Isaiah 43:14–28

¹⁴This is what the Lord, who saves you,

the Holy One of Israel, says:

“I will send armies to Babylon for you,

and I will knock down all its locked gates.

The Babylonians will shout their cries of sorrow.

¹⁵I am the Lord, your Holy One,

the Creator of Israel, your King.”

God Will Save His People Again

¹⁶This is what the Lord says.

He is the one who made a road through the sea

and a path through rough waters.

¹⁷He is the one who defeated the chariots and horses

and the mighty armies.

They fell together and will never rise again.

They were destroyed as a flame is put out.

¹⁸The Lord says, “Forget what happened before,

and do not think about the past.

¹⁹Look at the new thing I am going to do.

It is already happening. Don’t you see it?

I will make a road in the desert

and rivers in the dry land.

²⁰Even the wild animals will be thankful to me—

the wild dogs and owls.

They will honor me when I put water in the desert

and rivers in the dry land

to give water to my people, the ones I chose.

²¹The people I made

will sing songs to praise me.

²²“People of Jacob, you have not called to me;

people of Israel, you have become tired of me.

²³You have not brought me your sacrifices of sheep

nor honored me with your sacrifices.

I did not weigh you down with sacrifices to offer

or make you tired with incense to burn.

²⁴So you did not buy incense for me;

you did not freely bring me fat from your sacrifices.

Instead you have weighed me down with your many sins;

you have made me tired of your many wrongs.

²⁵“I, I am the One who erases all your sins, for my sake;

I will not remember your sins.

²⁶But you should remind me.

Let’s meet and decide what is right.

Tell what you have done and show you are right.

²⁷Your first father sinned,

and your leaders have turned against me.

²⁸So I will make your holy rulers unholy.

I will bring destruction on the people of Jacob,

and I will let Israel be insulted.”