Tanakh & Talmud. Various Authors
the first, and I am the last,And beside Me there is no God.7And who, as I, can proclaim—Let him declare it, and set it in order for Me—Since I appointed the ancient people?And the things that are coming, and that shall come to pass, let them declare.8Fear ye not, neither be afraid;Have I not announced unto thee of old, and declared it?And ye are My witnesses.Is there a God beside Me?Yea, there is no Rock; I know not any. 9They that fashion a graven image are all of them vanity,And their delectable things shall not profit;And their own witnesses see not, nor know;That they may be ashamed.10Who hath fashioned a god, or molten an imageThat is profitable for nothing?11Behold, all the fellows thereof shall be ashamed;And the craftsmen skilled above men;Let them all be gathered together, let them stand up;They shall fear, they shall be ashamed together. 12The smith 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.13The carpenter stretcheth out a line;He marketh it out with a pencil;He fitteth it with planes,And he marketh it out with the compasses,And maketh it after the figure of a man,According to the beauty of a man, to dwell in the house.14He heweth him down cedars,And taketh the ilex and the oak,And strengtheneth for himself one among the trees of the forest;He planteth a bay-tree, and the rain doth nourish it.15Then a man useth it for fuel;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.16He burneth the half thereof in the fire;With the half 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, and prayeth unto it,And saith: 'Deliver me, for thou art my god.' 18They know not, neither do they understand;For their eyes are bedaubed, 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 the half 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 striveth after 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 things, O Jacob,And Israel, for thou art My servant;I have formed thee, thou art Mine own servant;O Israel, thou shouldest not forget 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 lowest parts of the earth;Break forth into singing, ye mountains,O forest, and every tree therein;For the Lord hath redeemed Jacob,And doth glorify 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 stretched forth the heavens alone;That spread abroad the earth by Myself;25That frustrateth the tokens of the imposters,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 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';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 of Jerusalem: 'She shall be built';And to the temple: 'My foundation shall be laid.' 45Thus saith the Lord to His anointed,To Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden,To subdue nations before him,And to loose the loins of kings;To open the doors before him,And that the gates may not be shut:2I will go before thee,And make the crooked places straight;I will break in pieces the doors of brass,And cut in sunder the bars of iron;3And I will give thee the treasures of darkness,And hidden riches of secret places,That thou mayest know that I am the Lord,Who call thee by thy name, even the God of Israel.4For the sake of Jacob My servant,And Israel Mine elect,I have called thee by thy name,I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known Me.5I am the Lord, and there is none else,Beside Me there is no God;I have girded thee, though thou hast not known Me;6That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west,That there is none beside Me;I am the Lord; and there is none else;7I form the light, and create darkness;I make peace, and create evil;I am the Lord, that doeth all these things. 8Drop down, ye heavens, from above,And let the skies pour down righteousness;Let the earth open, that they may bring forth salvation,And let her cause righteousness to spring up together;I the Lord have created it. 9Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker,As a potsherd with the potsherds of the earth!Shall the clay say to him that fashioned it: 'What makest thou?'Or: 'Thy work, it hath no hands'?10Woe unto him that saith unto his father.' Wherefore begettest thou?'Or to a woman: 'Wherefore travailest thou?' 11Thus saith the Lord,The Holy One of Israel, and his Maker:Ask Me of the things that are to come;Concerning My sons, and concerning the work of My hands, command ye Me.12I, even I, have made the earth,And created man upon it;I, even My hands, have stretched out the heavens,And all their host have I commanded.13I have roused him up in victory,And I make level all his ways;He shall build My city,And he shall let Mine exiles go free,Not for price nor reward,Saith the Lord of hosts. 14Thus saith the Lord:The labour of Egypt, and the merchandise of Ethiopia,And of the Sabeans, men of stature,Shall come over unto thee, and they shall be thine;They shall go after thee, in chains they shall come over;And they shall fall down unto thee,They shall make supplication unto thee:Surely God is in thee, and there is none else,There is no other God.15Verily Thou art a God that hidest Thyself,O God of Israel, the Saviour.16They shall be ashamed, yea, confounded, all of them;They shall go in confusion together that are makers of idols.17O Israel, that art saved by the Lord with an everlasting salvation;Ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded world without end. 18For thus saith the Lord that created the heavens,He is God;That formed the earth and made it,He established it,He created it not a waste, He formed it to be inhabited:I am the Lord, and there is none else.19I have not spoken in secret,In a place of the land of darkness;I said not unto the seed of Jacob:'Seek ye Me in vain';I the Lord speak righteousness,I declare things that are right.20Assemble yourselves and come, draw near together,Ye that are escaped of the nations;They have no knowledge that carry the wood of their graven image,And pray unto a god that cannot save.21Declare ye, and bring them near,Yea, let them take counsel together:Who hath announced this from ancient time,And declared it of old?Have not I the Lord?And there is no God else beside Me,A just God and a Saviour;There is none beside Me.22Look unto Me, and be ye saved,All the ends of the earth;For I am God, and there is none else.23By Myself have I sworn,The word is gone forth from My mouth in righteousness,And shall not come back,That unto Me every knee shall bow,Every tongue shall swear.24Only in the Lord, shall one say of Me, is victory and strength;Even to Him shall men come in confusion,All they that were incensed against Him.25In the Lord shall all the seed of IsraelBe justified, and shall glory. 46Bel boweth down, Nebo stoopeth;Their idols are upon the beasts, and upon the cattle;The things that ye carried about are made a load,A burden to the weary beast.2They stoop, they bow down together,They could not deliver the burden;And themselves are gone into captivity.3Hearken unto Me, O house of Jacob,And all the remnant of the house of Israel,That are borne [by Me] from the birth,That are carried from the womb:4Even to old age I am the same,And even to hoar hairs will I carry you;I have made, and I will bear;Yea, I will carry, and will deliver. 5To whom will ye liken Me, and make Me equal,And compare Me, that we may be like?6Ye that lavish gold out of the bag,And weigh silver in the balance;Ye that hire a goldsmith, that he make it a god,To fall down thereto, yea, to worship.7He is borne upon the shoulder, he is carried,And set in his place, and he standeth,From his place he doth not remove;Yea, though one cry unto him, he cannot answer,Nor save him out of his trouble. 8Remember this, and stand fast;Bring it to mind, O ye transgressors.9Remember the former things of old:That I am God, and there is none else;I am God, and there is none like Me;10Declaring the end from the beginning,And from ancient times things that are not yet done;Saying: 'My counsel shall stand,And all My pleasure will I do';11Calling a bird of prey from the east,The man of My counsel from a far country;Yea, I have spoken, I will also bring it to pass,I have purposed,