Isaiah 43–44

43 *But now thus saith the Lord athat created thee, O Jacob,

bAnd he athat formed thee, O Israel,

fpFear not: cfor I have redeemed thee,

dI have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.

2  eWhen thou passest through the waters, fI will be with thee;

And gthrough the rivers, they shall not overflow thee:

ehWhen thou iwalkest through the fire, hthou shalt not be iburned;

Neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.

3  For I am the Lord thy God,

The Holy One of Israel, jthy Saviour:

kI gave lEgypt mfor thy ransom,

lEthiopia and nSeba for thee.

4  Since othou wast precious in my sight,

Thou hast been honourable, and I have loved thee:

mTherefore will I give men for thee,

And people for thy ||life.

5  pFear not: for I am with thee:

I will bring thy seed qfrom the east,

And qgather thee from the west;

6  I will say to qthe north, Give up;

And to the south, Keep not back:

Bring rmy sons from far,

And rmy daughters from the ends of the earth;

7  Even every one sthat is called by my name:

For asI have created him for my glory,

aI have formed him; yea, uI have made him.

8  vBring forth the blind people that have eyes,

And the deaf that have ears.

9  Let all the nations be gathered together,

And let the people be assembled:

wWho among them can declare this,

And shew us former things?

Let them bring forth their witnesses, that they may be justified:

Or let them hear, and say, It is truth.

10  xYe are my witnesses, saith the Lord,

And ymy servant whom I have chosen:

That ye may know and believe me,

And understand that I am he:

zBefore me there was ||no God formed,

Neither shall there be after me.

11  aI, even I, am the Lord;

aAnd bbeside me there is no saviour.

12  I have declared, and have saved, and I have shewed,

When there was no cstrange god among you:

Therefore dye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, that eI am God.

13  Yea, efbefore the day was I am he;

And there is none that can deliver out of my hand:

I will work, and who shall †glet it?

14  Thus saith the Lord, hyour redeemer, the Holy One of Israel;

For your sake I have sent to Babylon,

And have brought down all their †inobles,

And the kChaldeans, whose cry is in the ships.

15  I am the Lord, your Holy One,

The creator of Israel, your King.

16  Thus saith the Lord, lwhich maketh a way in the sea,

And a path in the mighty waters;

17  mWhich bringeth forth the chariot and horse, the army and the power;

They shall lie down together, they shall not rise:

They are extinct, nthey are quenched as tow.

18  oRemember ye not the former things,

Neither consider the things of old.

19  Behold, I will do pa new thing;

Now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it?

qI will even make a way in the wilderness,

And rrivers in sthe desert.

20  The beast of the field shall honour me,

tThe dragons and the ||†owls:

Because rI give waters in the wilderness,

And rivers in sthe desert,

rTo give drink to my people, my chosen.

21  uThis people have I formed for myself;

vThey shall shew forth wmy praise.

22  But thou hast not called upon me, O Jacob;

But xthou hast been weary of me, O Israel.

23  yThou hast not brought me the †small cattle of thy burnt offerings;

Neither hast thou zhonoured me with thy sacrifices.

I have not caused thee to serve with an offering,

Nor awearied thee with bincense.

24  Thou hast bought me no bsweet cane with money,

Neither hast thou †filled me with the fat of thy sacrifices:

But thou hast made me to serve with thy sins,

Thou hast acwearied me with thine iniquities.

25  I, even I, am he that dblotteth out thy transgressions efor mine own sake,

fAnd will not remember thy sins.

26  Put me in remembrance: let us plead together:

Declare thou, that thou mayest be justified.

27  Thy first father hath sinned,

And thy †teachers have transgressed against me.

28  Therefore gI have profaned the ||princes of the sanctuary,

And have given Jacob hito the curse,

And Israel to hkreproaches.

44 Yet now hear, aO Jacob my servant;

And aIsrael, whom I have chosen:

2  Thus saith the Lord bthat made thee,

And cformed thee from the womb, which will help thee;

cFear not, aO Jacob, my servant;

And thou, dJesurun, awhom I have chosen.

3  For eI will pour water upon him that is thirsty,

And floods upon the dry ground:

fI will pour my spirit upon thy seed,

And my blessing upon thine goffspring:

4  And ethey shall spring up as among the grass,

As hwillows by ithe water courses.

5  One shall say, I am the Lord’s;

And another shall call himself by the name of Jacob;

And another shall ksubscribe with his hand unto the Lord,

And lsurname himself by the name of Israel.

6  Thus saith the Lord the King of Israel,

And mhis redeemer the Lord of hosts;

I nam the first, and I am the last;

And obeside me there is no God.

7  And pwho, as I, shall call,

And shall declare it, and set it in order for me,

Since I qappointed the ancient people?

And rthe things that are coming, and shall come, let them shew unto them.

8  Fear ye not, neither be afraid:

sHave not I told thee tfrom that time,

And have declared it? uye are even my witnesses.

ovwIs there a God beside me?

Yea, wthere is no †God; I know not any.

9  xThey that make a graven image are all of them vanity;

And their †delectable things shall not profit;

And ythey are their own witnesses;

zThey see not, nor know; that they may be ashamed.

10  Who hath formed a god, or molten a graven image

aThat is profitable for nothing?

11  Behold, all his fellows bshall be ashamed:

And the workmen, they are of men:

Let them all be gathered together, let them stand up;

Yet they shall fear, and they shall be ashamed together.

12  cThe smith ||with the tongs both worketh in dthe coals,

And fashioneth it ewith hammers,

And worketh it with the strength of his arms:

Yea, he is hungry, and his strength faileth:

He drinketh no water, and is faint.

13  The carpenter stretcheth out his rule; he marketh it out with a line;

He fitteth it with planes, and he marketh it out with the compass,

And maketh it after the figure of a man, according to the beauty of a man;

That it may remain in the house.

14  He heweth him down cedars, and taketh fthe cypress and the oak,

Which ||ghe strengtheneth for himself among the trees of the forest:

He planteth an ash, and the rain doth nourish it.

15  hThen shall it be for a man ito burn:

For he will take thereof, and warm himself;

Yea, he kindleth it, and baketh bread;

Yea, he maketh a god, and worshippeth it;

He maketh it a graven image, and jfalleth down thereto.

16  He burneth part thereof in the fire;

With part thereof he eateth flesh;

He roasteth roast, and is satisfied:

Yea, he warmeth himself, and saith, Aha,

I am warm, I have seen kthe fire:

17  And the residue thereof he maketh a god, even his graven image:

He ifalleth down unto it, and worshippeth it, and lprayeth unto it,

And saith, Deliver me; for thou art my god.

18  mThey have not known nor understood:

For he hath †shut their eyes, that they cannot see;

And their hearts, that they cannot understand.

19  And none †considereth in his heart,

Neither is there knowledge nor understanding to say,

I have burned part of it in the fire;

Yea, also I have baked bread upon the coals thereof;

I have roasted flesh, and eaten it:

And shall I make the residue thereof an abomination?

Shall I ifall down to †the stock of a tree?

20  He nfeedeth on ashes:

oA deceived heart hath turned him aside,

That he cannot deliver his soul, nor say,

Is there not pa lie in my right hand?

21  Remember these, O Jacob

And Israel; for qthou art my servant:

I qhave formed thee; thou art my servant:

O Israel, thou shalt not be forgotten of me.

22  I rhave blotted out, sas a thick cloud, thy transgressions,

And, as a cloud, thy sins:

Return unto me; for tI have redeemed thee.

23  uSing, O ye heavens; for the Lord hath done it:

Shout, vye lower parts of the earth:

uwBreak forth into singing, ye mountains,

xO forest, and every tree therein:

For tthe Lord hath redeemed Jacob,

And yglorified himself in Israel.

24  Thus saith the Lord, zthy redeemer,

And ahe that formed thee from the womb,

I am the Lord that maketh all things;

bcThat stretcheth forth the heavens alone;

cdThat spreadeth abroad the earth cby myself;

25  That frustrateth the tokens of fthe liars,

gAnd hmaketh idiviners mad;

That turneth wise men backward,

And kmaketh their knowledge foolish;

26  That confirmeth the word of lhis servant,

And performeth the counsel of his messengers;

That saith to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be inhabited;

And mto the cities of Judah, Ye shall be built,

And I will raise up the †decayed places thereof:

27  nThat saith to the deep, Be dry,

And I will dry up thy rivers:

28  That saith of oCyrus, He is my shepherd,

And shall perform pall my pleasure:

Even saying qto Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built;

And to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid.