“But now hear, O Jacob my servant,
Israel whom I have chosen!
Thus says the LORD who made you,
who formed you from the womb and will help you:
Fear not, O Jacob my servant,
Jeshurun whom I have chosen.
For I will pour water on the thirsty land,
and streams on the dry ground;
I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring,
and my blessing on your descendants.
They shall spring up among the grass
like willows by flowing streams.
This one will say, ‘I am the LORD's,’
another will call on the name of Jacob,
and another will write on his hand, ‘The LORD's,’
and name himself by the name of Israel.”
Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel
and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts:
“I am the first and I am the last;
besides me there is no god.
Who is like me? Let him proclaim it.
Let him declare and set it before me,
since I appointed an ancient people.
Let them declare what is to come, and what will happen.
Fear not, nor be afraid;
have I not told you from of old and declared it?
And you are my witnesses!
Is there a God besides me?
There is no Rock; I know not any.”
All who fashion idols are nothing, and the things they
delight in do not profit. Their witnesses neither see nor know,
that they may be put to shame. Who fashions a god or casts an idol
that is profitable for nothing? Behold, all his companions shall be
put to shame, and the craftsmen are only human. Let them all
assemble, let them stand forth. They shall be terrified; they shall
be put to shame together.
The ironsmith takes a cutting tool and works it over the coals.
He fashions it with hammers and works it with his strong arm. He
becomes hungry, and his strength fails; he drinks no water and is
faint. The carpenter stretches a line; he marks it out with a
pencil. He shapes it with planes and marks it with a compass. He
shapes it into the figure of a man, with the beauty of a man, to
dwell in a house. He cuts down cedars, or he chooses a cypress tree
or an oak and lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest. He
plants a cedar and the rain nourishes it. Then it becomes fuel for
a man. He takes a part of it and warms himself; he kindles a fire
and bakes bread. Also he makes a god and worships it; he makes it
an idol and falls down before it. Half of it he burns in the fire.
Over the half he eats meat; he roasts it and is satisfied. Also he
warms himself and says, “Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire!” And
the rest of it he makes into a god, his idol, and falls down to it
and worships it. He prays to it and says, “Deliver me, for you are
my god!”
They know not, nor do they discern, for he has shut their eyes,
so that they cannot see, and their hearts, so that they cannot
understand. No one considers, nor is there knowledge or discernment
to say, “Half of it I burned in the fire; I also baked bread on its
coals; I roasted meat and have eaten. And shall I make the rest of
it an abomination? Shall I fall down before a block of wood?” He
feeds on ashes; a deluded heart has led him astray, and he cannot
deliver himself or say, “Is there not a lie in my right hand?”
Remember these things, O Jacob,
and Israel, for you are my servant;
I formed you; you are my servant;
O Israel, you will not be forgotten by me.
I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud
and your sins like mist;
return to me, for I have redeemed you.
Sing, O heavens, for the LORD has done it;
shout, O depths of the earth;
break forth into singing, O mountains,
O forest, and every tree in it!
For the LORD has redeemed Jacob,
and will be glorified in Israel.
Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer,
who formed you from the womb:
“I am the LORD, who made all things,
who alone stretched out the heavens,
who spread out the earth by myself,
who frustrates the signs of liars
and makes fools of diviners,
who turns wise men back
and makes their knowledge foolish,
who confirms the word of his servant
and fulfills the counsel of his messengers,
who says of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be inhabited,’
and of the cities of Judah, ‘They shall be built,
and I will raise up their ruins’;
who says to the deep, ‘Be dry;
I will dry up your rivers’;
who says of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd,
and he shall fulfill all my purpose’;
saying of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be built,’
and of the temple, ‘Your foundation shall be laid.’”
