Book of Isaiah bible study chapters 40 through 51

 

            Here is the next group of chapters from the book of Isaiah. These in particular have encouraging messages for the people nowadays in many different aspects as well as the fact that it was written for God’s people, Israel. It speaks also of Jesus’ coming and activities and God’s love for us and His people. This is a continuation of the previous set of studies. Here is a link to 11 of the last chapters of the book of Isaiah, 25 through 35 with prophecies and some encouraging words for us, especially chapter 35

https://www.facebook.com/notes/jay-dougherty/book-of-isaiah-bible-study-chapters-25-through-35/10200810780325405

Chapters 36 through 39 deal with King Hezekiah of Judah, and I am giving a link to my study of Hezekiah, which also should give more information of the time when Isaiah the prophet was living

https://www.facebook.com/notes/jay-dougherty/king-hezekiah-comparative-bible-study/10200738257712385

Chapter 40 of Isaiah is an encouraging chapter, prophesying John the Baptist and Jesus too, encouraging to prepare the way of the Lord and also ends with an encouraging message about the Lord strengthening us

(Isaiah 40:1)  Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.

 

(Isaiah 40:2)  Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the LORD's hand double for all her sins.

 

(Isaiah 40:3)  A voice cries: "In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

 

(Isaiah 40:4)  Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain.

 

(Isaiah 40:5)  And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken."

 

(Isaiah 40:6)  A voice says, "Cry!" And I said, "What shall I cry?" All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field.

 

(Isaiah 40:7)  The grass withers, the flower fades when the breath of the LORD blows on it; surely the people are grass.

 

(Isaiah 40:8)  The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.

 

(Isaiah 40:9)  Get you up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good news; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good news; lift it up, fear not; say to the cities of Judah, "Behold your God!"

 

(Isaiah 40:10)  Behold, the Lord GOD comes with might, and his arm rules for him; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him.

 

(Isaiah 40:11)  He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.

 

(Isaiah 40:12)  Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand and marked off the heavens with a span, enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure and weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance?

 

(Isaiah 40:13)  Who has measured the Spirit of the LORD, or what man shows him his counsel?

 

(Isaiah 40:14)  Whom did he consult, and who made him understand? Who taught him the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and showed him the way of understanding?

 

(Isaiah 40:15)  Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, and are accounted as the dust on the scales; behold, he takes up the coastlands like fine dust.

 

(Isaiah 40:16)  Lebanon would not suffice for fuel, nor are its beasts enough for a burnt offering.

 

(Isaiah 40:17)  All the nations are as nothing before him, they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness.

 

(Isaiah 40:18)  To whom then will you liken God, or what likeness compare with him?

 

(Isaiah 40:19)  An idol! A craftsman casts it, and a goldsmith overlays it with gold and casts for it silver chains.

 

(Isaiah 40:20)  He who is too impoverished for an offering chooses wood that will not rot; he seeks out a skillful craftsman to set up an idol that will not move.

 

(Isaiah 40:21)  Do you not know? Do you not hear? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?

 

(Isaiah 40:22)  It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to dwell in;

 

(Isaiah 40:23)  who brings princes to nothing, and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness.

 

(Isaiah 40:24)  Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown, scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth, when he blows on them, and they wither, and the tempest carries them off like stubble.

 

(Isaiah 40:25)  To whom then will you compare me, that I should be like him? says the Holy One.

 

(Isaiah 40:26)  Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these? He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name, by the greatness of his might, and because he is strong in power not one is missing.

 

(Isaiah 40:27)  Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, "My way is hidden from the LORD, and my right is disregarded by my God"?

 

(Isaiah 40:28)  Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.

 

(Isaiah 40:29)  He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength.

 

(Isaiah 40:30)  Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted;

 

(Isaiah 40:31)  but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

 

Isaiah chapter 41 is an encouraging message showing how the Lord will help His servant and loves them then speaks of the non value of idols

(Isaiah 41:1)  Listen to me in silence, O coastlands; let the peoples renew their strength; let them approach, then let them speak; let us together draw near for judgment.

 

(Isaiah 41:2)  Who stirred up one from the east whom victory meets at every step? He gives up nations before him, so that he tramples kings underfoot; he makes them like dust with his sword, like driven stubble with his bow.

 

(Isaiah 41:3)  He pursues them and passes on safely, by paths his feet have not trod.

 

(Isaiah 41:4)  Who has performed and done this, calling the generations from the beginning? I, the LORD, the first, and with the last; I am he.

 

(Isaiah 41:5)  The coastlands have seen and are afraid; the ends of the earth tremble; they have drawn near and come.

 

(Isaiah 41:6)  Everyone helps his neighbor and says to his brother, "Be strong!"

 

(Isaiah 41:7)  The craftsman strengthens the goldsmith, and he who smooths with the hammer him who strikes the anvil, saying of the soldering, "It is good"; and they strengthen it with nails so that it cannot be moved.

 

(Isaiah 41:8)  But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, the offspring of Abraham, my friend;

 

(Isaiah 41:9)  you whom I took from the ends of the earth, and called from its farthest corners, saying to you, "You are my servant, I have chosen you and not cast you off";

 

(Isaiah 41:10)  fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

 

(Isaiah 41:11)  Behold, all who are incensed against you shall be put to shame and confounded; those who strive against you shall be as nothing and shall perish.

 

(Isaiah 41:12)  You shall seek those who contend with you, but you shall not find them; those who war against you shall be as nothing at all.

 

(Isaiah 41:13)  For I, the LORD your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, "Fear not, I am the one who helps you."

 

(Isaiah 41:14)  Fear not, you worm Jacob, you men of Israel! I am the one who helps you, declares the LORD; your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.

 

(Isaiah 41:15)  Behold, I make of you a threshing sledge, new, sharp, and having teeth; you shall thresh the mountains and crush them, and you shall make the hills like chaff;

 

(Isaiah 41:16)  you shall winnow them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the tempest shall scatter them. And you shall rejoice in the LORD; in the Holy One of Israel you shall glory.

 

(Isaiah 41:17)  When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue is parched with thirst, I the LORD will answer them; I the God of Israel will not forsake them.

 

(Isaiah 41:18)  I will open rivers on the bare heights, and fountains in the midst of the valleys. I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water.

 

(Isaiah 41:19)  I will put in the wilderness the cedar, the acacia, the myrtle, and the olive. I will set in the desert the cypress, the plane and the pine together,

 

(Isaiah 41:20)  that they may see and know, may consider and understand together, that the hand of the LORD has done this, the Holy One of Israel has created it.

 

(Isaiah 41:21)  Set forth your case, says the LORD; bring your proofs, says the King of Jacob.

 

(Isaiah 41:22)  Let them bring them, and tell us what is to happen. Tell us the former things, what they are, that we may consider them, that we may know their outcome; or declare to us the things to come.

 

(Isaiah 41:23)  Tell us what is to come hereafter, that we may know that you are gods; do good, or do harm, that we may be dismayed and terrified.

 

(Isaiah 41:24)  Behold, you are nothing, and your work is less than nothing; an abomination is he who chooses you.

 

(Isaiah 41:25)  I stirred up one from the north, and he has come, from the rising of the sun, and he shall call upon my name; he shall trample on rulers as on mortar, as the potter treads clay.

 

(Isaiah 41:26)  Who declared it from the beginning, that we might know, and beforehand, that we might say, "He is right"? There was none who declared it, none who proclaimed, none who heard your words.

 

(Isaiah 41:27)  I was the first to say to Zion, "Behold, here they are!" and I give to Jerusalem a herald of good news.

 

(Isaiah 41:28)  But when I look, there is no one; among these there is no counselor who, when I ask, gives an answer.

 

(Isaiah 41:29)  Behold, they are all a delusion; their works are nothing; their metal images are empty wind.

 

Isaiah chapter 42 is another encouraging chapter speaking of even the coming of Jesus and God’s love, and also encourages praise, but also shows the worthlessness of idols and the powers of the Lord

(Isaiah 42:1)  Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations.

 

(Isaiah 42:2)  He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street;

 

(Isaiah 42:3)  a bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice.

 

(Isaiah 42:4)  He will not grow faint or be discouraged till he has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands wait for his law.

 

(Isaiah 42:5)  Thus says God, the LORD, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk in it:

 

(Isaiah 42:6)  "I am the LORD; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you; I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations,

 

(Isaiah 42:7)  to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.

 

(Isaiah 42:8)  I am the LORD; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols.

 

(Isaiah 42:9)  Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them."

 

(Isaiah 42:10)  Sing to the LORD a new song, his praise from the end of the earth, you who go down to the sea, and all that fills it, the coastlands and their inhabitants.

 

(Isaiah 42:11)  Let the desert and its cities lift up their voice, the villages that Kedar inhabits; let the habitants of Sela sing for joy, let them shout from the top of the mountains.

 

(Isaiah 42:12)  Let them give glory to the LORD, and declare his praise in the coastlands.

 

(Isaiah 42:13)  The LORD goes out like a mighty man, like a man of war he stirs up his zeal; he cries out, he shouts aloud, he shows himself mighty against his foes.

 

(Isaiah 42:14)  For a long time I have held my peace; I have kept still and restrained myself; now I will cry out like a woman in labor; I will gasp and pant.

 

(Isaiah 42:15)  I will lay waste mountains and hills, and dry up all their vegetation; I will turn the rivers into islands, and dry up the pools.

 

(Isaiah 42:16)  And I will lead the blind in a way that they do not know, in paths that they have not known I will guide them. I will turn the darkness before them into light, the rough places into level ground. These are the things I do, and I do not forsake them.

 

(Isaiah 42:17)  They are turned back and utterly put to shame, who trust in carved idols, who say to metal images, "You are our gods."

 

(Isaiah 42:18)  Hear, you deaf, and look, you blind, that you may see!

 

(Isaiah 42:19)  Who is blind but my servant, or deaf as my messenger whom I send? Who is blind as my dedicated one, or blind as the servant of the LORD?

 

(Isaiah 42:20)  He sees many things, but does not observe them; his ears are open, but he does not hear.

 

(Isaiah 42:21)  The LORD was pleased, for his righteousness' sake, to magnify his law and make it glorious.

 

(Isaiah 42:22)  But this is a people plundered and looted; they are all of them trapped in holes and hidden in prisons; they have become plunder with none to rescue, spoil with none to say, "Restore!"

 

(Isaiah 42:23)  Who among you will give ear to this, will attend and listen for the time to come?

 

(Isaiah 42:24)  Who gave up Jacob to the looter, and Israel to the plunderers? Was it not the LORD, against whom we have sinned, in whose ways they would not walk, and whose law they would not obey?

 

(Isaiah 42:25)  So he poured on him the heat of his anger and the might of battle; it set him on fire all around, but he did not understand; it burned him up, but he did not take it to heart.

 

Isaiah chapter 43 reassures every one of God’s presence and power, and also God’s  drawing the people to Him and of His power to heal and to forgive the transgressions of people.

(Isaiah 43:1)  But now thus says the LORD, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.

 

(Isaiah 43:2)  When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.

 

(Isaiah 43:3)  For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I give Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in exchange for you.

 

(Isaiah 43:4)  Because you are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you, I give men in return for you, peoples in exchange for your life.

 

(Isaiah 43:5)  Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, and from the west I will gather you.

 

(Isaiah 43:6)  I will say to the north, Give up, and to the south, Do not withhold; bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth,

 

(Isaiah 43:7)  everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made."

 

(Isaiah 43:8)  Bring out the people who are blind, yet have eyes, who are deaf, yet have ears!

 

(Isaiah 43:9)  All the nations gather together, and the peoples assemble. Who among them can declare this, and show us the former things? Let them bring their witnesses to prove them right, and let them hear and say, It is true.

 

(Isaiah 43:10)  "You are my witnesses," declares the LORD, "and my servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me.

 

(Isaiah 43:11)  I, I am the LORD, and besides me there is no savior.

 

(Isaiah 43:12)  I declared and saved and proclaimed, when there was no strange god among you; and you are my witnesses," declares the LORD, "and I am God.

 

(Isaiah 43:13)  Also henceforth I am he; there is none who can deliver from my hand; I work, and who can turn it back?"

 

(Isaiah 43:14)  Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: "For your sake I send to Babylon and bring them all down as fugitives, even the Chaldeans, in the ships in which they rejoice.

 

(Isaiah 43:15)  I am the LORD, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King."

 

(Isaiah 43:16)  Thus says the LORD, who makes a way in the sea, a path in the mighty waters,

 

(Isaiah 43:17)  who brings forth chariot and horse, army and warrior; they lie down, they cannot rise, they are extinguished, quenched like a wick:

 

(Isaiah 43:18)  "Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old.

 

(Isaiah 43:19)  Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.

 

(Isaiah 43:20)  The wild beasts will honor me, the jackals and the ostriches, for I give water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert, to give drink to my chosen people,

 

(Isaiah 43:21)  the people whom I formed for myself that they might declare my praise.

 

(Isaiah 43:22)  "Yet you did not call upon me, O Jacob; but you have been weary of me, O Israel!

 

(Isaiah 43:23)  You have not brought me your sheep for burnt offerings, or honored me with your sacrifices. I have not burdened you with offerings, or wearied you with frankincense.

 

(Isaiah 43:24)  You have not bought me sweet cane with money, or satisfied me with the fat of your sacrifices. But you have burdened me with your sins; you have wearied me with your iniquities.

 

(Isaiah 43:25)  "I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins.

 

(Isaiah 43:26)  Put me in remembrance; let us argue together; set forth your case, that you may be proved right.

 

(Isaiah 43:27)  Your first father sinned, and your mediators transgressed against me.

 

(Isaiah 43:28)  Therefore I will profane the princes of the sanctuary, and deliver Jacob to utter destruction and Israel to reviling.

 

Isaiah chapter 44 speaks of idols and their worthlessness also the worthlessness of those who builds them and yet but how the Lord does it all and is with us

(Isaiah 44:1)  "But now hear, O Jacob my servant, Israel whom I have chosen!

 

(Isaiah 44:2)  Thus says the LORD who made you, who formed you from the womb and will help you: Fear not, O Jacob my servant, Jeshurun whom I have chosen.

 

(Isaiah 44:3)  For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants.

 

(Isaiah 44:4)  They shall spring up among the grass like willows by flowing streams.

 

(Isaiah 44:5)  This one will say, 'I am the LORD's,' another will call on the name of Jacob, and another will write on his hand, 'The LORD's,' and name himself by the name of Israel."

 

(Isaiah 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; besides me there is no god.

 

(Isaiah 44:7)  Who is like me? Let him proclaim it. Let him declare and set it before me, since I appointed an ancient people. Let them declare what is to come, and what will happen.

 

(Isaiah 44:8)  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."

 

(Isaiah 44:9)  All who fashion 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.

 

(Isaiah 44:10)  Who fashions a god or casts an idol that is profitable for nothing?

 

(Isaiah 44:11)  Behold, all his companions shall be put to shame, and the craftsmen are only human. Let them all assemble, let them stand forth. They shall be terrified; they shall be put to shame together.

 

(Isaiah 44:12)  The ironsmith takes a cutting tool and works it over the coals. He fashions it with hammers and works it with his strong arm. He becomes hungry, and his strength fails; he drinks no water and is faint.

 

(Isaiah 44:13)  The carpenter stretches a line; he marks it out with a pencil. He shapes 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.

 

(Isaiah 44:14)  He cuts down cedars, or he chooses a cypress tree or an oak and lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest. He plants a cedar and the rain nourishes it.

 

(Isaiah 44:15)  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 an idol and falls down before it.

 

(Isaiah 44:16)  Half of it he burns in the fire. Over the half he eats meat; he roasts it and is satisfied. Also he warms himself and says, "Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire!"

 

(Isaiah 44:17)  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 you are my god!"

 

(Isaiah 44:18)  They know not, nor do they discern, for he has shut their eyes, so that they cannot see, and their hearts, so that they cannot understand.

 

(Isaiah 44:19)  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 meat and have eaten. And shall I make the rest of it an abomination? Shall I fall down before a block of wood?"

 

(Isaiah 44:20)  He feeds on ashes; a deluded heart has led him astray, and he cannot deliver himself or say, "Is there not a lie in my right hand?"

 

(Isaiah 44:21)  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.

 

(Isaiah 44:22)  I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud and your sins like mist; return to me, for I have redeemed you.

 

(Isaiah 44:23)  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.

 

(Isaiah 44:24)  Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, who formed you from the womb: "I am the LORD, who made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth by myself,

 

(Isaiah 44:25)  who frustrates the signs of liars and makes fools of diviners, who turns wise men back and makes their knowledge foolish,

 

(Isaiah 44:26)  who confirms the word of his servant and fulfills 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';

 

(Isaiah 44:27)  who says to the deep, 'Be dry; I will dry up your rivers';

 

(Isaiah 44:28)  who says of Cyrus, 'He is my shepherd, and he shall fulfill all my purpose'; saying of Jerusalem, 'She shall be built,' and of the temple, 'Your foundation shall be laid.'"

 

At the end of chapter 44 and also the beginning of Isaiah chapter 45 Isaiah prophesies of the rebuilding of the temple which would happen by Cyrus the Lord’s servant and then speaks of the Lord’s power ang glory

(Isaiah 45:1)  Thus says the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped, to subdue nations before him and to loose the belts of kings, to open doors before him that gates may not be closed:

 

(Isaiah 45:2)  "I will go before you and level the exalted places, I will break in pieces the doors of bronze and cut through the bars of iron,

 

(Isaiah 45:3)  I will give you the treasures of darkness and the hoards in secret places, that you may know that it is I, the LORD, the God of Israel, who call you by your name.

 

(Isaiah 45:4)  For the sake of my servant Jacob, and Israel my chosen, I call you by your name, I name you, though you do not know me.

 

(Isaiah 45:5)  I am the LORD, and there is no other, besides me there is no God; I equip you, though you do not know me,

 

(Isaiah 45:6)  that people may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides me; I am the LORD, and there is no other.

 

(Isaiah 45:7)  I form light and create darkness, I make well-being and create calamity, I am the LORD, who does all these things.

 

(Isaiah 45:8)  "Shower, O heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain down righteousness; let the earth open, that salvation and righteousness may bear fruit; let the earth cause them both to sprout; I the LORD have created it.

 

(Isaiah 45:9)  "Woe to him who strives with him who formed him, a pot among earthen pots! Does the clay say to him who forms it, 'What are you making?' or 'Your work has no handles'?

 

(Isaiah 45:10)  Woe to him who says to a father, 'What are you begetting?' or to a woman, 'With what are you in labor?'"

 

(Isaiah 45:11)  Thus says the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, and the one who formed him: "Ask me of things to come; will you command me concerning my children and the work of my hands?

 

(Isaiah 45:12)  I made the earth and created man on it; it was my hands that stretched out the heavens, and I commanded all their host.

 

(Isaiah 45:13)  I have stirred him up in righteousness, and I will make all his ways level; he shall build my city and set my exiles free, not for price or reward," says the LORD of hosts.

 

(Isaiah 45:14)  Thus says the LORD: "The wealth of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush, and the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over to you and be yours; they shall follow you; they shall come over in chains and bow down to you. They will plead with you, saying: 'Surely God is in you, and there is no other, no god besides him.'"

 

(Isaiah 45:15)  Truly, you are a God who hides himself, O God of Israel, the Savior.

 

(Isaiah 45:16)  All of them are put to shame and confounded; the makers of idols go in confusion together.

 

(Isaiah 45:17)  But Israel is saved by the LORD with everlasting salvation; you shall not be put to shame or confounded to all eternity.

 

(Isaiah 45:18)  For thus says the LORD, who created the heavens (he is God!), who formed the earth and made it (he established it; he did not create it empty, he formed it to be inhabited!): "I am the LORD, and there is no other.

 

(Isaiah 45:19)  I did not speak in secret, in a land of darkness; I did not say to the offspring of Jacob, 'Seek me in vain.' I the LORD speak the truth; I declare what is right.

 

(Isaiah 45:20)  "Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, you survivors of the nations! They have no knowledge who carry about their wooden idols, and keep on praying to a god that cannot save.

 

(Isaiah 45:21)  Declare and present your case; let them take counsel together! Who told this long ago? Who declared it of old? Was it not I, the LORD? And there is no other god besides me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none besides me.

 

(Isaiah 45:22)  "Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.

 

(Isaiah 45:23)  By myself I have sworn; from my mouth has gone out in righteousness a word that shall not return: 'To me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear allegiance.'

 

(Isaiah 45:24)  "Only in the LORD, it shall be said of me, are righteousness and strength; to him shall come and be ashamed all who were incensed against him.

 

(Isaiah 45:25)  In the LORD all the offspring of Israel shall be justified and shall glory."

 

In chapter 46 of Isaiah the worthlessness of other gods is shown and then that the Lord will bring about His purposes and also to bring righteousness even to the evil people of that day and also today.

(Isaiah 46:1)  Bel bows down; Nebo stoops; their idols are on beasts and livestock; these things you carry are borne as burdens on weary beasts.

 

(Isaiah 46:2)  They stoop; they bow down together; they cannot save the burden, but themselves go into captivity.

 

(Isaiah 46:3)  "Listen to me, O house of Jacob, all the remnant of the house of Israel, who have been borne by me from before your birth, carried from the womb;

 

(Isaiah 46:4)  even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save.

 

(Isaiah 46:5)  "To whom will you liken me and make me equal, and compare me, that we may be alike?

 

(Isaiah 46:6)  Those who lavish gold from the purse, and weigh out silver in the scales, hire a goldsmith, and he makes it into a god; then they fall down and worship!

 

(Isaiah 46:7)  They lift it to their shoulders, they carry it, they set it in its place, and it stands there; it cannot move from its place. If one cries to it, it does not answer or save him from his trouble.

 

(Isaiah 46:8)  "Remember this and stand firm, recall it to mind, you transgressors,

 

(Isaiah 46:9)  remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me,

 

(Isaiah 46:10)  declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, 'My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,'

 

(Isaiah 46:11)  calling a bird of prey from the east, the man of my counsel from a far country. I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed, and I will do it.

 

(Isaiah 46:12)  "Listen to me, you stubborn of heart, you who are far from righteousness:

 

(Isaiah 46:13)  I bring near my righteousness; it is not far off, and my salvation will not delay; I will put salvation in Zion, for Israel my glory."

 

Isaiah chapter 47 speaks of judgment coming on Babylon, one that Babylon the woman cannot charm away, either and is sure

(Isaiah 47:1)  Come down and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon; sit on the ground without a throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans! For you shall no more be called tender and delicate.

 

(Isaiah 47:2)  Take the millstones and grind flour, put off your veil, strip off your robe, uncover your legs, pass through the rivers.

 

(Isaiah 47:3)  Your nakedness shall be uncovered, and your disgrace shall be seen. I will take vengeance, and I will spare no one.

 

(Isaiah 47:4)  Our Redeemer--the LORD of hosts is his name-- is the Holy One of Israel.

 

(Isaiah 47:5)  Sit in silence, and go into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans; for you shall no more be called the mistress of kingdoms.

 

(Isaiah 47:6)  I was angry with my people; I profaned my heritage; I gave them into your hand; you showed them no mercy; on the aged you made your yoke exceedingly heavy.

 

(Isaiah 47:7)  You said, "I shall be mistress forever," so that you did not lay these things to heart or remember their end.

 

(Isaiah 47:8)  Now therefore hear this, you lover of pleasures, who sit securely, who say in your heart, "I am, and there is no one besides me; I shall not sit as a widow or know the loss of children":

 

(Isaiah 47:9)  These two things shall come to you in a moment, in one day; the loss of children and widowhood shall come upon you in full measure, in spite of your many sorceries and the great power of your enchantments.

 

(Isaiah 47:10)  You felt secure in your wickedness, you said, "No one sees me"; your wisdom and your knowledge led you astray, and you said in your heart, "I am, and there is no one besides me."

 

(Isaiah 47:11)  But evil shall come upon you, which you will not know how to charm away; disaster shall fall upon you, for which you will not be able to atone; and ruin shall come upon you suddenly, of which you know nothing.

 

(Isaiah 47:12)  Stand fast in your enchantments and your many sorceries, with which you have labored from your youth; perhaps you may be able to succeed; perhaps you may inspire terror.

 

(Isaiah 47:13)  You are wearied with your many counsels; let them stand forth and save you, those who divide the heavens, who gaze at the stars, who at the new moons make known what shall come upon you.

 

(Isaiah 47:14)  Behold, they are like stubble; the fire consumes them; they cannot deliver themselves from the power of the flame. No coal for warming oneself is this, no fire to sit before!

 

(Isaiah 47:15)  Such to you are those with whom you have labored, who have done business with you from your youth; they wander about, each in his own direction; there is no one to save you.

 

In chapter 48 of Isaiah mercy and deferments of judgment is spoken of and also it regrets that Israel never followed His commands

(Isaiah 48:1)  Hear this, O house of Jacob, who are called by the name of Israel, and who came from the waters of Judah, who swear by the name of the LORD and confess the God of Israel, but not in truth or right.

 

(Isaiah 48:2)  For they call themselves after the holy city, and stay themselves on the God of Israel; the LORD of hosts is his name.

 

(Isaiah 48:3)  "The former things I declared of old; they went out from my mouth, and I announced them; then suddenly I did them, and they came to pass.

 

(Isaiah 48:4)  Because I know that you are obstinate, and your neck is an iron sinew and your forehead brass,

 

(Isaiah 48:5)  I declared them to you from of old, before they came to pass I announced them to you, lest you should say, 'My idol did them, my carved image and my metal image commanded them.'

 

(Isaiah 48:6)  "You have heard; now see all this; and will you not declare it? From this time forth I announce to you new things, hidden things that you have not known.

 

(Isaiah 48:7)  They are created now, not long ago; before today you have never heard of them, lest you should say, 'Behold, I knew them.'

 

(Isaiah 48:8)  You have never heard, you have never known, from of old your ear has not been opened. For I knew that you would surely deal treacherously, and that from before birth you were called a rebel.

 

(Isaiah 48:9)  "For my name's sake I defer my anger, for the sake of my praise I restrain it for you, that I may not cut you off.

 

(Isaiah 48:10)  Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tried you in the furnace of affliction.

 

(Isaiah 48:11)  For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for how should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another.

 

(Isaiah 48:12)  "Listen to me, O Jacob, and Israel, whom I called! I am he; I am the first, and I am the last.

 

(Isaiah 48:13)  My hand laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand spread out the heavens; when I call to them, they stand forth together.

 

(Isaiah 48:14)  "Assemble, all of you, and listen! Who among them has declared these things? The LORD loves him; he shall perform his purpose on Babylon, and his arm shall be against the Chaldeans.

 

(Isaiah 48:15)  I, even I, have spoken and called him; I have brought him, and he will prosper in his way.

 

(Isaiah 48:16)  Draw near to me, hear this: from the beginning I have not spoken in secret, from the time it came to be I have been there." And now the Lord GOD has sent me, and his Spirit.

 

(Isaiah 48:17)  Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: "I am the LORD your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you in the way you should go.

 

(Isaiah 48:18)  Oh that you had paid attention to my commandments! Then your peace would have been like a river, and your righteousness like the waves of the sea;

 

(Isaiah 48:19)  your offspring would have been like the sand, and your descendants like its grains; their name would never be cut off or destroyed from before me."

 

(Isaiah 48:20)  Go out from Babylon, flee from Chaldea, declare this with a shout of joy, proclaim it, send it out to the end of the earth; say, "The LORD has redeemed his servant Jacob!"

 

(Isaiah 48:21)  They did not thirst when he led them through the deserts; he made water flow for them from the rock; he split the rock and the water gushed out.

 

(Isaiah 48:22)  "There is no peace," says the LORD, "for the wicked."

 

Isaiah chapter 49 speaks of God’s favor towards Israel and prophesies people coming there from afar even saying how He will judge Israel’s captors

(Isaiah 49:1)  Listen to me, O coastlands, and give attention, you peoples from afar. The LORD called me from the womb, from the body of my mother he named my name.

 

(Isaiah 49:2)  He made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made me a polished arrow; in his quiver he hid me away.

 

(Isaiah 49:3)  And he said to me, "You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified."

 

(Isaiah 49:4)  But I said, "I have labored in vain; I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity; yet surely my right is with the LORD, and my recompense with my God."

 

(Isaiah 49:5)  And now the LORD says, he who formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him; and that Israel might be gathered to him-- for I am honored in the eyes of the LORD, and my God has become my strength--

 

(Isaiah 49:6)  he says: "It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth."

 

(Isaiah 49:7)  Thus says the LORD, the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One, to one deeply despised, abhorred by the nation, the servant of rulers: "Kings shall see and arise; princes, and they shall prostrate themselves; because of the LORD, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you."

 

(Isaiah 49:8)  Thus says the LORD: "In a time of favor I have answered you; in a day of salvation I have helped you; I will keep you and give you as a covenant to the people, to establish the land, to apportion the desolate heritages,

 

(Isaiah 49:9)  saying to the prisoners, 'Come out,' to those who are in darkness, 'Appear.' They shall feed along the ways; on all bare heights shall be their pasture;

 

(Isaiah 49:10)  they shall not hunger or thirst, neither scorching wind nor sun shall strike them, for he who has pity on them will lead them, and by springs of water will guide them.

 

(Isaiah 49:11)  And I will make all my mountains a road, and my highways shall be raised up.

 

(Isaiah 49:12)  Behold, these shall come from afar, and behold, these from the north and from the west, and these from the land of Syene."

 

(Isaiah 49:13)  Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth; break forth, O mountains, into singing! For the LORD has comforted his people and will have compassion on his afflicted.

 

(Isaiah 49:14)  But Zion said, "The LORD has forsaken me; my Lord has forgotten me."

 

(Isaiah 49:15)  "Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you.

 

(Isaiah 49:16)  Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me.

 

(Isaiah 49:17)  Your builders make haste; your destroyers and those who laid you waste go out from you.

 

(Isaiah 49:18)  Lift up your eyes around and see; they all gather, they come to you. As I live, declares the LORD, you shall put them all on as an ornament; you shall bind them on as a bride does.

 

(Isaiah 49:19)  "Surely your waste and your desolate places and your devastated land-- surely now you will be too narrow for your inhabitants, and those who swallowed you up will be far away.

 

(Isaiah 49:20)  The children of your bereavement will yet say in your ears: 'The place is too narrow for me; make room for me to dwell in.'

 

(Isaiah 49:21)  Then you will say in your heart: 'Who has borne me these? I was bereaved and barren, exiled and put away, but who has brought up these? Behold, I was left alone; from where have these come?'"

 

(Isaiah 49:22)  Thus says the Lord GOD: "Behold, I will lift up my hand to the nations, and raise my signal to the peoples; and they shall bring your sons in their bosom, and your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders.

 

(Isaiah 49:23)  Kings shall be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers. With their faces to the ground they shall bow down to you, and lick the dust of your feet. Then you will know that I am the LORD; those who wait for me shall not be put to shame."

 

(Isaiah 49:24)  Can the prey be taken from the mighty, or the captives of a tyrant be rescued?

 

(Isaiah 49:25)  For thus says the LORD: "Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken, and the prey of the tyrant be rescued, for I will contend with those who contend with you, and I will save your children.

 

In Isaiah chapter 50 it is reminded for their evil doing Israel was taken captive but also reminds Isaiah and us that the Lord is always helping

(Isaiah 50:1)  Thus says the LORD: "Where is your mother's certificate of divorce, with which I sent her away? Or which of my creditors is it to whom I have sold you? Behold, for your iniquities you were sold, and for your transgressions your mother was sent away.

 

(Isaiah 50:2)  Why, when I came, was there no man; why, when I called, was there no one to answer? Is my hand shortened, that it cannot redeem? Or have I no power to deliver? Behold, by my rebuke I dry up the sea, I make the rivers a desert; their fish stink for lack of water and die of thirst.

 

(Isaiah 50:3)  I clothe the heavens with blackness and make sackcloth their covering."

 

(Isaiah 50:4)  The Lord GOD has given me the tongue of those who are taught, that I may know how to sustain with a word him who is weary. Morning by morning he awakens; he awakens my ear to hear as those who are taught.

 

(Isaiah 50:5)  The Lord GOD has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious; I turned not backward.

 

(Isaiah 50:6)  I gave my back to those who strike, and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard; I hid not my face from disgrace and spitting.

 

(Isaiah 50:7)  But the Lord GOD helps me; therefore I have not been disgraced; therefore I have set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame.

 

(Isaiah 50:8)  He who vindicates me is near. Who will contend with me? Let us stand up together. Who is my adversary? Let him come near to me.

 

(Isa 50:9)  Behold, the Lord GOD helps me; who will declare me guilty? Behold, all of them will wear out like a garment; the moth will eat them up.

 

(Isaiah 50:10)  Who among you fears the LORD and obeys the voice of his servant? Let him who walks in darkness and has no light trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God.

 

(Isaiah 50:11)  Behold, all you who kindle a fire, who equip yourselves with burning torches! Walk by the light of your fire, and by the torches that you have kindled! This you have from my hand: you shall lie down in torment.

 

In Isaiah chapter 51 the Lord reminds those faithful to put on strength and then how the Lord is powerful and puts words in our mouths and pleads our cause

(Isaiah 51:1)  "Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness, you who seek the LORD: look to the rock from which you were hewn, and to the quarry from which you were dug.

 

(Isaiah 51:2)  Look to Abraham your father and to Sarah who bore you; for he was but one when I called him, that I might bless him and multiply him.

 

(Isaiah 51:3)  For the LORD comforts Zion; he comforts all her waste places and makes her wilderness like Eden, her desert like the garden of the LORD; joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the voice of song.

 

(Isaiah 51:4)  "Give attention to me, my people, and give ear to me, my nation; for a law will go out from me, and I will set my justice for a light to the peoples.

 

(Isaiah 51:5)  My righteousness draws near, my salvation has gone out, and my arms will judge the peoples; the coastlands hope for me, and for my arm they wait.

 

(Isaiah 51:6)  Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look at the earth beneath; for the heavens vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment, and they who dwell in it will die in like manner; but my salvation will be forever, and my righteousness will never be dismayed.

 

(Isaiah 51:7)  "Listen to me, you who know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law; fear not the reproach of man, nor be dismayed at their revilings.

 

(Isaiah 51:8)  For the moth will eat them up like a garment, and the worm will eat them like wool; but my righteousness will be forever, and my salvation to all generations."

 

(Isaiah 51:9)  Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the LORD; awake, as in days of old, the generations of long ago. Was it not you who cut Rahab in pieces, who pierced the dragon?

 

(Isaiah 51:10)  Was it not you who dried up the sea, the waters of the great deep, who made the depths of the sea a way for the redeemed to pass over?

 

(Isaiah 51:11)  And the ransomed of the LORD shall return and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

 

(Isaiah 51:12)  "I, I am he who comforts you; who are you that you are afraid of man who dies, of the son of man who is made like grass,

 

(Isaiah 51:13)  and have forgotten the LORD, your Maker, who stretched out the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth, and you fear continually all the day because of the wrath of the oppressor, when he sets himself to destroy? And where is the wrath of the oppressor?

 

(Isaiah 51:14)  He who is bowed down shall speedily be released; he shall not die and go down to the pit, neither shall his bread be lacking.

 

(Isaiah 51:15)  I am the LORD your God, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar-- the LORD of hosts is his name.

 

(Isaiah 51:16)  And I have put my words in your mouth and covered you in the shadow of my hand, establishing the heavens and laying the foundations of the earth, and saying to Zion, 'You are my people.'"

 

(Isaiah 51:17)  Wake yourself, wake yourself, stand up, O Jerusalem, you who have drunk from the hand of the LORD the cup of his wrath, who have drunk to the dregs the bowl, the cup of staggering.

 

(Isaiah 51:18)  There is none to guide her among all the sons she has borne; there is none to take her by the hand among all the sons she has brought up.

 

(Isaiah 51:19)  These two things have happened to you-- who will console you?-- devastation and destruction, famine and sword; who will comfort you?

 

(Isaiah 51:20)  Your sons have fainted; they lie at the head of every street like an antelope in a net; they are full of the wrath of the LORD, the rebuke of your God.

 

(Isaiah 51:21)  Therefore hear this, you who are afflicted, who are drunk, but not with wine:

 

(Isaiah 51:22)  Thus says your Lord, the LORD, your God who pleads the cause of his people: "Behold, I have taken from your hand the cup of staggering; the bowl of my wrath you shall drink no more;

 

(Isaiah 51:23)  and I will put it into the hand of your tormentors, who have said to you, 'Bow down, that we may pass over'; and you have made your back like the ground and like the street for them to pass over."

Here is a link to the concluding 15 chapters of the book of Isaiah, including chapters 52 through 66, which contain many powerful prophecies but also some wonderful advice and encouragement please go to this link

https://www.facebook.com/notes/jay-dougherty/book-of-isaiah-bible-study-chapters-52-through-66/10200816515388778

 

God is merciful to send prophets like Isaiah to relay His messages to His people. Isaiah would prophesy the coming of Jesus and how He would give His life for us(chapter 53 and other places in Isaiah). Jesus gave His life willingly and lovingly so we could then be atoned for our sins and be restored to relationship with God the Father (as well as Jesus, of course) and there is NOTHING like a relationship with God, nothing that can compare with it or to it. I am now including a prayer which you can use that will invite Jesus into your heart for the start of this love relationship or even to return to it if you have drifted away for any reason. Please pray this prayer with me:

Dear God in heaven, I come to you in the name of Jesus. I acknowledge to You that I am a sinner, and I am sorry for my sins and the life that I have lived; I need your forgiveness. I believe that your only begotten Son Jesus Christ shed His precious blood on the cross at Calvary and died for my sins, and I am now willing to turn from my sin. You said in Your Holy Word, Romans 10:9 that if we confess Jesus as our Lord and believe in our hearts that God raised Jesus from the dead, we will be saved. Right now I confess Jesus as the Lord of my soul. With my heart, I believe that God raised Jesus from the dead. This very moment I accept Jesus Christ as my own personal Savior and according to His Word, right now I am saved. Thank you Jesus for your unlimited grace which has saved me from my sins. I thank you Jesus that your grace never leads to license, but rather it always leads to repentance. Therefore Lord Jesus transform my life so that I may bring glory and honor to you alone and not to myself. Thank you Jesus for dying for me and giving me eternal life.

Amen.

God bless you and yours