Isaiah 43:1–13

God Promises to Rescue His People

43Israel, the Lord who created you says,

“Do not be afraid—I will save you.

I have called you by name—you are mine.

²When you pass through deep waters, I will be with you;

your troubles will not overwhelm you.

When you pass through fire, you will not be burnt;

the hard trials that come will not hurt you.

³For I am the Lord your God,

the holy God of Israel, who saves you.

I will give up Egypt to set you free;

I will give up Ethiopia^q and Seba.

⁴I will give up whole nations to save your life,

because you are precious to me

and because I love you and give you honour.

⁵Do not be afraid—I am with you!

“From the distant east and the farthest west,

I will bring your people home.

⁶I will tell the north to let them go

and the south not to hold them back.

Let my people return from distant lands,

from every part of the world.

⁷They are my own people, and I created them to bring me glory.”

Israel Is the ’s Witness

⁸God says,

“Summon my people to court.

They have eyes, but they are blind;

they have ears, but they are deaf!

⁹Summon the nations to come to the trial.

Which of their gods can predict the future?

Which of them foretold what is happening now?

Let these gods bring in their witnesses

to prove that they are right,

to testify to the truth of their words.

¹⁰“People of Israel, you are my witnesses;

I chose you to be my servant,

so that you would know me and believe in me

and understand that I am the only God.

Besides me there is no other god;

there never was and never will be.

¹¹“I alone am the Lord,

the only one who can save you.

¹²I predicted what would happen,

and then I came to your aid. No foreign god has ever done this;

you are my witnesses.

¹³I am God and always will be. No one can escape from my power;

no one can change what I do.”