Isaiah 43:1-28
43 Now this is what Jehovah says,Your Creator, O Jacob, the One who formed you, O Israel:+
“Do not be afraid, for I have repurchased you.+
I have called you by your name.
You belong to me.
2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you,+And through the rivers, they will not flood over you.+
When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched,Nor will the flame singe you.
3 For I am Jehovah your God,The Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
I have given Egypt as a ransom for you,E·thi·oʹpi·a and Seʹba in exchange for you.
4 For you became precious in my eyes,+You were honored, and I have loved you.+
So I will give people in place of youAnd nations in exchange for your life.*
5 Do not be afraid, for I am with you.+
I will bring your offspring* from the eastAnd gather you together from the west.+
6 I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’+
And to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.
Bring my sons from afar, and my daughters from the ends of the earth,+
7 Everyone who is called by my name+And whom I created for my own glory,Whom I have formed and made.’+
8 Bring out a people who are blind, though they have eyes,And who are deaf, though they have ears.+
9 Let all the nations assemble in one place,And let the peoples be gathered together.+
Who among them can tell this?
Or can they cause us to hear the first things?*+
Let them present their witnesses to prove themselves right,Or let them hear and say, ‘It is the truth!’”+
10 “You are my witnesses,”+ declares Jehovah,“Yes, my servant whom I have chosen,+So that you may know and have faith in me*And understand that I am the same One.+
Before me no God was formed,And after me there has been none.+
11 I—I am Jehovah,+ and besides me there is no savior.”+
12 “I am the One who declared and saved and made knownWhen there was no foreign god among you.+
So you are my witnesses,” declares Jehovah, “and I am God.+
13 Also, I am always the same One;+And no one can snatch anything out of my hand.+
When I act, who can prevent it?”+
14 This is what Jehovah says, your Repurchaser,+ the Holy One of Israel:+
“For your sakes I will send to Babylon and bring down all the bars of the gates,+And the Chal·deʹans, in their ships, will cry out in distress.+
15 I am Jehovah, your Holy One,+ the Creator of Israel,+ your King.”+
16 This is what Jehovah says,The One making a way through the seaAnd a path even through turbulent waters,+
17 The One who draws out the war chariot and the horse,+The army together with the mighty warriors:
“They will lie down and not get up.+
They will be extinguished, snuffed out like a burning wick.”
18 “Do not remember the former things,And do not dwell on the past.
19 Look! I am doing something new;+Even now it is springing up.
Do you not recognize it?
I will make a way through the wilderness+And rivers through the desert.+
20 The wild beast of the field will honor me,The jackals and the ostriches,For I provide water in the wilderness,Rivers in the desert,+For my people, my chosen one,+ to drink,
21 The people whom I formed for myselfSo that they might declare my praise.+
22 But you have not called on me, O Jacob,+Because you grew weary of me, O Israel.+
23 You have not brought me sheep for your whole burnt offeringsOr glorified me with your sacrifices.
I have not compelled you to bring me a gift,Nor have I made you weary by demanding frankincense.+
24 You did not buy me sweet cane* with your money,And with the fat of your sacrifices you did not satisfy me.+
Instead, you have burdened me with your sinsAnd made me weary with your errors.+
25 I, I am the One who is blotting out your transgressions*+ for my own sake,+And I will not remember your sins.+
26 Remind me; let us bring our case against each other;Tell your side of it to prove you are in the right.
27 Your first forefather sinned,And your own spokesmen* have rebelled against me.+
28 So I will profane the princes of the holy place,And I will give Jacob over to destructionAnd subject Israel to insulting words.+
Footnotes
^ Or “soul.”
^ Lit., “seed.”
^ Possibly referring to the first things to come in the future.
^ Or “and trust me.”
^ An aromatic reed.
^ Or “rebellious acts.”
^ Possibly referring to teachers of the Law.