Isaiah 43
43
God Is Always with His People
1Now this is what the Lord says.
He created you, people of Jacob;
he formed you, people of Israel.
He says, “Don’t be afraid, because I have saved you.
I have called you by name, and you are mine.
2When you pass through the waters, I will be with you.
When you cross rivers, you will not drown.
When you walk through fire, you will not be burned,
nor will the flames hurt you.
3This is because I, the Lord, am your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
I gave Egypt to pay for you,
and I gave Cush and Seba to make you mine.
4Because you are precious to me,
because I give you honor and love you,
I will give other people in your place;
I will give other nations to save your life.
5Don’t be afraid, because I am with you.
I will bring your children from the east
and gather you from the west.
6I will tell the north: Give my people to me.
I will tell the south: Don’t keep my people in prison.
Bring my sons from far away
and my daughters from faraway places.
7Bring to me all the people who are mine,
whom I made for my glory,
whom I formed and made.”
Judah Is God’s Witness
8Bring out the people who have eyes but don’t see
and those who have ears but don’t hear.
9All the nations gather together,
and all the people come together.
Which of their gods said this would happen?
Which of their gods can tell what happened in the beginning?
Let them bring their witnesses to prove they were right.
Then others will say, “It is true.”
10The Lord says, “You are my witnesses
and the servant I chose.
I chose you so you would know and believe me,
so you would understand that I am the true God.
There was no God before me,
and there will be no God after me.
11I myself am the Lord;
I am the only Savior.
12I myself have spoken to you, saved you, and told you these things.
It was not some foreign god among you.
You are my witnesses, and I am God,”
says the Lord.
13“I have always been God.
No one can save people from my power;
when I do something, no one can change it.”
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.”
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Isaiah 43: NCV
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The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
Isaiah 43
43
The Savior of Israel
1But now, O Jacob, listen to the Lord who created you.
O Israel, the one who formed you says,
“Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you.
I have called you by name; you are mine.
2When you go through deep waters,
I will be with you.
When you go through rivers of difficulty,
you will not drown.
When you walk through the fire of oppression,
you will not be burned up;
the flames will not consume you.
3For I am the Lord, your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
I gave Egypt as a ransom for your freedom;
I gave Ethiopia#43:3 Hebrew Cush. and Seba in your place.
4Others were given in exchange for you.
I traded their lives for yours
because you are precious to me.
You are honored, and I love you.
5“Do not be afraid, for I am with you.
I will gather you and your children from east and west.
6I will say to the north and south,
‘Bring my sons and daughters back to Israel
from the distant corners of the earth.
7Bring all who claim me as their God,
for I have made them for my glory.
It was I who created them.’”
8Bring out the people who have eyes but are blind,
who have ears but are deaf.
9Gather the nations together!
Assemble the peoples of the world!
Which of their idols has ever foretold such things?
Which can predict what will happen tomorrow?
Where are the witnesses of such predictions?
Who can verify that they spoke the truth?
10“But you are my witnesses, O Israel!” says the Lord.
“You are my servant.
You have been chosen to know me, believe in me,
and understand that I alone am God.
There is no other God—
there never has been, and there never will be.
11I, yes I, am the Lord,
and there is no other Savior.
12First I predicted your rescue,
then I saved you and proclaimed it to the world.
No foreign god has ever done this.
You are witnesses that I am the only God,”
says the Lord.
13“From eternity to eternity I am God.
No one can snatch anyone out of my hand.
No one can undo what I have done.”
The Lord’s Promise of Victory
14This is what the Lord says—your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
“For your sakes I will send an army against Babylon,
forcing the Babylonians#43:14 Or Chaldeans. to flee in those ships they are so proud of.
15I am the Lord, your Holy One,
Israel’s Creator and King.
16I am the Lord, who opened a way through the waters,
making a dry path through the sea.
17I called forth the mighty army of Egypt
with all its chariots and horses.
I drew them beneath the waves, and they drowned,
their lives snuffed out like a smoldering candlewick.
18“But forget all that—
it is nothing compared to what I am going to do.
19For I am about to do something new.
See, I have already begun! Do you not see it?
I will make a pathway through the wilderness.
I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.
20The wild animals in the fields will thank me,
the jackals and owls, too,
for giving them water in the desert.
Yes, I will make rivers in the dry wasteland
so my chosen people can be refreshed.
21I have made Israel for myself,
and they will someday honor me before the whole world.
22“But, dear family of Jacob, you refuse to ask for my help.
You have grown tired of me, O Israel!
23You have not brought me sheep or goats for burnt offerings.
You have not honored me with sacrifices,
though I have not burdened and wearied you
with requests for grain offerings and frankincense.
24You have not brought me fragrant calamus
or pleased me with the fat from sacrifices.
Instead, you have burdened me with your sins
and wearied me with your faults.
25“I—yes, I alone—will blot out your sins for my own sake
and will never think of them again.
26Let us review the situation together,
and you can present your case to prove your innocence.
27From the very beginning, your first ancestor sinned against me;
all your leaders broke my laws.
28That is why I have disgraced your priests;
I have decreed complete destruction#43:28 The Hebrew term used here refers to the complete consecration of things or people to the Lord, either by destroying them or by giving them as an offering. for Jacob
and shame for Israel.
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