Those Who Make & Worship Engraved Images |
Isaiah 44:1-28 The Book of Isaiah [in Smaller Chunks] |
[Still] hear now, O Jacob My servant & Israel, whom I've chosen, the Lord, [Who] made you & formed you from the womb & Who will help you, says [this, Don't be afraid,] O Jacob, My servant & you, Jeshurun, [a.k.a. Israel,] whom I have chosen. |
For I will pour water upon him, [who] is thirsty & floods upon the dry ground. I will pour [out] My Spirit upon your [descendants] & My Blessing upon your offspring. And they shall [sprout] up [like] among the grass, [like] willows by the water [ways.] |
[Someone] shall say, I am the Lord's & another shall call himself by the name of Jacob. And another shall with his hand [pledge] to the Lord & [give] himself the [family] name of Israel. |
The Lord, the King of Israel & his Redeemer, the Lord of Hosts says [this;] I Am the First & I Am the Last & beside Me, there is no God. [Revelation 1:17-18 And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet [like] dead. And He laid His right hand upon me, saying to me, [Don't] fear, I Am the First & the Last. I Am He, [Who] lives & was dead. And [look,] I Am alive forevermore. Amen. And [I] have the keys of hell & of death.] |
Since I [established] the ancient people & the things that are coming & shall [happen,] who, shall call [out,] declare it & [put] it in order for Me, [like] I [can?] Let them [declare] the things that are coming & shall [happen] to them. [Isaiah 41:4 Who has [brought about] & done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I, the Lord, the First & the Last. I Am He.] |
[Don’t] fear & neither be afraid. Haven't I told you from that time & have declared it? You are even My witnesses. Is there a God [besides] Me? There is no God. I know not any. [Those who] make a [carved] image are all of them [just] vanity & their [delicacies are] not [beneficial.] |
And they are their own witnesses, [but] they [don't] see, nor [do] they know, [so] that they may be ashamed. Who has formed a god, or [molded] a [carved] image that is [beneficial] for nothing? [Look,] all his [friends] shall be ashamed & the workmen are [only] men. |
Let them all be gathered together. Let them stand up. [Yet,] they shall fear & shall be ashamed together. [Psalm 97:7 All [those who] serve [carved] images & boast themselves of idols [are] confused. Worship [the Lord,] all you gods.] |
The [blacksmith] with the tongs, both works in the coals, fashions it with hammers & works it with the strength of his arms. [Yes,] he is hungry & his strength fails. He [hasn't drunk any] water & is faint. |
The carpenter stretches out his [ruler] & he marks it out with a line & he [levels] it with planes. And he marks it out with the compass & makes it [like] the [image] of a man, according to the beauty of a man, [so] that it may remain in the house. |
He [cuts himself] down cedars & takes cypress & oak, which he [gets] for [himself] among the trees of the forest. He plants an ash & the rain [nourishes] it. Then, it shall be for a man to burn. For he will take [some] of it & warm himself. [Yes,] he kindles it & bakes bread. [Yet,] he makes a god & worships it. |
He makes it a [carved] image & falls down [to it there.] He burns part [of it] in the fire. With part [of it,] he eats [meat] & he roasts [a] roast & is satisfied. [Yet,] he warms himself & says, Aha, I've seen the fire & I am warm. And the [remainder of it,] he makes a god, even his [carved] image. |
He falls down to it & worships it & prays to it & says, Deliver me; for you are my god. They haven't known, or understood: for He has [closed] their eyes & hearts [so] that they can't see & understand. [Jeremiah 10:14 Every man is [ignorant] in his knowledge. Every [blacksmith] is [confused] by the [carved] image & for his [molded images are a] falsehood & there is no breath in them.] |
And [no one] considers in his heart & neither is there knowledge, nor understanding to say, I have burned part of it in the fire; [yes,] I have also baked bread upon [its] coals. I have roasted [meat] & eaten it & shall I make the [rest of it] an abomination? Shall I fall down to [worship] the [stump] of a tree? |
He [devours] ashes & a deceived heart has turned him [astray, so] that he can't deliver his [life,] nor say, Isn't there a lie in my right hand? [Romans 1:21-23 Because, when they knew God, they [didn't] glorify Him, as God. Neither were they thankful; but became vain in their imaginations & their foolish heart was darkened. |
[Declaring] themselves to be wise, they became fools & changed the glory of the [incorruptible] God, into an image made [similar] to corruptible man, birds, four-footed [animals] & creeping things.] O Jacob & Israel, remember these, for you are My [servants.] I have formed you & you are My servant & you [won't] be forgotten [by] Me. |
[Like] a thick cloud, I have blotted out your transgressions & [like] a cloud your sins [are covered.] Return to Me, for I have Redeemed you. [Isaiah 43:25 I, even I, Am He, [Who] blots out your transgressions for [My] Own sake & will not remember your sins.] |
O you heavens, sing for the Lord has [accomplished] it. Shout, you lower parts of the earth & break [out] into singing, you mountains. The Lord has Redeemed Jacob & glorified Himself in Israel, O Forest & every tree [in it.] |
The Lord your Redeemer, He, [Who] formed you from the womb, says [this,] I Am the Lord, [Who creates] all things. [Who] stretches [out] the heavens alone & spreads [out] the earth by Myself. [Who defeats] the [symbols] of the liars & makes diviners [insane.] |
[Who] turns wise men backward & makes their knowledge foolish. [Who] confirms the word of His servant & [accomplishes] the counsel of His messengers. [Who] says to Jerusalem, You shall be inhabited & to the cities of Judah, You shall be [rebuilt] & I will raise up [its] decayed places. |
[Who] says to the deep, Be dry & I will dry up your rivers. [Who] says of Cyrus, He is My shepherd & shall [do] all My pleasure. [He] even [says] to Jerusalem, You shall be [rebuilt] & to the temple, Your foundation shall be [relaid.] |
[2 Chronicles 36:22-23 Now, in the 1st year of Cyrus, [Persia's] king, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus, [so] that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom & also put it in writing saying, Cyrus, [Persia's] king, says [this,] The Lord God of heaven has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. |
And He has [given me the responsibility] to [rebuild] Him a house in Jerusalem, [that] is in Judah, [so] the Word of the Lord, spoken by the mouth of Jeremiah, might be accomplished.] |