Isaiah 44 - 46

No God Besides Yahweh

“But now hear, O Jacob, My servant,

And Israel, whom I have chosen:

Thus says Yahweh who made you

And formed you from the womb, who will help you,

‘Do not fear, O Jacob My servant,

And you Jeshurun whom I have chosen.

For I will pour out water on the thirsty ground

And streams on the dry land;

I will pour out My Spirit on your seed

And My blessing on your offspring;

And they will spring up among the grass

Like poplars by streams of water.’

This one will say, ‘I am Yahweh’s’;

And this one will call on the name of Jacob;

And this one will write on his hand, ‘Belonging to Yahweh,’

And will name Israel’s name with honor.

6 “Thus says Yahweh, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, Yahweh of hosts:

‘I am the first, and I am the last,

And there is no God besides Me.

Who is like Me? Let him call out and declare it;

And let him tell it to Me in order,

From the time that I established the ancient people.

And let them declare to them the things that are to come

And the events that are going to take place.

Do not be in dread and do not be afraid;

Have I not long since caused it to be heard to you and declared it?

And you are My witnesses.

Is there any God besides Me,

Or is there any other Rock?

I know of none.’”

The Futility of Idolatry

9 Those who form a graven image are all of them futile, and their desirable things are of no profit; even their own witnesses fail to see or know, so that they will be put to shame. 10 Who has formed a god or cast a graven image to no profit? 11 Behold, all his companions will be put to shame. The craftsmen themselves are mere men. Let them all assemble themselves, let them stand up, let them be in dread, let them together be put to shame.
12 The man crafts iron into a cutting tool and does his work over the coals, forming it with hammers and working it with his powerful arm. He also gets hungry and has no power; he drinks no water and becomes weary. 13 Another crafts wood, he extends a measuring line; he outlines it with a stylus. He makes it with planes and outlines it with a compass and makes it like the form of a man, like the glory of man, so that it may sit in a house. 14 In order to cut cedars for himself, he takes a cypress or an oak and raises it for himself among the trees of the forest. He plants a fir, and the rain makes it grow. 15 Then it becomes something for a man to burn, so he takes one of them and warms himself; he also kindles a fire to bake bread. He also works to produce a god and worships it; he makes it a graven image and falls down before it. 16 Half of it he burns in the fire; over this half he eats meat as he roasts a roast and is satisfied. He also warms himself and says, “Aha! I am warm; I have seen the fire.” 17 But the rest of it he makes into a god, his graven image. He falls down before it and worships; he also prays to it and says, “Deliver me, for you are my god.”
18 They do not know, nor do they understand, for He has smeared over their eyes so that they cannot see and their hearts so that they will have no insight. 19 No one causes this to return to his heart, nor is there 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 I make the rest of it into an abomination; I fall down before a block of wood!” 20 He feeds on ashes; a deceived heart has turned him aside. And he cannot deliver his soul, and he cannot say, “Is there not a lie in my right hand?”

Yahweh Forgives and Redeems

“Remember these things, O Jacob,

And Israel, for you are My servant;

I have formed you, you are My servant;

O Israel, you will not be forgotten by Me.

I have wiped out your transgressions like a thick cloud

And your sins like a cloud.

Return to Me, for I have redeemed you.”

Shout for joy, O heavens, for Yahweh has done it!

Make a loud shout, you lower parts of the earth;

Break forth into a shout of joy, you mountains,

O forest, and every tree in it;

For Yahweh has redeemed Jacob

And in Israel He shows forth His beautiful glory.

24 Thus says Yahweh, your Redeemer, and the one who formed you from the womb,

“I, Yahweh, am the maker of all things,

Stretching out the heavens by Myself

And spreading out the earth all alone,

Causing the omens of boasters to be annulled,

And making fools out of diviners,

Causing wise men to turn back,

And making foolishness out of their knowledge,

Confirming the word of His servant—

And the counsel of His messengers He will complete—

And being the One who says of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be inhabited!’

And of the cities of Judah, ‘They shall be built.’

And I will raise up her waste places again.

It is I who says to the depth of the sea, ‘Be dried up!’

And I will make your rivers dry.

It is I who says of Cyrus, ‘He is My shepherd!

And all My good pleasure he will complete.’

And saying of Jerusalem, ‘She will be built,’

And of the temple, ‘Your foundation will be laid.’”

Cyrus, Yahweh’s Anointed

Thus says Yahweh to Cyrus His anointed,

Whom I have taken hold of by his right hand,

To subdue nations before him

And to loose the loins of kings,

To open doors before him so that gates will not be shut:

“I will go before you and make the rough places smooth;

I will shatter the doors of bronze and cut through their iron bars.

I will give you the treasures of darkness

And hidden wealth of secret places,

So that you may know that it is I,

Yahweh, the God of Israel, who calls you by your name.

For the sake of Jacob My servant,

And Israel My chosen one,

I have also called you by your name;

I have given you a title of honor

Though you have not known Me.

I am Yahweh, and there is no other;

Besides Me there is no God.

I will gird you, though you have not known Me,

That they may know from the rising to the setting of the sun

That there is no one besides Me.

I am Yahweh, and there is no other,

The One forming light and creating darkness,

Producing peace and creating calamity;

I am Yahweh who does all these.

Yahweh the Maker

“Drip down, O heavens, from above,

And let the skies pour down righteousness;

Let the earth open up and salvation bear fruit,

And righteousness spring up with it.

I, Yahweh, have created it.

“Woe to the one who contends with his Maker—

An earthenware vessel among the vessels of earth!

Will the clay say to the potter, ‘What are you doing?’

Or the thing you are making say, ‘He has no hands’?

Woe to him who says to a father, ‘What are you begetting?’

Or to a woman, ‘With what are you in labor pains?’”

11 Thus says Yahweh, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker:

“Ask Me about the things that are to come concerning My sons,

And you shall commit to Me the work of My hands.

It is I who made the earth and created man upon it.

I stretched out the heavens with My hands,

And I commanded all their host.

I have awakened him in righteousness,

And I will make all his ways smooth;

He will build My city and will let My exiles go,

Without any payment or reward,” says Yahweh of hosts.

14 Thus says Yahweh,

“The fruit of the labor of Egypt and the profit of Ethiopia

And the Sabeans, men of stature,

Will come over to you and will be yours;

They will walk behind you; they will come over in chains

And will bow down to you;

They will make supplication to you:

‘Surely, God is with you, and there is none else,

No other God.’”

Truly, You are a God who hides Himself,

O God of Israel, Savior!

They will be put to shame and even dishonored, all of them;

The craftsmen of idols will go away together in dishonor.

Israel has been saved by Yahweh

With an everlasting salvation;

You will not be put to shame or dishonored

To all eternity.

18 For thus says Yahweh, who created the heavens (He is the God who formed the earth and made it; He established it and did not create it a formless place, but formed it to be inhabited),

“I am Yahweh, and there is none else.

I have not spoken in secret,

In some dark land;

I did not say to the seed of Jacob,

‘Seek Me in a formless place’;

I, Yahweh, speak righteousness,

Declaring things that are upright.

“Gather yourselves and come;

Draw near together, you who have escaped from the nations;

They do not know,

Who carry about their graven image of wood

And pray to a god who cannot save.

Declare and draw near with your case;

Indeed, let them consult together.

Who has made this heard from of old?

Who has long since declared it?

Is it not I, Yahweh?

And there is no other God besides Me,

A righteous God and a Savior;

There is none except Me.

Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth;

For I am God, and there is no other.

I have sworn by Myself,

The word has gone forth from My mouth in righteousness

And will not turn back,

That to Me every knee will bow, every tongue will swear allegiance.

They will say of Me, ‘Only in Yahweh are righteousness and strength.’

Men will come to Him,

And all who were angry at Him will be put to shame.

In Yahweh all the seed of Israel

Will be justified and will boast.”

Babylon’s Idols and the True God

Bel has bowed down, Nebo stoops over;

Their images are on the beasts and the cattle.

The things that you carry are burdensome,

A load for the weary beast.

They stooped over, they have bowed down together;

They could not rescue the load,

But have themselves gone into captivity.

“Hear Me, O house of Jacob,

And all the remnant of the house of Israel,

You who have been burdening Me from birth

And have been carried from the womb;

Even to your old age I will be the same,

And even to your graying years I will bear you!

I have done it, and I will carry you;

And I will bear you, and I will rescue you.

“To whom would you liken Me

And make Me equal and compare Me,

That we would be alike?

Those who lavish gold from the purse

And weigh silver on the scale,

They hire a goldsmith, and he makes it into a god;

They fall down, indeed they worship it.

They carry it upon the shoulder and bear it;

They set it in its place, and it stands there.

It does not move from its place.

Though one may cry to it, it cannot answer;

It cannot save him from his distress.

“Remember this, and be assured;

Cause it to return to your heart, you transgressors.

Remember the former things long past,

For I am God, and there is no other;

I am God, and there is no one like Me,

Declaring the end from the beginning,

And from ancient times things which have not been done,

Saying, ‘My counsel will be established,

And I will accomplish all My good pleasure’,

Calling a bird of prey from the east,

The man of My counsel from a far country.

Truly I have spoken; truly I will bring it to pass.

I have formed it, surely I will do it.

“Hear Me, you stubborn of heart,

Who are far from righteousness.

I bring near My righteousness, it is not far off;

And My salvation will not delay.

And I will grant salvation in Zion,

And My glory for Israel.