Isaiah 44
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But hear now, O Jacob, My servant; and Israel, whom I have chosen:
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thus says Jehovah, thy Maker, and thy Former from the belly, who will help thee; Fear thou not, O My servant Jacob; and thou, O Jeshurun, whom I have chosen:
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for I will pour waters on the thirsty, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour My spirit on thy seed, and My blessing upon thine offspring.
4
And they shall grow in between the grass; as the willows by◦ the rivulets of waters.
5
One shall say, I am Jehovah’s; and another shall call himself by the name of Jacob; and another shall write with his hand to be Jehovah’s, and shall surname himself by the name of Israel.
6
Thus says Jehovah, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, Jehovah of Armies; I am the First, and I am the Last; and besides Me there is no God.
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And who, as I◦, shall call and shall tell it, and arrange it for Me, from the time that I set the people of an age? The signs, and that which shall come, let them tell to them.
8
Dread ye not, and fear not; have I not caused thee to hear it from that··time▵, and have I not told thee? You◦ are My witnesses. Is··there a God▵ besides Me? And there is no other Rock; I know not▵ any.
9
All of them who form a graven image are void; and the things which they desire shall not▵ profit; and they are their own witnesses; they see not▵ and they know not▵; so··that they shall be··ashamed.
10
Who has formed a god◦, and poured··out a graven image that is without profit?
11
Behold, all his friends shall be··ashamed; and the craftsmen themselves◦ are from man; they shall come··together, all of them; they shall stand; they shall dread, and be··ashamed together.
12
The craftsman forms iron with tongs◦; he works it in the charcoal, and forms it with sharp hammers; and he works it with the power of his arm; yea, he is hungry, and has no power; he drinks not waters, and faints.
13
He crafts the wood, he stretches··out the line; he marks· it ·out with a ruler▵; he makes it with angles◦; he marks· it ·out with the circle◦; and he makes it as the shape of a man◦, according to the beauty* of man, to dwell in the house.
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He cuts··off cedars for himself, and takes the beech and the oak◦; and he encourages himself in the trees of the forest; he plants the ash, and a shower makes· it ·great,
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and it shall be for man to burn; and he takes from them◦, and is··warm; yea, he kindles◦ it, and bakes bread: yea he works it into a god◦, and worships it; he makes it a graven image, and adores it.
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A half of it he burns··up in the fire; and a half of it is flesh for eating; he roasts a roast, and he is satisfied; yea he is··warm, and says, Brother, I am··warm; I have seen the fire◦.
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And what··is··left of it he makes for a god◦, for his graven image; he adores it, and worships it; and he prays to▵ it, and says, Rescue me, for thou◦ art my god◦!
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They know not, neither do they understand; for He has plastered over their eyes, that they cannot have··intelligence; and their hearts, that they cannot understand:
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neither does he return it to his heart; neither is there knowledge and understanding to say, Half of it I have burned··up in the fire; I have also baked bread on its coals; I have roasted flesh, and I have eaten; and shall I make the remainder of it for an abomination? Shall I adore the produce of a tree?
20
He pastures on ashes; a deluded heart has stretched him; so that he rescues not his own soul, nor says, Is there not a falsity in my right··hand?
21
Remember these things, O Jacob and Israel; for thou art My servant; I have formed thee; thou art a servant unto Me; O Israel, thou shalt not be forgotten◦ by me.
22
I have wiped out, as a thick··cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins; return to Me; for I have redeemed thee.
23
Sing··aloud, O ye heavens, for Jehovah has done it; shout, O ye lower◦ parts of the earth; burst··forth into singing··aloud, O ye mountains; thou forest, and every tree in it! For Jehovah has redeemed Jacob, and has··splendor in Israel.
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Thus says Jehovah, thy Redeemer, and thy Former from the belly; I▵ am Jehovah, Who makes all things; Who stretches··out the heavens alone; Who spreads··out◦ the earth from Myself;
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Who maketh the signs of the fabricators of none··effect, and makes the diviners rave; Who turns··back wise men backward, and makes· their knowledge ·senseless;
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Who raises··up the word of His servant, and makes··whole the counsel of His messengers; Who says to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be dwelt··in; and to the cities of Judah, You shall be built; and her wastes I will raise··up;
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Who says to the depth, Be thou wasted; and I will··dry··up thy rivers;
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Who says to Cyrus, My shepherd! And he shall make· all My delight ·whole; Who says to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thou shalt be founded.
