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¹“But now, listen to me, Jacob my servant, Israel my chosen one.

²The LORD who made you and helps you says: Do not be afraid, O Jacob, my servant, O dear Israel, my chosen one.

³For I will pour out water to quench your thirst and to irrigate your parched fields. And I will pour out my Spirit on your descendants, and my blessing on your children.

⁴They will thrive like watered grass, like willows on a riverbank.

⁵Some will proudly claim, ‘I belong to the LORD.’ Others will say, ‘I am a descendant of Jacob.’ Some will write the LORD’s name on their hands and will take the name of Israel as their own.”

⁶This is what the LORD says — Israel’s King and Redeemer, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies: “I am the First and the Last; there is no other God.

⁷Who is like me? Let him step forward and prove to you his power. Let him do as I have done since ancient times when I established a people and explained its future.

⁸Do not tremble; do not be afraid. Did I not proclaim my purposes for you long ago? You are my witnesses — is there any other God? No! There is no other Rock — not one!”

⁹How foolish are those who manufacture idols. These prized objects are really worthless. The people who worship idols don’t know this, so they are all put to shame.

¹⁰Who but a fool would make his own god — an idol that cannot help him one bit?

¹¹All who worship idols will be disgraced along with all these craftsmen — mere humans — who claim they can make a god. They may all stand together, but they will stand in terror and shame.

¹²The 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.

¹³Then the wood-carver measures a block of wood and draws a pattern on it. He works with chisel and plane and carves it into a human figure. He gives it human beauty and puts it in a little shrine.

¹⁴He cuts down cedars; he selects the cypress and the oak; he plants the pine in the forest to be nourished by the rain.

¹⁵Then he uses part of the wood to make a fire. With it he warms himself and bakes his bread. Then — yes, it’s true — he takes the rest of it and makes himself a god to worship! He makes an idol and bows down in front of it!

¹⁶He burns part of the tree to roast his meat and to keep himself warm. He says, “Ah, that fire feels good.”

¹⁷Then he takes what’s left and makes his god: a carved idol! He falls down in front of it, worshiping and praying to it. “Rescue me!” he says. “You are my god!”

¹⁸Such stupidity and ignorance! Their eyes are closed, and they cannot see. Their minds are shut, and they cannot think.

¹⁹The 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 used it to bake my bread and roast my meat. How can the rest of it be a god? Should I bow down to worship a piece of wood?”

²⁰The poor, deluded fool feeds on ashes. He trusts 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 a lie?”

²¹“Pay attention, O Jacob, for you are my servant, O Israel. I, the LORD, made you, and I will not forget you.

²²I have swept away your sins like a cloud. I have scattered your offenses like the morning mist. Oh, return to me, for I have paid the price to set you free.”

²³Sing, 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 is glorified in Israel.

²⁴This 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?

²⁵I expose the false prophets as liars and make fools of fortune-tellers. I cause the wise to give bad advice, thus proving them to be fools.

²⁶But 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, ‘You will be rebuilt; I will restore all your ruins!’

²⁷When I speak to the rivers and say, ‘Dry up!’ they will be dry.

²⁸When I say of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd,’ he will certainly do as I say. He will command, ‘Rebuild Jerusalem’; he will say, ‘Restore the Temple.’”

¹This is what the LORD says to Cyrus, his anointed one, whose right hand he will empower. Before him, mighty kings will be paralyzed with fear. Their fortress gates will be opened, never to shut again.

²This is what the LORD says: “I will go before you, Cyrus, and level the mountains. I will smash down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron.

³And I will give you treasures hidden in the darkness — secret riches. I will do this so you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, the one who calls you by name.

⁴“And why have I called you for this work? Why did I call you by name when you did not know me? It is for the sake of Jacob my servant, Israel my chosen one.

⁵I am the LORD; there is no other God. I have equipped you for battle, though you don’t even know me,

⁶so all the world from east to west will know there is no other God. I am the LORD, and there is no other.

⁷I create the light and make the darkness. I send good times and bad times. I, the LORD, am the one who does these things.

⁸“Open up, O heavens, and pour out your righteousness. Let the earth open wide so salvation and righteousness can sprout up together. I, the LORD, created them.

⁹“What sorrow awaits those who argue with their Creator. Does a clay pot argue with its maker? Does the clay dispute with the one who shapes it, saying, ‘Stop, you’re doing it wrong!’ Does the pot exclaim, ‘How clumsy can you be?’

¹⁰How terrible it would be if a newborn baby said to its father, ‘Why was I born?’ or if it said to its mother, ‘Why did you make me this way?’”

¹¹This is what the LORD says — the Holy One of Israel and your Creator: “Do you question what I do for my children? Do you give me orders about the work of my hands?

¹²I am the one who made the earth and created people to live on it. With my hands I stretched out the heavens. All the stars are at my command.

¹³I will raise up Cyrus to fulfill my righteous purpose, and I will guide his actions. He will restore my city and free my captive people — without seeking a reward! I, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, have spoken!”

¹⁴This is what the LORD says: “You will rule the Egyptians, the Ethiopians, and the Sabeans. They will come to you with all their merchandise, and it will all be yours. They will follow you as prisoners in chains. They will fall to their knees in front of you and say, ‘God is with you, and he is the only God. There is no other.’”

¹⁵Truly, O God of Israel, our Savior, you work in mysterious ways.

¹⁶All craftsmen who make idols will be humiliated. They will all be disgraced together.

¹⁷But the LORD will save the people of Israel with eternal salvation. Throughout everlasting ages, they will never again be humiliated and disgraced.

¹⁸For the LORD is God, and he created the heavens and earth and put everything in place. He made the world to be lived in, not to be a place of empty chaos. “I am the LORD,” he says, “and there is no other.

¹⁹I publicly proclaim bold promises. I do not whisper obscurities in some dark corner. I would not have told the people of Israel to seek me if I could not be found. I, the LORD, speak only what is true and declare only what is right.

²⁰“Gather together and come, you fugitives from surrounding nations. What fools they are who carry around their wooden idols and pray to gods that cannot save!

²¹Consult together, argue your case. Get together and decide what to say. Who made these things known so long ago? What idol ever told you they would happen? Was it not I, the LORD? For there is no other God but me, a righteous God and Savior. There is none but me.

²²Let all the world look to me for salvation! For I am God; there is no other.

²³I have sworn by my own name; I have spoken the truth, and I will never go back on my word: Every knee will bend to me, and every tongue will declare allegiance to me. ”

²⁴The people will declare, “The LORD is the source of all my righteousness and strength.” And all who were angry with him will come to him and be ashamed.

²⁵In the LORD all the generations of Israel will be justified, and in him they will boast.

¹Bel and Nebo, the gods of Babylon, bow as they are lowered to the ground. They are being hauled away on ox carts. The poor beasts stagger under the weight.

²Both the idols and their owners are bowed down. The gods cannot protect the people, and the people cannot protect the gods. They go off into captivity together.

³“Listen to me, descendants of Jacob, all you who remain in Israel. I have cared for you since you were born. Yes, I carried you before you were born.

⁴I will be your God throughout your lifetime — until your hair is white with age. I made you, and I will care for you. I will carry you along and save you.

⁵“To whom will you compare me? Who is my equal?

⁶Some people pour out their silver and gold and hire a craftsman to make a god from it. Then they bow down and worship it!

⁷They carry it around on their shoulders, and when they set it down, it stays there. It can’t even move! And when someone prays to it, there is no answer. It can’t rescue anyone from trouble.

⁸“Do not forget this! Keep it in mind! Remember this, you guilty ones.

⁹Remember the things I have done in the past. For I alone am God! I am God, and there is none like me.

¹⁰Only I can tell you the future before it even happens. Everything I plan will come to pass, for I do whatever I wish.

¹¹I will call a swift bird of prey from the east — a leader from a distant land to come and do my bidding. I have said what I would do, and I will do it.

¹²“Listen to me, you stubborn people who are so far from doing right.

¹³For I am ready to set things right, not in the distant future, but right now! I am ready to save Jerusalem and show my glory to Israel.