Isaiah 41:17-43:13

New American Standard Bible

¹⁷“The poor and needy are seeking ^(A)water, but there is none,
And their tongues are parched with thirst.
I, the Lord, ^(B)will answer them Myself;
As the God of Israel I ^(C)will not abandon them.
¹⁸I will open ^(D)rivers on the bare heights,
And springs in the midst of the valleys;
I will make ^(E)the wilderness a pool of water,
And the dry land fountains of water.
¹⁹I will put the cedar in the wilderness,
The acacia, the ^(F)myrtle, and the olive tree;
I will place the ^(G)juniper in the desert,
Together with the elm tree and the cypress,
²⁰So that ^(H)they may see and recognize,
And consider and gain insight as well,
That the ^(I)hand of the Lord has done this,
And the Holy One of Israel has created it.

²¹“^[a]Present your case,” the Lord says.
“Bring forward your evidence,”
The ^(J)King of Jacob says.
²²^(K)Let them bring them forward and declare to us what is going to take place;
As for the ^(L)former events, declare what they were,
So that we may consider them and know their outcome.
Or announce to us what is coming;
²³^(M)Declare the things that are going to come afterward,
So that we may know that you are gods;
Indeed, ^(N)do good or evil, that we may be afraid and fear together.
²⁴Behold, ^(O)you are less than nothing,
And ^(P)your work is less than nothing!
He who chooses you is an ^(Q)abomination.

²⁵“I have put ^(R)one from the north into motion, and he has come;
From the rising of the sun he will call on My name;
And he will come upon rulers as upon ^[b]^(S)mortar,
As the potter treads on clay.”
²⁶Who has ^(T)declared this from the beginning, that we might know?
Or from former times, that we may say, “He is right!”?
There was ^(U)no one at all who declared,
There was no one at all who proclaimed,
There was no one at all who heard your words.
²⁷“^(V)Previously I said to Zion, ‘Behold, here they are.’
And to Jerusalem, ‘I will give a ^(W)messenger of good news.’
²⁸But ^(X)when I look, there is no one,
And there is no ^(Y)counselor ^[c]among them
Who, if I ask, can ^(Z)give an answer.
²⁹Behold, all of them are ^[d]false;
Their ^(AA)works are ^(AB)nothing,
Their cast metal images are ^(AC)wind and emptiness.

God’s Promise concerning His Servant

42 “^(AD)Behold, My ^(AE)Servant, whom I ^[e]uphold;
My ^(AF)chosen one in whom My ^(AG)soul delights.
I have put My ^(AH)Spirit upon Him;
He will bring forth ^(AI)justice to the ^[f]nations.
²He will not cry out nor raise His voice,
Nor make His voice heard in the street.
³A bent reed He will not break off
And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish;
He will faithfully bring forth ^(AJ)justice.
⁴He will not be ^(AK)disheartened or crushed
Until He has established justice on the earth;
And the ^(AL)coastlands will wait expectantly for His ^[g]law.”

⁵This is what God the Lord says,

Who ^(AM)created the heavens and ^(AN)stretched them out,
Who spread out the ^(AO)earth and its ^[h]offspring,
Who ^(AP)gives breath to the people on it
And spirit to those who walk in it:
⁶“I am the Lord, I have ^(AQ)called You in righteousness,
I will also ^(AR)hold You by the hand and ^(AS)watch over You,
And I will appoint You as a ^(AT)covenant to the people,
As a ^(AU)light to the nations,
⁷To ^(AV)open blind eyes,
To ^(AW)bring out prisoners from the dungeon
And those who dwell in darkness from the prison.
⁸^(AX)I am the Lord, that is ^(AY)My name;
I will not give My ^(AZ)glory to another,
Nor My praise to idols.
⁹Behold, the ^(BA)former things have come to pass,
Now I declare ^(BB)new things;
Before they sprout I proclaim them to you.”

¹⁰Sing to the Lord a ^(BC)new song,
Sing His praise from the ^(BD)end of the earth!
^(BE)You who go down to the sea, and ^(BF)all that is in it;
You ^(BG)islands, and those who live on them.
¹¹Let the ^(BH)wilderness and its cities raise their voices,
The settlements which ^(BI)Kedar inhabits.
Let the inhabitants of ^(BJ)Sela sing aloud,
Let them shout for joy from the tops of the ^(BK)mountains.
¹²Let them ^(BL)give glory to the Lord
And declare His praise in the ^(BM)coastlands.
¹³^(BN)The Lord will go out like a warrior,
He will stir His ^(BO)zeal like a man of war.
He will shout, indeed, He will raise a war cry.
He will ^(BP)prevail against His enemies.

The Blindness of the People

¹⁴“^(BQ)I have kept silent for a long time,
I have kept still and restrained Myself.
Now like a woman in labor I will groan,
I will both gasp and pant.
¹⁵I will ^(BR)lay waste the mountains and hills
And wither all their vegetation;
I will ^(BS)turn the rivers into coastlands
And dry up the ponds.
¹⁶I will ^(BT)lead those who are blind by a way they have not known,
In paths they have not known I will guide them.
I will ^(BU)turn darkness into light before them
And ^(BV)uneven land into plains.
These are the things I will do,
And I will ^(BW)not leave them undone.”
¹⁷They will be turned back and be ^(BX)utterly put to shame,
Who trust in ^[i]idols,
Who say to cast metal images,
“You are our gods.”

¹⁸^(BY)Hear, you who are deaf!
And look, you who are blind, so that you may see.
¹⁹Who is blind but My ^(BZ)servant,
Or so deaf as My ^(CA)messenger whom I send?
Who is so blind as one who is ^[j]^(CB)at peace with Me,
Or so blind as the servant of the Lord?
²⁰^(CC)You have seen many things, but you do not retain them;
Your ears are open, but no one hears.
²¹The Lord was pleased for His righteousness’ sake
To make the Law ^(CD)great and glorious.
²²But this is a people plundered and pillaged;
All of them are ^(CE)trapped in ^[k]caves,
Or are ^(CF)hidden away in prisons;
They have become plunder, with no one to save them,
And spoils with no one to say, “Give them back!”

²³Who among you will listen to this?
Who will pay attention and listen in the time to come?
²⁴Who gave Jacob up for spoils, and Israel to plunderers?
Was it not the Lord, against whom we have sinned,
And in whose ways they ^(CG)were not willing to walk,
And whose Law they did not ^(CH)obey?
²⁵So He poured out on him the heat of His anger
And the ^(CI)fierceness of battle;
And it set him aflame all around,
Yet he did not recognize it;
And it burned him, but he ^[l]^(CJ)paid no attention.

Israel Redeemed

43 But now, this is what the Lord says, He who is your ^(CK)Creator, Jacob,
And He who ^(CL)formed you, Israel:
“Do not ^(CM)fear, for I have ^(CN)redeemed you;
I have ^(CO)called you by name; you are ^(CP)Mine!
²When you ^(CQ)pass through the waters, ^(CR)I will be with you;
And through the rivers, they will not overflow you.
When you ^(CS)walk through the fire, you will not be scorched,
Nor will the flame burn you.
³For ^(CT)I am the Lord your God,
The Holy One of Israel, your ^(CU)Savior;
I have given Egypt as your ransom,
^[m]^(CV)Cush and Seba in exchange for you.
⁴Since you are ^(CW)precious in My sight,
Since you are ^(CX)honored and I ^(CY)love you,
I will give other people in your place and other nations in exchange for your life.
⁵Do not fear, for ^(CZ)I am with you;
I will bring ^(DA)your offspring from the east,
And ^(DB)gather you from the west.
⁶I will say to the ^(DC)north, ‘Give them up!’
And to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’
Bring My ^(DD)sons from afar
And My daughters from the ^(DE)ends of the earth,
⁷Everyone who is ^(DF)called by My name,
And whom I have ^(DG)created for My ^(DH)glory,
^(DI)Whom I have formed, even whom I have made.”

Israel Is God’s Witness

⁸Bring out the people who are ^(DJ)blind, even though they have eyes,
And those who are deaf, even though they have ears.
⁹All the nations have ^(DK)gathered together
So that the peoples may be assembled.
Who among them can ^(DL)declare this
And proclaim to us the former things?
Let them present ^(DM)their witnesses so ^(DN)that they may be justified,
Or let them hear and say, “It is true.”
¹⁰“You are ^(DO)My witnesses,” declares the Lord,
“And ^(DP)My servant whom I have chosen,
So that you may know and believe Me
And understand that ^(DQ)I am He.
^(DR)Before Me there was no God formed,
And there will be none after Me.
¹¹I, only I, am the Lord,
And there is no ^(DS)savior ^(DT)besides Me.
¹²It is I who have declared and saved and proclaimed,
And there was no ^(DU)strange god among you;
So you are My witnesses,” declares the Lord,
“And I am God.
¹³Even ^[n]^(DV)from eternity ^(DW)I am He,
And there is ^(DX)no one who can rescue from My hand;
^(DY)I act, and who can reverse it?”