Restoration of Israel

43 Now this is what the Lord says—
the One who created you, Jacob,
and the One who formed you, Israel(A)
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;(B)
I have called you by your name; you are Mine.(C)
I will be with you(D)
when you pass through the waters,(E)
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not overwhelm you.
You will not be scorched
when you walk through the fire,(F)
and the flame will not burn you.
For I Yahweh your God,(G)
the Holy One of Israel, and your Savior,(H)
give Egypt as a ransom for you,
Cush and Seba in your place.
Because you are precious in My sight(I)
and honored, and I love you,(J)
I will give people in exchange for you
and nations instead of your life.
Do not fear, for I am with you;
I will bring your descendants from the east,(K)
and gather you from the west.(L)
I will say to the north: Give them up!
and to the south: Do not hold them back!
Bring My sons from far away,(M)
and My daughters from the ends of the earth(N)
everyone called by My name
and created for My glory.
I have formed him; indeed, I have made him.”

Bring out a people who are blind, yet have eyes,(O)
and are deaf, yet have ears.
All the nations are gathered together,
and the peoples are assembled.(P)
Who among them can declare this,(Q)
and tell us the former things?
Let them present their witnesses
to vindicate themselves,
so that people may hear and say, “It is true.”
10 “You are My witnesses”(R)
this is the Lord’s declaration—
“and My servant whom I have chosen,(S)
so that you may know and believe Me
and understand that I am He.(T)
No god was formed before Me,
and there will be none after Me.(U)
11 I, I am Yahweh,
and there is no other Savior but Me.(V)
12 I alone declared, saved, and proclaimed—
and not some foreign god[a] among you.
So you are My witnesses”—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
“and[b] I am God.(W)
13 Also, from today on I am He alone,
and none can deliver from My hand.(X)
I act, and who can reverse it?”(Y)

God’s Deliverance of Rebellious Israel

14 This is what the Lord, your Redeemer,(Z) the Holy One of Israel(AA) says:

Because of you, I will send to Babylon
and bring all of them as fugitives,[c]
even the Chaldeans(AB) in the ships in which they rejoice.[d]
15 I am Yahweh, your Holy One,
the Creator of Israel, your King.

16 This is what the Lord says—
who makes a way in the sea,
and a path through surging waters,(AC)
17 who brings out the chariot and horse,(AD)
the army and the mighty one together
(they lie down, they do not rise again;
they are extinguished, quenched like a wick(AE))—
18 “Do not remember the past events,
pay no attention to things of old.(AF)
19 Look, I am about to do something new;(AG)
even now it is coming. Do you not see it?
Indeed, I will make a way in the wilderness,(AH)
rivers[e] in the desert.
20 The animals of the field will honor Me,
jackals and ostriches,
because I provide water in the wilderness,
and rivers in the desert,(AI)
to give drink to My chosen people.
21 The people I formed for Myself
will declare My praise.(AJ)

22 “But Jacob, you have not called on Me,
because, Israel, you have become weary of Me.(AK)
23 You have not brought Me your sheep for burnt offerings
or honored Me with your sacrifices.(AL)
I have not burdened you with offerings
or wearied you with incense.[f]
24 You have not bought Me aromatic cane with silver,
or satisfied Me with the fat of your sacrifices.
But you have burdened Me with your sins;
you have wearied Me(AM) with your iniquities.(AN)

25 “It is I who sweep away your transgressions(AO)
for My own sake(AP)
and remember your sins no more.(AQ)
26 Take Me to court; let us argue our case together.(AR)
State your case, so that you may be vindicated.
27 Your first father sinned,(AS)
and your mediators have rebelled against Me.(AT)
28 So I defiled the officers of the sanctuary,
and set Jacob apart for destruction(AU)
and Israel for abuse.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 43:12 Lit not a foreigner
  2. Isaiah 43:12 Or that
  3. Isaiah 43:14 Or will break down all their bars
  4. Isaiah 43:14 Hb obscure
  5. Isaiah 43:19 DSS read paths
  6. Isaiah 43:23 With demands for offerings and incense

Don’t fear

43 But now, says the Lord
the one who created you, Jacob,
    the one who formed you, Israel:
Don’t fear, for I have redeemed you;
    I have called you by name; you are mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
    when through the rivers, they won’t sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire, you won’t be scorched
    and flame won’t burn you.
I am the Lord your God,
    the holy one of Israel, your savior.
I have given Egypt as your ransom,
    Cush and Seba in your place.
Because you are precious in my eyes,
    you are honored, and I love you.
    I give people in your place,
        and nations in exchange for your life.
Don’t fear,
    I am with you.
From the east I’ll bring your children;
    from the west I’ll gather you.
I’ll say to the north, “Give them back!”
    and to the south, “Don’t detain them.”
Bring my sons from far away,
    and my daughters from the end of the earth,
    everyone who is called by my name
    and whom I created for my glory,
    whom I have formed and made.

Bring out the blind people who have eyes,
    the deaf ones who have ears.
All the nations are gathered together;
    the peoples are assembled.
Which of them announced this?
    Who predicted to us the past events?
Let them bring their witnesses as a defense;
    let them hear and say, “It’s true!”
10 You are my witnesses, says the Lord,
    my servant, whom I chose,
    so that you would know and believe me
    and understand that I am the one.
Before me no god was formed;
    after me there has been no other.
11 I, I am the Lord,
    and there is no savior besides me.
12 I announced, I saved, I proclaimed,
not some stranger among you.
You are my witnesses, says the Lord,
    and I am God.
13 From the dawn of time, I am the one.
    No one can escape my power.
    I act, and who can undo it?

Don’t remember

14 The Lord your redeemer,
    the holy one of Israel, says,
For your sake, I have sent an army[a] to Babylon,
    and brought down all the bars,
    turning the Chaldeans’ singing into a lament.[b]
15 I am the Lord, your holy one,
    Israel’s creator, your king!
16 The Lord says—who makes a way in the sea
    and a path in the mighty waters,
17     who brings out chariot and horse,
    army and battalion;
    they will lie down together and will not rise;
    they will be extinguished, extinguished like a wick.
18 Don’t remember the prior things;
    don’t ponder ancient history.
19 Look! I’m doing a new thing;
    now it sprouts up; don’t you recognize it?
I’m making a way in the desert,
    paths[c] in the wilderness.
20 The beasts of the field,
        the jackals and ostriches, will honor me,
    because I have put water in the desert
    and streams in the wilderness
    to give water to my people,
    my chosen ones,
21     this people whom I formed for myself,
        who will recount my praise.

22 But you didn’t call out to me, Jacob;
    you were tired of me, Israel.
23 You didn’t bring me lambs for your entirely burned offering;
    you didn’t honor me with your sacrifices.
I didn’t make you worship with offerings;
    I didn’t weary you with frankincense.
24 You didn’t buy spices for me with your money,
    or satisfy me with the fat of your sacrifices.
Instead, you have burdened me with your sins
    and wearied me with your evil actions.
25 I, I am the one who wipes out your rebellious behavior for my sake. I won’t remember your sin.
26 Summon me, and let’s go to trial together;
    you tell your story so that you may be vindicated!
27 Your first ancestor sinned,
    and your officials rebelled against me.
28 So I made the holy officials impure,
    handed over Jacob to destruction and Israel to abuse.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 43:14 Heb lacks an army.
  2. Isaiah 43:14 Heb uncertain
  3. Isaiah 43:19 DSS (1QIsaa); MT streams