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Isaiah 43
Lexham English Bible

The Restorer of Israel

43 But now thus says Yahweh,

he who created you, Jacob,
    and he who formed you, Israel:
“You must not fear, for I have redeemed you.
    I have called you by your name; you are mine.[a]
2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you,
    and through the rivers, they shall not flow over you.
When you walk through fire, you shall not be burned,
    and the flame shall not scorch[b] you.
3 For I am Yahweh, your God,
    the holy one of Israel, your savior.
I give you Egypt as ransom,
    Cush and Seba in place of you.
4 Because you are precious in my eyes,
    you are honored, and I myself love you,
and I give people in place of you,
    and nations in place of your life.
5 You must not fear,
    for I am with you.
I will bring your offspring[c] from the east,
    and I will gather you from the west.
6 I will say to the north, ‘Give!’
    and to the south, ‘You must not withhold!’
Bring my sons from far away,
and my daughters from the end of the earth—
7 everyone who is called by my name,
    and whom I created for my glory,
whom I formed,
    indeed whom I made.”
8 Bring out the people blind yet[d] with eyes,
    and deaf, though[e] they have ears.
9 Let all the nations gather together,
    and let the peoples assemble.
Who among them has declared this,
    and declared[f] the former things to us?
Let them bring[g] their witnesses, that[h] they may be in the right,
    and let them hear and say, “It is true!”
10 “You are my witnesses,” declares[i] Yahweh,
    “and my servant whom I have chosen
so that you may know and believe in[j] me
    and understand that I am he.
No god was formed before me[k],
    and none shall be after me.
11 I myself am Yahweh,
    and there is no savior besides me!
12 I myself declared and saved,
    and I proclaimed.[l] And there was no strange god[m] among you.
And you are my witnesses,” declares[n] Yahweh,
    “and I am God.
13 Indeed, from this day I am the one,
    and no one can deliver from my hand.
        I perform,[o] and who can cancel it?”[p]

Yahweh Rescues His People

14 Thus says Yahweh, your redeemer,
    the holy one of Israel:
“For your sake I will send to Babylon,
    and I will cause all of them to fall down as fugitives,
        and the Chaldeans,[q] their rejoicing on the ships.
15 I am Yahweh, your holy one,
    the creator of Israel, your king.”
16 Thus says Yahweh, who makes[r] a way in the sea
    and a path in the mighty waters,
17 who brings out chariot and horse,
    army and mighty one.
Together they lie down;
    they cannot rise.
They are extinguished,
    quenched like a wick.
18 “You must not remember the former things,
    and you not must consider the former things.
19 Look! I am about to do a new thing! Now it sprouts!
    Do you not perceive[s] it?
Indeed, I will make[t] a way in the wilderness,
    rivers in the desert.
20 The animals of the field will honor me,
    jackals and daughters of the ostrich,
for I give water in the wilderness,
    rivers in the desert,
to give a drink to my chosen people,
21     this people whom I formed for myself,
so they might make known[u] my praise.
22 But[v] you did not call me, Jacob;
    for you have become weary of me, Israel.
23 You have not brought me your sheep for a burnt offering
    nor[w] honored me with your sacrifice.
I have not made you serve with offerings,[x]
    nor have I made you weary with frankincense.
24 You have not bought me spice reed with money
    or[y] satisfied me with the fat of sacrifices.
But you have burdened me with your sins;
    you have made me weary with your iniquities.
25 I, I am the one who blots out your transgressions for my sake,
    and I will not remember your sins.
26 Take me to court; let us enter into judgment together.
    You, make an account[z] so that you may be in the right.
27 Your first ancestor[aa] sinned,
    and your representatives[ab] transgressed against me.
28 And I profaned the princes of the sanctuary,
    and I gave Jacob to destruction, and Israel to reviling.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 43:1 Literally “to me you”
  2. Isaiah 43:2 Or “burn”
  3. Isaiah 43:5 Literally “seed”
  4. Isaiah 43:8 Or “and”
  5. Isaiah 43:8 Or “and”
  6. Isaiah 43:9 Literally “caused to hear”
  7. Isaiah 43:9 Or “give”
  8. Isaiah 43:9 Or “and”
  9. Isaiah 43:10 Literally “declaration of”
  10. Isaiah 43:10 Literally “to”
  11. Isaiah 43:10 Literally “my face”
  12. Isaiah 43:12 Literally “caused to hear”
  13. Isaiah 43:12 Literally “stranger”
  14. Isaiah 43:12 Literally “declaration of”
  15. Isaiah 43:13 Or “make”
  16. Isaiah 43:13 Literally “bring it back”
  17. Isaiah 43:14 Literally “Chaldea”
  18. Isaiah 43:16 Literally “gives”
  19. Isaiah 43:19 Or “know”
  20. Isaiah 43:19 Literally “put”
  21. Isaiah 43:21 Literally “count out”
  22. Isaiah 43:22 Or “And”
  23. Isaiah 43:23 Or “and”
  24. Isaiah 43:23 Hebrew “offering”
  25. Isaiah 43:24 Or “and”
  26. Isaiah 43:26 Literally “count up”
  27. Isaiah 43:27 Or “father”
  28. Isaiah 43:27 Literally “scoffers” or “spokesmen”
Close NET

Isaiah 43
New English Translation

The Lord Will Rescue His People

43 Now, this is what the Lord says,
the one who created you, O Jacob,
and formed you, O Israel:
“Don’t be afraid, for I will protect[a] you.
I call you by name, you are mine.
2 When you pass through the waters, I am with you;
when you pass[b] through the streams, they will not overwhelm you.
When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned;
the flames will not harm[c] you.
3 For I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel,[d] your deliverer.
I have handed over Egypt as a ransom price,
Ethiopia and Seba[e] in place of you.
4 Since you are precious and special in my sight,[f]
and I love you,
I will hand over people in place of you,
nations in place of your life.
5 Don’t be afraid, for I am with you.
From the east I will bring your descendants;
from the west I will gather you.
6 I will say to the north, ‘Hand them over!’
and to the south, ‘Don’t hold any back!’
Bring my sons from distant lands,
and my daughters from the remote regions of the earth,
7 everyone who belongs to me,[g]
whom I created for my glory,
whom I formed—yes, whom I made.

The Lord Declares His Sovereignty

8 Bring out the people who are blind, even though they have eyes,
those who are deaf, even though they have ears!
9 All nations gather together,
the peoples assemble.
Who among them announced this?
Who predicted earlier events for us?[h]
Let them produce their witnesses to testify they were right;
let them listen and affirm, “It is true.”
10 You are my witnesses,” says the Lord,
“my servant whom I have chosen,
so that you may consider[i] and believe in me,
and understand that I am he.
No god was formed before me,
and none will outlive me.[j]
11 I, I am the Lord,
and there is no deliverer besides me.
12 I decreed and delivered and proclaimed,
and there was no other god among you.
You are my witnesses,” says the Lord, “that I am God.
13 From this day forward I am he;
no one can deliver from my power;[k]
I will act, and who can prevent it?”

The Lord Will Do Something New

14 This is what the Lord says,
your Protector,[l] the Holy One of Israel:[m]
“For your sake I send to Babylon
and make them all fugitives,[n]
turning the Babylonians’ joyful shouts into mourning songs.[o]
15 I am the Lord, your Holy One,[p]
the one who created Israel, your king.”
16 This is what the Lord says,
the one who made a road through the sea,
a pathway through the surging waters,
17 the one who led chariots and horses to destruction,[q]
together with a mighty army.
They fell down,[r] never to rise again;
they were extinguished, put out like a burning wick:
18 “Don’t remember these earlier events;[s]
don’t recall these former events.

19 Look, I am about to do something new.
Now it begins to happen![t] Do you not recognize[u] it?
Yes, I will make a road in the wilderness
and paths[v] in the wastelands.
20 The wild animals[w] honor me,
the jackals and ostriches,
because I put water in the wilderness
and streams in the wastelands,
to quench the thirst of my chosen people,
21 the people whom I formed for myself,
so they might praise me.[x]

The Lord Rebukes His People

22 “But you did not call for me, O Jacob;
you did not long[y] for me, O Israel.
23 You did not bring me lambs for your burnt offerings;
you did not honor me with your sacrifices.
I did not burden you with offerings;
I did not make you weary by demanding[z] incense.
24 You did not buy me aromatic reeds;[aa]
you did not present to me[ab] the fat of your sacrifices.
Yet you burdened me with your sins;
you made me weary with your evil deeds.[ac]
25 I, I am the one who blots out your rebellious deeds for my sake;
your sins I do not remember.
26 Remind me of what happened. Let’s debate!
You, prove to me that you are right![ad]
27 The father of your nation[ae] sinned;
your spokesmen[af] rebelled against me.
28 So I defiled your holy princes,
and handed Jacob over to destruction,
and subjected[ag] Israel to humiliating abuse.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 43:1 tn Or “redeem.” See the note at 41:14. Cf. NCV “saved you”; CEV “rescued you”; NLT “ransomed you.”
  2. Isaiah 43:2 tn The verb is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).
  3. Isaiah 43:2 tn Heb “burn” (so NASB); NAB, NRSV, NLT “consume”; NIV “set you ablaze.”
  4. Isaiah 43:3 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
  5. Isaiah 43:3 sn Seba is not the same as Sheba in southern Arabia; cf. Gen 1:10; 1 Chr 1:9.
  6. Isaiah 43:4 tn Heb “Since you are precious in my eyes and you are honored.”
  7. Isaiah 43:7 tn Heb “everyone who is called by my name” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).
  8. Isaiah 43:9 tn Heb “and the former things he was causing us to hear?”
  9. Isaiah 43:10 tn Or “know” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
  10. Isaiah 43:10 tn Heb “and after me, there will not be”; NASB “there will be none after Me.”
  11. Isaiah 43:13 tn Heb “hand” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NLT “No one can oppose what I do.”
  12. Isaiah 43:14 tn Or “kinsman redeemer.” See the note at 41:14.
  13. Isaiah 43:14 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
  14. Isaiah 43:14 tn Heb “and I bring down [as] fugitives all of them.”
  15. Isaiah 43:14 tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “as for the Babylonians, in ships their joyful shout.” This might be paraphrased, “even the Babylonians in the ships [over which] they joyfully shouted.” The point would be that the Lord caused the Babylonians to flee for safety in the ships in which they took such great pride. A slight change in vocalization yields the reading “into mourning songs,” which provides a good contrast with “joyful shout.” The prefixed bet (בְּ) would indicate identity.
  16. Isaiah 43:15 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
  17. Isaiah 43:17 tn Heb “led out chariots and horses.” The words “to destruction” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The verse refers to the destruction of the Egyptians at the Red Sea.
  18. Isaiah 43:17 tn Heb “lay down”; NAB “lie prostrate together”; CEV “lie dead”; NRSV “they lie down.”
  19. Isaiah 43:18 tn Heb “the former things” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NLT “forget all that.”
  20. Isaiah 43:19 tn Heb “sprouts up”; NASB “will spring forth.”
  21. Isaiah 43:19 tn Or “know” (KJV, ASV); NASB “be aware of”; NAB, NIV, NRSV “perceive.”
  22. Isaiah 43:19 tn The Hebrew text has “streams,” probably under the influence of v. 20. The Qumran scroll 1QIsaa has נתיבות (“paths”).
  23. Isaiah 43:20 tn Heb “animals of the field.”
  24. Isaiah 43:21 tn Heb “[so] they might declare my praise.”
  25. Isaiah 43:22 tn Or “strive”; KJV, ASV, NRSV “been weary of me.”
  26. Isaiah 43:23 tn Heb “with.” The words “by demanding” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
  27. Isaiah 43:24 tn That is, “calamus” (so NIV); NCV, TEV, NLT “incense”; CEV “spices.”
  28. Isaiah 43:24 tn Heb “you did not saturate me”; NASB “Neither have you filled Me.”
  29. Isaiah 43:24 sn In vv. 22-24 the Lord appears to be condemning his people for failure to bring the proper sacrifices. However, this is problematic. If this refers to the nation’s behavior while in exile, such cultic service was impossible and could hardly be expected by the Lord. If this refers to the nation’s conduct before the exile, it contradicts other passages that depict Israel as bringing excessive sacrifices (see, e.g., Isa 1:11-14; Jer 6:20; Amos 4:4-5; 5:21-23). Rather than being a condemnation of Israel’s failure to bring sacrifices, these verses are better taken as a highly rhetorical comment on the worthlessness of Israel’s religious ritual. They may have brought sacrifices, but not to the Lord, for he did not accept them or even want them. See C. R. North, Second Isaiah, 127, and R. Whybray, Isaiah 40-66 (NCBC), 91.
  30. Isaiah 43:26 tn Heb “you, tell in order that you may be right”; NAB “prove your innocence.”
  31. Isaiah 43:27 tn Heb “your first father.” This could refer to Abraham (see 51:2), but elsewhere in Isaiah he does not appear in a negative light (see 29:22; 41:8; 63:16). A more likely candidate is Jacob/Israel, also referred to as the nation’s “father” elsewhere (see 58:14; 63:16).
  32. Isaiah 43:27 tn On the meaning of the term לִיץ (lits), see HALOT 590 s.v. מֵלִיץ. This may refer to the nation’s prophets, priests, and/or kings.
  33. Isaiah 43:28 tn The word “subjected” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
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