Good News Translation (GNT)

The Assyrians Threaten Jerusalem

1 In the fourteenth year that Hezekiah was king of Judah, Sennacherib, the emperor of Assyria, attacked the fortified cities of Judah and captured them.

2 Then he ordered his chief official to go from Lachish to Jerusalem with a large military force to demand that King Hezekiah surrender. The official occupied the road where the cloth makers work, by the ditch that brings water from the upper pool.

3 Three Judeans came out to meet him: the official in charge of the palace, Eliakim son of Hilkiah; the court secretary, Shebna; and the official in charge of the records, Joah son of Asaph.

4 The Assyrian official told them that the emperor wanted to know what made King Hezekiah so confident.

5 He demanded, “Do you think that words can take the place of military skill and might? Who do you think will help you rebel against Assyria?

6 You are expecting Egypt to help you, but that would be like using a reed as a walking stick—it would break and would jab your hand. That is what the king of Egypt is like when anyone relies on him.”

7 The Assyrian official went on, “Or will you tell me that you are relying on the Lord your God? It was the Lord’s shrines and altars that Hezekiah destroyed when he told the people of Judah and Jerusalem to worship at one altar only.

8 I will make a bargain with you in the name of the emperor. I will give you two thousand horses if you can find that many riders.

9 You are no match for even the lowest ranking Assyrian official, and yet you expect the Egyptians to send you chariots and horsemen.

10 Do you think I have attacked your country and destroyed it without the Lord’s help? The Lord himself told me to attack it and destroy it.”

11 Then Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah told the official, “Speak Aramaic to us. We understand it. Don’t speak Hebrew; all the people on the wall are listening.”

12 He replied, “Do you think you and the king are the only ones the emperor sent me to say all these things to? No, I am also talking to the people who are sitting on the wall, who will have to eat their excrement and drink their urine, just as you will.”

13 Then the official stood up and shouted in Hebrew, “Listen to what the emperor of Assyria is telling you.

14 He warns you not to let Hezekiah deceive you. Hezekiah can’t save you.

15 And don’t let him persuade you to rely on the Lord. Don’t think that the Lord will save you and that he will stop our Assyrian army from capturing your city.

16 Don’t listen to Hezekiah! The emperor of Assyria commands you to come out of the city and surrender. You will all be allowed to eat grapes from your own vines and figs from your own trees, and to drink water from your own wells—

17 until the emperor resettles you in a country much like your own, where there are vineyards to give wine and there is grain for making bread.

18 Don’t let Hezekiah fool you into thinking that the Lord will rescue you. Did the gods of any other nations save their countries from the emperor of Assyria?

19 Where are they now, the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? Did anyone save Samaria?

20 When did any of the gods of all these countries ever save their country from our emperor? Then what makes you think the Lord can save Jerusalem?”

21 The people kept quiet, just as King Hezekiah had told them to; they did not say a word.

22 Then Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah tore their clothes in grief and went and reported to the king what the Assyrian official had said.

—https://cdn-youversionapi.global.ssl.fastly.net/audio-bible-youversionapi/363/32k/ISA/36-542a5280a2bd9ed54c8d91b0b1aa64a3.mp3?version_id=68—

The King Asks Isaiah’s Advice

1 As soon as King Hezekiah heard their report, he tore his clothes in grief, put on sackcloth, and went to the Temple of the Lord.

2 He sent Eliakim, the official in charge of the palace, Shebna, the court secretary, and the senior priests to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz. They also were wearing sackcloth.

3 This is the message which he told them to give to Isaiah: “Today is a day of suffering; we are being punished and are in disgrace. We are like a woman who is ready to give birth, but is too weak to do it.

4 The Assyrian emperor has sent his chief official to insult the living God. May the Lord your God hear these insults and punish those who spoke them. So pray to God for those of our people who survive.”

5 When Isaiah received King Hezekiah’s message,

6 he sent back this answer: “The Lord tells you not to let the Assyrians frighten you by their claims that he cannot save you.

7 The Lord will cause the emperor to hear a rumor that will make him go back to his own country, and the Lord will have him killed there.”

The Assyrians Send Another Threat

8 The Assyrian official learned that the emperor had left Lachish and was fighting against the nearby city of Libnah; so he went there to consult him.

9 Word reached the Assyrians that the Egyptian army, led by King Tirhakah of Ethiopia,was coming to attack them. When the emperor heard this, he sent a letter to King Hezekiah

10 of Judah to tell him: “The god you are trusting in has told you that you will not fall into my hands, but don’t let that deceive you.

11 You have heard what an Assyrian emperor does to any country he decides to destroy. Do you think that you can escape?

12 My ancestors destroyed the cities of Gozan, Haran, and Rezeph, and killed the people of Betheden who lived in Telassar, and none of their gods could save them.

13 Where are the kings of the cities of Hamath, Arpad, Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?”

14 King Hezekiah took the letter from the messengers and read it. Then he went to the Temple, placed the letter there in the presence of the Lord,

15 and prayed,

16 “Almighty Lord, God of Israel, seated above the winged creatures, you alone are God, ruling all the kingdoms of the world. You created the earth and the sky.

17 Now, Lord, hear us and look at what is happening to us. Listen to all the things that Sennacherib is saying to insult you, the living God.

18 We all know, Lord, that the emperors of Assyria have destroyed many nations, made their lands desolate,

19 and burned up their gods—which were no gods at all, only images of wood and stone made by human hands.

20 Now, Lord our God, rescue us from the Assyrians, so that all the nations of the world will know that you alone are God.”

Isaiah’s Message to the King

21 Then Isaiah sent a message telling King Hezekiah that in answer to the king’s prayer

22 the Lord had said, “The city of Jerusalem laughs at you, Sennacherib, and makes fun of you.

23 Whom do you think you have been insulting and ridiculing? You have been disrespectful to me, the holy God of Israel.

24 You sent your servants to boast to me that with all your chariots you had conquered the highest mountains of Lebanon. You boasted that there you cut down the tallest cedars and the finest cypress trees, and that you reached the deepest parts of the forests.

25 You boasted that you dug wells and drank water in foreign lands, and that the feet of your soldiers tramped the Nile River dry.

26 “Have you never heard that I planned all this long ago? And now I have carried it out. I gave you the power to turn fortified cities into piles of rubble.

27 The people who lived there were powerless; they were frightened and stunned. They were like grass in a field or weeds growing on a roof when the hot east wind blasts them.

28 “But I know everything about you, what you do and where you go. I know how you rage against me.

29 I have received the report of that rage and that pride of yours, and now I will put a hook through your nose and a bit in your mouth and will take you back by the same road you came.”

30 Then Isaiah said to King Hezekiah, “Here is a sign of what will happen. This year and next you will have only wild grain to eat, but the following year you will be able to plant grain and harvest it, and plant vines and eat grapes.

31 Those in Judah who survive will flourish like plants that send roots deep into the ground and produce fruit.

32 There will be people in Jerusalem and on Mount Zion who will survive, because the Lord Almighty is determined to make this happen.

33 “And this is what the Lord has said about the Assyrian emperor: ‘He will not enter this city or shoot a single arrow against it. No soldiers with shields will come near the city, and no siege mounds will be built around it.

34 He will go back by the same road he came, without entering this city. I, the Lord, have spoken.

35 I will defend this city and protect it, for the sake of my own honor and because of the promise I made to my servant David.’”

36 An angel of the Lord went to the Assyrian camp and killed 185,000 soldiers. At dawn the next day there they lay, all dead!

37 Then the Assyrian emperor Sennacherib withdrew and returned to Nineveh.

38 One day when he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, two of his sons, Adrammelech and Sharezer, killed him with their swords and then escaped to the land of Ararat. Another of his sons, Esarhaddon, succeeded him as emperor.

—https://cdn-youversionapi.global.ssl.fastly.net/audio-bible-youversionapi/363/32k/ISA/37-9acef65651e99e622fa1d950bd27f1a4.mp3?version_id=68—

King Hezekiah’s Illness and Recovery

1 About this time King Hezekiah became sick and almost died. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to see him and said to him, “The Lord tells you that you are to put everything in order because you will not recover. Get ready to die.”

2 Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed:

3 “Remember, Lord, that I have served you faithfully and loyally, and that I have always tried to do what you wanted me to.” And he began to cry bitterly.

4 Then the Lord commanded Isaiah

5 to go back to Hezekiah and say to him, “I, the Lord, the God of your ancestor David, have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will let you live fifteen years longer.

6 I will rescue you and this city of Jerusalem from the emperor of Assyria, and I will continue to protect the city.”

21 Isaiah told the king to put a paste made of figs on his boil, and he would get well.

22 Then King Hezekiah asked, “What is the sign to prove that I will be able to go to the Temple?”

7 Isaiah replied, “The Lord will give you a sign to prove that he will keep his promise.

8 On the stairway built by King Ahaz, the Lord will make the shadow go back ten steps.” And the shadow moved back ten steps.

9 After Hezekiah recovered from his illness, he wrote this song of praise:

10 I thought that in the prime of life

I was going to the world of the dead,

Never to live out my life.

11 I thought that in this world of the living

I would never again see the Lord

Or any living person.

12 My life was cut off and ended,

Like a tent that is taken down,

Like cloth that is cut from a loom.

I thought that God was ending my life.

13 All night I cried out with pain,

As if a lion were breaking my bones.

I thought that God was ending my life.

14 My voice was thin and weak,

And I moaned like a dove.

My eyes grew tired from looking to heaven.

Lord, rescue me from all this trouble.

15 What can I say? The Lord has done this.

My heart is bitter, and I cannot sleep.

16 Lord, I will live for you, for you alone;

Heal me and let me live.

17 My bitterness will turn into peace.

You savemy life from all danger;

You forgive all my sins.

18 No one in the world of the dead can praise you;

The dead cannot trust in your faithfulness.

19 It is the living who praise you,

As I praise you now.

Parents tell their children how faithful you are.

20 Lord, you have healed me.

We will play harps and sing your praise,

Sing praise in your Temple as long as we live.

—https://cdn-youversionapi.global.ssl.fastly.net/audio-bible-youversionapi/363/32k/ISA/38-a4d729240157fe18eca365d27d3eb8af.mp3?version_id=68—

Messengers from Babylonia

1 About that same time the king of Babylonia, Merodach Baladan, son of Baladan, heard that King Hezekiah had been sick, so he sent him a letter and a present.

2 Hezekiah welcomed the messengers and showed them his wealth—his silver and gold, his spices and perfumes, and all his military equipment. There was nothing in his storerooms or anywhere in his kingdom that he did not show them.

3 Then the prophet Isaiah went to King Hezekiah and asked, “Where did these messengers come from and what did they say to you?”

Hezekiah answered, “They came from a very distant country, from Babylonia.”

4 “What did they see in the palace?”

“They saw everything. There is nothing in the storerooms that I didn’t show them.”

5 Isaiah then told the king, “The Lord Almighty says that

6 a time is coming when everything in your palace, everything that your ancestors have stored up to this day, will be carried off to Babylonia. Nothing will be left.

7 Some of your own direct descendants will be taken away and made eunuchs to serve in the palace of the king of Babylonia.”

8 King Hezekiah understood this to mean that there would be peace and security during his lifetime, so he replied, “The message you have given me from the Lord is good.”

—https://cdn-youversionapi.global.ssl.fastly.net/audio-bible-youversionapi/363/32k/ISA/39-e9e61852b518ac4a82870e8d068249d3.mp3?version_id=68—

Words of Hope

1 “Comfort my people,” says our God. “Comfort them!

2 Encourage the people of Jerusalem.

Tell them they have suffered long enough

and their sins are now forgiven.

I have punished them in full for all their sins.”

3 A voice cries out,

“Prepare in the wilderness a road for the Lord!

Clear the way in the desert for our God!

4 Fill every valley;

level every mountain.

The hills will become a plain,

and the rough country will be made smooth.

5 Then the glory of the Lord will be revealed,

and all people will see it.

The Lord himself has promised this.”

6 A voice cries out, “Proclaim a message!”

“What message shall I proclaim?” I ask.

“Proclaim that all human beings are like grass;

they last no longer than wild flowers.

7 Grass withers and flowers fade

when the Lord sends the wind blowing over them.

People are no more enduring than grass.

8 Yes, grass withers and flowers fade,

but the word of our God endures forever.”

9 Jerusalem, go up on a high mountain

and proclaim the good news!

Call out with a loud voice, Zion;

announce the good news!

Speak out and do not be afraid.

Tell the towns of Judah

that their God is coming!

10 The Sovereign Lord is coming to rule with power,

bringing with him the people he has rescued.

11 He will take care of his flock like a shepherd;

he will gather the lambs together

and carry them in his arms;

he will gently lead their mothers.

Israel’s Incomparable God

12 Can anyone measure the ocean by handfuls

or measure the sky with his hands?

Can anyone hold the soil of the earth in a cup

or weigh the mountains and hills on scales?

13 Can anyone tell the Lord what to do?

Who can teach him or give him advice?

14 With whom does God consult

in order to know and understand

and to learn how things should be done?

15 To the Lord the nations are nothing,

no more than a drop of water;

the distant islands are as light as dust.

16 All the animals in the forests of Lebanon

are not enough for a sacrifice to our God,

and its trees are too few to kindle the fire.

17 The nations are nothing at all to him.

18 To whom can God be compared?

How can you describe what he is like?

19 He is not like an idol that workers make,

that metalworkers cover with gold

and set in a base of silver.

20 Anyone who cannot afford silver or gold

chooses wood that will not rot.

He finds a skillful worker

to make an image that won’t fall down.

21 Do you not know?

Were you not told long ago?

Have you not heard how the world began?

22 It was made by the one who sits on his throne

above the earth and beyond the sky;

the people below look as tiny as ants.

He stretched out the sky like a curtain,

like a tent in which to live.

23 He brings down powerful rulers

and reduces them to nothing.

24 They are like young plants,

just set out and barely rooted.

When the Lord sends a wind,

they dry up and blow away like straw.

25 To whom can the holy God be compared?

Is there anyone else like him?

26 Look up at the sky!

Who created the stars you see?

The one who leads them out like an army,

he knows how many there are

and calls each one by name!

His power is so great—

not one of them is ever missing!

27 Israel, why then do you complain

that the Lord doesn’t know your troubles

or care if you suffer injustice?

28 Don’t you know? Haven’t you heard?

The Lord is the everlasting God;

he created all the world.

He never grows tired or weary.

No one understands his thoughts.

29 He strengthens those who are weak and tired.

30 Even those who are young grow weak;

young people can fall exhausted.

31 But those who trust in the Lord for help

will find their strength renewed.

They will rise on wings like eagles;

they will run and not get weary;

they will walk and not grow weak.

—https://cdn-youversionapi.global.ssl.fastly.net/audio-bible-youversionapi/363/32k/ISA/40-e92679305db9ecfa429056b5bb6bed55.mp3?version_id=68—

God’s Assurance to Israel

1 God says,

“Be silent and listen to me, you distant lands!

Get ready to present your case in court;

you will have your chance to speak.

Let us come together to decide who is right.

2 “Who was it that brought the conqueror from the east

and makes him triumphant wherever he goes?

Who gives him victory over kings and nations?

His sword strikes them down as if they were dust.

His arrows scatter them like straw before the wind.

3 He follows in pursuit and marches safely on,

so fast that he hardly touches the ground!

4 Who was it that made this happen?

Who has determined the course of history?

I, the Lord, was there at the beginning,

and I, the Lord, will be there at the end.

5 “The people of distant lands have seen what I have done;

they are frightened and tremble with fear.

So they all assemble and come.

6 The skilled workers help and encourage each other.

7 The carpenter says to the goldsmith, ‘Well done!’

The one who beats the idol smooth

encourages the one who nails it together.

They say, ‘The soldering is good’—

and they fasten the idol in place with nails.

8 “But you, Israel my servant,

you are the people that I have chosen,

the descendants of Abraham, my friend.

9 I brought you from the ends of the earth;

I called you from its farthest corners

and said to you, ‘You are my servant.’

I did not reject you, but chose you.

10 Do not be afraid—I am with you!

I am your God—let nothing terrify you!

I will make you strong and help you;

I will protect you and save you.

11 “Those who are angry with you

will know the shame of defeat.

Those who fight against you will die

12 and will disappear from the earth.

13 I am the Lord your God;

I strengthen you and tell you,

‘Do not be afraid; I will help you.’”

14 The Lord says,

“Small and weak as you are, Israel,

don’t be afraid; I will help you.

I, the holy God of Israel, am the one who saves you.

15 I will make you like a threshing board,

with spikes that are new and sharp.

You will thresh mountains and destroy them;

hills will crumble into dust.

16 You will toss them in the air;

the wind will carry them off,

and they will be scattered by the storm.

Then you will be happy because I am your God;

you will praise me, the holy God of Israel.

17 “When my people in their need look for water,

when their throats are dry with thirst,

then I, the Lord, will answer their prayer;

I, the God of Israel, will never abandon them.

18 I will make rivers flow among barren hills

and springs of water run in the valleys.

I will turn the desert into pools of water

and the dry land into flowing springs.

19 I will make cedars grow in the desert,

and acacias and myrtles and olive trees.

Forests will grow in barren land,

forests of pine and juniper and cypress.

20 People will see this and know

that I, the Lord, have done it.

They will come to understand

that Israel’s holy God has made it happen.”

The Lord’s Challenge to False Gods

21 The Lord, the king of Israel, has this to say:

“You gods of the nations, present your case.

Bring the best arguments you have!

22 Come here and predict what will happen,

so that we will know it when it takes place.

Explain to the court the events of the past,

and tell us what they mean.

23 Tell us what the future holds—

then we will know that you are gods!

Do something good or bring some disaster;

fill us with fear and awe!

24 You and all you do are nothing;

those who worship you are disgusting!

25 “I have chosen a man who lives in the east;

I will bring him to attack from the north.

He tramples on rulers as if they were mud,

like a potter trampling clay.

26 Which of you predicted that this would happen,

so that we could say that you were right?

None of you said a word about it;

no one heard you say a thing!

27 I, the Lord, was the first to tell Zion the news;

I sent a messenger to Jerusalem to say,

‘Your people are coming! They are coming home!’

28 When I looked among the gods,

none of them had a thing to say;

not one could answer the questions I asked.

29 All these gods are useless;

they can do nothing at all—

these idols are weak and powerless.”

—https://cdn-youversionapi.global.ssl.fastly.net/audio-bible-youversionapi/363/32k/ISA/41-007770da913a196a0654b5739e45d5f6.mp3?version_id=68—

The Lord’s Servant

1 The Lord says,

“Here is my servant, whom I strengthen—

the one I have chosen, with whom I am pleased.

I have filled him with my Spirit,

and he will bring justice to every nation.

2 He will not shout or raise his voice

or make loud speeches in the streets.

3 He will not break off a bent reed

nor put out a flickering lamp.

He will bring lasting justice to all.

4 He will not lose hope or courage;

he will establish justice on the earth.

Distant lands eagerly wait for his teaching.”

5 God created the heavens and stretched them out;

he fashioned the earth and all that lives there;

he gave life and breath to all its people.

And now the Lord God says to his servant,

6 “I, the Lord, have called you and given you power

to see that justice is done on earth.

Through you I will make a covenant with all peoples;

through you I will bring light to the nations.

7 You will open the eyes of the blind

and set free those who sit in dark prisons.

8 “I alone am the Lord your God.

No other god may share my glory;

I will not let idols share my praise.

9 The things I predicted have now come true.

Now I will tell you of new things

even before they begin to happen.”

A Song of Praise

10 Sing a new song to the Lord;

sing his praise, all the world!

Praise him, you that sail the sea;

praise him, all creatures of the sea!

Sing, distant lands and all who live there!

11 Let the desert and its towns praise God;

let the people of Kedar praise him!

Let those who live in the city of Sela

shout for joy from the tops of the mountains!

12 Let those who live in distant lands

give praise and glory to the Lord!

13 The Lord goes out to fight like a warrior;

he is ready and eager for battle.

He gives a war cry, a battle shout;

he shows his power against his enemies.

God Promises to Help His People

14 God says,

“For a long time I kept silent;

I did not answer my people.

But now the time to act has come;

I cry out like a woman in labor.

15 I will destroy the hills and mountains

and dry up the grass and trees.

I will turn the river valleys into deserts

and dry up the pools of water.

16 “I will lead my blind people

by roads they have never traveled.

I will turn their darkness into light

and make rough country smooth before them.

These are my promises,

and I will keep them without fail.

17 All who trust in idols,

who call images their gods,

will be humiliated and disgraced.”

Israel’s Failure to Learn

18 The Lord says,

“Listen, you deaf people!

Look closely, you that are blind!

19 Is anyone more blind than my servant,

more deaf than the messenger I send?

20 Israel, you have seen so much,

but what has it meant to you?

You have ears to hear with,

but what have you really heard?”

21 The Lord is a God who is eager to save,

so he exalted his laws and teachings,

and he wanted his people to honor them.

22 But now his people have been plundered;

they are locked up in dungeons

and hidden away in prisons.

They were robbed and plundered,

with no one to come to their rescue.

23 Will any of you listen to this?

From now on will you listen with care?

24 Who gave Israel up to the looters?

It was the Lord himself, against whom we sinned!

We would not live as he wanted us to live

or obey the teachings he gave us.

25 So he made us feel the force of his anger

and suffer the violence of war.

Like fire his anger burned throughout Israel,

but we never knew what was happening;

we learned nothing at all from it.

—https://cdn-youversionapi.global.ssl.fastly.net/audio-bible-youversionapi/363/32k/ISA/42-82ea344b2bddd22a1359ed492eb3cb82.mp3?version_id=68—

God Promises to Rescue His People

1 Israel, the Lord who created you says,

“Do not be afraid—I will save you.

I have called you by name—you are mine.

2 When you pass through deep waters, I will be with you;

your troubles will not overwhelm you.

When you pass through fire, you will not be burned;

the hard trials that come will not hurt you.

3 For I am the Lord your God,

the holy God of Israel, who saves you.

I will give up Egypt to set you free;

I will give up Ethiopiaand Seba.

4 I will give up whole nations to save your life,

because you are precious to me

and because I love you and give you honor.

5 Do not be afraid—I am with you!

“From the distant east and the farthest west

I will bring your people home.

6 I will tell the north to let them go

and the south not to hold them back.

Let my people return from distant lands,

from every part of the world.

7 They are my own people,

and I created them to bring me glory.”

Israel Is the Lord’s Witness

8 God says,

“Summon my people to court.

They have eyes, but they are blind;

they have ears, but they are deaf!

9 Summon the nations to come to the trial.

Which of their gods can predict the future?

Which of them foretold what is happening now?

Let these gods bring in their witnesses

to prove that they are right,

to testify to the truth of their words.

10 “People of Israel, you are my witnesses;

I chose you to be my servant,

so that you would know me and believe in me

and understand that I am the only God.

Besides me there is no other god;

there never was and never will be.

11 “I alone am the Lord,

the only one who can save you.

12 I predicted what would happen,

and then I came to your aid.

No foreign god has ever done this;

you are my witnesses.

13 I am God and always will be.

No one can escape from my power;

no one can change what I do.”

Escape from Babylon

14 Israel’s holy God, the Lord who saves you, says,

“To save you, I will send an army against Babylon;

I will break down the city gates,

and the shouts of her people will turn into crying.

15 I am the Lord, your holy God.

I created you, Israel, and I am your king.”

16 Long ago the Lord made a road through the sea,

a path through the swirling waters.

17 He led a mighty army to destruction,

an army of chariots and horses.

Down they fell, never to rise,

snuffed out like the flame of a lamp!

18 But the Lord says,

“Do not cling to events of the past

or dwell on what happened long ago.

19 Watch for the new thing I am going to do.

It is happening already—you can see it now!

I will make a road through the wilderness

and give you streams of water there.

20 Even the wild animals will honor me;

jackals and ostriches will praise me

when I make rivers flow in the desert

to give water to my chosen people.

21 They are the people I made for myself,

and they will sing my praises!”

Israel’s Sin

22 The Lord says,

“But you were tired of me, Israel;

you did not worship me.

23 You did not bring me your burnt offerings of sheep;

you did not honor me with your sacrifices.

I did not burden you by demanding offerings

or wear you out by asking for incense.

24 You didn’t buy incense for me

or satisfy me with the fat of your animals.

Instead you burdened me with your sins;

you wore me out with the wrongs you have committed.

25 And yet, I am the God who forgives your sins,

and I do this because of who I am.

I will not hold your sins against you.

26 “Let us go to court; bring your accusation!

Present your case to prove you are in the right!

27 Your earliest ancestorsinned;

your leaders sinned against me,

28 and your rulers profanedmy sanctuary.

So I brought destruction on Israel;

I let my own people be insulted.”

—https://cdn-youversionapi.global.ssl.fastly.net/audio-bible-youversionapi/363/32k/ISA/43-a223c2b5597943303b87c23cbe919597.mp3?version_id=68—

The Lord Is the Only God

1 The Lord says,

“Listen now, Israel, my servant,

my chosen people, the descendants of Jacob.

2 I am the Lord who created you;

from the time you were born, I have helped you.

Do not be afraid; you are my servant,

my chosen people whom I love.

3 “I will give water to the thirsty land

and make streams flow on the dry ground.

I will pour out my spirit on your children

and my blessing on your descendants.

4 They will thrive like well-watered grass,

like willows by streams of running water.

5 “One by one, people will say, ‘I am the Lord’s.’

They will come to join the people of Israel.

They each will mark the name of the Lord on their arms

and call themselves one of God’s people.”

6 The Lord, who rules and protects Israel,

the Lord Almighty, has this to say:

“I am the first, the last, the only God;

there is no other god but me.

7 Could anyone else have done what I did?

Who could have predicted all that would happen

from the very beginning to the end of time?

8 Do not be afraid, my people!

You know that from ancient times until now

I have predicted all that would happen,

and you are my witnesses.

Is there any other god?

Is there some powerful god I never heard of?”

Idolatry Is Ridiculed

9 All those who make idols are worthless, and the gods they prize so highly are useless. Those who worship these gods are blind and ignorant—and they will be disgraced.

10 It does no good to make a metal image to worship as a god!

11 Everyone who worships it will be humiliated. The people who make idols are human beings and nothing more. Let them come and stand trial—they will be terrified and will suffer disgrace.

12 The metalworker takes a piece of metal and works with it over a fire. His strong arm swings a hammer to pound the metal into shape. As he works, he gets hungry, thirsty, and tired.

13 The carpenter measures the wood. He outlines a figure with chalk, carves it out with his tools, and makes it in the form of a man, a handsome human figure, to be placed in his house.

14 He might cut down cedars to use, or choose oak or cypress wood from the forest. Or he might plant a laurel tree and wait for the rain to make it grow.

15 A person uses part of a tree for fuel and part of it for making an idol. With one part he builds a fire to warm himself and bake bread; with the other part he makes a god and worships it.

16 With some of the wood he makes a fire; he roasts meat, eats it, and is satisfied. He warms himself and says, “How nice and warm! What a beautiful fire!”

17 The rest of the wood he makes into an idol, and then he bows down and worships it. He prays to it and says, “You are my god—save me!”

18 Such people are too stupid to know what they are doing. They close their eyes and their minds to the truth.

19 The maker of idols hasn’t the wit or the sense to say, “Some of the wood I burned up. I baked some bread on the coals, and I roasted meat and ate it. And the rest of the wood I made into an idol. Here I am bowing down to a block of wood!”

20 It makes as much senseas eating ashes. His foolish ideas have so misled him that he is beyond help. He won’t admit to himself that the idol he holds in his hand is not a god at all.

The Lord, the Creator and Savior

21 The Lord says,

“Israel, remember this;

remember that you are my servant.

I created you to be my servant,

and I will never forget you.

22 I have swept your sins away like a cloud.

Come back to me; I am the one who saves you.”

23 Shout for joy, you heavens!

Shout, deep places of the earth!

Shout for joy, mountains, and every tree of the forest!

The Lord has shown his greatness

by saving his people Israel.

24 “I am the Lord, your savior;

I am the one who created you.

I am the Lord, the Creator of all things.

I alone stretched out the heavens;

when I made the earth, no one helped me.

25 I make fools of fortunetellers

and frustrate the predictions of astrologers.

The words of the wise I refute

and show that their wisdom is foolishness.

26 But when my servant makes a prediction,

when I send a messenger to reveal my plans,

I make those plans and predictions come true.

I tell Jerusalem that people will live there again,

and the cities of Judah that they will be rebuilt.

Those cities will rise from the ruins.

27 With a word of command I dry up the ocean.

28 I say to Cyrus, ‘You are the one who will rule for me;

you will do what I want you to do:

you will order that Jerusalem be rebuilt

and that the foundations of the Temple be laid.’”

—https://cdn-youversionapi.global.ssl.fastly.net/audio-bible-youversionapi/363/32k/ISA/44-d0bd77c37504c04a6e4454fa4440cf5a.mp3?version_id=68—

The Lord Appoints Cyrus

1 The Lord has chosen Cyrus to be king.

He has appointed him to conquer nations;

he sends him to strip kings of their power;

the Lord will open the gates of cities for him.

To Cyrus the Lord says,

2 “I myself will prepare your way,

leveling mountains and hills.

I will break down bronze gates

and smash their iron bars.

3 I will give you treasures from dark, secret places;

then you will know that I am the Lord

and that the God of Israel has called you by name.

4 I appoint you to help my servant Israel,

the people that I have chosen.

I have given you great honor,

although you do not know me.

5 “I am the Lord; there is no other god.

I will give you the strength you need,

although you do not know me.

6 I do this so that everyone

from one end of the world to the other

may know that I am the Lord

and that there is no other god.

7 I create both light and darkness;

I bring both blessing and disaster.

I, the Lord, do all these things.

8 I will send victory from the sky like rain;

the earth will open to receive it

and will blossom with freedom and justice.

I, the Lord, will make this happen.”

The Lord of Creation and History

9 Does a clay pot dare argue with its maker,

a pot that is like all the others?

Does the clay ask the potter what he is doing?

Does the pot complain that its maker has no skill?

10 Do we dare say to our parents,

“Why did you make me like this?”

11 The Lord, the holy God of Israel,

the one who shapes the future, says:

“You have no right to question me about my children

or to tell me what I ought to do!

12 I am the one who made the earth

and created human beings to live there.

By my power I stretched out the heavens;

I control the sun, the moon, and the stars.

13 I myself have stirred Cyrus to action

to fulfill my purpose and put things right.

I will straighten out every road that he travels.

He will rebuild my city, Jerusalem,

and set my captive people free.

No one has hired him or bribed him to do this.”

The Lord Almighty has spoken.

14 The Lord says to Israel,

“The wealth of Egypt and Ethiopiawill be yours,

and the tall men of Seba will be your slaves;

they will follow you in chains.

They will bow down to you and confess,

‘God is with you—he alone is God.

15 The God of Israel, who saves his people,

is a God who conceals himself.

16 Those who make idols will all be ashamed;

all of them will be disgraced.

17 But Israel is saved by the Lord,

and her victory lasts forever;

her people will never be disgraced.’”

18 The Lord created the heavens—

he is the one who is God!

He formed and made the earth—

he made it firm and lasting.

He did not make it a desolate waste,

but a place for people to live.

It is he who says, “I am the Lord,

and there is no other god.

19 I have not spoken in secret

or kept my purpose hidden.

I did not require the people of Israel

to look for me in a desolate waste.

I am the Lord, and I speak the truth;

I make known what is right.”

The Lord of the World and the Idols of Babylon

20 The Lord says,

“Come together, people of the nations,

all who survive the fall of the empire;

present yourselves for the trial!

The people who parade with their idols of wood

and pray to gods that cannot save them—

those people know nothing at all!

21 Come and present your case in court;

let the defendants consult one another.

Who predicted long ago what would happen?

Was it not I, the Lord, the God who saves his people?

There is no other god.

22 “Turn to me now and be saved,

people all over the world!

I am the only God there is.

23 My promise is true,

and it will not be changed.

I solemnly promise by all that I am:

Everyone will come and kneel before me

and vow to be loyal to me.

24 “They will say that only through me

are victory and strength to be found;

but all who hate me will suffer disgrace.

25 I, the Lord, will rescue all the descendants of Jacob,

and they will give me praise.

—https://cdn-youversionapi.global.ssl.fastly.net/audio-bible-youversionapi/363/32k/ISA/45-7eb0d58a9271d211d18b6b5b1c716d5d.mp3?version_id=68—