Isaiah 43
43
The LORD has rescued his people
1Descendants of Jacob,
I, the LORD, created you
and formed your nation.
Israel, don't be afraid.
I have rescued you.
I have called you by name;
now you belong to me.
2When you cross deep rivers,
I will be with you,
and you won't drown.
When you walk through fire,
you won't be burnt
or scorched by the flames.
3I am the LORD, your God,
the Holy One of Israel,
the God who saves you.
I gave up Egypt, Ethiopia,#43.3 Ethiopia: See the note at 11.11.
and the region of Seba#43.3 Seba: A region in south-west Arabia. Egypt, Ethiopia, and Seba probably stood for all that was known of Africa in biblical times.
in exchange for you.
4To me, you are very dear,
and I love you.
That's why I gave up nations
and people to rescue you.
5Don't be afraid! I am with you.
From both east and west
I will bring you together.
6I will say to the north
and to the south,
“Free my sons and daughters!
Let them return
from distant lands.
7They are my people—
I created each of them
to bring honour to me.”
The LORD alone is God
The LORD said:
8Bring my people together.
They have eyes and ears,
but they can't see or hear.
9Tell everyone of every nation
to gather around.
None of them can honestly say,
“We told you so!”
If someone heard them say this,
then tell us about it now.
10My people, you are my witnesses
and my chosen servant.
I want you to know me,
to trust me, and understand
that I alone am God.
I have always been God;
there can be no others.
11I alone am the LORD;
only I can rescue you.
12I promised to save you,
and I kept my promise.
You are my witnesses
that no other god did this.
I, the LORD, have spoken.
13I am God now and for ever.
No one can snatch you from me
or stand in my way.
The LORD will prepare the way
14I, the LORD, will rescue you!
I am Israel's holy God,
and this is my promise:
For your sake, I will send
an army against Babylon
to drag its people away,
crying as they go.#43.14 crying as they go: Or “in their glorious ships”.
15I am the LORD, your holy God,
Israel's Creator and King.
16I am the one who cut a path
through the mighty ocean.
17I sent an army to chase you
with chariots and horses;
now they lie dead,
unable to move.
They are like an oil lamp
with the flame snuffed out.
Forget the past
The LORD said:
18Forget what happened long ago!
Don't think about the past.
19I am creating something new.
There it is! Do you see it?
I have put roads in deserts,
streams#43.19 streams: The Standard Hebrew Text; the Dead Sea Scrolls “paths”. in thirsty lands.
20Every wild animal honours me,
even jackals#43.20 jackals: Desert animals related to wolves, but smaller. and owls.
I provide water in deserts—
streams in thirsty lands
for my chosen people.
21I made them my own nation,
so they would praise me.
22I, the LORD, said to Israel:
You have become weary,
but not from worshipping me.
23You have not honoured me
by sacrificing sheep
or other animals.
And I have not burdened you
with demands for sacrifices
or sweet-smelling incense.
24You have not brought
delicious spices for me
or given me the best part
of your sacrificed animals.
Instead, you burden me down
with your terrible sins.
25But I wipe away your sins
because of who I am.
And so, I will forget
the wrongs you have done.
26Meet me in court!
State your case and prove
that you are right.
27Your earliest ancestor#43.27 earliest ancestor: Jacob, also known as Israel.
and all your leaders#43.27 leaders: Probably prophets, but perhaps also priests and kings.
rebelled against me.
28That's why I don't allow
your priests to serve me;
I let Israel be destroyed
and your people disgraced.
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© British and Foreign Bible Society 2012
Isaiah 43
43
1But now Yahweh who created you, Jacob,
and he who formed you, Israel, says:
“Don’t be afraid, for I have redeemed you.
I have called you by your name.
You are mine.
2When you pass through the waters, I will be with you,
and through the rivers, they will not overflow you.
When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned,
and flame will not scorch you.
3For I am Yahweh your God,
the Holy One of Israel,
your Savior.
I have given Egypt as your ransom,
Ethiopia and Seba in your place.
4Since you have been precious and honored in my sight,
and I have loved you,
therefore I will give people in your place,
and nations instead of your life.
5Don’t be afraid, for I am with you.
I will bring your offspring from the east,
and gather you from the west.
6I will tell the north, ‘Give them up!’
and tell the south, ‘Don’t hold them back!
Bring my sons from far away,
and my daughters from the ends of the earth—
7everyone who is called by my name,
and whom I have created for my glory,
whom I have formed,
yes, whom I have made.’”
8Bring out the blind people who have eyes,
and the deaf who have ears.
9Let all the nations be gathered together,
and let the peoples be assembled.
Who among them can declare this,
and show us former things?
Let them bring their witnesses, that they may be justified,
or let them hear, and say, “That is true.”
10“You are my witnesses,” says Yahweh,
“With my servant whom I have chosen;
that you may know and believe me,
and understand that I am he.
Before me there was no God formed,
neither will there be after me.
11I myself am Yahweh.
Besides me, there is no savior.
12I have declared, I have saved, and I have shown,
and there was no strange god among you.
Therefore you are my witnesses”,
says Yahweh, “and I am God.
13Yes, since the day was, I am he.
There is no one who can deliver out of my hand.
I will work, and who can hinder it?”
14Yahweh, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel says: “For your sake, I have sent to Babylon, and I will bring all of them down as fugitives, even the Chaldeans, in the ships of their rejoicing. 15I am Yahweh, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King.”
16Yahweh, who makes a way in the sea,
and a path in the mighty waters,
17who brings out the chariot and horse,
the army and the mighty man
(they lie down together, they shall not rise;
they are extinct, they are quenched like a wick) says:
18“Don’t remember the former things,
and don’t consider the things of old.
19Behold, I will do a new thing.
It springs out now.
Don’t you know it?
I will even make a way in the wilderness,
and rivers in the desert.
20The animals of the field, the jackals and the ostriches, shall honor me,
because I give water in the wilderness and rivers in the desert,
to give drink to my people, my chosen,
21the people which I formed for myself,
that they might declare my praise.
22Yet you have not called on me, Jacob;
but you have been weary of me, Israel.
23You have not brought me any of your sheep for burnt offerings,
neither have you honored me with your sacrifices.
I have not burdened you with offerings,
nor wearied you with frankincense.
24You have bought me no sweet cane with money,
nor have you filled me with the fat of your sacrifices,
but you have burdened me with your sins.
You have wearied me with your iniquities.
25I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake;
and I will not remember your sins.
26Put me in remembrance.
Let us plead together.
Declare your case,
that you may be justified.
27Your first father sinned,
and your teachers have transgressed against me.
28Therefore I will profane the princes of the sanctuary;
and I will make Jacob a curse,
and Israel an insult.”
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