1 "But now listen, Jacob my servant, Israel whom I have chosen.
2 This is what the LORD says, who made you and shaped you from the womb, who will help you: Have no fear, Jacob my servant, Jeshurun whom I have chosen.
3 For I will pour water on the thirsty ground and streams on the dry land; I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring and my blessing on your descendants.
4 They will shoot up among the grass like poplars beside channels of water.
5 One will say, 'I belong to the LORD'; another will call on the name of Jacob; another will write on his hand, 'The LORD's,' and will take up the name of Israel."
6 This is what the LORD says, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: "I am the first and I am the last, and apart from me there is no God.
7 Who is like me? Let him call it out, let him announce it and lay it out before me, from the time I set up the ancient people; let them announce what is coming and what is still to come.
8 Do not be in dread and do not be afraid. Did I not let you hear it long ago and announce it? You are my witnesses. Is there any God apart from me? There is no Rock; I know of none."
9 Those who shape idols are all of them nothing, and the things they treasure are of no use; their witnesses neither see nor know, so they will be put to shame.
10 Who would shape a god or cast an idol that is of no use at all?
11 See, all who join in it will be put to shame; the craftsmen are mere humans. Let them all assemble and take their stand; they will be in dread and put to shame together.
12 The ironworker takes a tool and works over the coals; he shapes the idol with hammers and works it with his strong arm. He gets hungry and his strength gives out; he drinks no water and grows tired.
13 The woodworker stretches out a line and outlines it with a marker; he works it with chisels and outlines it with a compass. He makes it in the shape of a man, with human beauty, to sit in a shrine.
14 He goes out to cut down cedars, or he takes a cypress or an oak and lets it grow sturdy among the trees of the forest; he plants a laurel, and the rain makes it grow.
15 Then it serves people for fuel; he takes some of it and warms himself, he lights a fire and bakes bread. He also makes a god of it and bows down; he makes it into an idol and falls down before it.
16 Half of it he burns in the fire; over that half he eats meat, he roasts a roast and has his fill. He also warms himself and says, "Ah, I am warm, I can see the blaze!"
17 And from the rest he makes a god, his idol; he falls down before it and bows low, he prays to it and says, "Save me, for you are my god!"
18 They do not know or understand, for their eyes are smeared over so that they cannot see, and their hearts so that they cannot grasp.
19 No one stops to think, no one has the knowledge or sense to say, "Half of it I burned in the fire; I even baked bread on its coals and roasted meat and ate it. Am I to make what is left into an abomination? Am I to bow down to a lump of wood?"
20 He feeds on ashes; a deceived heart has misled him, and he cannot rescue himself or say, "Is not this thing in my right hand a lie?"
21 Keep these things in mind, Jacob, and you, Israel, for you are my servant. I shaped you; you are a servant to me. Israel, I will not forget you.
22 I have wiped away your transgressions like a cloud bank, your sins like a mist. Come back to me, for I have redeemed you.
23 Shout for joy, you heavens, for the LORD has acted; shout aloud, you depths of the earth! Burst into song, you mountains, you forest and every tree in it! For the LORD has redeemed Jacob, and he will show his glory in Israel.
24 This is what the LORD says, your Redeemer, who shaped you from the womb: "I am the LORD, the maker of everything, who stretched out the heavens alone, who spread out the earth by myself,
25 who foils the omens of babblers and makes fools of diviners, who sends the wise into retreat and turns their knowledge into folly,
26 who makes the word of his servant come true and carries out the plan of his messengers, who says of Jerusalem, 'She will be lived in,' and of the towns of Judah, 'They will be rebuilt, and I will raise up their ruins';
27 who says to the deep, 'Dry up! I will make your rivers dry';
28 who says of Cyrus, 'He is my shepherd, and he will carry out everything I wish,' saying of Jerusalem, 'Let her be rebuilt,' and of the temple, 'Let your foundations be laid.'"