Chapter 44
44:1 And now hear, O Jacob, my servant, and Israel whom I have chosen.
44:2 Thus says the Lord that made and formed you, your helper from the womb: fear not, O my servant Jacob, and you most righteous whom I have chosen.
44:3 For I will pour out waters upon the thirsty ground, and streams upon the dry land: I will pour out my spirit upon your seed, and my blessing upon your stock.
44:4 And they shall spring up among the herbs, as willows beside the running waters.
44:5 One shall say: I am the Lord’s, and another shall call himself by the name of Jacob, and another shall write with his hand: to the Lord, and shall be made like in the name of Israel.
44:6 Thus says the Lord the king of Israel, and his redeemer the Lord of hosts: I am the first, and I am the last, and besides me there is no God.
44:7 Who is like to me? Let him call and declare: and let him set before me the order, since I appointed the ancient people: and the things to come, and that shall be hereafter, let them show unto them.
44:8 Fear not, neither be troubled from that time I have made you to hear, and have declared: you are my witnesses. Is there a God besides me, a maker, whom I have not known?
44:9 The makers of idols are all of them nothing, and their best beloved things shall not profit them. They are their witnesses, that they do not see, nor understand, that they may be ashamed.
44:10 Who has formed a god, and made a graven thing that is profitable for nothing?
44:11 Behold, all the partakers thereof shall be confounded: for the makers are from men: when they all come, they shall stand and fear, and shall be confounded together.
44:12 The smith has wrought with his file, with coals, and with hammers he has formed it, and has wrought with the strength of his arm: he shall hunger and faint, he shall drink no water, and shall be weary.
44:13 The carpenter has stretched out his rule, he has formed it with a plane: he has made it with corners, and has fashioned it round with the compass: and he has made the image of a man as it were a beautiful man dwelling in a house.
44:14 He has cut down cedars, taken the holm, and the oak that stood among the trees of the forest: he has planted the pine tree, which the rain has nourished.
44:15 And it has served men for fuel: he took thereof, and warmed himself: and he kindled it, and baked bread: but of the rest he made a god, and adored it: he made a graven thing, and bowed down before it.
44:16 Part of it he burnt with fire, and with part of it he dressed his meat: he boiled pottage, and was filled, and was warmed, and said: aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire.
44:17 But the residue thereof he made a god, and a graven thing for himself: he bows down before it, and adores it, and prays unto it, saying: deliver me, for you are my God.
44:18 They have not known, nor understood: for their eyes are covered that they may not see, and that they may not understand with their heart.
44:19 They do not consider in their mind, nor know, nor have the thought to say: I have burnt part of it in the fire, and I have baked bread upon the coals thereof: I have broiled flesh and have eaten, and of the residue thereof shall I make an idol? Shall I fall down before the stock of a tree?
44:20 Part thereof is ashes: his foolish heart adores it, and he will not save his soul, nor say: perhaps there is a lie in my right hand.
44:21 Remember these things, O Jacob, and Israel, for you are my servant. I have formed you, you are my servant, O Israel, forget me not.
44:22 I have blotted out your iniquities as a cloud, and your sins as a mist: return to me, for I have redeemed you.
44:23 Give praise, O you heavens, for the Lord has shown mercy: shout with joy, you ends of the earth: you mountains, resound with praise, you, O forest, and every tree therein: for the Lord has redeemed Jacob, and Israel shall be glorified.
44:24 Thus says the Lord your redeemer, and your maker, from the womb: I am the Lord, that make all things, that alone stretch out the heavens, that established the earth, and there is none with me.
44:25 That make void the tokens of diviners, and make the soothsayers mad. That turn the wise backward, and that make their knowledge foolish.
44:26 That raise up the word of my servant and perform the counsel of my messengers, who say to Jerusalem: you shall be inhabited: and to the cities of Judah: you shall be built, and I will raise up the wastes thereof.
44:27 Who say to the deep: be you desolate, and I will dry up your rivers.
44:28 Who say to Cyrus: you are my shepherd, and you shall perform all my pleasure. Who say to Jerusalem: you shall be built: and to the temple: your foundations shall be laid.
846 . And now hear, O Jacob . Here, third, he strengthens them from the worthlessness of the idols, lest perhaps they should believe that the divine promises could be impeded by them. And this is divided into two parts:
in the first, he excludes fear;
in the second, he shows the worthlessness of the idols, where it says, thus says the Lord the king (Isa 44:6).
847 . Concerning the first, he does three things.
First, he rouses attention: hear, O Jacob whom I have chosen , Esau having been rejected: I have loved Jacob, but have hated Esau (Mal 1:2–3).
Second, he excludes fear: thus says the Lord that formed you , below: thus says the Lord, that formed me (Isa 49:5); most righteous , because the name “Israel” expresses this, as to its true signification, but, as though by its etymology, it is said to mean “man who sees God”: is , “man,” rac , “seeing,” El , “God.”
Third, he sets out a promise, where it says, I will pour out .
848 . And first, he promises divine benefit as to temporal things: I will pour out waters , that is, consolations: I will pour upon you clean water (Ezek 36:25); as to spiritual things, I will pour out my spirit ; and my blessing upon your stock , as to the multiplication of gifts: I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh (Joel 2:28).
Second, he sets out the fruit of the benefit as to temporal goods: and they shall spring up , namely, they will be multiplied out of the abundance of your prosperity, as a tree by a multitude of water, above: it shall bud forth and blossom (Isa 35:2); and he shall be like a tree (Ps 1:3).
He also sets out the effect of the spiritual gifts: one shall say: I am the Lord’s , for whoever confesses himself to be subject to God, shall write , songs, to the Lord , that is, to the honor of the Lord; or another shall write, the Lord’s , namely, I am the Lord’s, on his hand , carrying the Scripture, which pertains to the worship of God; he shall be made like in the name of Israel , the foreigner in worshiping God; or he will be vigorous like Jacob: you shall call me father and shall not cease to walk after me (Jer 3:19).
849 . Thus says the Lord . Here he shows the worthlessness of the idols. And concerning this, he does three things:
first, he shows the defect of the idols;
second, from this, he recalls them to worship of himself: remember these things (Isa 44:21);
third, he promises the benefit of liberation to those who worship him: thus says the Lord your redeemer (Isa 44:24).
Concerning the first, he does two things:
first, he argues against the idols from divine operation;
second, from the formation of the idols, where it says, who has formed a god? (Isa 44:10).
Concerning the first, he does two things:
first, he sets out the singularity of his own divinity: I am the first, and I am the last : I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end (Rev 1:8);
second, he applies a test, who is like to me?
850 . And concerning this, he does three things.
First, he sets out the divine act in announcing future things and the order of past things: let him call and declare , predestining, etc. All things were known to the Lord God, before they were created (Sir 23:29[20]).
Second, he indicates the sign of his divinity confirmed by witnesses: fear not , as if to say: be not worried for me, as if I would fail in a test of my divinity, below: I have made you to hear new things (Isa 48:6).
Third, he deduces the defect of the idols: is there a God besides me , and first, he sets out the question: is there a God besides me , see that I alone am, and there is no other God besides me (Deut 32:39); second, he shows the unsuitableness of their witnesses: the makers ( plastae ) of idols , are all of them nothing , of no power, above: all nations are before him as if they had no being at all (Isa 40:17), or because they do not obtain their intention, wishing to form a god with their hands, as the idol also is nothing (1 Cor 8:4), let the companions of him that is not, dwell in his tabernacle (Job 18:15); their best beloved things , the idols, which are either large and greatly to be revered or made from precious materials; third, he shows the falsehood of their testimony: they are their witnesses , that they do not see , namely, of the idols, calling them gods: a false witness shall not be unpunished (Prov 19:5).
851 . Who has formed . Here he shows from their formation that they are not gods. And concerning this, he does two things:
first, he sets out their formation to exclude their divinity;
second, the manner of their formation to show their worthlessness: the smith (Isa 44:12).
Concerning the first, he does two things.
First, he sets out their formation, intending this reasoning: what it is made by man is not God, etc. Who , as if to say: no one; profitable for nothing else : they themselves that make them, are of no long continuance (Bar 6:46).
Second, he foretells the confusion of the workers: behold, all the partakers , of the worship of idols, when they come to judgment, shall stand , as if to be judged; the makers are from men , that is, from the number of men: let them be all confounded that adore graven things (Ps 96[97]:7).
852 . The smith . Here he shows their worthlessness, that not only are they not gods, but even worthless things.
And first, he sets out the manner of their formation as to idols made from metal: with the strength of his arm , that is, striking strong blows; he shall hunger and faint , as if to say: the god which he is making cannot help him, although it is especially bound to its maker, above: the coppersmith striking with the hammer (Isa 41:7).
Second, as to idols which are made from wood: the carpenter .
And first, he shows the worthlessness of the idol, setting out its efficient cause with his tools: his rule , for making the wood straight; a plane , an instrument curved back from the side for hollowing out wood; with corners , that is, four-sided in shape, or this is the name of a tool for making shapes of this kind; the compass , that is, the lathe; as to its formal cause: and he has made the image . As to its material cause: he has cut down cedars , which are also used for base purposes: the works of the hand of the workman has cut a tree out of the forest (Jer 10:3).
Second, he shows the blindness of the craftsman: they have not known . Part thereof , of the wood from which the idol was made, now is ashes , for it was burned. Perhaps there is a lie in my right hand , that is, in my working: he is not ashamed to speak to that which has no life (Wis 13:17).
853 . Remember these things . Here he calls them back to worship of him.
And first, he assigns the reason, setting out the duty of servitude: remember these things , that is, consider the worthlessness of idols; my servant : the portion of Jacob is not like them: for he that made all things he it is, and Israel is the scepter of his inheritance (Jer 51:19). And as to the benefit presented, or promised: I have blotted out , or I will blot out, your iniquities as a cloud , that is, easily: our life shall pass away as the trace of a cloud, and shall be dispersed as a mist (Wis 2:3).
Second, he sets out the calling: return : return to me (Jer 3:1).
Third, he invites all creation to give thanks for the return: shout with joy, you ends of the earth : let the heavens and the earth praise him; the sea (Ps 68:35[69:34]).
854 . Thus says the Lord . Here he promises the benefit of liberation to those who return to him. And concerning this he does two things.
First, he shows the power of the liberator through the benefit which he conferred on them: your redeemer , from evils, and your maker , in good things, below: thus says the Lord, that formed me from the womb (Isa 49:5); as to the creatures, which he made: I am the Lord, that make all things : he makes the earth by his power (Jer 10:12). As to the wise, whom has made fools, some of whom professed to know divine things: that make void the tokens of diviners : a sword upon her diviners, and they shall be foolish (Jer 50:36); some of whom professed to know things of the world: that turn the wise backward : has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? (1 Cor 1:20). And as to the fulfillment of promises: that raise up the word , fulfilling it, of my servant , the prophet, or Moses, or Christ: raise up the prophets (Sir 36:17[20]).
Second, he promises liberation,
first, as to the rebuilding of the cities: who say to Jerusalem : the cities of Judah shall be built up (Ps 68:36[69:35]);
second, as to the destruction of their enemies: who say to the deep , that is, the sea, namely, Babylon; thus, above: the burden of the desert of the sea (Isa 21:1), above: the water of the sea shall be dried up (Isa 19:5);
third, as to the exaltation of the liberator: who say to Cyrus: you are my shepherd , feeding my sheep: he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd (Ezek 34:23);
fourth, as to the reestablishment of the temple: who say to Jerusalem ; your foundations shall be laid , for in the time of Cyrus, only the foundations of the temple remained standing: Jerusalem will be built up again (Jer 30:18).
855 . The Spirit is given (see 44:3),
to beginners
for the principle of live-giving: the spirit came into them, and they lived (Ezek 37:10);
for the laver of renovation: by the laver of regeneration and renovation of the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5–6);
for the privilege of adoption: you have received the spirit of adoption (Rom 8:15);
to those making progress
to instruct the intellect: but the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things (John 14:26);
to refresh the affections: my spirit is sweet above honey (Sir 24:27[20]);
to assist action: the Spirit also helps our infirmity (Rom 8:26);
to the perfect
as the benefit of liberty: where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty (2 Cor 3:17);
as the bond of unity: careful to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Eph 4:3);
as the pledge of their inheritance: you were signed with the holy Spirit of promise, who is the pledge of our inheritance (Eph 1:13–14).
856 . The saints are (see 44:7),
elect through predestination: he chose us (Eph 1:4);
formed through the infusion of grace: the Lord God formed man (Gen 2:7);
righteous through love: the righteous love you (Song 1:3);
servants through the duty of work: we are unprofitable servants (Luke 17:10).