Isaiah 43–44

The Lord Saves Israel

43Family of Jacob, the Lord created you.

People of Israel, he formed you.

He says, “Do not be afraid.

I will set you free.

I will send for you by name.

You belong to me.

²You will pass through deep waters.

But I will be with you.

You will pass through the rivers.

But their waters will not sweep over you.

You will walk through fire.

But you will not be burned.

The flames will not harm you.

³I am the Lord your God.

I am the Holy One of Israel.

I am the one who saves you.

I will give up Egypt to set you free.

I will give up Cush and Seba for you.

⁴You are priceless to me.

I love you and honor you.

So I will trade other people for you.

I will give up other nations to save your lives.

⁵Do not be afraid. I am with you.

I will bring your people back from the east.

I will gather you from the west.

⁶I will say to the north, ‘Let them go!’

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

Bring my sons from far away.

Bring my daughters from the farthest places on earth.

⁷Bring back everyone who belongs to me.

I created them to bring glory to me.

I formed them and made them.”

⁸Lead my people into court.

They have eyes but can’t see.

Bring those who have ears but can’t hear.

⁹All of the nations are gathering together.

All of them are coming.

Which one of their gods said ahead of time

that the people of Israel would return?

Which of them told us anything at all about the past?

Let them bring in their witnesses to prove they were right.

Then others will hear them. And they will say,

“What they said is true.”

¹⁰“People of Israel, you are my witnesses,” announces the Lord.

“I have chosen you to be my servants.

I wanted you to know me and believe in me.

I wanted you to understand that I am the one and only God.

Before me, there was no other god at all.

And there will not be any god after me.

¹¹I am the one and only Lord.

I am the only one who can save you.

¹²I have made known what would happen.

I told you about it. And I saved you.

I did it. It was not some other god you worship.

You are my witnesses that I am God,” announces the Lord.

¹³“And that is not all! I have always been God,

and I always will be.

No one can save people from my powerful hand.

When I do something, who can undo it?”

The Lord Forgives Israel but Also Punishes Them

¹⁴The Lord sets his people free.

He is the Holy One of Israel. He says,

“People of Israel, I will send an army to Babylon to save you.

I will cause all of the Babylonians to run away.

They will try to escape in the ships they were so proud of.

¹⁵I am your Lord and King.

I am your Holy One.

I created you.”

¹⁶Long ago the Lord opened

a way for his people to go through the Red Sea.

He made a path through the mighty waters.

¹⁷He caused Egypt to send out its chariots and horses.

He sent its entire army to its death.

Its soldiers lay down there.

They never got up again.

They were destroyed.

They were blown out like a dimly burning flame.

But the Lord says,

¹⁸“Forget the things that happened in the past.

Do not keep on thinking about them.

¹⁹I am about to do something new.

It is beginning to happen even now.

Don’t you see it coming?

I am going to make a way for you to go through the desert.

I will make streams of water in the dry and empty land.

²⁰Even wild dogs and owls honor me.

That is because I provide water in the desert

for my people to drink.

I cause streams to flow in the dry and empty land

for my chosen ones.

²¹I do it for the people I made for myself.

I want them to sing praise to me.

²²“Family of Jacob, you have not prayed to me as you should.

People of Israel, you have not even begun to get tired while doing it.

²³You have not brought me sheep for burnt offerings.

You have not honored me with your sacrifices.

I have not loaded you down

by requiring grain offerings.

I have not made you tired

by requiring you to burn incense.

²⁴But you have not bought any sweet-smelling cane for me.

You have not given me the fattest parts

of your animal sacrifices.

Instead, you have loaded me down with your sins.

You have made me tired with the wrong things you have done.

²⁵“I am the one who wipes out your lawless acts.

I do it because of who I am.

I will not remember your sins anymore.

²⁶But let us go to court together.

Remind me of what you have done.

State your case.

Prove to me that you are not guilty.

²⁷Your father Jacob sinned.

Your priests and prophets refused to obey me.

²⁸So I will put the high officials of your temple to shame.

I will let Jacob’s family be totally destroyed.

And I will let people make fun of Israel.

The Lord Chooses Israel

44“Family of Jacob, listen to me. You are my servants.

People of Israel, I have chosen you.

²I made you. I formed you when you were born as a nation.

I will help you.

So listen to what I am saying.

Family of Jacob, do not be afraid. You are my servants.

People of Israel, I have chosen you.

³I will pour water out on the thirsty land.

I will make streams flow on the dry ground.

I will pour out my Spirit on your children.

I will pour out my blessing on their children after them.

⁴They will spring up like grass in a meadow.

They will grow like poplar trees near flowing streams.

⁵Some will say, ‘We belong to the Lord.’

Others will call themselves by Jacob’s name.

Still others will write on their hands,

‘We belong to the Lord.’

And they will be called by the name of Israel.

Worship the Lord, Not Other Gods

⁶“I am Israel’s King. I set them free.

I am the Lord who rules over all.

So listen to what I am saying.

I am the First and the Last.

I am the one and only God.

⁷Who is like me? Let him come forward and speak boldly.

Let him tell me everything that has happened

since I created my people long ago.

And let him tell me what has not happened yet.

Let him announce ahead of time what is going to take place.

⁸Do not tremble with fear. Do not be afraid.

Didn’t I announce everything that has happened?

Didn’t I tell you about it long ago?

You are my witnesses. Is there any other God but me?

No! There is no other Rock. I do not know even one.”

⁹Those who make statues of gods don’t amount to anything.

And the statues they think so much of are worthless.

Those who would speak up for them are blind.

They don’t know anything.

So they will be put to shame.

¹⁰People make statues of gods.

But those gods can’t do them any good.

¹¹People like that will be put to shame.

Those who make statues of gods are mere men.

Let all of them come together and state their case.

They will be terrified and put to shame.

¹²A blacksmith gets his tool.

He uses it to shape metal over the burning coals.

He uses his hammers to make a statue of a god.

He forms it with his powerful arm.

He gets hungry and loses his strength.

He doesn’t drink any water.

He gets weaker and weaker.

¹³A carpenter measures a piece of wood with a line.

He draws a pattern on it with a marker.

He cuts out a statue with sharp tools.

He marks it with compasses.

He shapes it into the form of a handsome man.

He does all of that so he can put it in a temple.

¹⁴He cuts down a cedar tree.

Or perhaps he takes a cypress or an oak tree.

It might be a tree that grew in the forest.

Or it might be a pine tree he planted.

And the rain made it grow.

¹⁵Man gets wood from trees for fuel.

He uses some of it to warm himself.

He starts a fire and bakes bread.

But he also uses some of it to make a god and worship it.

He makes a statue of a god and bows down to it.

¹⁶He burns half of the wood in the fire.

He prepares a meal over it.

He cooks meat over it.

He eats until he is full.

He also warms himself. He says,

“Good! I’m getting warm.

The fire is nice and hot.”

¹⁷From the rest of the wood he makes a statue.

It becomes his god.

He bows down and worships it.

He prays to it. He says,

“Save me. You are my god.”

¹⁸People like that don’t even know what they are doing.

Their eyes are shut so that they can’t see the truth.

Their minds are closed so that they can’t understand it.

¹⁹No one even stops to think about this.

No one has any sense or understanding.

If anyone did, he would say,

“I used half of the wood for fuel.

I even baked bread over the fire.

I cooked meat. Then I ate it.

Should I now make a statue of a god

out of the wood that’s left over?

Should I bow down to a block of wood?

The Lord would hate that.”

²⁰That’s as foolish as eating ashes!

The mind of someone like that

has led him down the wrong path.

He can’t save himself.

He can’t bring himself to say,

“This thing I’m holding in my right hand

isn’t really a god at all.”

²¹The Lord says, “Family of Jacob, remember those things.

People of Israel, you are my servants.

I have made you. You are my servants.

Israel, I will not forget you.

²²I will sweep your sins away as if they were a cloud.

I will blow them away as if they were the morning mist.

Return to me.

Then I will set you free.”

²³Sing with joy, you heavens!

The Lord does wonderful things.

Shout out loud, you earth!

Burst into song, you mountains!

Sing, you forests and all of your trees!

The Lord sets the family of Jacob free.

He shows his glory in Israel.

People Will Live in Jerusalem Again

²⁴The Lord says,

“People of Israel, I set you free.

I formed you when you were born as a nation.

“I am the Lord. I have made everything.

I alone spread out the heavens.

I formed the earth by myself.

²⁵“Some prophets are not really prophets at all.

I show that their miraculous signs are fake.

I make those who practice evil magic look foolish.

I destroy the learning of those who think they are wise.

Their knowledge does not make any sense at all.

²⁶I make the words of my servants the prophets come true.

I carry out what my messengers say will happen.

“I say about Jerusalem,

‘My people will live there again.’

I say about the towns of Judah,

‘They will be rebuilt.’

I say about their broken-down buildings,

‘I will make them like new again.’

²⁷I say to the deep waters,

‘Dry up. Let your streams become dry.’

²⁸I say about Cyrus,

‘He is my shepherd.

He will accomplish everything I want him to.

He will say about Jerusalem,

“Let it be rebuilt.”

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