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The Prophets · Old Testament

Isaiah 44

Isaiah 44: Jacob my servant, the idol made from firewood, and Cyrus named as shepherd

General context

The Lord tells Jacob his servant and Israel his chosen to hear; the one who formed them from the womb says fear not, Jacob, and Jesurun whom I have chosen. He will pour water on the thirsty and his spirit on their seed; one will say I am the Lord's, another will call himself by the name of Jacob. The Lord, the King of Israel, says he is the first and the last and there is no God beside him; he asks who else can declare things to come and tells his witnesses not to fear. Those who make graven images are vanity, their own witnesses who see not. The smith works in the coals until faint; the carpenter marks out a figure of a man with rule, line and compass; he cuts cedar, cypress and oak, or plants an ash the rain nourishes. Part of the wood warms him and bakes his bread, and he says Aha, I am warm; the residue he makes into a god and falls down to it, praying Deliver me. Their eyes and hearts are shut; he feeds on ashes, unable to ask whether there is a lie in his right hand. Jacob and Israel are told to remember this: they are his servant and will not be forgotten; he has blotted out their sins like a cloud and calls them to return. Heavens, earth and forest are told to sing because the Lord has redeemed Jacob. The Lord who made all things and confirms the word of his servant says Jerusalem will be inhabited and the cities of Judah built, tells the deep to be dry, and says of Cyrus that he is his shepherd who will perform all his pleasure, saying to Jerusalem, thou shalt be built, and to the temple, thy foundation shall be laid.

Cited passages: Isaiah 44:1, Isaiah 44:2, Isaiah 44:3, Isaiah 44:4, Isaiah 44:5, Isaiah 44:6, Isaiah 44:7, Isaiah 44:8, Isaiah 44:9, Isaiah 44:12, Isaiah 44:13, Isaiah 44:14, Isaiah 44:15, Isaiah 44:16, Isaiah 44:17, Isaiah 44:18, Isaiah 44:19, Isaiah 44:20, Isaiah 44:21, Isaiah 44:22, Isaiah 44:23, Isaiah 44:24, Isaiah 44:25, Isaiah 44:26, Isaiah 44:27, Isaiah 44:28

Isaiah 44 (KJV)

1Yet now hear, O Jacob my servant; and Israel, whom I have chosen:

2Thus saith the Lord that made thee, and formed thee from the womb, which will help thee; Fear not, O Jacob, my servant; and thou, Jesurun, whom I have chosen.

3For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring:

4And they shall spring up as among the grass, as willows by the water courses.

5One shall say, I am the Lord’s; and another shall call himself by the name of Jacob; and another shall subscribe with his hand unto the Lord, and surname himself by the name of Israel.

6Thus saith the Lord the King of Israel, and his redeemer the Lord of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.

7And who, as I, shall call, and shall declare it, and set it in order for me, since I appointed the ancient people? and the things that are coming, and shall come, let them shew unto them.

8Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it? ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any.

9They that make a graven image are all of them vanity; and their delectable things shall not profit; and they are their own witnesses; they see not, nor know; that they may be ashamed.

10Who hath formed a god, or molten a graven image that is profitable for nothing?

11Behold, all his fellows shall be ashamed: and the workmen, they are of men: let them all be gathered together, let them stand up; yet they shall fear, and they shall be ashamed together.

12The smith with the tongs both worketh in the coals, and fashioneth it with hammers, and worketh it with the strength of his arms: yea, he is hungry, and his strength faileth: he drinketh no water, and is faint.

13The carpenter stretcheth out his rule; he marketh it out with a line; he fitteth it with planes, and he marketh it out with the compass, and maketh it after the figure of a man, according to the beauty of a man; that it may remain in the house.

14He heweth him down cedars, and taketh the cypress and the oak, which he strengtheneth for himself among the trees of the forest: he planteth an ash, and the rain doth nourish it.

15Then shall it be for a man to burn: for he will take thereof, and warm 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.

16He burneth part thereof in the fire; with 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:

17And the residue thereof he maketh a god, even his graven image: he falleth down unto it, and worshippeth it, and prayeth unto it, and saith, Deliver me; for thou art my god.

18They have not known nor understood: for he hath shut their eyes, that they cannot see; and their hearts, that they cannot understand.

19And none considereth in his heart, 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?

20He feedeth on ashes: a deceived heart hath turned him aside, that he cannot deliver his soul, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right hand?

21Remember these, 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.

22I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins: return unto me; for I have redeemed thee.

23Sing, O ye heavens; for the Lord hath done it: shout, ye lower parts of the earth: break forth into singing, ye mountains, O forest, and every tree therein: for the Lord hath redeemed Jacob, and glorified himself in Israel.

24Thus saith the Lord, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb, I am the Lord that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself;

25That frustrateth the tokens of the liars, and maketh diviners mad; that turneth wise men backward, and maketh their knowledge foolish;

26That confirmeth the word of his servant, and performeth the counsel of his messengers; that saith to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be inhabited; and to the cities of Judah, Ye shall be built, and I will raise up the decayed places thereof:

27That saith to the deep, Be dry, and I will dry up thy rivers:

28That saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid.

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Historical context

The servant is named as Jacob and Israel in verses 1, 2 and 21, and verse 2 adds the name Jesurun, which the text presents as another name for the same people it has just called Jacob; Deuteronomy 32:15 has the spelling Jeshurun, But Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked, and this source prints the name differently in the two books. The servant of verse 26 whose word the Lord confirms is not named, and the text places him beside messengers whose counsel is performed. Verse 28 names Cyrus and calls him my shepherd who will perform all the Lord's pleasure, with the building of Jerusalem and the founding of the temple attached to that saying; the chapter gives no other information about Cyrus, and the next verse, 45:1, calls him his anointed. The chapter has the Lord say that Jerusalem will be inhabited and built, that the temple's foundation will be laid, and that the decayed places of the cities of Judah will be raised; it does not narrate how they came to need building. The idol-maker in verses 12 to 20 is unnamed and generic, a smith and a carpenter, and the text does not locate him. The liars, diviners and wise men of verse 25 are not identified. Apart from the thus saith the Lord formulas in verses 2, 6 and 24, the chapter is speech rather than narrative; it names no king of Judah and no date.

Cited passages: Isaiah 44:2, Deuteronomy 32:15, Isaiah 44:21, Isaiah 44:26, Isaiah 44:28, Isaiah 45:1, Isaiah 44:12, Isaiah 44:25, Isaiah 44:24

Literary context

The chapter frames a long mocking account of idol-making with two addresses to Jacob as servant, at verses 1 to 8 and 21 to 23, and closes with a chain of participles describing the Lord. The first address answers the curse that ended chapter 43 with yet now hear and fear not, and moves from water on dry ground to people naming themselves the Lord's. The Lord's claim, I am the first, and I am the last, and his question, is there a God beside me, are set against makers of gods who are their own witnesses. The satire follows the wood step by step: felled, planted and rained on, burned for warmth and bread, roasted over, and then the residue worshipped, with the man's own words quoted twice, Aha, I am warm and Deliver me. Verse 19 puts into the idol-maker's mouth the sentence he never says, shall I fall down to the stock of a tree, and verse 20 ends with the unasked question about a lie in the right hand. The return to Jacob repeats thou art my servant twice in one verse and gives the sins-as-cloud image before calling the heavens, earth, mountains and forest to sing. The final section is one sentence of that-clauses, the Lord that maketh, that stretcheth, that frustrateth, that confirmeth, that saith, ending with the clause that names Cyrus, so that the chapter's last word about the future is attached to a named man. Chapter 45 then opens by addressing Cyrus directly.

Cited passages: Isaiah 44:1, Isaiah 43:28, Isaiah 44:3, Isaiah 44:5, Isaiah 44:6, Isaiah 44:9, Isaiah 44:16, Isaiah 44:17, Isaiah 44:19, Isaiah 44:20, Isaiah 44:21, Isaiah 44:22, Isaiah 44:23, Isaiah 44:24, Isaiah 44:28, Isaiah 45:1

Key moments

  1. Fear not, Jesurun (Isaiah 44:2). The Lord who formed Jacob from the womb tells his chosen servant not to fear.
  2. Spirit poured on the seed (Isaiah 44:3). The Lord promises water for the thirsty and his spirit on Jacob's offspring.
  3. The first and the last (Isaiah 44:6). The King of Israel declares there is no God beside him.
  4. The carpenter shapes a man (Isaiah 44:13). With rule, line, plane and compass the carpenter makes a figure to keep in the house.
  5. Half burned, half worshipped (Isaiah 44:17). The residue of the firewood becomes a god the man prays to for deliverance.
  6. Sins blotted out like a cloud (Isaiah 44:22). The Lord calls Jacob to return because he has redeemed him.
  7. Cyrus my shepherd (Isaiah 44:28). The Lord names Cyrus as the shepherd who will see Jerusalem built and the temple founded.

For reflection

The idol-maker burns half the wood for bread and prays to the rest, and the text says none considers in his heart enough to notice. What does the chapter suggest keeps a person from asking whether there is a lie in his right hand?

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