Israel the Chosen

44 “But now listen, Jacob, my servant,k

Israel, whom I have chosen.l

2 This is what the Lord says—

he who madem you, who formed you in the womb,n

and who will helpo you:

Do not be afraid,p Jacob, my servant,q

Jeshurun,a r whom I have chosen.

3 For I will pour waters on the thirsty land,

and streams on the dry ground;t

I will pour out my Spiritu on your offspring,

and my blessingv on your descendants.w

4 They will spring up like grassx in a meadow,

like poplar treesy by flowing streams.z

5 Some will say, ‘I belonga to the Lord’;

others will call themselves by the name of Jacob;

still others will write on their hand,b ‘The Lord’s,’c

and will take the name Israel.

The Lord, Not Idols

6 “This is what the Lord says—

Israel’s Kingd and Redeemer,e the Lord Almighty:

I am the first and I am the last;f

apart from me there is no God.g

7 Who then is like me?h Let him proclaim it.

Let him declare and lay out before me

what has happened since I established my ancient people,

and what is yet to come—

yes, let them foretelli what will come.

8 Do not tremble, do not be afraid.

Did I not proclaimj this and foretell it long ago?

You are my witnesses. Is there any Godk besides me?

No, there is no other Rock;l I know not one.”

9 All who make idolsm are nothing,

and the things they treasure are worthless.n

Those who would speak up for them are blind;o

they are ignorant, to their own shame.p

10 Who shapes a god and casts an idol,q

which can profit nothing?r

11 People who do that will be put to shame;s

such craftsmen are only human beings.

Let them all come together and take their stand;

they will be brought down to terror and shame.t

12 The blacksmithu takes a tool

and works with it in the coals;

he shapes an idol with hammers,

he forges it with the might of his arm.v

He gets hungry and loses his strength;

he drinks no water and grows faint.w

13 The carpenterx measures with a line

and makes an outline with a marker;

he roughs it out with chisels

and marks it with compasses.

He shapes it in human form,y

human form in all its glory,

that it may dwell in a shrine.z

14 He cut down cedars,

or perhaps took a cypress or oak.

He let it grow among the trees of the forest,

or planted a pine,a and the rain made it grow.

15 It is used as fuelb for burning;

some of it he takes and warms himself,

he kindles a fire and bakes bread.

But he also fashions a god and worshipsc it;

he makes an idol and bowsd down to it.

16 Half of the wood he burns in the fire;

over it he prepares his meal,

he roasts his meat and eats his fill.

He also warms himself and says,

“Ah! I am warm; I see the fire.e”

17 From the rest he makes a god, his idol;

he bows down to it and worships.f

He praysg to it and says,

“Saveh me! You are my god!”

18 They know nothing, they understandi nothing;

their eyesj are plastered over so they cannot see,

and their minds closed so they cannot understand.

19 No one stops to think,

no one has the knowledge or understandingk to say,

“Half of it I used for fuel;l

I even baked bread over its coals,

I roasted meat and I ate.

Shall I make a detestablem thing from what is left?

Shall I bow down to a block of wood?”n

20 Such a person feeds on ashes;o a deludedp heart misleads him;

he cannot save himself, or say,

“Is not this thing in my right hand a lie?q”

21 “Rememberr these things, Jacob,

for you, Israel, are my servant.s

I have made you, you are my servant;t

Israel, I will not forget you.u

22 I have swept awayv your offenses like a cloud,

your sins like the morning mist.

Returnw to me,

for I have redeemedx you.”

23 Sing for joy,y you heavens, for the Lord has done this;

shout aloud, you earthz beneath.

Burst into song, you mountains,a

you forests and all your trees,b

for the Lord has redeemedc Jacob,

he displays his gloryd in Israel.

Jerusalem to Be Inhabited

24 “This is what the Lord says—

your Redeemer,e who formedf you in the womb:g

I am the Lord,

the Maker of all things,

who stretches out the heavens,h

who spreads out the earthi by myself,

25 who foilsj the signs of false prophets

and makes fools of diviners,k

who overthrows the learning of the wisel

and turns it into nonsense,m

26 who carries out the wordsn of his servants

and fulfillso the predictions of his messengers,

who says of Jerusalem,p ‘It shall be inhabited,’

of the towns of Judah, ‘They shall be rebuilt,’

and of their ruins,q ‘I will restore them,’r

27 who says to the watery deep, ‘Be dry,

and I will dry ups your streams,’

28 who says of Cyrus,t ‘He is my shepherd

and will accomplish all that I please;

he will say of Jerusalem,u “Let it be rebuilt,”

and of the temple,v “Let its foundationsw be laid.” ’

45 “This is what the Lord says to his anointed,x

to Cyrus,y whose right hand I take holdz of

to subdue nationsa before him

and to strip kings of their armor,

to open doors before him

so that gates will not be shut:

2 I will go before youb

and will levelc the mountainsa;

I will break down gatesd of bronze

and cut through bars of iron.e

3 I will give you hidden treasures,f

riches stored in secret places,g

so that you may knowh that I am the Lord,

the God of Israel, who summons you by name.i

4 For the sake of Jacob my servant,j

of Israel my chosen,

I summon you by name

and bestow on you a title of honor,

though you do not acknowledgek me.

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

apart from me there is no God.m

I will strengthen you,n

though you have not acknowledged me,

6 so that from the rising of the sun

to the place of its settingo

people may knowp there is none besides me.q

I am the Lord, and there is no other.

7 I form the light and create darkness,r

I bring prosperity and create disaster;s

I, the Lord, do all these things.

8 “You heavens above, raint down my righteousness;u

let the clouds shower it down.

Let the earth open wide,

let salvationv spring up,

let righteousness flourish with it;

I, the Lord, have created it.

9 “Woe to those who quarrelw with their Maker,x

those who are nothing but potsherdsy

among the potsherds on the ground.

Does the clay say to the potter,z

‘What are you making?’a

Does your work say,

‘The potter has no hands’?b

10 Woe to the one who says to a father,

‘What have you begotten?’

or to a mother,

‘What have you brought to birth?’

11 “This is what the Lord says—

the Holy Onec of Israel, and its Maker:d

Concerning things to come,

do you question me about my children,

or give me orders about the work of my hands?e

12 It is I who made the earthf

and created mankind on it.

My own hands stretched out the heavens;g

I marshaled their starry hosts.h

13 I will raise up Cyrusb i in my righteousness:

I will make all his ways straight.j

He will rebuild my cityk

and set my exiles free,

but not for a price or reward,l

says the Lord Almighty.”

14 This is what the Lord says:

“The productsm of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush,c

and those tall Sabeansn—

they will come over to youo

and will be yours;

they will trudge behind you,p

coming over to you in chains.q

They will bow down before you

and pleadr with you, saying,

‘Surely God is with you,s and there is no other;

there is no other god.t’ ”

15 Truly you are a God who has been hidingu himself,

the God and Saviorv of Israel.

16 All the makers of idols will be put to shame and disgraced;w

they will go off into disgrace together.

17 But Israel will be savedx by the Lord

with an everlasting salvation;y

you will never be put to shame or disgraced,z

to ages everlasting.

18 For this is what the Lord says—

he who created the heavens,

he is God;

he who fashioned and made the earth,a

he founded it;

he did not create it to be empty,b

but formed it to be inhabitedc—

he says:

“I am the Lord,

and there is no other.d

19 I have not spoken in secret,e

from somewhere in a land of darkness;f

I have not said to Jacob’s descendants,g

‘Seekh me in vain.’

I, the Lord, speak the truth;

I declare what is right.i

20 “Gather togetherj and come;

assemble, you fugitives from the nations.

Ignorantk are those who carryl about idols of wood,

who pray to gods that cannot save.m

21 Declare what is to be, present it—

let them take counsel together.

Who foretoldn this long ago,

who declared it from the distant past?o

Was it not I, the Lord?

And there is no God apart from me,p

a righteous Godq and a Savior;r

there is none but me.

22 “Turns to me and be saved,t

all you ends of the earth;u

for I am God, and there is no other.v

23 By myself I have sworn,w

my mouth has uttered in all integrityx

a word that will not be revoked:y

Before me every knee will bow;z

by me every tongue will swear.a

24 They will say of me, ‘In the Lord alone

are deliveranceb and strength.c’ ”

All who have raged against him

will come to him and be put to shame.d

25 But all the descendantse of Israel

will find deliverancef in the Lord

and will make their boast in him.g

Gods of Babylon

46 Belh bows down, Nebo stoops low;

their idolsi are borne by beasts of burden.a

The images that are carriedj about are burdensome,

a burden for the weary.

2 They stoop and bow down together;

unable to rescue the burden,

they themselves go off into captivity.k

3 “Listenl to me, you descendants of Jacob,

all the remnantm of the people of Israel,

you whom I have upheld since your birth,n

and have carriedo since you were born.p

4 Even to your old age and gray hairsq

I am he,r I am he who will sustain you.

I have made you and I will carry you;

I will sustains you and I will rescue you.

5 “With whom will you compare me or count me equal?

To whom will you liken me that we may be compared?t

6 Some pour out gold from their bags

and weigh out silver on the scales;

they hire a goldsmithu to make it into a god,

and they bow down and worship it.v

7 They lift it to their shoulders and carryw it;

they set it up in its place, and there it stands.

From that spot it cannot move.x

Even though someone cries out to it, it cannot answer;y

it cannot savez them from their troubles.

8 “Remembera this, keep it in mind,

take it to heart, you rebels.b

9 Remember the former things,c those of long ago;d

I am God, and there is no other;

I am God, and there is none like me.e

10 I make known the end from the beginning,f

from ancient times,g what is still to come.h

I say, ‘My purpose will stand,i

and I will do all that I please.’

11 From the east I summonj a bird of prey;k

from a far-off land, a man to fulfill my purpose.

What I have said, that I will bring about;

what I have planned,l that I will do.m

12 Listenn to me, you stubborn-hearted,o

you who are now far from my righteousness.p

13 I am bringing my righteousnessq near,

it is not far away;

and my salvationr will not be delayed.

I will grant salvation to Zion,s

my splendort to Israel.

The Fall of Babylon

47 “Go down, sit in the dust,u

Virgin Daughterv Babylon;

sit on the ground without a throne,

queen city of the Babylonians.a w

No more will you be called

tender or delicate.x

2 Take millstonesy and grindz flour;

take off your veil.a

Lift up your skirts,b bare your legs,

and wade through the streams.

3 Your nakednessc will be exposed

and your shamed uncovered.

I will take vengeance;e

I will spare no one.f”

4 Our Redeemerg—the Lord Almightyh is his namei—

is the Holy Onej of Israel.

5 “Sit in silence,k go into darkness,l

queen city of the Babylonians;m

no more will you be called

queenn of kingdoms.o

6 I was angryp with my people

and desecrated my inheritance;q

I gave them into your hand,r

and you showed them no mercy.s

Even on the aged

you laid a very heavy yoke.

7 You said, ‘I am forevert—

the eternal queen!’u

But you did not consider these things

or reflectv on what might happen.w

8 “Now then, listen, you lover of pleasure,

lounging in your securityx

and saying to yourself,

‘I am, and there is none besides me.y

I will never be a widowz

or suffer the loss of children.’

9 Both of these will overtake you

in a moment,a on a single day:

loss of childrenb and widowhood.c

They will come upon you in full measure,

in spite of your many sorceriesd

and all your potent spells.e

10 You have trustedf in your wickedness

and have said, ‘No one sees me.’g

Your wisdomh and knowledge misleadi you

when you say to yourself,

‘I am, and there is none besides me.’

11 Disasterj will come upon you,

and you will not know how to conjure it away.

A calamity will fall upon you

that you cannot ward off with a ransom;

a catastrophe you cannot foresee

will suddenlyk come upon you.

12 “Keep on, then, with your magic spells

and with your many sorceries,l

which you have labored at since childhood.

Perhaps you will succeed,

perhaps you will cause terror.

13 All the counsel you have received has only worn you out!m

Let your astrologersn come forward,

those stargazers who make predictions month by month,

let them saveo you from what is coming upon you.

14 Surely they are like stubble;p

the fireq will burn them up.

They cannot even save themselves

from the power of the flame.r

These are not coals for warmth;

this is not a fire to sit by.

15 That is all they are to you—

these you have dealt with

and laboreds with since childhood.

All of them go on in their error;

there is not one that can savet you.

Stubborn Israel

48 “Listen to this, you descendants of Jacob,

you who are called by the name of Israelu

and come from the line of Judah,v

you who take oathsw in the name of the Lordx

and invokey the God of Israel—

but not in truthz or righteousness—

2 you who call yourselves citizens of the holy citya

and claim to relyb on the God of Israel—

the Lord Almighty is his name:c

3 I foretold the former thingsd long ago,

my mouth announcede them and I made them known;

then suddenlyf I acted, and they came to pass.

4 For I knew how stubborng you were;

your neck musclesh were iron,

your foreheadi was bronze.

5 Therefore I told you these things long ago;

before they happened I announcedj them to you

so that you could not say,

‘My images brought them about;k

my wooden image and metal god ordained them.’

6 You have heard these things; look at them all.

Will you not admit them?

“From now on I will tell you of new things,l

of hidden things unknown to you.

7 They are createdm now, and not long ago;n

you have not heard of them before today.

So you cannot say,

‘Yes, I knewo of them.’

8 You have neither heard nor understood;p

from of old your earsq have not been open.

Well do I know how treacherousr you are;

you were called a rebels from birth.

9 For my own name’s saket I delay my wrath;u

for the sake of my praise I hold it back from you,

so as not to destroy you completely.v

10 See, I have refinedw you, though not as silver;

I have testedx you in the furnacey of affliction.

11 For my own sake,z for my own sake, I do this.

How can I let myself be defamed?a

I will not yield my glory to another.b

Israel Freed

12 “Listenc to me, Jacob,

Israel, whom I have called:d

I am he;e

I am the first and I am the last.f

13 My own hand laid the foundations of the earth,g

and my right hand spread out the heavens;h

when I summon them,

they all stand up together.i

14 “Come together,j all of you, and listen:

Which of the idols has foretoldk these things?

The Lord’s chosen allyl

will carry out his purposem against Babylon;n

his arm will be against the Babylonians.a

15 I, even I, have spoken;

yes, I have calledo him.

I will bring him,

and he will succeedp in his mission.

16 “Come nearq me and listenr to this:

“From the first announcement I have not spoken in secret;s

at the time it happens, I am there.”

And now the Sovereign Lordt has sentu me,

endowed with his Spirit.v

17 This is what the Lord says—

your Redeemer,w the Holy Onex of Israel:

“I am the Lord your God,

who teachesy you what is best for you,

who directsz you in the waya you should go.

18 If only you had paid attentionb to my commands,

your peacec would have been like a river,d

your well-beinge like the waves of the sea.

19 Your descendantsf would have been like the sand,g

your children like its numberless grains;h

their name would never be blotted outi

nor destroyed from before me.”

20 Leave Babylon,

fleej from the Babylonians!

Announce this with shouts of joyk

and proclaim it.

Send it out to the ends of the earth;l

say, “The Lord has redeemedm his servant Jacob.”

21 They did not thirstn when he led them through the deserts;

he made water flowo for them from the rock;

he split the rock

and water gushed out.p

22 “There is no peace,”q says the Lord, “for the wicked.”r