Isaiah 43–44

Restoration of Israel

43Now this is what the Lord says—

the One who created you, Jacob,

and the One who formed you, Israel ^v—

“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; ^w

I have called you by your name; you are Mine. ^x

²I will be with you ^y

when you pass through the waters, ^z

and when you pass through the rivers,

they will not overwhelm you.

You will not be scorched

when you walk through the fire, ^a

and the flame will not burn you.

³For I Yahweh your God, ^b

the Holy One of Israel, and your Savior, ^c

give Egypt as a ransom for you,

Cush and Seba in your place.

⁴Because you are precious in My sight ^d

and honored, and I love you, ^e

I will give people in exchange for you

and nations instead of your life.

⁵Do not fear, for I am with you;

I will bring your descendants from the east, ^f

and gather you from the west. ^g

⁶I will say to the north: Give them up!

and to the south: Do not hold them back!

Bring My sons from far away, ^h

and My daughters from the ends of the earth ⁱ—

⁷everyone called by My name

and created for My glory.

I have formed him; indeed, I have made him.”

⁸Bring out a people who are blind, yet have eyes, ^j

and are deaf, yet have ears.

⁹All the nations are gathered together,

and the peoples are assembled. ^k

Who among them can declare this, ^l

and tell us the former things?

Let them present their witnesses

to vindicate themselves,

so that people may hear and say, “It is true.”

¹⁰“You are My witnesses” ^m—

this is the Lord’s declaration—

“and My servant whom I have chosen, ⁿ

so that you may know and believe Me

and understand that I am He. ^o

No god was formed before Me,

and there will be none after Me. ^p

¹¹I, I am Yahweh,

and there is no other Savior but Me. ^q

¹²I alone declared, saved, and proclaimed—

and not some foreign god ^ramong you.

So you are My witnesses”—

this is the Lord’s declaration—

“and ^sI am God. ^t

¹³Also, from today on I am He alone,

and none can deliver from My hand. ^u

I act, and who can reverse it?” ^v

God’s Deliverance of Rebellious Israel

¹⁴This is what the Lord, your Redeemer, ^wthe Holy One of Israel ^xsays:

Because of you, I will send to Babylon

and bring all of them as fugitives, ^y

even the Chaldeans ^zin the ships in which they rejoice. ^a

¹⁵I am Yahweh, your Holy One,

the Creator of Israel, your King.

¹⁶This is what the Lord says—

who makes a way in the sea,

and a path through surging waters, ^b

¹⁷who brings out the chariot and horse, ^c

the army and the mighty one together

(they lie down, they do not rise again;

they are extinguished, quenched like a wick ^d)—

¹⁸“Do not remember the past events,

pay no attention to things of old. ^e

¹⁹Look, I am about to do something new; ^f

even now it is coming. Do you not see it?

Indeed, I will make a way in the wilderness, ^g

rivers ^hin the desert.

²⁰The animals of the field will honor Me,

jackals and ostriches,

because I provide water in the wilderness,

and rivers in the desert, ⁱ

to give drink to My chosen people.

²¹The people I formed for Myself

will declare My praise. ^j

²²“But Jacob, you have not called on Me,

because, Israel, you have become weary of Me. ^k

²³You have not brought Me your sheep for burnt offerings

or honored Me with your sacrifices. ^l

I have not burdened you with offerings

or wearied you with incense. ^m

²⁴You have not bought Me aromatic cane with silver,

or satisfied Me with the fat of your sacrifices.

But you have burdened Me with your sins;

you have wearied Me ⁿwith your iniquities. ^o

²⁵“It is I who sweep away your transgressions ^p

for My own sake ^q

and remember your sins no more. ^r

²⁶Take Me to court; let us argue our case together. ^s

State your case, so that you may be vindicated.

²⁷Your first father sinned, ^t

and your mediators have rebelled against Me. ^u

²⁸So I defiled the officers of the sanctuary,

and set Jacob apart for destruction ^v

and Israel for abuse.

Spiritual Blessing

44“And now listen, Jacob My servant,

Israel whom I have chosen. ^w

²This is the word of the Lord

your Maker who formed you from the womb;

He ^xwill help you:

Do not fear; Jacob is My servant;

I have chosen Jeshurun. ^yz

³For I will pour water on the thirsty land

and streams on the dry ground;

I will pour out My Spirit ^aon your descendants

and My blessing on your offspring.

⁴They will sprout among ^bthe grass

like poplars by flowing streams.

⁵This one will say, ‘I am the Lord’s’;

another will call himself by the name of Jacob;

still another will write on his hand, ‘The Lord’s,’

and name himself by the name of Israel.”

No God Other Than Yahweh

⁶This is what the Lord, the King of Israel and its Redeemer, ^cthe Lord of Hosts, says:

I am the first and I am the last. ^d

There is no God but Me. ^e

⁷Who, like Me, can announce the future?

Let him say so and make a case before Me, ^f

since I have established an ancient people.

Let these gods declare ^gthe coming things,

and what will take place.

⁸Do not be startled or afraid.

Have I not told you and declared it long ago?

You are my witnesses! ^h

Is there any God but Me? ⁱ

There is no other Rock; ^jI do not know any.

⁹All who make idols are nothing,

and what they treasure does not profit.

Their witnesses do not see or know anything,

so they will be put to shame. ^k

¹⁰Who makes a god or casts a metal image

for no profit? ^l

¹¹Look, all its worshipers will be put to shame,

and the craftsmen are humans.

They all will assemble and stand;

they all will be startled and put to shame.

¹²The ironworker labors over the coals,

shapes the idol with hammers,

and works it with his strong arm.

Also he grows hungry and his strength fails;

he doesn’t drink water and is faint.

¹³The woodworker stretches out a measuring line,

he outlines it with a stylus;

he shapes it with chisels

and outlines it with a compass.

He makes it according to a human likeness, ^m

like a beautiful person,

to dwell in a temple.

¹⁴He cuts down ⁿcedars for his use,

or he takes a cypress or an oak.

He lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest.

He plants a laurel, and the rain makes it grow.

¹⁵It serves as fuel for man.

He takes some of it and warms himself;

also he kindles a fire and bakes bread;

he even makes it into a god and worships it;

he makes an idol from it and bows down to it.

¹⁶He burns half of it in a fire,

and he roasts meat on that half.

He eats the roast and is satisfied.

He warms himself and says, “Ah!

I am warm, I see the blaze.”

¹⁷He makes a god or his idol with the rest of it.

He bows down to it and worships;

He prays to it, ^o“Save me, for you are my god.”

¹⁸Such people ^pdo not comprehend

and cannot understand,

for He has shut their eyes ^qso they cannot see,

and their minds so they cannot understand.

¹⁹No one reflects,

no one has the perception or insight to say,

“I burned half of it in the fire,

I also baked bread on its coals,

I roasted meat and ate.

I will make something detestable ^rwith the rest of it,

and I will bow down to a block of wood.”

²⁰He feeds on ^sashes.

His deceived mind has led him astray,

and he cannot deliver himself,

or say, “Isn’t there a lie in my right hand?” ^t

²¹Remember these things, Jacob,

and Israel, for you are My servant;

I formed you, you are My servant;

Israel, you will never be forgotten by Me. ^uv

²²I have swept away your transgressions like a cloud, ^w

and your sins like a mist.

Return to Me, ^x

for I have redeemed you. ^y

²³Rejoice, heavens, ^zfor the Lord has acted;

shout, depths of the earth.

Break out into singing, mountains,

forest, and every tree in it.

For the Lord has redeemed Jacob,

and glorifies Himself through Israel. ^a

Restoration of Israel through Cyrus

²⁴This is what the Lord, your Redeemer ^bwho formed you from the womb, ^csays:

I am Yahweh, who made everything;

who stretched out the heavens by Myself; ^d

who alone spread out the earth;

²⁵who destroys the omens of the false prophets

and makes fools of diviners;

who confounds the wise

and makes their knowledge foolishness; ^e

²⁶who confirms the message of His servant

and fulfills the counsel of His messengers;

who says to Jerusalem, “She will be inhabited,”

and to the cities of Judah, “They will be rebuilt,”

and I will restore her ruins;

²⁷who says to the depths of the sea, “Be dry,”

and I will dry up your rivers;

²⁸who says to Cyrus, ^f“My shepherd,

he will fulfill all My pleasure” ^g

and says to Jerusalem, “She will be rebuilt,” ^h

and of the temple, “Its foundation will be laid.”