| New Living Translation | NET Bible |
| 1“But now, listen to me, Jacob my servant, Israel my chosen one. | 1"Now, listen, Jacob my servant, 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 is what the LORD, the one who made you, says--the one who formed you in the womb and helps you: "Don't be afraid, my servant Jacob, 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 will pour water on the parched ground and cause streams to flow on the dry land. I will pour my spirit on your offspring and my blessing on your children. |
| 4They will thrive like watered grass, like willows on a riverbank. | 4They will sprout up like a tree in the grass, like poplars beside channels of water. |
| 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 use the name 'Jacob.' One will write on his hand, 'The LORD's,' and use the name '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, Israel's king, says, their protector, the LORD who commands armies: "I am the first and I am the last, there is no God but me. |
| 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 make his claim! Let him announce it and explain it to me--since I established an ancient people--let them announce future events! |
| 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 panic! Don't be afraid! Did I not tell you beforehand and decree it? You are my witnesses! Is there any God but me? There is no other sheltering rock; I know of none. |
| 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. | 9All who form idols are nothing; the things in which they delight are worthless. Their witnesses cannot see; they recognize nothing, so they are put to shame. |
| 10Who but a fool would make his own god— an idol that cannot help him one bit? | 10Who forms a god and casts an idol that will prove worthless? |
| 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. | 11Look, all his associates will be put to shame; the craftsmen are mere humans. Let them all assemble and take their stand! They will panic and be put to shame. |
| 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. | 12A blacksmith works with his tool and forges metal over the coals. He forms it with hammers; he makes it with his strong arm. He gets hungry and loses his energy; he drinks no water and gets tired. |
| 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. | 13A carpenter takes measurements; he marks out an outline of its form; he scrapes it with chisels, and marks it with a compass. He patterns it after the human form, like a well-built human being, and puts it 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 and acquires a cypress or an oak. He gets trees from the forest; 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! | 15A man uses it to make a fire; he takes some of it and warms himself. Yes, he kindles a fire and bakes bread. Then he makes a god and worships it; he makes 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 of it he burns in the fire--over that half he cooks meat; he roasts a meal and fills himself. Yes, he warms himself and says, 'Ah! I am warm as I look at 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!” | 17With the rest of it he makes a god, his idol; he bows down to it and worships it. He prays to it, saying, 'Rescue me, for 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 do not comprehend or understand, for their eyes are blind and cannot see; their minds do not discern. |
| 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 thinks to himself, nor do they comprehend or understand and say to themselves: 'I burned half of it in the fire--yes, I baked bread over the coals; I roasted meat and ate it. With the rest of it should I make a disgusting idol? Should I bow down to dry 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 feeds on ashes; his deceived mind misleads him. He cannot rescue himself, nor does he say, 'Is this not a false god I hold 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. | 21Remember these things, O Jacob, O Israel, for you are my servant. I formed you to be my servant; O Israel, I will not forget you! |
| 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 remove the guilt of your rebellious deeds as if they were a cloud, the guilt of your sins as if they were a cloud. Come back to me, for I protect 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. | 23Shout for joy, O sky, for the LORD intervenes; shout out, you subterranean regions of the earth. O mountains, give a joyful shout; you too, O forest and all your trees! For the LORD protects Jacob; he reveals his splendor through 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? | 24This is what the LORD, your protector, says, the one who formed you in the womb: "I am the LORD, who made everything, who alone stretched out the sky, who fashioned the earth all by myself, |
| 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 the empty talkers and humiliates the omen readers, who overturns the counsel of the wise men and makes their advice seem 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 fulfills the oracles of his prophetic servants and brings to pass the announcements of his messengers, who says about Jerusalem, 'She will be inhabited,' and about the towns of Judah, 'They will be rebuilt, her ruins I will raise up,' |
| 27When I speak to the rivers and say, ‘Dry up!’ they will be dry. | 27who says to the deep sea, 'Be dry! I will dry up your sea currents,' |
| 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 commissions Cyrus, the one I appointed as shepherd to carry out all my wishes and to decree concerning Jerusalem, 'She will be rebuilt,' and concerning the temple, 'It will be reconstructed.'" |
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