heritage

And gave them into your hand.

You did not show mercy to them,

On the aged you made your yoke very heavy.

7Yet you said, ‘I will be a queen forever.’

These things you did not consider

Nor remember the outcome of them.

8“Now, then, hear this, you sensual one,

Who dwells securely,

Who says in your heart,

‘I am, and there is no one besides me.

I will not sit as a widow,

Nor know loss of children.’

9But these two things will come on you suddenly in one day:

Loss of children and widowhood.

They will come on you in full measure

In spite of your many sorceries,

In spite of the great power of your spells.

10You felt secure in your wickedness and said,

‘No one sees me,’

Your wisdom and your knowledge, they have deluded you;

For you have said in your heart,

‘I am, and there is no one besides me.’

11But evil will come on you

Which you will not know how to charm away;

And disaster will fall on you

For which you cannot atone;

And destruction about which you do not know

Will come on you suddenly.

12“Stand fast now in your spells

And in your many sorceries

With which you have labored from your youth;

Perhaps you will be able to profit,

Perhaps you may cause trembling.

13You are wearied with your many counsels;

Let now the astrologers,

Those who prophesy by the stars,

Those who predict by the new moons,

Stand up and save you from what will come upon you.

14Behold, they have become like stubble,

Fire burns them;

They cannot deliver themselves from the power of the flame;

There will be no coal to warm by

Nor a fire to sit before!

15So have those become to you with whom you have labored,

Who have trafficked with you from your youth;

Each has wandered in his own way;

There is none to save you.