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
- Isaiah 43:1 Literally “to me you”
- Isaiah 43:2 Or “burn”
- Isaiah 43:5 Literally “seed”
- Isaiah 43:8 Or “and”
- Isaiah 43:8 Or “and”
- Isaiah 43:9 Literally “caused to hear”
- Isaiah 43:9 Or “give”
- Isaiah 43:9 Or “and”
- Isaiah 43:10 Literally “declaration of”
- Isaiah 43:10 Literally “to”
- Isaiah 43:10 Literally “my face”
- Isaiah 43:12 Literally “caused to hear”
- Isaiah 43:12 Literally “stranger”
- Isaiah 43:12 Literally “declaration of”
- Isaiah 43:13 Or “make”
- Isaiah 43:13 Literally “bring it back”
- Isaiah 43:14 Literally “Chaldea”
- Isaiah 43:16 Literally “gives”
- Isaiah 43:19 Or “know”
- Isaiah 43:19 Literally “put”
- Isaiah 43:21 Literally “count out”
- Isaiah 43:22 Or “And”
- Isaiah 43:23 Or “and”
- Isaiah 43:23 Hebrew “offering”
- Isaiah 43:24 Or “and”
- Isaiah 43:26 Literally “count up”
- Isaiah 43:27 Or “father”
- Isaiah 43:27 Literally “scoffers” or “spokesmen”
Isaiah 43
New Living Translation
The Savior of Israel
43 But now, O Jacob, listen to the Lord who created you.
O Israel, the one who formed you says,
“Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you.
I have called you by name; you are mine.
2 When you go through deep waters,
I will be with you.
When you go through rivers of difficulty,
you will not drown.
When you walk through the fire of oppression,
you will not be burned up;
the flames will not consume you.
3 For I am the Lord, your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
I gave Egypt as a ransom for your freedom;
I gave Ethiopia[a] and Seba in your place.
4 Others were given in exchange for you.
I traded their lives for yours
because you are precious to me.
You are honored, and I love you.
5 “Do not be afraid, for I am with you.
I will gather you and your children from east and west.
6 I will say to the north and south,
‘Bring my sons and daughters back to Israel
from the distant corners of the earth.
7 Bring all who claim me as their God,
for I have made them for my glory.
It was I who created them.’”
8 Bring out the people who have eyes but are blind,
who have ears but are deaf.
9 Gather the nations together!
Assemble the peoples of the world!
Which of their idols has ever foretold such things?
Which can predict what will happen tomorrow?
Where are the witnesses of such predictions?
Who can verify that they spoke the truth?
10 “But you are my witnesses, O Israel!” says the Lord.
“You are my servant.
You have been chosen to know me, believe in me,
and understand that I alone am God.
There is no other God—
there never has been, and there never will be.
11 I, yes I, am the Lord,
and there is no other Savior.
12 First I predicted your rescue,
then I saved you and proclaimed it to the world.
No foreign god has ever done this.
You are witnesses that I am the only God,”
says the Lord.
13 “From eternity to eternity I am God.
No one can snatch anyone out of my hand.
No one can undo what I have done.”
The Lord’s Promise of Victory
14 This is what the Lord says—your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
“For your sakes I will send an army against Babylon,
forcing the Babylonians[b] to flee in those ships they are so proud of.
15 I am the Lord, your Holy One,
Israel’s Creator and King.
16 I am the Lord, who opened a way through the waters,
making a dry path through the sea.
17 I called forth the mighty army of Egypt
with all its chariots and horses.
I drew them beneath the waves, and they drowned,
their lives snuffed out like a smoldering candlewick.
18 “But forget all that—
it is nothing compared to what I am going to do.
19 For I am about to do something new.
See, I have already begun! Do you not see it?
I will make a pathway through the wilderness.
I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.
20 The wild animals in the fields will thank me,
the jackals and owls, too,
for giving them water in the desert.
Yes, I will make rivers in the dry wasteland
so my chosen people can be refreshed.
21 I have made Israel for myself,
and they will someday honor me before the whole world.
22 “But, dear family of Jacob, you refuse to ask for my help.
You have grown tired of me, O Israel!
23 You have not brought me sheep or goats for burnt offerings.
You have not honored me with sacrifices,
though I have not burdened and wearied you
with requests for grain offerings and frankincense.
24 You have not brought me fragrant calamus
or pleased me with the fat from sacrifices.
Instead, you have burdened me with your sins
and wearied me with your faults.
25 “I—yes, I alone—will blot out your sins for my own sake
and will never think of them again.
26 Let us review the situation together,
and you can present your case to prove your innocence.
27 From the very beginning, your first ancestor sinned against me;
all your leaders broke my laws.
28 That is why I have disgraced your priests;
I have decreed complete destruction[c] for Jacob
and shame for Israel.
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Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
