1432 - Isaiah 44 part 2
Isaiah Chapter 44 part 2
The blacksmith stands at his forge, to make a sharp tool,
pounding and shaping it, with all his might.
His work makes him hungry and weak.
It makes him thirsty and faint.
The wood-carver measures a block of wood, and he draws a pattern on it.
He works with chisel and plane, and he carves it into a human figure.
He gives it human beauty and puts it in a little shrine.
He cuts down cedars; he selects the cypress and the oak; he plants the pine in the forest,
to be nourished by the rain.
Then he uses part of the wood to make a fire.
With the fire, he warms himself and bakes his bread.
And—yes, it’s true—he takes the rest of it, and he makes, for himself, a god to worship!
He makes an idol, and he bows down in front of it!
He burns part of the tree, to roast his meat, and to keep himself warm.
He says, “Ah, that fire feels good.”
Then, he takes what’s left, and makes his god: a carved idol!
He falls down in front of it, worshiping it, and praying to it.
“Rescue me!” he says.
“You are my god!”
Such stupidity and ignorance!
The eyes of these idols are closed, and they cannot see.
Their minds are shut, and they cannot think.
The person, who made the idol, never stops to reflect:
“Why, …it’s just a block of wood!
I burned half of it for heat, and I used it to bake my bread, and to roast my meat.
How can the rest of it be a god?
Should I bow down, to worship, a piece of wood?”
The poor, deluded fool… he feeds on ashes.
He trusts in something that can’t help him, at all.
Yet he cannot bring himself to ask:
“Is this idol, that I’m holding in my hand… is it just a lie?”
“Pay attention, O Jacob, …for you are my servant, O Israel.
I, the Lord, made you, …and I will not forget you.
I have swept away your sins, like a cloud of rain, washes away the dust.
I have scattered your offenses, like the morning mist.
Oh, return to me, for I have paid the price, to set you free.”
Sing, O heavens, for the Lord has done this wondrous thing.
Shout for joy, O depths of the earth!
Break into song, O mountains and forests… and every tree!
For the Lord has redeemed Jacob, and He is glorified in Israel.
This is what the Lord says—
your Redeemer and Creator:
“I am the Lord, who made all things.
I alone stretched out the heavens.
Who was with me, when I made the earth?
I expose the false prophets as liars, and I make fools of fortune-tellers.
I cause the wise to give bad advice, thus proving them to be fools.
But I carry out the predictions, of my prophets!
By them, I say to Jerusalem,
‘People will live here again,’
…and to the towns of Judah, I say:
‘You will be rebuilt;
I will restore all your ruins!’
When I speak to the rivers, and I say:
‘Dry up!’
…they will be dry.
When I say of Cyrus:
‘He is my shepherd,’
….he will certainly do as I say.
He will command him:
‘Rebuild Jerusalem’;
…he will say:
‘Restore the Temple.’ ”
The Holy Bible
New Living Translation
Praise be to God!
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