1But hear, now, O Jacob My servant,Israel whom I have chosen!
2Thus said GOD, your Maker,Your Creator who has helped you since birth:Fear not, My servant Jacob,JeshurunaJeshurun A poetic name for Israel. whom I have chosen,
3Even as I pour water on thirsty soil,And rain upon dry ground,So will I pour My spirit on your offspring,My blessing upon your posterity.
4And they shall sprout likeblike Lit. “in among.” grass,Like willows by watercourses.
5One shall say, “I am GOD’s,”Another shall use the name of “Jacob,”Another shall mark his arm “of GOD”cof GOD It was customary to mark a slave with the owner’s name. And adopt the name of “Israel.”
6Thus said GOD, the Sovereign of Israel,Their Redeemer, GOD of Hosts:I am the first and I am the last,And there is no god but Me.
7dMeaning of verse uncertain. Who like Me can announce,Can foretell it—and match Me thereby?Even as I told the future to an ancient people,So let anyone foretell coming events to them.
8Do not be frightened, do not be shaken!Have I not from of old predicted to you?I foretold, and you are My witnesses.Is there any god, then, but Me?“There is no other rock; I know none!”
9The makers of idolsAll work to no purpose;And the things they treasureCan do no good,As they themselves can testify.They neither look nor think,And so they shall be shamed.
10Who would fashion a godOr cast a statueThat can do no good?
11Lo, all its adherents shall be shamed;They are craftsmen, are merely human.Let them all assemble and stand up!They shall be cowed, and they shall be shamed.
12eThe meaning of parts of this verse and the next is uncertain. The craftsman in iron, with his tools,Works itfit I.e., the image he is making. over charcoalAnd fashions it by hammering,Working with the strength of his arm.Should he go hungry, his strength would ebb;Should he drink no water, he would grow faint.
13The craftsman in wood measures with a lineAnd marks out a shape with a stylus;He forms it with scraping tools,Marking it out with a compass.He gives it the form of a person—Human beauty, to dwell in a shrine.
14For his use he cuts down cedars;He chooses plane trees and oaks.He sets aside trees of the forest;Or plants firs, and the rain makes them grow.
15All this serves a mortal for fuel:He takes some to warm himself,And he builds a fire and bakes bread.He also makes a god of it and worships it,Fashions an idol and bows down to it!
16Part of it he burns in a fire:On that part he roasts meat,He eats the roastghe roasts meat, / He eats the roast Heb. verbs transposed for clarity. and is sated;He also warms himself and cries, “Ah,I am warm! I can feelhfeel Lit. “see.” the heat!”
17Of the rest he makes a god—his own carving!He bows down to it, worships it;He prays to it and cries,“Save me, for you are my god!”
18They have no wit or judgment:Their eyes are besmeared, and they see not;Their minds, and they cannot think.
19They do not give thought,They lack the wit and judgment to say:“Part of it I burned in a fire;I also baked bread on the coals,I roasted meat and ate it—Should I make the rest an abhorrence?Should I bow to a block of wood?”
20He pursuesipursues Lit. “shepherds.” ashes!A deluded mind has led him astray,And he cannot save himself;He never says to himself,“The thing in my hand is a fraud!”
21Remember these things, O JacobFor you, O Israel, are My servant:I fashioned you, you are My servant—O Israel, never forget Me.jMe Emendation yields “them,” these things.
22I wipe away your sins like a cloud,Your transgressions like mist—Come back to Me, for I redeem you.
23Shout, O heavens, for GOD has acted;Shout aloud, O depths of the earth!Shout for joy, O mountains,O forests with all your trees!For GOD has redeemed Jacob,Has gained glory through Israel.
24Thus said GOD, your Redeemer,Who formed you in the womb:It is I, GOD, who made everything,Who alone stretched out the heavensAnd unaidedkunaided Lit. “with none beside me,” or (following many Heb. mss., kethib, and ancient versions) “who was with me?” spread out the earth;
25Who annul the omens of diviners,And make fools of the augurs;Who turn sages backAnd make nonsense of their knowledge;
26But confirm the word of MylMy Heb. 3rd person. servantAnd fulfill the prediction of MymMy See previous note. messengers.It is I who say of Jerusalem, “It shall be inhabited,”And of the towns of Judah, “They shall be rebuilt;And I will restore their ruined places.”
27[I,] who said to the deep, “Be dry;I will dry up your floods,”
28Am the same who says of Cyrus, “He is My shepherd;nshepherd I.e., the king whom I have designated. He shall fulfill all My purposes!He shall say of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be rebuilt,’And to the temple: ‘You shall be founded again.’”