Isaiæ 44

VULGATA	NEW AMERICAN BIBLE
1 Et nunc audi, Jacob, serve meus, et Israël, quem elegi.	1 Hear then, O Jacob, my servant, Israel, whom I have chosen.
2 Hæc dicit Dominus faciens et formans te, ab utero auxiliator tuus : Noli timere, serve meus Jacob, et rectissime, quem elegi.	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.
3 Effundam enim aquas super sitientem, et fluenta super aridam ; effundam spiritum meum super semen tuum, et benedictionem meam super stirpem tuam :	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.
4 et germinabunt inter herbas, quasi salices juxta præterfluentes aquas.	4 They shall spring up amid the verdure like poplars beside the flowing waters.
5 Iste dicet : Domini ego sum ; et ille vocabit in nomine Jacob ; et hic scribet manu sua : Domino, et in nomine Israël assimilabitur.	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.
6 Hæc dicit Dominus, rex Israël, et redemptor ejus, Dominus exercituum : Ego primus, et ego novissimus, et absque me non est deus.	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.
7 Quis similis mei ? vocet, et annuntiet : et ordinem exponat mihi, ex quo constitui populum antiquum ; ventura et quæ futura sunt annuntient eis.	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.
8 Nolite timere, neque conturbemini : ex tunc audire te feci, et annuntiavi ; vos estis testes mei. Numquid est Deus absque me, et formator quem ego non noverim ?	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?
9 Plastæ idoli omnes nihil sunt, et amantissima eorum non proderunt eis. Ipsi sunt testes eorum, quia non vident, neque intelligunt, ut confundantur.	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.
10 Quis formavit deum, et sculptile conflavit ad nihil utile ?	10 Indeed, all the associates of anyone who forms a god, or casts an idol to no purpose, will be put to shame;
11 Ecce omnes participes ejus confundentur, fabri enim sunt ex hominibus ; convenient omnes, stabunt et pavebunt, et confundentur simul.	11 they will all assemble and stand forth, to be reduced to fear and shame.
12 Faber ferrarius lima operatus est, in prunis et in malleis formavit illud, et operatus est in brachio fortitudinis suæ ; esuriet et deficiet, non bibet aquam et lassescet.	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.
13 Artifex lignarius extendit normam, formavit illud in runcina, fecit illud in angularibus, et in circino tornavit illud, et fecit imaginem viri quasi speciosum hominem habitantem in domo ;	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.
14 succidit cedros, tulit ilicem, et quercum, quæ steterat inter ligna saltus ; plantavit pinum, quam pluvia nutrivit :	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
15 et facta est hominibus in focum ; sumpsit ex eis, et calefactus est ; et succendit et coxit panes ; de reliquo autem operatus est deum et adoravit ; fecit sculptile, et curvatus est ante illud.	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.
16 Medium ejus combussit igni, et de medio ejus carnes comedit ; coxit pulmentum, et saturatus est, et calefactus est, et dixit : Vah ! calefactus sum, vidi focum ;	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."
17 reliquum autem ejus deum fecit et sculptile sibi ; curvatur ante illud, et adorat illud, et obsecrat, dicens : Libera me, quia deus meus es tu !	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."
18 Nescierunt, neque intellexerunt ; obliti enim sunt ne videant oculi eorum, et ne intelligant corde suo.	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.
19 Non recogitant in mente sua, neque cognoscunt, neque sentiunt, ut dicant : Medietatem ejus combussi igni, et coxi super carbones ejus panes ; coxi carnes et comedi, et de reliquo ejus idolum faciam ? ante truncum ligni procidam ?	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?"
20 Pars ejus cinis est ; cor insipiens adoravit illud, et non liberabit animam suam : neque dicet : Forte mendacium est in dextera mea.	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?"
21 Memento horum Jacob, et Israël, quoniam servus meus es tu. Formavi te ; servus meus es tu, Israël, ne obliviscaris mei.	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:
22 Delevi ut nubem iniquitates tuas, et quasi nebulam peccata tua : revertere ad me, quoniam redemi te.	22 I have brushed away your offenses like a cloud, your sins like a mist; return to me, for I have redeemed you.
23 Laudate, cæli, quoniam misericordiam fecit Dominus ; jubilate, extrema terræ ; resonate, montes, laudationem, saltus et omne lignum ejus, quoniam redemit Dominus Jacob, et Israël gloriabitur.	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.
24 Hæc dicit Dominus, redemptor tuus, et formator tuus ex utero : Ego sum Dominus, faciens omnia, extendens cælos solus, stabiliens terram, et nullus mecum ;	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?
25 irrita faciens signa divinorum, et ariolos in furorem vertens ; convertens sapientes retrorsum, et scientiam eorum stultam faciens ;	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.
26 suscitans verbum servi sui, et consilium nuntiorum suorum complens ; qui dico Jerusalem : Habitaberis, et civitatibus Juda : Ædificabimini, et deserta ejus suscitabo ;	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.
27 qui dico profundo : Desolare, et flumina tua arefaciam ;	27 It is I who said to the deep: Be dry; I will dry up your wellsprings.
28 qui dico Cyro : Pastor meus es, et omnem voluntatem meam complebis ; qui dico Jerusalem : Ædificaberis, et templo : Fundaberis.	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."