1 NOW hearken to me, O Jacob, my servant, and Israel, whom I have chosen;

2 Thus says the LORD that made you and formed you from the womb and helped you: Fear not, O Jacob, my servant; and you, Israel, whom I have chosen.

3 For I will give water in a parched ground and streams on the dry land; I will pour my spirit upon your descendants and my blessings upon your offspring;

4 And they shall spring up as among the grass, as willows by the running streams.

5 One shall say, I am the LORD'S; and another shall call himself by the name of Jacob; and another shall subscribe with his hand to the LORD and surname himself by the name of Israel.

6 Thus says the LORD the King of Israel, and his Saviour, the LORD of hosts: I am the first and I am the last; and besides me there is no God.

7 And who is like me? Let him announce it and set it in order and declare it, since I placed the people on the earth for ever. And let them show the wonders that are coming.

8 Fear not, neither be alarmed; have not I announced to you from former time, and have declared it? You are my witnesses, that there is no God besides me, and no mighty one whom I do not know.

9 The makers of images are all of them vanity; and there is no profit in the works which they desire to make; the craftsmen who make them are witnesses, for they see not, nor hear, nor know.

10 Therefore let them be ashamed, those who make gods or graven and molten images that are profitable for nothing.

11 Behold, all their craftsmen are dumb men; let them all be gathered together, let them stand up; they shall be ashamed and confounded together;

12 The carpenter sharpens an iron instrument, he shapes the image with a plane and fashions it with a chisel and works it with the strength of his arm; yea, he becomes hungry and also thirsty, he drinks no water and is faint.

13 The carpenter selects a piece of wood, and stretches out his rule; he marks it out with a line; he fashions it with planes and makes it into the likeness of a man, according to the beauty of a man;

14 Then he makes it to stand in the house, a piece of wood which was cut down out of the forest, something which the rain has nourished,

15 A thing for men to use as fuel; they take some of it and heat the oven and bake bread; yea, they also make a god of it and worship it; yea, they make it a graven image and worship it.

16 Half of it they burn in the fire; and on its coals they roast meat, and they eat and are satisfied; they also warm themselves and say, Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire;

17 And of the rest they make a god, even a graven image; and they worship it and pray to it and say, Deliver us; for thou art our god.

18 They have not known nor understood; for the vision of their eyes is shut that they cannot see, and the understanding of their hearts, so that they cannot understand.

19 And they considered not in their heart, neither did they know nor did they reason, saying, Half of it we burned in the fire; yea, also we have baked bread on its coals; we have roasted meat and eaten it; and from the rest of it we have made for ourselves an idol of wood and worshipped it.

20 Their imagination is dull; they are surely gone astray, and cannot deliver themselves, nor say, Our right hand has wrought falsehood.

21 Remember these things, O Jacob and Israel, for you are my servant; I have formed you; you are my servant; O Israel, from henceforth forget me not.

22 I have blotted out your iniquities as a thick mist, and your sins as a cloud; return to me, for I have saved you.

23 Sing, O you heavens; for the LORD has done it; shout, O you foundations of the earth; break forth into singing, O mountains, O forest, and every tree therein! For the LORD has saved Jacob and glorified himself in Israel.

24 Thus says the LORD, who saved you and who formed you from the womb and helped you: I am the LORD who made all things; who stretched out the heavens alone; who spread out the earth by myself;

25 Who makes void the signs of the diviners and despises their divinations; who turns wise men backward and makes their knowledge foolish;

26 Who confirms the word of his servant and performs the counsel of his messengers: who said to Jerusalem, You shall be inhabited, and to the cities of Judah, You shall be built and I will raise up the ruins thereof;

27 Who said to the deep, Be dry, and who dried up the rivers;

28 Who said of Cyrus, He is my shepherd and shall perform all my pleasure; even saying to Jerusalem, You shall be built; and to the temple, Your foundations shall be laid.