Isaiah 44

NEW AMERICAN BIBLE	CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN
1 Hear then, O Jacob, my servant, Israel, whom I have chosen.	1 And now, listen, Jacob, my servant, and Israel, whom I have chosen.
2 Thus says the LORD who made you, your help, who formed you from the womb: Fear not, O Jacob, my servant, the darling whom I have chosen.	2 Thus 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 chosen.
3 I will pour out water upon the thirsty ground, and streams upon the dry land; I will pour out my spirit upon your offspring, and my blessing upon your descendants.	3 For 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 stock.
4 They shall spring up amid the verdure like poplars beside the flowing waters.	4 And they will spring up among the plants, like willows beside running waters.
5 One shall say, "I am the LORD'S," another shall be named after Jacob, And this one shall write on his hand, "The LORD'S," and Israel shall be his surname.	5 This 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 Israel.
6 Thus says the LORD, Israel's King and redeemer, the LORD of hosts: I am the first and I am the last; there is no God but me.	6 Thus 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 me.
7 Who is like me? Let him stand up and speak, make it evident, and confront me with it. Who of old announced future events? Let them foretell to us the things to come.	7 Who 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 them.
8 Fear not, be not troubled: did I not announce and foretell it long ago? You are my witnesses! Is there a God or any Rock besides me?	8 Do 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 known?
9 Idol makers all amount to nothing, and their precious works are of no avail, as they themselves give witness. To their shame, they neither see nor know anything; and they are more deaf than men are.	9 All 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 confounded.
10 Indeed, all the associates of anyone who forms a god, or casts an idol to no purpose, will be put to shame;	10 Who has formed a god or cast a molten image, which is useful for nothing?
11 they will all assemble and stand forth, to be reduced to fear and shame.	11 Behold, 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 together.
12 The smith fashions an iron image, works it over the coals, shapes it with hammers, and forges it with his strong arm. He is hungry and weak, drinks no water and becomes exhausted.	12 The 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 weary.
13 The carpenter stretches a line and marks with a stylus the outline of an idol. He shapes it with a plane and measures it off with a compass, making it like a man in appearance and dignity, to occupy a shrine.	13 The 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 house.
14 He cuts down cedars, takes a holm or an oak, and lays hold of other trees of the forest, which the Lord had planted and the rain made grow	14 He 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 nourished.
15 to serve man for fuel. With a part of their wood he warms himself, or makes a fire for baking bread; but with another part he makes a god which he adores, an idol which he worships.	15 And 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 it.
16 Half of it he burns in the fire, and on its embers he roasts his meat; he eats what he has roasted until he is full, and then warms himself and says, "Ah! I am warm, I feel the fire."	16 Part 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.”
17 Of what remains he makes a god, his idol, and prostrate before it in worship, he implores it, "Rescue me, for you are my god."	17 But 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.”
18 The idols have neither knowledge nor reason; their eyes are coated so that they cannot see, and their hearts so that they cannot understand.	18 They have neither known nor understood. For their eyes are obscured, lest they see with their eyes and understand with their heart.
19 Yet he does not reflect, nor have the intelligence and sense to say, "Half of the wood I burned in the fire, and on its embers I baked bread and roasted meat which I ate. Shall I then make an abomination out of the rest, or worship a block of wood?"	19 They 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?”
20 He is chasing ashes-a thing that cannot save itself when the flame consumes it; yet he does not say, "Is not this thing in my right hand a fraud?"	20 Part 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.”
21 Remember this, O Jacob, you, O Israel, who are my servant! I formed you to be a servant to me; O Israel, by me you shall never be forgotten:	21 Remember these things, O Jacob, O Israel. For you are my servant. I have formed you. You are my servant, Israel. Do not forget me.
22 I have brushed away your offenses like a cloud, your sins like a mist; return to me, for I have redeemed you.	22 I have wiped away your iniquities like a cloud, and your sins like a mist. Return to me, because I have redeemed you.
23 Raise a glad cry, you heavens: the LORD has done this; shout, you depths of the earth. Break forth, you mountains, into song, you forest, with all your trees. For the LORD has redeemed Jacob, and shows his glory through Israel.	23 Give 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 glorified.
24 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; when I spread out the earth, who was with me?	24 Thus 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 me.
25 It is I who bring to nought the omens of liars, who make fools of diviners; I turn wise men back and make their knowledge foolish.	25 I make the signs of the diviners useless, and I turn the seers to madness. I turn the wise backwards, and make their knowledge into foolishness.
26 It is I who confirm the words of my servants, I carry out the plan announced by my messengers; I say to Jerusalem: Be inhabited; to the cities of Judah: Be rebuilt; I will raise up their ruins.	26 I 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 deserts.
27 It is I who said to the deep: Be dry; I will dry up your wellsprings.	27 I say to the depths, “Be desolate,” and, “I will dry up your rivers.”
28 I say of Cyrus: My shepherd, who fulfills my every wish; He shall say of Jerusalem, "Let her be rebuilt," and of the temple, "Let its foundations be laid."	28 I 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.”