Aug 11 - Isaiah 43-46
Isaiah
1And now thus says the Lord who created you, O Jacob, and who formed you, O Israel: Do not be afraid. For I have redeemed you, and I have called you by your name. You are mine2When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, and the rivers will not cover you. When you walk through fire, you will not be burned, and the flames will not scorch you3For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour. I have presented Egypt as your atonement, Ethiopia and Seba on your behalf4Since then, you have become honorable in my eyes, and glorious. I have loved you, and I will present men on behalf of you, and people on behalf of your life5Fear not, for I am with you. I will lead your offspring from the East, and I will gather you from the West6I will say to the North, "Release him," and to the South, "Do not turn him away." Bring my sons from far away, and my daughters from the ends of the earth7And each one who calls upon my name, I have created for my glory. I have formed him, and I have made him8Lead forth the people who are blind and have eyes, who are deaf and have ears9All the nations have been assembled together, and the tribes have been collected. Who among you will announce this, and who will cause us to listen to the things that are first? Let them present their witnesses. Let them act justly, and listen, and say: "It is true.10You are my witnesses, says the Lord, and you are my servant, whom I have chosen, so that you may know, and may believe in me, and so that you may understand that I am the same. Before me, there was no god formed, and after me there will be none11I am. I am the Lord. And there is no savior apart from me12I have announced, and I have saved. I have caused it to be heard. And there was no stranger among you. You are my witnesses, says the Lord, and I am God13And from the beginning, I am the same. And there is no one who can rescue from my hand. I act, and who can turn it aside14Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: For your sake, I sent to Babylon, and tore down all their bars, with the Chaldeans who glory in their ships15I am the Lord, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King16Thus says the Lord, who gave you a way through the sea and a path through the torrent of waters17who led out the chariot and the horse, the column of robust troops. They went to sleep together, and they will not arise. They have been crushed like flax, and they have been extinguished18You need not call to mind the past, nor consider the things of antiquity19Behold, I am accomplishing new things. And presently, they will spring forth. With certainty, you will know them. I will make a way in the desert, and rivers in an impassible place20The wild beasts of the field will glorify me, with the serpents and the ostriches. For I have brought waters to the desert, rivers to inaccessible places, in order to give drink to my people, to my elect21This is the people whom I have formed for myself. They will speak my praise22But you have not called upon me, O Jacob, nor have you struggled for me, O Israel23You have not offered me the ram of your holocaust, and you have not glorified me with your victims. I have not burdened you with oblations, nor have I wearied you with incense24You have bought me no sweet cane with money, and you have not inebriated me with the fat of your victims. Yet truly, you have burdened me with your sins; you have wearied me with your iniquities25I am. I am the very One who wipes away your iniquities for my own sake. And I will not remember your sins26Call me to mind, and let us go to judgment together. If you have anything to justify yourself, explain it27Your first father sinned, and your interpreters have betrayed me28And so, I have defiled the holy leaders. I have handed over Jacob to slaughter, and Israel to calumny
1And now, listen, Jacob, my servant, and Israel, whom I have chosen2Thus says the Lord, who made and formed you, your Helper from the womb: Do not be afraid, Jacob, my servant and my most righteous, whom I have chosen3For I will pour out waters upon the thirsty ground, and rivers upon the dry land. I will pour out my Spirit upon your offspring, and my benediction upon your stock4And they will spring up among the plants, like willows beside running waters5This one will say, "I am the Lord’s," and that one will call himself by the name of Jacob, and yet another will write with his hand, "For the Lord," and he will take the name Israel6Thus says the Lord, the King and Redeemer of Israel, the Lord of hosts: I am the first, and I am the last, and there is no God apart from me7Who is like me? Let him call out and announce it. And let him explain to me the order of things, since it is I who appointed the ancient people. The things of the near and the distant future, let him announce them8Do not be afraid, and do not be disturbed. From the time when I caused you to listen, I also announced it. You are my witnesses. Is there another God beside me, also a Maker, whom I have not known9All of those who create idols are nothing, and their most beloved things will not benefit them. These are their witnesses, for they do not see, and they do not understand, so that they might be confounded10Who has formed a god or cast a molten image, which is useful for nothing11Behold, all those who partake in this will be confounded. For these makers are men. They will all assemble together. They will stand and be terrified. And they will be confounded together12The maker of iron has wrought with his file. With coals and hammers, he has formed it, and he has wrought with the strength of his arm. He will hunger and grow faint. He will not drink water, and he will become weary13The maker of wood has extended his ruler. He has formed it with a plane. He has made it with corners, and he has smoothed its curves. And he has made the image of a man, a seemingly beautiful man, dwelling in a house14He has cut down cedars; he has taken the evergreen oak, and the oak that stood among the trees of the forest. He has planted the pine tree, which the rain has nourished15And it is used by men for fuel. He took from it and warmed himself. And he set it on fire and baked bread. But from the remainder, he made a god, and he adored it. He made an idol, and he bowed down before it16Part of it, he burned with fire, and with part of it, he cooked meat; he boiled food and was filled. And he was warmed, and so he said: "Ah, I am warm. I have gazed at the fire.17But from its remainder, he made a god and a graven image for himself. He bowed down before it, and he adored it, and he prayed to it, saying: "Free me! For you are my god.18They have neither known nor understood. For their eyes are obscured, lest they see with their eyes and understand with their heart19They do not consider in their mind, nor do they know, nor do they think to say: "I have burned part of it in the fire, and I have baked bread upon its coals. I have cooked flesh and I have eaten. And from its remainder, should I make an idol? Should I fall prostrate before the trunk of a tree?20Part of it is ashes. His foolish heart adores it. And he will not liberate his soul, and he will not say, "Perhaps there is a lie in my right hand.21Remember these things, O Jacob, O Israel. For you are my servant. I have formed you. You are my servant, Israel. Do not forget me22I have wiped away your iniquities like a cloud, and your sins like a mist. Return to me, because I have redeemed you23Give praise, O heavens! For the Lord has shown mercy. Shout with joy, O ends of the earth! Let the mountains resound with praise, with the forest and all its trees. For the Lord has redeemed Jacob, and Israel will be glorified24Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, and your Maker from the womb: I am the Lord, who makes all things, who alone extends the heavens, who makes the earth firm. And there is no one with me25I make the signs of the diviners useless, and I turn the seers to madness. I turn the wise backwards, and make their knowledge into foolishness26I lift up the word of my servant, and I fulfill the counsel of my messengers. I say to Jerusalem, "You shall be inhabited," and to the cities of Judah, "You shall be rebuilt," and I will lift up its deserts27I say to the depths, "Be desolate," and, "I will dry up your rivers.28I say to Cyrus, "You are my shepherd, and you will accomplish all that I will." I say to Jerusalem, "You shall be built," and to the Temple, "Your foundations shall be laid.
1Thus says the Lord to my anointed Cyrus, whose right hand I hold, so that I may subjugate the nations before his face, and I may turn the backs of kings, and I may open the doors before him, and so that the gates will not be shut2I will go before you. And I will humble the glorious ones of the earth. I will shatter the gates of brass, and I will break apart the bars of iron3And I will give you hidden treasures and the knowledge of secret things, so that you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, who calls your name4For the sake of Jacob, my servant, and Israel, my elect, I have even called you by your name. I have taken you up, and you have not known me5I am the Lord, and there is no one else. There is no god beside me. I girded you, and you have not known me6So may those who are from the rising of the sun, and those who are from its setting, know that there is no one beside me. I am the Lord, and there is no other7I form the light and create the darkness. I make peace and create disaster. I, the Lord, do all these things8Send down dew from above, O heavens, and let the clouds rain down upon the just! Let the earth open and spring forth a savior! And let justice rise up at once! I, the Lord, have created him9Woe to him who contradicts his Maker, a mere shard from an earthen vessel! Should the clay say to the potter, "What are you making?" or, "Your work is not made by your hands?10Woe to him who says to his father, "Why did you conceive?" or to a woman, "Why did you give birth?11Thus says the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, his Maker: Would you question me about the future, concerning my sons, and command me concerning the work of my hands12I made the earth, and I created man upon it. My hand stretched out the heavens, and I have commanded all their hosts13I have raised him up unto justice, and I will direct all his ways. He himself will build my city and release my captives, but not for ransom or gifts, says the Lord, the God of hosts14Thus says the Lord: The labor of Egypt, and the business dealings of Ethiopia, and of the Sabeans, men of stature, will pass to you and will be yours. They will walk behind you. They will travel, bound in irons. And they will adore you and petition you: "In you alone is God, and there is no God apart from you15Truly, you are a hidden God, the God of Israel, the Savior.16They have all been confounded and should be ashamed! These fabricators of errors have departed together into confusion17Israel is saved in the Lord by an eternal salvation. You will not be confounded, and you will not be ashamed, even forever and ever18For thus says the Lord, who created the heavens, God himself who formed the earth and made it, the very Molder of it. He did not create it to no purpose. He formed it so that it would be inhabited. I am the Lord, and there is no other19I have not spoken in secret, in a dark place of the earth. I have not said to the offspring of Jacob, "Seek me in vain." I am the Lord, who speaks justice, who announces what is right20Assemble yourselves, and approach, and draw near together, you who have been saved among the Gentiles. They lack knowledge, who lift up the wood of their sculpture, and who petition a god unable to save21Announce it, and approach, and consult together. Who has caused this to be heard from the beginning, and who has foretold it from that time? Is it not I, the Lord? And is there some other god beside me? I am a just God who saves, and there is no one except me22All ends of the earth, be converted to me, and you will be saved. For I am God, and there is no other23I have sworn by myself. The Word of justice will proceed from my mouth, and it will not turn back. For every knee shall bend to me, and every tongue shall swear it.24Therefore, he will say, "In the Lord are my justices and my dominion." They will go to him. And all who fight against him will be confounded25In the Lord, all the offspring of Israel will be justified and praised
1Bel has been broken. Nebo has been crushed. Their idols have been placed upon beasts and cattle, your grievous heavy burdens, even unto exhaustion2They have been melted down, or have been smashed together. They were not able to save the one who carried them, and their life will go into captivity3Listen to me, house of Jacob, all the remnant of the house of Israel, who are carried in my bosom, who were born from my womb4Even to your old age, I am the same. And even with your grey hairs, I will carry you. I have made you, and I will sustain you. I will carry you, and I will save you5To whom would you liken me, or equate me, or compare me, or consider me to be similar6You take gold from a bag, and you weigh silver on a scale, so as to hire a goldsmith to make a god. And they fall prostrate and adore7They carry him on their shoulders, supporting him, and they set him in his place. And he will stand still and will not move from his place. But even when they will cry out to him, he will not hear. He will not save them from tribulation8Remember this, and be confounded. Return, you transgressors, to the heart9Remember the past ages. For I am God, and there is no other god. There is no one like me10From the beginning, I announce the last things, and from the start, the things that have not yet been done, saying: My plan will stand firm, and my entire will shall be done11I call a bird from the east, and from a far away land, the man of my will. And I have spoken it, and I will carry it out. I have created, and I will act12Hear me, you who are hard of heart, who are far from justice13I have brought my justice near. It will not be far away, and my salvation will not be delayed. I will grant salvation in Zion, and my glory in Israel