Isaiah 44 NLT ISV Parallel

◄ Isaiah 44 ►

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1“But now, listen to me, Jacob my servant, Israel my chosen one.

1"But now listen, Jacob my servant and Israel whom I have chosen:

2The LORD who made you and helps you says: Do not be afraid, O Jacob, my servant, O dear Israel, my chosen one.

2This what the LORD says, the one who made you, formed you from the womb, and who will help you: "Don't be afraid, Jacob my servant, and Jeshurun, whom I have chosen.

3For I will pour out water to quench your thirst and to irrigate your parched fields. And I will pour out my Spirit on your descendants, and my blessing on your children.

3For I'll pour water upon thirsty ground and streams on parched land. So will I pour my Spirit upon your offspring, and my blessing upon your descendants.

4They will thrive like watered grass, like willows on a riverbank.

4They'll spring up as among the green grass, like willows by flowing streams.

5Some will proudly claim, ‘I belong to the LORD.’ Others will say, ‘I am a descendant of Jacob.’ Some will write the LORD’s name on their hands and will take the name of Israel as their own.” The Foolishness of Idols

5One will say, 'I belong to the LORD,' and another will call himself by the name of Jacob; still another will have written on his hand, 'the LORD's,' and will adopt the name of Israel."

6This is what the LORD says—Israel’s King and Redeemer, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies: “I am the First and the Last; there is no other God.

6This is what the LORD says, the King of Israel and its Redeemer— the LORD of the Heavenly Armies is his name— "I am the first and I am the last, and apart from me there is no God.

7Who is like me? Let him step forward and prove to you his power. Let him do as I have done since ancient times when I established a people and explained its future.

7Who is like me? Let him proclaim and declare it, and lay it out for himself— since he made an ancient people. And let him speak future events; let them tell him what will happen.

8Do not tremble; do not be afraid. Did I not proclaim my purposes for you long ago? You are my witnesses—is there any other God? No! There is no other Rock—not one!”

8Don't tremble, and don't be afraid. Didn't I tell you and announce it long ago? You are my witnesses. Is there any God besides me? There is no other Rock— I don't know of any."

9How foolish are those who manufacture idols. These prized objects are really worthless. The people who worship idols don’t know this, so they are all put to shame.

9Now, all the forming of images means nothing, and the things they treasure are worthless. Their own witnesses cannot see, and they know nothing. So they will be put to shame.

10Who but a fool would make his own god— an idol that cannot help him one bit?

10Who would shape a god or cast an image that profits nothing?

11All who worship idols will be disgraced along with all these craftsmen—mere humans— who claim they can make a god. They may all stand together, but they will stand in terror and shame.

11To be sure, all who associate with it will be put to shame; and as for the craftsmen, they are only human. Let them all gather together and take their stand. Then let them be terrified—they will be humiliated together.

12The blacksmith stands at his forge to make a sharp tool, pounding and shaping it with all his might. His work makes him hungry and weak. It makes him thirsty and faint.

12The blacksmith prepares a tool and works in the coals, then fashions an idol with hammers, working by the strength of his arm. He even becomes hungry and loses his strength; he drinks no water and grows faint.

13Then the wood-carver measures a block of wood and draws a pattern on it. He works with chisel and plane and carves it into a human figure. He gives it human beauty and puts it in a little shrine.

13The carpenter measures it with a line; he traces its shape with a stylus, then fashions it with planes and shapes it with a compass. He makes the idol like a human figure, with human beauty, to be at home in a shrine.

14He cuts down cedars; he selects the cypress and the oak; he plants the pine in the forest to be nourished by the rain.

14He cuts down cedars, or chooses a cypress tree or an oak, and lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest. Or he plants a cedar, and the rain makes it grow.

15Then he uses part of the wood to make a fire. With it he warms himself and bakes his bread. Then—yes, it’s true—he takes the rest of it and makes himself a god to worship! He makes an idol and bows down in front of it!

15He divides it up for people to burn. Taking part of it, he warms himself, makes a fire, and bakes bread. Or perhaps he constructs a god and worships it. He makes it an idol and bows down to it.

16He burns part of the tree to roast his meat and to keep himself warm. He says, “Ah, that fire feels good.”

16Half the wood he burns in the fire, and over that half he places meat so he can eat. He sits by its coals, warms himself, and says, "Ah! I am warm in front of the fire."

17Then he takes what’s left and makes his god: a carved idol! He falls down in front of it, worshiping and praying to it. “Rescue me!” he says. “You are my god!”

17And the rest of it he makes into a god. To blocks of wood he bows down, worships, prays, and says, "Save me, since you are my god."

18Such stupidity and ignorance! Their eyes are closed, and they cannot see. Their minds are shut, and they cannot think.

18They don't realize; they don't understand, because their eyes are plastered over so they cannot see, and their minds, too, so they cannot understand.

19The person who made the idol never stops to reflect, “Why, it’s just a block of wood! I burned half of it for heat and used it to bake my bread and roast my meat. How can the rest of it be a god? Should I bow down to worship a piece of wood?”

19No one stops to think. No one has the knowledge or understanding to think—yes to think!— "Half of it I burned in the fire. I even baked bread on its coals, and I roasted meat and ate it. And am I about to make detestable things from what is left? Am I about to bow down to blocks of wood?"

20The poor, deluded fool feeds on ashes. He trusts something that can’t help him at all. Yet he cannot bring himself to ask, “Is this idol that I’m holding in my hand a lie?” Restoration for Jerusalem

20He tends ashes. A deceived mind has lead him astray. It cannot be his life, nor can he say, "There's a lie in my right hand."

21“Pay attention, O Jacob, for you are my servant, O Israel. I, the LORD, made you, and I will not forget you.

21"Remember these things, Jacob, Israel, for you are my servant. I have formed you; you are a servant to me. Israel, you must not mislead me.

22I have swept away your sins like a cloud. I have scattered your offenses like the morning mist. Oh, return to me, for I have paid the price to set you free.”

22I've wiped away your transgressions like a cloud and your sins like mist. Return to me; because I've redeemed you.

23Sing, O heavens, for the LORD has done this wondrous thing. Shout for joy, O depths of the earth! Break into song, O mountains and forests and every tree! For the LORD has redeemed Jacob and is glorified in Israel.

23"Shout for joy, you heavens, for the LORD has done it! Shout aloud, you depths of the earth! Burst out with singing, you mountains, you forest, and all your trees! For the LORD has redeemed Jacob and will display his glory in Israel.

24This is what the LORD says— your Redeemer and Creator: “I am the LORD, who made all things. I alone stretched out the heavens. Who was with me when I made the earth?

24"This is what the LORD says, your Redeemer and the one who formed you in the womb: 'I am the LORD, who has made everything, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth— Who was with me at that time?—

25I expose the false prophets as liars and make fools of fortune-tellers. I cause the wise to give bad advice, thus proving them to be fools.

25who frustrates the omens of idle talkers, and drives diviners mad, who turns back the wise, and makes their knowledge foolish;

26But I carry out the predictions of my prophets! By them I say to Jerusalem, ‘People will live here again,’ and to the towns of Judah, ‘You will be rebuilt; I will restore all your ruins!’

26who carries out the words of his servants, and fulfills the predictions of his messengers, who says of Jerusalem, "It will be inhabited," and of Judah's cities, "They will be rebuilt," and of her ruins, "I'll raise them up";

27When I speak to the rivers and say, ‘Dry up!’ they will be dry.

27who says to the watery deep, "Be dry— I will dry up your rivers;"

28When I say of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd,’ he will certainly do as I say. He will command, ‘Rebuild Jerusalem’; he will say, ‘Restore the Temple.’”

28who says about Cyrus, "He's my shepherd, and he'll carry out everything that I please: He'll say of Jerusalem, 'Let it be rebuilt,' and of my Temple, 'Let its foundations be laid again.'"'"

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