Isaiah 44:6-23

6“This is what the Lord says, He who is the 1King of Israel and his 2Redeemer, the Lord of armies: ‘I am the 3first and I am the last, And there is no God 4besides Me.7Who is like Me? 5Let him proclaim and declare it; And, let him confront Me 6Beginning with My establishing of the ancient 7nation. Then let them declare to them the things that are coming And the events that are going to take place.8Do not tremble and do not be afraid; 8Have I not long since announced it to you and declared it? And 9you are My witnesses. Is there any God 10besides Me, Or is there any other 11Rock? I know of none.’”

9Those who fashion an idol are all futile, and their treasured things are of no benefit; even their own witnesses fail to see or know, so that they will be 12put to shame. 10Who has fashioned a god or cast an idol to 13no benefit? 11Behold, all his companions will be 14put to shame, for the craftsmen themselves are mere men. Let them all assemble themselves, let them stand up, let them tremble, let them be put to shame together.

12The 15craftsman of iron shapes a cutting tool and does his work over the coals, 16fashioning it with hammers and working it with his strong arm. He also gets hungry and 17his strength fails; he drinks no water and becomes weary. 1318The craftsman of wood extends a measuring line; he outlines it with a marker. He works it with carving knives and outlines it with a compass, and makes it like the form of a man, like the beauty of 19mankind, so that it may sit in a 20house. 14He will cut cedars for himself, and he takes a holm-oak or another oak and lets it grow strong for himself among the trees of the forest. He plants a laurel tree, and the rain makes it grow. 15Then it becomes something for a person to burn, so he takes one of them and gets warm; he also makes a fire and bakes bread. He also 21makes a god and worships it; he makes it a carved image and 22bows down before it. 16Half of it he burns in the fire; over this half he eats meat, he roasts a roast, and is satisfied. He also warms himself and says, “Aha! I am warm, I have seen the fire.” 17Yet the rest of it he 23makes into a god, his carved image. He bows down before it and worships; he also 24prays to it and says, “Save me, for you are my god.”

18They do not 25know, nor do they understand, for He has 26smeared over their eyes so that they cannot see, and their hearts so that they cannot comprehend. 19No one 27remembers, nor is there 28knowledge 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 29I make the rest of it into an 30abomination, 31I bow down before a block of wood!” 20He 3233feeds on ashes; a 34deceived heart has misled him. And he cannot save 35himself, nor say, “36Is there not a lie in my right hand?”

21“37Remember these things, Jacob, And Israel, for you are 38My servant; I have formed you, you are My servant, Israel, you will 39not be forgotten by Me.22I have 40wiped out your wrongdoings like a thick cloud And your sins like a 41heavy mist. 42Return to Me, for I have 43redeemed you.”2344Shout for joy, you heavens, for the Lord has done it! Shout joyfully, you lower parts of the earth; 45Break into a shout of jubilation, you mountains, Forest, and every tree in it; For 46the Lord has redeemed Jacob, And in Israel He 47shows His glory.