Isaiah 43

Chapter 43

Israel Redeemed

¹But now, thus says the Lord, your ^aCreator, O Jacob,

And He who ^bformed you, O Israel,

“Do not ^cfear, for I have ^dredeemed you;

I have ^ecalled you by name; you are ^fMine!

²“When you ^apass through the waters, ^bI will be with you;

And through the rivers, they will not overflow you.

When you ^cwalk through the fire, you will not be scorched,

Nor will the flame burn you.

³“For ^aI am the Lord your God,

The Holy One of Israel, your ^bSavior;

I have given Egypt as your ransom,

^1cCush and Seba in your place.

⁴“Since you are ^aprecious in My sight,

Since you are ^bhonored and I ^clove you,

I will give other men in your place and other peoples in exchange for your life.

⁵“Do not fear, for ^aI am with you;

I will bring ^byour offspring from the east,

And ^cgather you from the west.

⁶“I will say to the ^anorth, ‘Give them up!’

And to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’

Bring My ^bsons from afar

And My daughters from the ^cends of the earth,

⁷Everyone who is ^acalled by My name,

And whom I have ^bcreated for My ^cglory,

^dWhom I have formed, even whom I have made.”

Israel Is God’s Witness

⁸Bring out the people who are ^ablind, even though they have eyes,

And the deaf, even though they have ears.

⁹All the nations have ^agathered together

So that the peoples may be assembled.

Who among them can ^bdeclare this

And proclaim to us the former things?

Let them present ^ctheir witnesses ^dthat they may be justified,

Or let them hear and say, “It is true.”

¹⁰“You are ^aMy witnesses,” declares the Lord,

“And ^bMy servant whom I have chosen,

So that you may know and believe Me

And understand that ^cI am He.

^dBefore Me there was no God formed,

And there will be none after Me.

¹¹“I, even I, am the Lord,

And there is no ^asavior ^bbesides Me.

¹²“It is I who have declared and saved and proclaimed,

And there was no ^astrange god among you;

So you are My witnesses,” declares the Lord,

“And I am God.

¹³“Even ^1afrom eternity ^bI am He,

And there is ^cnone who can deliver out of My hand;

^dI act and who can reverse it?”

Babylon to Be Destroyed

¹⁴Thus says the Lord your ^aRedeemer, the Holy One of Israel,

“For your sake I have sent to Babylon,

And will bring them all down as fugitives,

¹Even the ^bChaldeans, into the ^cships ²in which they rejoice.

¹⁵“I am the Lord, your Holy One,

^aThe Creator of Israel, your ^bKing.”

¹⁶Thus says the Lord,

Who ^amakes a way through the sea

And a path through the mighty waters,

¹⁷Who brings forth the ^achariot and the horse,

The army and the mighty man

(They will lie down together and not rise again;

They have been ^bquenched and extinguished like a wick):

¹⁸“^aDo not call to mind the former things,

Or ponder things of the past.

¹⁹“Behold, I will do something ^anew,

Now it will spring forth;

Will you not be aware of it?

I will even ^bmake a roadway in the wilderness,

Rivers in the desert.

²⁰“The beasts of the field will glorify Me,

The ^ajackals and the ostriches,

Because I have ^bgiven waters in the wilderness

And rivers in the desert,

To give drink to My chosen people.

²¹“The people whom ^aI formed for Myself

^bWill declare My praise.

The Shortcomings of Israel

²²“Yet you have not called on Me, O Jacob;

But you have become ^aweary of Me, O Israel.

²³“You have ^anot brought to Me the sheep of your burnt offerings,

Nor have you ^bhonored Me with your sacrifices.

I have not ^cburdened you with ¹offerings,

Nor wearied you with ^dincense.

²⁴“You have bought Me not ^1asweet cane with money,

Nor have you ²filled Me with the fat of your sacrifices;

Rather you have burdened Me with your sins,

You have ^bwearied Me with your iniquities.

²⁵“I, even I, am the one who ^awipes out your transgressions ^bfor My own sake,

And I will ^cnot remember your sins.

²⁶“¹Put Me in remembrance, ^alet us argue our case together;

State your cause, ^bthat you may be proved right.

²⁷“Your ^afirst ¹forefather sinned,

And your ^2bspokesmen have ³transgressed against Me.

²⁸“So I will ¹pollute the ²princes of the sanctuary,

And I will consign Jacob to the ^aban and Israel to ^brevilement.