rsv Isaiah:44 SEEK
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But now hear ,
O Jacob my servant ,
Israel whom I have chosen !
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Thus says the LORD who made you ,
who formed you from the womb and will help you :
Fear not ,
O Jacob my servant ,
Jeshu '
run whom I have chosen .
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For I will pour water on the thirsty land ,
and streams on the dry ground ;
I will pour my Spirit upon your descendants ,
and my blessing on your offspring .
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They shall spring up like grass amid waters ,
like willows by flowing streams .
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This one will say , `
I am the LORD '
s ,'
another will call himself by the name of Jacob ,
and another will write on his hand , `
The LORD '
s ,'
and surname himself by the name of Israel ."
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Thus says the LORD ,
the King of Israel and his Redeemer ,
the LORD of hosts : "
I am the first and I am the last ;
besides me there is no god .
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Who is like me ?
Let him proclaim it ,
let him declare and set it forth before me .
Who has announced from of old the things to come ?
Let them tell us what is yet to be .
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Fear not ,
nor be afraid ;
have I not told you from of old and declared it ?
And you are my witnesses !
Is there a God besides me ?
There is no Rock ;
I know not any ."
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All who make idols are nothing ,
and the things they delight in do not profit ;
their witnesses neither see nor know ,
that they may be put to shame .
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Who fashions a god or casts an image ,
that is profitable for nothing ?
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Behold ,
all his fellows shall be put to shame ,
and the craftsmen are but men ;
let them all assemble ,
let them stand forth ,
they shall be terrified ,
they shall be put to shame together .
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The ironsmith fashions it and works it over the coals ;
he shapes it with hammers ,
and forges it with his strong arm ;
he becomes hungry and his strength fails ,
he drinks no water and is faint .
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The carpenter stretches a line ,
he marks it out with a pencil ;
he fashions it with planes ,
and marks it with a compass ;
he shapes it into the figure of a man ,
with the beauty of a man ,
to dwell in a house .
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He cuts down cedars ;
or he chooses a holm tree or an oak and lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest ;
he plants a cedar and the rain nourishes it .
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Then it becomes fuel for a man ;
he takes a part of it and warms himself ,
he kindles a fire and bakes bread ;
also he makes a god and worships it ,
he makes it a graven image and falls down before it .
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Half of it he burns in the fire ;
over the half he eats flesh ,
he roasts meat and is satisfied ;
also he warms himself and says , "
Aha ,
I am warm ,
I have seen the fire !"
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And the rest of it he makes into a god ,
his idol ;
and falls down to it and worships it ;
he prays to it and says , "
Deliver me ,
for thou art my god !"
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They know not ,
nor do they discern ;
for he has shut their eyes ,
so that they cannot see ,
and their minds ,
so that they cannot understand .
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No one considers ,
nor is there knowledge or discernment to say , "
Half of it I burned in the fire ,
I also baked bread on its coals ,
I roasted flesh and have eaten ;
and shall I make the residue of it an abomination ?
Shall I fall down before a block of wood ?"
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He feeds on ashes ;
a deluded mind has led him astray ,
and he cannot deliver himself or say , "
Is there not a lie in my right hand ?"
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Remember these things ,
O Jacob ,
and Israel ,
for you are my servant ;
I formed you ,
you are my servant ;
O Israel ,
you will not be forgotten by me .
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I have swept away your transgressions like a cloud ,
and your sins like mist ;
return to me ,
for I have redeemed you .
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Sing ,
O heavens ,
for the LORD has done it ;
shout ,
O depths of the earth ;
break forth into singing ,
O mountains ,
O forest ,
and every tree in it !
For the LORD has redeemed Jacob ,
and will be glorified in Israel .
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Thus says the LORD ,
your Redeemer ,
who formed you from the womb : "
I am the LORD ,
who made all things ,
who stretched out the heavens alone ,
who spread out the earth --
Who was with me ?--
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who frustrates the omens of liars ,
and makes fools of diviners ;
who turns wise men back ,
and makes their knowledge foolish ;
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who confirms the word of his servant ,
and performs the counsel of his messengers ;
who says of Jerusalem , `
She shall be inhabited ,'
and of the cities of Judah , `
They shall be built ,
and I will raise up their ruins ';
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who says to the deep , `
Be dry ,
I will dry up your rivers ';
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who says of Cyrus , `
He is my shepherd ,
and he shall fulfil all my purpose ';
saying of Jerusalem , `
She shall be built ,'
and of the temple , `
Your foundation shall be laid .'"