Isaiah 43

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.