Isaiah 43
43
Promises of Redemption and Restoration
1But now, thus says the Lord,
who created you, Jacob, and formed you, Israel:
Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name: you are mine.
2When you pass through waters, I will be with you;
through rivers, you shall not be swept away.
When you walk through fire, you shall not be burned,
nor will flames consume you.
3For I, the Lord, am your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your savior.
I give Egypt as ransom for you,
Ethiopia and Seba#Egypt…Ethiopia and Seba: countries which God permitted the Persians to conquer in return for having given Israel its freedom. in exchange for you.
4Because you are precious in my eyes
and honored, and I love you,
I give people in return for you
and nations in exchange for your life.#Dt 4:37; Hos 11:1.
5Fear not, for I am with you;
from the east I will bring back your offspring,
from the west I will gather you.
6I will say to the north: Give them up!
and to the south: Do not hold them!
Bring back my sons from afar,
and my daughters from the ends of the earth:#Is 49:22; Ez 16:20.
7All who are called by my name
I created for my glory;
I formed them, made them.
8Lead out the people, blind though they have eyes,
deaf though they have ears.
9Let all the nations gather together,
let the peoples assemble!
Who among them could have declared this,
or announced to us the earlier things?#Who among them…?: God, and only God, can foretell the future because it is he who brings it to pass. The argument from prediction is an important theme in Second Isaiah and occurs also in 41:22; 43:10; 44:7–8, 26.
Let them produce witnesses to prove themselves right,
that one may hear and say, “It is true!”
10You are my witnesses#You are my witnesses: Israel’s role as chosen people now takes a new turn as they are given the active role of bearing witness before humankind to the Lord’s role in history by proclaiming events beforehand and bringing them to pass; see also 44:8. The false gods, on the other hand, cannot produce such witnesses (v. 9; cf. 44:9). I am he: this formula of self-identification, repeated in vv. 13 and 25, is used here to support the assertion that the Lord alone is God; see also 41:4; 46:4; 48:12; 51:12; 52:6. This expression in part may be behind the self-identification formula used by Jesus in John’s gospel (cf. Jn 8:58). Before…after: another example of the same assertion, that the Lord alone is God; see also note on 44:6.—oracle of the Lord—
my servant whom I have chosen
To know and believe in me
and understand that I am he.
Before me no god was formed,
and after me there shall be none.
11I, I am the Lord;
there is no savior but me.
12It is I who declared, who saved,
who announced, not some strange god among you;
You are my witnesses—oracle of the Lord.
I am God,
13yes, from eternity I am he;
There is none who can deliver from my hand:
I act and who can cancel it?#Is 41:4.
14Thus says the Lord, your redeemer,#The destruction of Babylon is described in language that recalls the drowning of the Egyptian army in the Red Sea (Ex 14–15).
the Holy One of Israel:
For your sake I send to Babylon;
I will bring down all her defenses,
and the Chaldeans shall cry out in lamentation.
15I am the Lord, your Holy One,
the creator of Israel, your King.
16Thus says the Lord,
who opens a way in the sea,
a path in the mighty waters,#Is 51:10–11; Ex 14:21.
17Who leads out chariots and horsemen,
a powerful army,
Till they lie prostrate together, never to rise,
snuffed out, quenched like a wick.#Ex 15:4.
18Remember not#Remember not: God’s new act of delivering Israel from the Babylonian captivity is presented as so great a marvel as to eclipse even the memory of the exodus from Egypt. This comparison of the return from Babylon to the exodus from Egypt recurs throughout Second Isaiah (cf. 41:17–20; 43:18–21; 48:20–21; 49:8–13; 51:9–11). the events of the past,
the things of long ago consider not;
19See, I am doing something new!
Now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
In the wilderness I make a way,
in the wasteland, rivers.
20Wild beasts honor me,
jackals and ostriches,
For I put water in the wilderness
and rivers in the wasteland
for my chosen people to drink,
21The people whom I formed for myself,
that they might recount my praise.
22Yet you did not call upon me, Jacob,#The reason for the liberation of the Israelites is not their constancy but rather God’s faithfulness to his promise (cf. 40:6–8).
for you grew weary of me, Israel.
23You did not bring me sheep for your burnt offerings,
nor honor me with your sacrifices.
I did not exact from you the service of offerings,
nor weary you for frankincense.#Jer 6:20.
24You did not buy me sweet cane,#Sweet cane: a fragrant substance used in making incense and the sacred anointing oil; cf. Ex 30:23; Jer 6:20.
nor did you fill me with the fat of your sacrifices;
Instead, you burdened me with your sins,
wearied me with your crimes.
25It is I, I, who wipe out,
for my own sake, your offenses;
your sins I remember no more.
26Would you have me remember, have us come to trial?
Speak up, prove your innocence!
27Your first father#First father: Jacob. Spokesmen: leaders, priests, prophets. sinned;
your spokesmen rebelled against me
28Till I repudiated the holy princes,
put Jacob under the ban,
exposed Israel to scorn.
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Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc
Yeshayah (Isaiah) 43
43
1But now, thus said יהוה, your Creator, O Ya‛aqoḇ, and He who formed you, O Yisra’ĕl, “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you. I have called you by your name, you are Mine.
2“When you pass through the waters, I am with you; and through rivers, they do not overflow you. When you walk through fire, you are not scorched, and a flame does not burn you.
3“For I am יהוה your Elohim, the Set-apart One of Yisra’ĕl, your Saviour; I gave Mitsrayim for your ransom, Kush and Seḇa in your place.
4“Since you were precious in My eyes, you have been esteemed, and I have loved you. And I give men in your place, and peoples for your life.
5“Do not fear, for I am with you. I shall bring your seed from the east, and gather you from the west.
6“I shall say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ And to the south, ‘Do not keep them back!’ Bring My sons from afar, and My daughters from the ends of the earth –
7all those who are called by My Name, whom I have created, formed, even made for My esteem.”
8He shall bring out a blind people who have eyes, and deaf ones who have ears.
9All the nations shall be assembled, and the peoples be gathered. Who among them declares this, and show us former events? Let them give their witnesses, to be declared right; or let them hear and say, “It is truth.”
10“You are My witnesses,” declares יהוה, “And My servant whom I have chosen, so that you know and believe Me, and understand that I am He. Before Me there was no Ěl formed, nor after Me there is none.
11“I, I am יהוה, and besides Me there is no saviour.
12“I, I have declared and saved, and made known, and there was no foreign mighty one among you. And you are My witnesses,” declares יהוה, “that I am Ěl.
13“Even from the day I am He, and no one delivers out of My hand. I work, and who turns it back?”
14Thus said יהוה, your Redeemer, the Set-apart One of Yisra’ĕl, “For your sake I shall send to Baḇel, and bring them all down as fugitives, even the Kasdim, who rejoice in their ships.
15“I am יהוה, your Set-apart One, Creator of Yisra’ĕl, your Sovereign.”
16Thus said יהוה, who makes a way in the sea and a path through the mighty waters,
17who brings forth the chariot and horse, the army and the power (they lie down together, they do not rise, they have been extinguished, they have been quenched like a wick):
18“Do not remember the former events, nor consider the events of old.
19“See, I am doing what is new, let it now spring forth. Do you not know it? I am even making a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.
20“The beast of the field esteems Me, the jackals and the ostriches, because I have given waters in the wilderness and rivers in the desert, to give drink to My people, My chosen,
21this people I have formed for Myself, let them relate My praise.
22“But you have not called on Me, O Ya‛aqoḇ, for you have been weary of Me, O Yisra’ĕl.
23“You have not brought Me the sheep for your ascending offerings, nor have you esteemed Me with your slaughterings. I have not caused you to serve with grain offerings, nor wearied you with incense.
24“You have not bought Me sweet cane with silver, nor have you satisfied Me with the fat of your slaughterings. You have only burdened Me with your sins, you have wearied Me with your crookednesses.
25“I, I am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake, and remember your sins no more.
26“Remind Me, let us enter into judgment, together; relate, that you might be declared right.
27“Your first father sinned, and your interpreters have transgressed against Me.
28“So I have profaned the chief ones of the set-apart place, and I have delivered up Ya‛aqoḇ to the curse, and Yisra’ĕl to scorn.
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