122 lines
4.6 KiB
Markdown
122 lines
4.6 KiB
Markdown
# Chapter 44
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1 “Yet hear now, O Jacob My servant,
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And Israel whom I have chosen.
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2 Thus says the Lord who made you
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And formed you from the womb, who will help you:
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‘Fear not, O Jacob My servant;
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And you, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen.
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3 For I will pour water on him who is thirsty,
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And floods on the dry ground;
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I will pour My Spirit on your descendants,
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And My blessing on your offspring;
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4 They will spring up among the grass
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Like willows by the watercourses.’
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5 One will say, ‘I am the Lord’s’;
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Another will call himself by the name of Jacob;
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Another will write with his hand, ‘The Lord’s,’
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And name himself by the name of Israel.
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6 “Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel,
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And his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts:
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‘I am the First and I am the Last;
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Besides Me there is no God.
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7 And who can proclaim as I do?
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Then let him declare it and set it in order for Me,
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Since I appointed the ancient people.
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And the things that are coming and shall come,
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Let them show these to them.
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8 Do not fear, nor be afraid;
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Have I not told you from that time, and declared it?
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You are My witnesses.
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Is there a God besides Me?
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Indeed there is no other Rock;
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I know not one.’ ”
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9 Those who make an image, all of them are useless,
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And their precious things shall not profit;
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They are their own witnesses;
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They neither see nor know, that they may be ashamed.
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10 Who would form a god or mold an image
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That profits him nothing?
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11 Surely all his companions would be ashamed;
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And the workmen, they are mere men.
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Let them all be gathered together,
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Let them stand up;
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Yet they shall fear,
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They shall be ashamed together.
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12 The blacksmith with the tongs works one in the coals,
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Fashions it with hammers,
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And works it with the strength of his arms.
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Even so, he is hungry, and his strength fails;
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He drinks no water and is faint.
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13 The craftsman stretches out his rule,
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He marks one out with chalk;
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He fashions it with a plane,
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He marks it out with the compass,
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And makes it like the figure of a man,
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According to the beauty of a man, that it may remain in the house.
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14 He cuts down cedars for himself,
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And takes the cypress and the oak;
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He secures it for himself among the trees of the forest.
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He plants a pine, and the rain nourishes it.
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15 Then it shall be for a man to burn,
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For he will take some of it and warm himself;
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Yes, he kindles it and bakes bread;
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Indeed he makes a god and worships it;
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He makes it a carved image, and falls down to it.
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16 He burns half of it in the fire;
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With this half he eats meat;
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He roasts a roast, and is satisfied.
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He even warms himself and says,
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“Ah! I am warm,
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I have seen the fire.”
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17 And the rest of it he makes into a god,
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His carved image.
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He falls down before it and worships it,
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Prays to it and says,
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“Deliver me, for you are my god!”
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18 They do not know nor understand;
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For He has shut their eyes, so that they cannot see,
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And their hearts, so that they cannot understand.
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19 And no one considers in his heart,
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Nor is there knowledge nor understanding to say,
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“I have burned half of it in the fire,
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Yes, I have also baked bread on its coals;
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I have roasted meat and eaten it;
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And shall I make the rest of it an abomination?
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Shall I fall down before a block of wood?”
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20 He feeds on ashes;
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A deceived heart has turned him aside;
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And he cannot deliver his soul,
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Nor say, “Is there not a lie in my right hand?”
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21 “Remember these, O Jacob,
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And Israel, for you are My servant;
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I have formed you, you are My servant;
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O Israel, you will not be forgotten by Me!
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22 I have blotted out, like a thick cloud, your transgressions,
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And like a cloud, your sins.
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Return to Me, for I have redeemed you.”
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23 Sing, O heavens, for the Lord has done it!
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Shout, you lower parts of the earth;
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Break forth into singing, you mountains,
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O forest, and every tree in it!
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For the Lord has redeemed Jacob,
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And glorified Himself in Israel.
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24 Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer,
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And He who formed you from the womb:
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“I am the Lord, who makes all things,
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Who stretches out the heavens all alone,
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Who spreads abroad the earth by Myself;
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25 Who frustrates the signs of the babblers,
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And drives diviners mad;
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Who turns wise men backward,
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And makes their knowledge foolishness;
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26 Who confirms the word of His servant,
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And performs the counsel of His messengers;
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Who says to Jerusalem, ‘You shall be inhabited,’
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To the cities of Judah, ‘You shall be built,’
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And I will raise up her waste places;
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27 Who says to the deep, ‘Be dry!
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And I will dry up your rivers’;
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28 Who says of Cyrus, ‘He is My shepherd,
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And he shall perform all My pleasure,
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Saying to Jerusalem, “You shall be built,”
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And to the temple, “Your foundation shall be laid.” ’ |