1. “But now, listen to me, Jacob my servant,Israel my chosen one.
2. The lord who made you and helps you says:Do not be afraid, O Jacob, my servant,O dear Israel, my chosen one.
3. For I will pour out water to quench your thirstand to irrigate your parched fields.And I will pour out my Spirit on your descendants,and my blessing on your children.
4. They will thrive like watered grass,like willows on a riverbank.
5. Some 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 handsand will take the name of Israel as their own.”
6. This 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.
7. Who is like me?Let him step forward and prove to you his power.Let him do as I have done since ancient timeswhen I established a people and explained its future.
8. Do 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!”
9. How 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.
10. Who but a fool would make his own god—an idol that cannot help him one bit?
11. All who worship idols will be disgracedalong 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.
12. The 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.