Isaiah 44:19-21

International Standard Version

¹⁹No one stops to think. No one has the knowledge or understanding to think—yes to think!—^[a]“Half of it I burned in the fire. I even baked bread on its coals, and^[b] I roasted meat and ate it. And^[c] am I about to make detestable things^[d] from what is left? Am I about to bow down to blocks^[e] of wood?” ²⁰He tends ashes. A deceived mind has lead him astray. It cannot be his life,^[f] nor can he say, “There’s a lie in my right hand.”^[g]

A Call to Remembrance and Joy

²¹“Remember these things, Jacob,
    Israel,^[h] for you are my servant.
I have formed you;
    you are a servant to me.
        Israel,^[i] you must not mislead me.^[j]

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Footnotes

Isaiah 44:19 So 1QIsa^a; MT lacks —yes to think!—
Isaiah 44:19 So 1QIsa^a; MT lacks and
Isaiah 44:19 So 1QIsa^a MT; 4QIsa^b lacks And
Isaiah 44:19 So 1QIsa^a; 4QIsa^b MT LXX read make a detestable thing
Isaiah 44:19 So 1QIsa^a; MT reads to a block
Isaiah 44:20 So 1QIsa^a; 4QIsa^b MT LXX read He does not save his life
Isaiah 44:20 So 1QIsa^a; 4QIsa^b MT LXX read “There’s no lie in my right hand, is there?”
Isaiah 44:21 So 1QIsa^a; 4QIsa^b MT LXX read and Israel
Isaiah 44:21 So 1QIsa^a MT; 4QIsa^b LXX read and Israel
Isaiah 44:21 So 1QIsa^a; 4QIsa^b MT read you won’t be forgotten by me; LXX reads don’t forget me

Isaiah 44:19-21

New International Version

¹⁹No one stops to think,
    no one has the knowledge or understanding^(A) to say,
“Half of it I used for fuel;^(B)
    I even baked bread over its coals,
    I roasted meat and I ate.
Shall I make a detestable^(C) thing from what is left?
    Shall I bow down to a block of wood?”^(D)
²⁰Such a person feeds on ashes;^(E) a deluded^(F) heart misleads him;
    he cannot save himself, or say,
    “Is not this thing in my right hand a lie?^(G)”