Yet now hear, O Jacob my servant, and Israel, who I have chosen:
Thus saith Jehovah that made thee, and formed thee from the womb, who will help thee: Fear not, O Jacob my servant; and thou, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen.
For I will pour water upon {Or, the thirsty land}him that is thirsty, and streams upon the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring:
and they shall spring up among the grass, as willows by the watercourses.
One shall say, I am Jehovah's; and another shall {Or, proclaim the name}call himself by the name of Jacob; and another shall {Or, write on his hand, Unto Jehovah}subscribe with his hand unto Jehovah, and {Or, give for a title the name of Israel}surname himself by the name of Israel.
Thus saith Jehovah, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, Jehovah of hosts: I am the first, and I am the last; and besides me there is no God.
{Or, And who, as I, can proclaim? let him declare it &c.}And who, as I, shall call, and shall declare it, and set it in order for me, since I established the ancient people? and the things that are coming, and that shall come to pass, let them {Or, declare unto them}declare.
Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have I not declared unto thee of old, and showed it? and ye are my witnesses. Is there a God besides me? yea, there is no Rock; I know not any.
They that fashion a graven image are all of them {Or, confusion}vanity; and the things that they delight in shall not profit; and their own witnesses see not, nor know: that they may be put to shame.
Who hath fashioned a god, or molten an image that is profitable for nothing?
Behold, {Or, all that join themselves thereto}all his fellows shall be put to shame; and the workmen, they are of men: let them all be gathered together, let them stand up; they shall fear, they shall be put to shame together.
The smith {Or, sharpeneth a tool}maketh an axe, and worketh in the coals, and fashioneth it with hammers, and worketh it with his strong arm: yea, he is hungry, and his strength faileth; he drinketh no water, and is faint.
The carpenter stretcheth out a line; he marketh it out with {Or, red ochre}a pencil; he shapeth it with planes, and he marketh it out with the compasses, and shapeth it after the figure of a man, according to the beauty of a man, to dwell in a house.
He heweth him down cedars, and taketh the holm-tree and the oak, and strengtheneth for himself one among the trees of the forest: he planteth {Or, an ash}a fir-tree, and the rain doth nourish it.
Then shall it be for a man to burn; and he taketh thereof, and warmeth himself; yea, he kindleth it, and baketh bread: yea, he maketh a god, and worshippeth it; he maketh it a graven image, and falleth down thereto.
He burneth {Or, the half}part thereof in the fire; with {Or, the half}part thereof he eateth flesh; he roasteth roast, and is satisfied; yea, he warmeth himself, and saith, Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire.
And the residue thereof he maketh a god, even his graven image; he falleth down unto it and worshippeth, and prayeth unto it, and saith, Deliver me; for thou art my god.
They know not, neither do they consider: for he hath {Hebrew: daubed.}shut their eyes, that they cannot see; and their hearts, that they cannot understand.
And none calleth to mind, neither is there knowledge nor understanding to say, I have burned part of it in the fire; yea, also I have baked bread upon the coals thereof; I have roasted flesh and eaten it: and shall I make the residue thereof an abomination? shall I fall down to the stock of a tree?
He feedeth on ashes; a deceived heart hath turned him aside; and he cannot deliver his soul, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right hand?
Remember these things, O Jacob, and Israel; for thou art my servant: I have formed thee; thou art my servant: O Israel, thou shalt not be forgotten of me.
I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins: return unto me; for I have redeemed thee.
Sing, O ye heavens, for Jehovah hath done it; shout, ye lower parts of the earth; break forth into singing, ye mountains, O forest, and every tree therein: for Jehovah hath redeemed Jacob, and will glorify himself in Israel.
Thus saith Jehovah, thy Redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb: I am Jehovah, that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth ( {Another reading is, by myself.}who is with me?);
that frustrateth the signs of the {Or, boasters}liars, and maketh diviners mad; that turneth wise men backward, and maketh their knowledge foolish;
that confirmeth the word of his servant, and performeth the counsel of his messengers; that saith of Jerusalem, She shall be inhabited; and of the cities of Judah, They shall be built, and I will raise up the waste places thereof;
that saith to the deep, Be dry, and I will dry up thy rivers;
That saith of {Hebrew: Coresh.}Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure, even saying of Jerusalem, She shall be built; {Or, and the foundation of the temple shall be laid}and of the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid.
Querverweise zu Jesaja 44,11 Jes 44,11
For they shall be ashamed of the {Or, terebinths}oaks which ye have desired, and ye shall be confounded for the gardens that ye have chosen.
The isles have seen, and fear; the ends of the earth tremble; they draw near, and come.
They help every one his neighbor; and every one saith to his brother, Be of good courage.
So the carpenter encourageth the goldsmith, and he that smootheth with the hammer him that smiteth the anvil, saying of the soldering, It is good; and he fasteneth it with nails, that is should not be moved.
They shall be turned back, they shall be utterly put to shame, that trust in graven images, that say unto molten images, Ye are our gods.
And they said one to another, Who hath done this thing? And when they inquired and asked, they said, Gideon the son of Joash hath done this thing.
Then the men of the city said unto Joash, Bring out thy son, that he may die, because he hath broken down the altar of Baal, and because he hath cut down the Asherah that was {Or, upon}by it.
And Joash said unto all that stood against him, Will ye contend for Baal? or will ye save him? he that will contend for him, {Or, shall be put to death: let be til morning if &c.}let him be put to death {Or, before morning}whilst it is yet morning: if he be a god, let him contend for himself, because one hath broken down his altar.
Therefore on that day he called him {That is, Let Baal contend.}Jerubbaal, saying, Let Baal contend against him, because he hath broken down his altar.
They shall be put to shame, yea, confounded, all of them; they shall go into confusion together that are makers of idols.
And the lords of the Philistines gathered them together to offer a great sacrifice unto Dagon their god, and to rejoice; for they said, Our god hath delivered Samson our enemy into our hand.
And when the people saw him, they praised their god; for they said, Our god hath delivered into our hand our enemy, and the destroyer of our country, who hath slain many of us.
And it came to pass, when their hearts were merry, that they said, Call for Samson, that he may make us sport. And they called for Samson out of the prison-house; and he made sport before them. And they set him between the pillars:
and Samson said unto the lad that held him by the hand, Suffer me that I may feel the pillars whereupon the house resteth, that I may lean upon them.
Now the house was full of men and women; and all the lords of the Philistines were there; and there were upon the roof about three thousand men and women, that beheld while Samson made sport.
And Samson called unto Jehovah, and said, O Lord Jehovah, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may {Or, be avenged…for one of my two eyes}be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.
And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house rested, and leaned upon them, the one with his right hand, and the other with his left.
And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead that he slew at his death were more than they that he slew in his life.
And when they of Ashdod arose early on the morrow, behold, Dagon was fallen {Or, before it}upon his face to the ground before the ark of Jehovah. And they took Dagon, and set him in his place again.
And when they arose early on the morrow morning, behold, Dagon was fallen {Or, before it}upon his face to the ground before the ark of Jehovah; and the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands lay cut off upon the threshold; only the stump of Dagon was left to him.
Therefore neither the priests of Dagon, nor any that come into Dagon's house, tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod, unto this day.
But the hand of Jehovah was heavy upon them of Ashdod, and he destroyed them, and smote them with {Or, plague boils As read by the Jews, emerods.}tumors, even Ashdod and the borders thereof.
And when the men of Ashdod saw that it was so, they said, The ark of the God of Israel shall not abide with us; for his hand is sore upon us, and upon Dagon our god.
Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel unto mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the Asherah four hundred, that eat at Jezebel's table.
So Ahab sent unto all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together unto mount Carmel.
And Elijah came near unto all the people, and said, How long go ye limping between the two sides? if Jehovah be God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word.
Then said Elijah unto the people, I, even I only, am left a prophet of Jehovah; but Baal's prophets are four hundred and fifty men.
Let them therefore give us two bullocks; and let them choose one bullock for themselves, and cut it in pieces, and lay it on the wood, and put no fire under; and I will dress the other bullock, and lay it on the wood, and put no fire under.
And call ye on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of Jehovah; and the God that answereth by fire, let him be God. And all the people answered and said, It is well spoken.
And Elijah said unto the prophets of Baal, Choose you one bullock for yourselves, and dress it first; for ye are many; and call on the name of your god, but put no fire under.
And they took the bullock which was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, {Or, answer}hear us. But there was no voice, nor any that answered. And they {Or, limped}leaped about the altar which was made.
And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry aloud; for he is a god: either he is musing, or he is gone aside, or he is on a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth and must be awaked.
And they cried aloud, and cut themselves after their manner with {Or, swords}knives and lances, till the blood gushed out upon them.
And it was so, when midday was past, that they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening oblation; but there was neither voice, nor any to answer, nor any {Hebrew: attention.}that regarded.
Then said they, What shall be the trespass-offering which we shall return to him? And they said, Five golden tumors, and five golden mice, according to the number of the lords of the Philistines; for one plague was on {Hebrew: them.}you all, and on your lords.
And Elijah said unto them, Take the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape. And they took them; and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there.
Wherefore ye shall make images of your tumors, and images of your mice that mar the land; and ye shall give glory unto the God of Israel: peradventure he will lighten his hand from off you, and from off your gods, and from off your land.
Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof six cubits: he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon.
Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the satraps, the deputies, and the governors, the {Or, chief soothsayers}judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the {Or, lawyers}sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.
Then the satraps, the deputies, and the governors, the {Or, chief soothsayers}judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the {Or, lawyers}sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, were gathered together unto the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up; and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
Then the herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages,
that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, {Or, bagpipe}dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up;
and whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.
Therefore at that time, when all the peoples heard the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and all kinds of music, all the peoples, the nations, and the languages, fell down and worshipped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.
Let all them be put to shame that serve graven images,That boast themselves of idols:Worship him, all ye gods.
Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand.
Belshazzar, while he tasted the wine, commanded to bring the golden and silver vessels which Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem; that the king and his lords, his wives and his concubines, might drink therefrom.
Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of the house of God which was at Jerusalem; and the king and his lords, his wives and his concubines, drank from them.
They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone.
In the same hour came forth the fingers of a man's hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaster of the wall of the king's palace: and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote.
Then the king's {Aramaic: brightness.}countenance was changed in him, and his thoughts troubled him; and the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one against another.
As the thief is ashamed when he is found, so is the house of Israel ashamed; they, their kings, their princes, and their priests, and their prophets;
For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of {Greek: Artemis.}Diana, brought no little business unto the craftsmen;
whom he gathered together, with the workmen of like occupation, and said, Sirs, ye know that by this business we have our wealth.
And ye see and hear; that not alone at Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul hath persuaded and turned away much people, saying that they are no gods, that are made with hands:
and not only is there danger that this our trade come into disrepute; but also that the temple of the great goddess {Greek: Artemis.}Diana be made of no account, and that she should even be deposed from her magnificence whom all Asia and {Greek: the inhabited earth.}the world worshippeth.
And when they heard this they were filled with wrath, and cried out, saying, Great is {Greek: Artemis.}Diana of the Ephesians.
And the city was filled with the confusion: and they rushed with one accord into the theatre, having seized Gaius and Aristarchus, men of Macedonia, Paul's companions in travel.
And when Paul was minded to enter in unto the people, the disciples suffered him not.
And certain also of the {That is, officers having charge of festivals &c. In the Roman province of Asia.}Asiarchs, being his friends, sent unto him and besought him not to adventure himself into the theatre.
Some therefore cried one thing, and some another: for the assembly was in confusion; and the more part knew not wherefore they were come together.
{Or, And some of the multitude instructed Alexander}And they brought Alexander out of the multitude, the Jews putting him forward. And Alexander beckoned with the hand, and would have made a defense unto the people.
But when they perceived that he was a Jew, all with one voice about the space of two hours cried out, Great is {Greek: Artemis.}Diana of the Ephesians.
who say to a stock, Thou art my father; and to a stone, Thou hast {Or, begotten me}brought {Another reading is, us.}me forth: for they have turned their back unto me, and not their face; but in the time of their trouble they will say, Arise, and save us.
And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat upon the horse, and against his army.
And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought the signs in his sight, wherewith he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast and them that {See marginal note on chapter 3:9}worshipped his image: they two were cast alive into the lake of fire that burneth with brimstone:
and the rest were killed with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, even the sword which came forth out of his mouth: and all the birds were filled with their flesh.
Every man {Or, is too brutish to know}is become brutish and is without knowledge; every goldsmith is put to shame by his graven image; for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them.
Every man is become brutish and is without knowledge; every goldsmith is put to shame by his image; for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them.