Isa 43 | NASB2020 | STEP | But now , this is what the Lord says , He who is your Creator , Jacob , And He who formed you, Israel : “Do not fear , for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name ; you are Mine!

Isaiah 43

Israel Redeemed

1 But now, this is what the Lord says, He who is your ^aCreator, Jacob,
And He who ^bformed you, Israel:
“Do not ^cfear, for I have ^dredeemed you;
I have ^ecalled you by name; you are ^fMine!
2 “When 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 exchange for you.
4 “Since you are ⁿprecious in My sight,
Since you are ^ohonored and I ^plove you,
I will give other people in your place and other nations in exchange for your life.
5 “Do not fear, for ^qI am with you;
I will bring ^ryour offspring from the east,
And ^sgather you from the west.
6 “I 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,
7 Everyone 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

8 Bring out the people who are ^aablind, even though they have eyes,
And those who are deaf, even though they have ears.
9 All 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 so ^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, only I, am the Lord,
And there is no ^ajsavior ^akbesides Me.
12 “It 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.
13 “Even ^{▼▼As in LXX; MT from the day
,} ^anfrom eternity ^aoI am He,
And there is ^apno one who can rescue from My hand;
^aqI act, and who can reverse it?”

Babylon to Be Destroyed

14 This is what the Lord your ^arRedeemer, the Holy One of Israel says:

“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 mourning}Even the ^atChaldeans, into the ^auships ^{▼▼Lit of their rejoicing}over which they rejoice.
15 “I am the Lord, your Holy One,
^awThe Creator of Israel, your ^axKing.”
16 This is what the Lord says,

He who ^aymakes a way through the sea
And a path through the mighty waters,
17 Who brings out the ^azchariot and the horse,
The army and the mighty man
(They will lie down together and not rise again;
They have been ^baextinguished, and have gone out like a wick):
18 “ ^bbDo not call to mind the former things,
Or consider things of the past.
19 “Behold, I am going to do something ^bcnew,
Now it will spring up;
Will you not be aware of it?
I will even ^bdmake a roadway in the wilderness,
Rivers in the desert.
20 “The animals 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.
21 “The people whom ^bgI formed for Myself
^bhWill declare My praise.

The Shortcomings of Israel

22 “Yet you have not called on Me, Jacob;
But you have become ^biweary of Me, 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.
24 “You have not bought Me ^{▼▼Or calamus
,} ^bpsweet cane with money,
Nor have you satisfied Me with the fat of your sacrifices;
Rather, you have burdened Me with your sins,
You have ^bqwearied Me with your wrongdoings.

25 “I, I alone, am the one who ^brwipes out your wrongdoings ^bsfor My own sake,
And I will ^btnot remember your sins.
26 “ ^{▼▼Or Report to Me}Meet Me in court, ^bvlet’s argue our case together;
State your cause, ^bwso that you may be proved right.
27 “Your ^bxfirst ^{▼▼Lit father}forefather sinned,
And your ^{▼▼Or interpreters
,} ^caspokesmen have rebelled against Me.
28 “So I will profane the ^{▼▼Or holy princes}officials of the sanctuary,
And I will turn Jacob over to ^ccdestruction and Israel to ^cdabuse.