Isaiah 44 - New American Standard Bible (NASB)

The Blessings of Israel

44 “But now listen, Jacob, My ^(A)servant,
And Israel, whom I have chosen:
² This is what the Lord says, He who made you
And ^(B)formed you from the womb, who ^(C)will help you:
‘^(D)Do not fear, Jacob My servant,
And ^[a](E)Jeshurun, whom I have chosen.
³ For ^(F)I will pour water on ^[b]the thirsty land
And streams on the dry ground;
I will ^(G)pour out My Spirit on your ^(H)offspring,
And My blessing on your descendants;
⁴ And they will spring up ^[c]among the grass
Like ^(I)poplars by streams of water.’
⁵ This one will say, ‘I am the Lord’s’;
And that one ^[d]will call on the name of Jacob;
And another will ^(J)write ^[e]on his hand, ‘Belonging to the Lord,’
And will give himself Israel’s name with honor.

⁶ “This is what the Lord says, He who is the ^(K)King of Israel and his ^(L)Redeemer, the Lord of armies:

‘I am the ^(M)first and I am the last,
And there is no God ^(N)besides Me.
⁷ Who is like Me? ^(O)Let him proclaim and declare it;
And, let him confront Me
^[f]Beginning with My establishing of the ancient ^[g]nation.
Then 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;
^(P)Have I not long since announced it to you and declared it?
And ^(Q)you are My witnesses.
Is there any God ^(R)besides Me,
Or is there any other ^(S)Rock?
I know of none.’”

The Foolishness of Idolatry

⁹ Those who fashion an idol are all futile, and their treasured things are of no benefit; even their own witnesses fail to see or know, so that they will be ^(T)put to shame. ¹⁰ Who has fashioned a god or cast an idol to ^(U)no benefit? ¹¹ Behold, all his companions will be ^(V)put to shame, for the craftsmen themselves are mere men. Let them all assemble themselves, let them stand up, let them tremble, let them be put to shame together.

¹² The ^(W)craftsman of iron shapes a cutting tool and does his work over the coals, ^[h]fashioning it with hammers and working it with his strong arm. He also gets hungry and ^[i]his strength fails; he drinks no water and becomes weary. ^{13 (X)}The craftsman of wood extends a measuring line; he outlines it with a marker. He works it with carving knives and outlines it with a compass, and makes it like the form of a man, like the beauty of ^(Y)mankind, so that it may sit in a ^(Z)house. ¹⁴ He will cut cedars for himself, and he takes a holm-oak or another oak and lets it grow strong for himself among the trees of the forest. He plants a laurel tree, and the rain makes it grow. ¹⁵ Then it becomes something for a person to burn, so he takes one of them and gets warm; he also makes a fire and bakes bread. He also ^(AA)makes a god and worships it; he makes it a carved image and ^(AB)bows down before it. ¹⁶ Half of it he burns in the fire; over this half he eats meat, he roasts a roast, and is satisfied. He also warms himself and says, “Aha! I am warm, I have seen the fire.” ¹⁷ Yet the rest of it he ^(AC)makes into a god, his carved image. He bows down before it and worships; he also ^(AD)prays to it and says, “Save me, for you are my god.”

¹⁸ They do not ^(AE)know, nor do they understand, for He has ^(AF)smeared over their eyes so that they cannot see, and their hearts so that they cannot comprehend. ¹⁹ No one ^[j]remembers, nor is there ^(AG)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 ^[k]I make the rest of it into an ^(AH)abomination, ^[l]I bow down before a block of wood!” ²⁰ He ^[m](AI)feeds on ashes; a ^(AJ)deceived heart has misled him. And he cannot save ^[n]himself, nor say, “^(AK)Is there not a lie in my right hand?”

God Forgives and Redeems

²¹ “^(AL)Remember these things, Jacob,
And Israel, for you are ^(AM)My servant;
I have formed you, you are My servant,
Israel, you will ^(AN)not be forgotten by Me.
²² I have ^(AO)wiped out your wrongdoings like a thick cloud
And your sins like a ^[o]heavy mist.
^(AP)Return to Me, for I have ^(AQ)redeemed you.”
^{23 (AR)}Shout for joy, you heavens, for the Lord has done it!
Shout joyfully, you lower parts of the earth;
^(AS)Break into a shout of jubilation, you mountains,
Forest, and every tree in it;
For ^(AT)the Lord has redeemed Jacob,
And in Israel He ^(AU)shows His glory.

²⁴ This is what the Lord says, He who is your ^(AV)Redeemer, and the one who ^(AW)formed you from the womb:

“I, the Lord, am the maker of all things,
^(AX)Stretching out the heavens by Myself
And spreading out the earth ^[p]alone,
^{25 (AY)}Causing the ^[q]omens of diviners to fail,
^[r]Making fools of fortune-tellers;
^(AZ)Causing wise men to turn back
And ^[s]making their knowledge ridiculous,
^{26 (BA)}Confirming the word of His servant
And ^[t]carrying out the purpose of His messengers.
It is I who says of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be inhabited!’
And of the ^(BB)cities of Judah, ‘^(BC)They shall be built.’
And I will raise her ruins again.
²⁷ I am the One who says to the depth of the sea, ‘Dry up!’
And I will make your rivers ^(BD)dry up.
²⁸ It is I who says of ^(BE)Cyrus, ‘He is My shepherd,
And he will carry out all My desire.’
And ^[u]he says of Jerusalem, ‘^(BF)She will be built,’
And of the temple, ‘^[v]Your foundation will be laid.’”

Footnotes

1. Isaiah 44:2 I.e., Israel
2. Isaiah 44:3 Or him who is thirsty
3. Isaiah 44:4 Another reading is like grass among the waters
4. Isaiah 44:5 Another reading is will be called by the name of Jacob
5. Isaiah 44:5 Or with
6. Isaiah 44:7 Lit From My establishing of
7. Isaiah 44:7 Or people
8. Isaiah 44:12 Lit and fashions
9. Isaiah 44:12 Lit there is no strength
10. Isaiah 44:19 Lit returns to his heart
11. Isaiah 44:19 Or shall I make?
12. Isaiah 44:19 Or shall I bow...?
13. Isaiah 44:20 Or is a companion of ashes
14. Isaiah 44:20 Lit his soul
15. Isaiah 44:22 Or cloud
16. Isaiah 44:24 Or who was with Me?
17. Isaiah 44:25 Lit signs
18. Isaiah 44:25 Lit He makes
19. Isaiah 44:25 Lit He turns
20. Isaiah 44:26 Lit He performs
21. Isaiah 44:28 Lit to say
22. Isaiah 44:28 Lit You will be founded

Cross references

1. Isaiah 44:1 : Is 41:8; Jer 30:10; 46:27, 28
2. Isaiah 44:2 : Is 44:21, 24
3. Isaiah 44:2 : Is 41:10
4. Isaiah 44:2 : Is 43:5
5. Isaiah 44:2 : Deut 32:15; 33:5, 26
6. Isaiah 44:3 : Is 41:17; Ezek 34:26; Joel 3:18
7. Isaiah 44:3 : Is 32:15; Joel 2:28
8. Isaiah 44:3 : Is 61:9; 65:23
9. Isaiah 44:4 : Lev 23:40; Job 40:22
10. Isaiah 44:5 : Ex 13:9; Neh 9:38
11. Isaiah 44:6 : Is 41:21; 43:15
12. Isaiah 44:6 : Is 41:14; 43:1, 14
13. Isaiah 44:6 : Is 41:4; 43:10; 48:12; Rev 1:8, 17; 22:13
14. Isaiah 44:6 : Is 43:11; 44:8; 45:5, 6, 21
15. Isaiah 44:7 : Is 41:22, 26
16. Isaiah 44:8 : Is 42:9; 48:5
17. Isaiah 44:8 : Is 43:10
18. Isaiah 44:8 : Deut 4:35, 39; 1 Sam 2:2; Is 45:5; Joel 2:27
19. Isaiah 44:8 : Is 17:10; 26:4; 30:29
20. Isaiah 44:9 : Ps 97:7; Is 42:17; 44:11; 45:16
21. Isaiah 44:10 : Is 41:29; Jer 10:5; Hab 2:18; Acts 19:26
22. Isaiah 44:11 : Ps 97:7; Is 42:17; 44:9; 45:16
23. Isaiah 44:12 : Is 40:19, 20; 41:6, 7; 46:6, 7; Jer 10:3-5; Hab 2:18
24. Isaiah 44:13 : Is 41:7
25. Isaiah 44:13 : Ps 115:5-7
26. Isaiah 44:13 : Judg 17:4, 5; Ezek 8:10, 11
27. Isaiah 44:15 : Is 44:17
28. Isaiah 44:15 : 2 Chr 25:14
29. Isaiah 44:17 : Is 44:15
30. Isaiah 44:17 : 1 Kin 18:26, 28; Is 45:20
31. Isaiah 44:18 : Is 1:3; Jer 10:8, 14
32. Isaiah 44:18 : Ps 81:12; Is 6:9, 10; 29:10
33. Isaiah 44:19 : Is 5:13; 44:18, 19; 45:20
34. Isaiah 44:19 : Deut 27:15; 1 Kin 11:5, 7; 2 Kin 23:13, 14
35. Isaiah 44:20 : Ps 102:9
36. Isaiah 44:20 : Job 15:31; Hos 4:12; Rom 1:21, 22; 2 Thess 2:11; 2 Tim 3:13
37. Isaiah 44:20 : Is 57:11; 59:3, 4, 13; Rom 1:25
38. Isaiah 44:21 : Is 46:8; Zech 10:9
39. Isaiah 44:21 : Is 44:1, 2
40. Isaiah 44:21 : Is 49:15
41. Isaiah 44:22 : Ps 51:1, 9; Is 43:25; Acts 3:19
42. Isaiah 44:22 : Is 31:6; 55:7
43. Isaiah 44:22 : Is 43:1; 48:20; 1 Cor 6:20; 1 Pet 1:18, 19
44. Isaiah 44:23 : Ps 69:34; 96:11, 12; Is 42:10; 49:13
45. Isaiah 44:23 : Ps 98:7, 8; 148:7, 9; Is 55:12
46. Isaiah 44:23 : Is 43:1
47. Isaiah 44:23 : Is 49:3; 61:3
48. Isaiah 44:24 : Is 41:14; 43:14
49. Isaiah 44:24 : Is 44:2
50. Isaiah 44:24 : Is 40:22; 42:5; 45:12, 18; 51:13
51. Isaiah 44:25 : Is 47:13
52. Isaiah 44:25 : 2 Sam 15:31; Job 5:12-14; Ps 33:10; Is 29:14; Jer 51:57; 1 Cor 1:20, 27
53. Isaiah 44:26 : Zech 1:6; Matt 5:18
54. Isaiah 44:26 : Is 40:9
55. Isaiah 44:26 : Jer 32:15, 44
56. Isaiah 44:27 : Is 42:15; 50:2; Jer 50:38; 51:36
57. Isaiah 44:28 : Is 45:1
58. Isaiah 44:28 : 2 Chr 36:22, 23; Ezra 1:1; Is 14:32; 45:13; 54:11