Isaiah 43
43
1 And now thus says the Lord who created you, O Jacob, and who formed you, O Israel: Do not be afraid. For I have redeemed you, and I have called you by your name. You are mine.
2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, and the rivers will not cover you. When you walk through fire, you will not be burned, and the flames will not scorch you.
3 For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour. I have presented Egypt as your atonement, Ethiopia and Seba on your behalf.
4 Since then, you have become honorable in my eyes, and glorious. I have loved you, and I will present men on behalf of you, and people on behalf of your life.
5 Fear not, for I am with you. I will lead your offspring from the East, and I will gather you from the West.
6 I will say to the North, "Release him," and to the South, "Do not turn him away." Bring my sons from far away, and my daughters from the ends of the earth.
7 And each one who calls upon my name, I have created for my glory. I have formed him, and I have made him.
8 Lead forth the people who are blind and have eyes, who are deaf and have ears.
9 All the nations have been assembled together, and the tribes have been collected. Who among you will announce this, and who will cause us to listen to the things that are first? Let them present their witnesses. Let them act justly, and listen, and say: "It is true."
10 You are my witnesses, says the Lord, and you are my servant, whom I have chosen, so that you may know, and may believe in me, and so that you may understand that I am the same. Before me, there was no god formed, and after me there will be none.
11 I am. I am the Lord. And there is no savior apart from me.
12 I have announced, and I have saved. I have caused it to be heard. And there was no stranger among you. You are my witnesses, says the Lord, and I am God.
13 And from the beginning, I am the same. And there is no one who can rescue from my hand. I act, and who can turn it aside?
14 Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: For your sake, I sent to Babylon, and tore down all their bars, with the Chaldeans who glory in their ships.
15 I am the Lord, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King.
16 Thus says the Lord, who gave you a way through the sea and a path through the torrent of waters,
17 who led out the chariot and the horse, the column of robust troops. They went to sleep together, and they will not arise. They have been crushed like flax, and they have been extinguished.
18 You need not call to mind the past, nor consider the things of antiquity.
19 Behold, I am accomplishing new things. And presently, they will spring forth. With certainty, you will know them. I will make a way in the desert, and rivers in an impassible place.
20 The wild beasts of the field will glorify me, with the serpents and the ostriches. For I have brought waters to the desert, rivers to inaccessible places, in order to give drink to my people, to my elect.
21 This is the people whom I have formed for myself. They will speak my praise.
22 But you have not called upon me, O Jacob, nor have you struggled for me, O Israel.
23 You have not offered me the ram of your holocaust, and you have not glorified me with your victims. I have not burdened you with oblations, nor have I wearied you with incense.
24 You have bought me no sweet cane with money, and you have not inebriated me with the fat of your victims. Yet truly, you have burdened me with your sins; you have wearied me with your iniquities.
25 I am. I am the very One who wipes away your iniquities for my own sake. And I will not remember your sins.
26 Call me to mind, and let us go to judgment together. If you have anything to justify yourself, explain it.
27 Your first father sinned, and your interpreters have betrayed me.
28 And so, I have defiled the holy leaders. I have handed over Jacob to slaughter, and Israel to calumny.
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Isaiah 43: CPDV
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Isaiah 43
43
God Promises to Rescue his People
1Israel, the LORD who created you says,
“Do not be afraid — I will save you.
I have called you by name — you are mine.
2When you pass through deep waters, I will be with you;
your troubles will not overwhelm you.
When you pass through fire, you will not be burnt;
the hard trials that come will not hurt you.
3For I am the LORD your God,
the holy God of Israel, who saves you.
I will give up Egypt to set you free;
I will give up Ethiopia#43.3 Ethiopia: See Word List. and Seba.
4I will give up whole nations to save your life,
because you are precious to me
and because I love you and give you honour.
5Do not be afraid — I am with you!
“From the distant east and the farthest west,
I will bring your people home.
6I will tell the north to let them go
and the south not to hold them back.
Let my people return from distant lands,
from every part of the world.
7They are my own people,
and I created them to bring me glory.”
Israel is the LORD's Witness
8God says,
“Summon my people to court.
They have eyes, but they are blind;
they have ears, but they are deaf!
9Summon the nations to come to the trial.
Which of their gods can predict the future?
Which of them foretold what is happening now?
Let these gods bring in their witnesses
to prove that they are right,
to testify to the truth of their words.
10“People of Israel, you are my witnesses;
I chose you to be my servant,
so that you would know me and believe in me
and understand that I am the only God.
Besides me there is no other god;
there never was and never will be.
11“I alone am the LORD,
the only one who can save you.
12I predicted what would happen,
and then I came to your aid.
No foreign god has ever done this;
you are my witnesses.
13I am God and always will be.
No one can escape from my power;
no one can change what I do.”
Escape from Babylon
14Israel's holy God, the LORD who saves you, says,
“To save you, I will send an army against Babylon;
I will break down the city gates,
and the shouts of her people will turn into crying.
15I am the LORD, your holy God.
I created you, Israel, and I am your king.”
16Long ago the LORD made a road through the sea,
a path through the swirling waters.
17He led a mighty army to destruction,
an army of chariots and horses.
Down they fell, never to rise,
snuffed out like the flame of a lamp!
18But the LORD says,
“Do not cling to events of the past
or dwell on what happened long ago.
19Watch for the new thing I am going to do.
It is happening already — you can see it now!
I will make a road through the wilderness
and give you streams of water there.
20Even the wild animals will honour me;
jackals and ostriches will praise me
when I make rivers flow in the desert
to give water to my chosen people.
21They are the people I made for myself,
and they will sing my praises!”
Israel's Sin
22The LORD says,
“But you were tired of me, Israel;
you did not worship me.
23You did not bring me your burnt offerings of sheep;
you did not honour me with your sacrifices.
I did not burden you by demanding offerings
or wear you out by asking for incense.
24You didn't buy incense for me
or satisfy me with the fat of your animals.
Instead you burdened me with your sins;
you wore me out with the wrongs you committed.
25And yet, I am the God who forgives your sins,
and I do this because of who I am.
I will not hold your sins against you.
26“Let us go to court; bring your accusation!
Present your case to prove you are in the right!
27Your earliest ancestor#43.27 your earliest ancestor: A reference either to Jacob or to Abraham, or possibly to Adam. sinned;
your leaders sinned against me,
28and your rulers profaned#43.28 One ancient translation your rulers profaned; Hebrew I profaned the rulers of. my sanctuary.
So I brought destruction on Israel;
I let my own people be insulted.”
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Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.