Isaiah 42:10-43:21

New International Version

Song of Praise to the Lord

¹⁰Sing^(A) to the Lord a new song,^(B)
    his praise^(C) from the ends of the earth,^(D)
you who go down to the sea, and all that is in it,^(E)
    you islands,^(F) and all who live in them.
¹¹Let the wilderness^(G) and its towns raise their voices;
    let the settlements where Kedar^(H) lives rejoice.
Let the people of Sela^(I) sing for joy;
    let them shout from the mountaintops.^(J)
¹²Let them give glory^(K) to the Lord
    and proclaim his praise^(L) in the islands.^(M)
¹³The Lord will march out like a champion,^(N)
    like a warrior^(O) he will stir up his zeal;^(P)
with a shout^(Q) he will raise the battle cry
    and will triumph over his enemies.^(R)

¹⁴“For a long time I have kept silent,^(S)
    I have been quiet and held myself back.^(T)
But now, like a woman in childbirth,
    I cry out, I gasp and pant.^(U)
¹⁵I will lay waste^(V) the mountains^(W) and hills
    and dry up all their vegetation;
I will turn rivers into islands
    and dry up^(X) the pools.
¹⁶I will lead^(Y) the blind^(Z) by ways they have not known,
    along unfamiliar paths I will guide them;
I will turn the darkness into light^(AA) before them
    and make the rough places smooth.^(AB)
These are the things I will do;
    I will not forsake^(AC) them.
¹⁷But those who trust in idols,
    who say to images, ‘You are our gods,’^(AD)
    will be turned back in utter shame.^(AE)

Israel Blind and Deaf

¹⁸“Hear, you deaf;^(AF)
    look, you blind, and see!
¹⁹Who is blind^(AG) but my servant,^(AH)
    and deaf like the messenger^(AI) I send?
Who is blind like the one in covenant^(AJ) with me,
    blind like the servant of the Lord?
²⁰You have seen many things, but you pay no attention;
    your ears are open, but you do not listen.”^(AK)
²¹It pleased the Lord
    for the sake^(AL) of his righteousness
    to make his law^(AM) great and glorious.
²²But this is a people plundered^(AN) and looted,
    all of them trapped in pits^(AO)
    or hidden away in prisons.^(AP)
They have become plunder,
    with no one to rescue them;^(AQ)
they have been made loot,
    with no one to say, “Send them back.”

²³Which of you will listen to this
    or pay close attention^(AR) in time to come?
²⁴Who handed Jacob over to become loot,
    and Israel to the plunderers?^(AS)
Was it not the Lord,^(AT)
    against whom we have sinned?
For they would not follow^(AU) his ways;
    they did not obey his law.^(AV)
²⁵So he poured out on them his burning anger,^(AW)
    the violence of war.
It enveloped them in flames,^(AX) yet they did not understand;^(AY)
    it consumed them, but they did not take it to heart.^(AZ)

Israel’s Only Savior

43 But now, this is what the Lord says—
    he who created^(BA) you, Jacob,
    he who formed^(BB) you, Israel:^(BC)
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed^(BD) you;
    I have summoned you by name;^(BE) you are mine.^(BF)
²When you pass through the waters,^(BG)
    I will be with you;^(BH)
and when you pass through the rivers,
    they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,^(BI)
    you will not be burned;
    the flames will not set you ablaze.^(BJ)
³For I am the Lord your God,^(BK)
    the Holy One^(BL) of Israel, your Savior;^(BM)
I give Egypt^(BN) for your ransom,
    Cush^[a]^(BO) and Seba^(BP) in your stead.^(BQ)
⁴Since you are precious and honored^(BR) in my sight,
    and because I love^(BS) you,
I will give people in exchange for you,
    nations in exchange for your life.
⁵Do not be afraid,^(BT) for I am with you;^(BU)
    I will bring your children^(BV) from the east
    and gather^(BW) you from the west.^(BX)
⁶I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’
    and to the south,^(BY) ‘Do not hold them back.’
Bring my sons from afar
    and my daughters^(BZ) from the ends of the earth^(CA)—
⁷everyone who is called by my name,^(CB)
    whom I created^(CC) for my glory,^(CD)
    whom I formed and made.^(CE)”

⁸Lead out those who have eyes but are blind,^(CF)
    who have ears but are deaf.^(CG)
⁹All the nations gather together^(CH)
    and the peoples assemble.
Which of their gods foretold^(CI) this
    and proclaimed to us the former things?
Let them bring in their witnesses to prove they were right,
    so that others may hear and say, “It is true.”
¹⁰“You are my witnesses,^(CJ)” declares the Lord,
    “and my servant^(CK) whom I have chosen,
so that you may know^(CL) and believe me
    and understand that I am he.
Before me no god^(CM) was formed,
    nor will there be one after me.^(CN)
¹¹I, even I, am the Lord,^(CO)
    and apart from me there is no savior.^(CP)
¹²I have revealed and saved and proclaimed—
    I, and not some foreign god^(CQ) among you.
You are my witnesses,^(CR)” declares the Lord, “that I am God.
¹³    Yes, and from ancient days^(CS) I am he.^(CT)
No one can deliver out of my hand.
    When I act, who can reverse it?”^(CU)

God’s Mercy and Israel’s Unfaithfulness

¹⁴This is what the Lord says—
    your Redeemer,^(CV) the Holy One^(CW) of Israel:
“For your sake I will send to Babylon
    and bring down as fugitives^(CX) all the Babylonians,^[b]^(CY)
    in the ships in which they took pride.
¹⁵I am the Lord,^(CZ) your Holy One,
    Israel’s Creator,^(DA) your King.^(DB)”

¹⁶This is what the Lord says—
    he who made a way through the sea,
    a path through the mighty waters,^(DC)
¹⁷who drew out^(DD) the chariots and horses,^(DE)
    the army and reinforcements together,^(DF)
and they lay^(DG) there, never to rise again,
    extinguished, snuffed out like a wick:^(DH)
¹⁸“Forget the former things;^(DI)
    do not dwell on the past.
¹⁹See, I am doing a new thing!^(DJ)
    Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness^(DK)
    and streams in the wasteland.^(DL)
²⁰The wild animals^(DM) honor me,
    the jackals^(DN) and the owls,
because I provide water^(DO) in the wilderness
    and streams in the wasteland,
to give drink to my people, my chosen,
²¹    the people I formed^(DP) for myself^(DQ)
    that they may proclaim my praise.^(DR)