Isaiah 43

Israel Redeemed

1But now, thus says the Lord, your aCreator, O Jacob,
And He who bformed you, O Israel,
“Do not cfear, for I have dredeemed you;
I have ecalled you by name; you are fMine!
2When you gpass through the waters, hI will be with you;
And through the rivers, they will not overflow you.
When you iwalk through the fire, you will not be scorched,
Nor will the flame burn you.
3“For jI am the Lord your God,
The Holy One of Israel, your kSavior;
I have given Egypt as your ransom,
Or Ethiopia
,
mCush and Seba in your place.
4Since you are nprecious in My sight,
Since you are ohonored and I plove you,
I will give other men in your place and other peoples in exchange for your life.
5Do not fear, for qI am with you;
I will bring ryour offspring from the east,
And sgather you from the west.
6I will say to the tnorth, ‘Give them up!’
And to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’
Bring My usons from afar
And My daughters from the vends of the earth,
7Everyone who is wcalled by My name,
And whom I have xcreated for My yglory,
zWhom I have formed, even whom I have made.”

Israel Is God’s Witness

8Bring out the people who are aablind, even though they have eyes,
And the deaf, even though they have ears.
9All the nations have abgathered together
So that the peoples may be assembled.
Who among them can acdeclare this
And proclaim to us the former things?
Let them present adtheir witnesses aethat they may be justified,
Or let them hear and say, “It is true.”
10“You are afMy witnesses,” declares the Lord,
“And agMy servant whom I have chosen,
So that you may know and believe Me
And understand that ahI am He.
aiBefore Me there was no God formed,
And there will be none after Me.
11“I, even I, am the Lord,
And there is no ajsavior akbesides Me.
12It is I who have declared and saved and proclaimed,
And there was no alstrange god among you;
So you are My witnesses,” declares the Lord,
And I am God.
13Even
So with Gr; Heb from the day
,
anfrom eternity aoI am He,
And there is apnone who can deliver out of My hand;
aqI act and who can reverse it?”

Babylon to Be Destroyed

14Thus says the Lord your arRedeemer, the Holy One of Israel, For your sake I have sent to Babylon,
And will bring them all down as fugitives,
Another reading is As for the Chaldeans, their rejoicing is turned into lamentations
Even the atChaldeans, into the auships
Lit of their rejoicing
in which they rejoice.
15“I am the Lord, your Holy One,
awThe Creator of Israel, your axKing.”

16Thus says the Lord, Who aymakes a way through the sea
And a path through the mighty waters,
17Who brings forth the azchariot and the horse,
The army and the mighty man
(They will lie down together and not rise again;
They have been baquenched and extinguished like a wick):
18 bbDo not call to mind the former things,
Or ponder things of the past.
19Behold, I will do something bcnew,
Now it will spring forth;
Will you not be aware of it?
I will even bdmake a roadway in the wilderness,
Rivers in the desert.
20The beasts of the field will glorify Me,
The bejackals and the ostriches,
Because I have bfgiven waters in the wilderness
And rivers in the desert,
To give drink to My chosen people.
21The people whom bgI formed for Myself
bhWill declare My praise.

The Shortcomings of Israel

22Yet you have not called on Me, O Jacob;
But you have become biweary of Me, O Israel.
23“You have bjnot brought to Me the sheep of your burnt offerings,
Nor have you bkhonored Me with your sacrifices.
I have not blburdened you with
Or a meal offering
offerings,
Nor wearied you with bnincense.
24You have bought Me not
Or calamus
,
bpsweet cane with money,
Nor have you
Or saturated
filled Me with the fat of your sacrifices;
Rather you have burdened Me with your sins,
You have brwearied Me with your iniquities.

25“I, even I, am the one who bswipes out your transgressions btfor My own sake,
And I will bunot remember your sins.
26
Or Report to Me
Put Me in remembrance, bwlet us argue our case together;
State your cause, bxthat you may be proved right.
27“Your byfirst
Lit father
forefather sinned,
And your
Or interpreters
,
cbspokesmen have
Or rebelled
transgressed against Me.
28“So I will
Or pierce through
pollute the
Or holy princes
princes of the sanctuary,
And I will consign Jacob to the cfban and Israel to cgrevilement.

Copyright information for NASB1995