Isaiah 44:6-13

The words of YAHWEH, Israel’s true King and Kinsman-Redeemer, YAHWEH, Commander of Angel Armies, says: “I am the Beginning and I am the Ending, and I am the only God there is. Who is like me? Go ahead, stand and speak up. I’ll wait for him to announce it and explain it all to me! Who else has announced from everlasting what is to come? Let him prophesy what is yet to be. Do not fear nor be shaken! Haven’t I foretold it, announcing it to you ahead of time? You are my witnesses, so tell me, is there any god besides me? There is no other Rock of shelter; I know not one.” Idol-makers amount to nothing, and the things they treasure can do no one any good. They are witnesses with blind eyes who know nothing; they will be disgraced. What kind of person would form an idol-god or cast an image with no ability to do any good? No wonder those who worship them will be put to shame. Their craftsmen are only human beings. Let them all come together and take their stand. They will all be terrified and put to shame! The blacksmith takes his tongs and heats it over the coals, forming it with hammers, forging it with his strong arm. But when he gets hungry, his strength ebbs away, and if he doesn’t drink water, he quickly grows weary. The woodworker stretches out a measuring line, then marks it and fashions his idol-god with his carving tools. Then he uses a stylus to trace it out on the wood and shapes it into the figure of a man, trying to make it look like a beautiful human to be displayed somewhere in a shrine.