7everyone called by My name and created for My glory,

whom I have indeed formed and made.”

8Bring out a people who have eyes but are blind,

and who have ears but are deaf.

9All the nations gather together

and the peoples assemble.

Who among them can declare this,

and proclaim to us the former things?

Let them present their witnesses to vindicate them,

so that others may hear and say, “It is true.”

10“You are My witnesses,” declares the LORD,

“and My servant whom I have chosen,

so that you may consider and believe Me

and understand that I am He.

Before Me no god was formed,

and after Me none will come.

11I, yes I, am the LORD,

and there is no Savior but Me.

12I alone decreed and saved and proclaimed—

I, and not some foreign god among you.

So you are My witnesses,” declares the LORD,

“that I am God.

13Even from eternity I am He,

and none can deliver out of My hand.

When I act, who can reverse it?”

A Way in the Wilderness

14Thus says the LORD your Redeemer,

the Holy One of Israel:

“For your sake, I will send to Babylon

and bring them all as fugitives,

even the Chaldeans,

in the ships in which they rejoice.

15I am the LORD, your Holy One,

the Creator of Israel, and your King.”

16Thus says the LORD, who makes a way in the sea

and a path through the surging waters,

17who brings out the chariots and horses,

the armies and warriors together,

to lie down, never to rise again;

to be extinguished, snuffed out like a wick:

18“Do not call to mind the former things;

pay no attention to the things of old.

19Behold, I am about to do something new;

even now it is coming. Do you not see it?

Indeed, I will make a way in the wilderness

and streams in the desert.

20The beasts of the field will honor Me,

the jackals and the ostriches,

because I provide water in the wilderness

and rivers in the desert,

to give drink to My chosen people.

21The people I formed for Myself

will declare My praise.

Israel’s Unfaithfulness

22But you have not called on Me, O Jacob,

because you have grown weary of Me, O Israel.

23You have not brought Me sheep for burnt offerings,

nor honored Me with your sacrifices.

I have not burdened you with offerings,

nor wearied you with frankincense.

24You have not bought Me sweet cane with your silver,

nor satisfied Me with the fat of your sacrifices.

But you have burdened Me with your sins;

you have wearied Me with your iniquities.

25I, yes I, am He

who blots out your transgressions for My own sake

and remembers your sins no more.

26Remind Me, let us argue the matter together.

State your case, so that you may be vindicated.

27Your first father sinned,

and your spokesmen rebelled against Me.

28So I will disgrace the princes of your sanctuary,

and I will devote Jacob to destruction and Israel to reproach.”

The LORD Has Chosen Israel

1But now listen, O Jacob My servant,

Israel, whom I have chosen.

2This is the word of the LORD, your Maker,

who formed you from the womb and who will help you:

“Do not be afraid, O Jacob My servant,

Jeshurun, whom I have chosen.

3For I will pour water on the thirsty land,

and currents on the dry ground.

I will pour out My Spirit on your descendants,

and My blessing on your offspring.

4They will sprout among the grass

like willows by flowing streams.

5One will say, ‘I belong to the LORD,’

another will call himself by the name of Jacob,

and still another will write on his hand, ‘The LORD’s,’

and will take the name of Israel.”

6Thus says the LORD,

the King and Redeemer of Israel, the LORD of Hosts:

“I am the first and I am the last,

and there is no God but Me.

7Who then is like Me?

Let him say so!

Let him declare his case before Me,

since I established an ancient people.

Let him foretell the things to come,

and what is to take place.

8Do not tremble or fear.

Have I not told you and declared it long ago?

You are My witnesses!

Is there any God but Me?

There is no other Rock;

I know not one.”

9All makers of idols are nothing,

and the things they treasure are worthless.

Their witnesses fail to see or comprehend,

so they are put to shame.

10Who fashions a god or casts an idol

which profits him nothing?

11Behold, all his companions will be put to shame,

for the craftsmen themselves are only human.

Let them all assemble and take their stand;

they will all be brought to terror and shame.

12The blacksmith takes a tool

and labors over the coals;

he fashions an idol with hammers

and forges it with his strong arms.

Yet he grows hungry and loses his strength;

he fails to drink water and grows faint.

13The woodworker extends a measuring line;

he marks it out with a stylus;

he shapes it with chisels

and outlines it with a compass.

He fashions it in the likeness of man,

like man in all his glory,

that it may dwell in a shrine.

14He cuts down cedars

or retrieves a cypress or oak.

He lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest.

He plants a laurel, and the rain makes it grow.

15It serves as fuel for man.

He takes some of it to warm himself,

and he kindles a fire

and bakes his bread;

he even fashions it into a god and worships it;

he makes an idol and bows down to it.

16He burns half of it in the fire,

and he roasts meat on that half.

He eats the roast and is satisfied.

Indeed, he warms himself and says,

“Ah! I am warm; I see the fire.”

17From the rest he makes a god, his graven image.

He bows down to it and worships;

he prays to it and says,

“Save me, for you are my god.”

18They do not comprehend or discern,

for He has shut their eyes so they cannot see

and closed their minds so they cannot understand.

19And no one considers in his heart,

no one has the knowledge or insight to say,

“I burned half of it in the fire,

and I baked bread on its coals;

I roasted meat and I ate.

Shall I make something detestable with the rest of it?

Shall I bow down to a block of wood?”

20He feeds on ashes.

His deluded heart has led him astray,

and he cannot deliver himself or say,

“Is not this thing in my right hand a lie?”

Jerusalem to Be Restored

21Remember these things, O Jacob,

for you are My servant, O Israel.

I have made you, and you are My servant;

O Israel, I will never forget you.

22I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud,

and your sins like a mist.

Return to Me, for I have redeemed you.

23Sing for joy, O heavens, for the LORD has done this;

shout aloud, O depths of the earth.

Break forth in song, O mountains,

you forests and all your trees.

For the LORD has redeemed Jacob,

and revealed His glory in Israel.