Isaiah 43
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 43
Redemption and Restoration Promised
1 But now this is the word of the Lord,
he who created you, O Jacob,
and formed you, O Israel.
Have no fear, for I have redeemed you.
I have called you by name; you are mine.
2 When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
nor will the waters engulf you.
When you walk through fire,
you will not be burned;
the flames will not consume you.
3 For I am the Lord, your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your savior.
I give Egypt as your ransom,
Ethiopia and Seba[a] in exchange for you.
4 Because in my eyes you are precious,
because you are honored and I love you,
I will give people in exchange for you
and nations in return for your life.
5 Do not be afraid, for I am with you.
I will bring your offspring from the east,
and from the west I will gather you.
6 I will say to the north, “Give them up,”
and to the south, “Do not hold them back.”
Bring back my sons from afar
and my daughters from the ends of the earth—
7 everyone who bears my name,
whom I created for my glory,
whom I formed and made.
8 Bring forth my people,
those who have eyes yet are blind,
those who have ears yet are deaf.
9 Let all the nations gather together
and let the peoples assemble.
Who among them foretold this
and proclaimed to us former events?
Let them produce witnesses to prove themselves right;
let those who hear them say, “It is true!”
10 You are my witnesses, says the Lord,
and my servants whom I have chosen,
so that you may know and believe in me
and understand that it is I.
No god was formed before me,
nor will there be any after me.
11 I am the Lord,
and there is no other servant but me.
12 I have revealed and saved and proclaimed,
and not some strange god among you;
you are my witnesses to this, says the Lord.
13 I am God, and from eternity I am he;
no one can deliver from my hand;
no one can overrule or alter what I do.
14 Thus says the Lord, your redeemer,
the Holy One of Israel:
For your sake I will send an army to Babylon
to uproot all the prison bars,
and the triumphant shouts of the Chaldeans
will turn to cries of lamentation.
15 I am the Lord, your Holy One,
the Creator of Israel, your king.
16 Thus says the Lord,
who opened a way through the sea,
a path through raging waters,
17 who led out chariots and horsemen
and an army of formidable strength,
until the enemy lay prostrate, unable to rise,
extinguished and snuffed out like a wick.
18 Do not linger thinking about events of the past;
consider not the things of old.
19 I am about to do something new.
Now it comes to fruition;
can you not perceive it?
I will make a path through the wilderness
and rivers in the desert.
20 The wild beasts will honor me,
the jackals and the ostriches,
because I will provide water in the desert
and rivers in the wasteland
where my chosen people may drink,
21 the people whom I formed for myself
so that they may proclaim my praise.
22 Yet you did not call upon me, O Jacob;
you grew weary of me, O Israel.
23 You have not brought me sheep for burnt offerings
or honored me with your sacrifices.
I have not exacted grain offerings from you
or wearied you with demands for incense.
24 You have not purchased aromatic cane for me
or sated me with the fat of your sacrifices.
Rather, you have burdened me with your sins;
you have wearied me with your crimes.
25 I, I alone, am the one
who blots out your transgressions for my own sake,
and I will remember your sins no more.
26 If you choose to review the past,
let us go to trial;
state your defense and prove your innocence.
27 Your first ancestor sinned,
and your spokesmen rebelled against me.
28 Therefore, I expelled the leaders of the sanctuary,
placing Jacob under the curse of destruction
and subjecting Israel to scorn.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 43:3 Seba: Nubia. God grants Cyrus this territory as a reward for having freed Israel. In fact, it was Cambyses, Cyrus’s successor, who conquered Egypt.
Isaiah 43
New International Version
Israel’s Only Savior
43 But now, this is what the Lord says—
he who created(A) you, Jacob,
he who formed(B) you, Israel:(C)
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed(D) you;
I have summoned you by name;(E) you are mine.(F)
2 When you pass through the waters,(G)
I will be with you;(H)
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,(I)
you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze.(J)
3 For I am the Lord your God,(K)
the Holy One(L) of Israel, your Savior;(M)
I give Egypt(N) for your ransom,
Cush[a](O) and Seba(P) in your stead.(Q)
4 Since you are precious and honored(R) in my sight,
and because I love(S) you,
I will give people in exchange for you,
nations in exchange for your life.
5 Do not be afraid,(T) for I am with you;(U)
I will bring your children(V) from the east
and gather(W) you from the west.(X)
6 I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’
and to the south,(Y) ‘Do not hold them back.’
Bring my sons from afar
and my daughters(Z) from the ends of the earth(AA)—
7 everyone who is called by my name,(AB)
whom I created(AC) for my glory,(AD)
whom I formed and made.(AE)”
8 Lead out those who have eyes but are blind,(AF)
who have ears but are deaf.(AG)
9 All the nations gather together(AH)
and the peoples assemble.
Which of their gods foretold(AI) this
and proclaimed to us the former things?
Let them bring in their witnesses to prove they were right,
so that others may hear and say, “It is true.”
10 “You are my witnesses,(AJ)” declares the Lord,
“and my servant(AK) whom I have chosen,
so that you may know(AL) and believe me
and understand that I am he.
Before me no god(AM) was formed,
nor will there be one after me.(AN)
11 I, even I, am the Lord,(AO)
and apart from me there is no savior.(AP)
12 I have revealed and saved and proclaimed—
I, and not some foreign god(AQ) among you.
You are my witnesses,(AR)” declares the Lord, “that I am God.
13 Yes, and from ancient days(AS) I am he.(AT)
No one can deliver out of my hand.
When I act, who can reverse it?”(AU)
God’s Mercy and Israel’s Unfaithfulness
14 This is what the Lord says—
your Redeemer,(AV) the Holy One(AW) of Israel:
“For your sake I will send to Babylon
and bring down as fugitives(AX) all the Babylonians,[b](AY)
in the ships in which they took pride.
15 I am the Lord,(AZ) your Holy One,
Israel’s Creator,(BA) your King.(BB)”
16 This is what the Lord says—
he who made a way through the sea,
a path through the mighty waters,(BC)
17 who drew out(BD) the chariots and horses,(BE)
the army and reinforcements together,(BF)
and they lay(BG) there, never to rise again,
extinguished, snuffed out like a wick:(BH)
18 “Forget the former things;(BI)
do not dwell on the past.
19 See, I am doing a new thing!(BJ)
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness(BK)
and streams in the wasteland.(BL)
20 The wild animals(BM) honor me,
the jackals(BN) and the owls,
because I provide water(BO) in the wilderness
and streams in the wasteland,
to give drink to my people, my chosen,
21 the people I formed(BP) for myself(BQ)
that they may proclaim my praise.(BR)
22 “Yet you have not called on me, Jacob,
you have not wearied(BS) yourselves for[c] me, Israel.(BT)
23 You have not brought me sheep for burnt offerings,(BU)
nor honored(BV) me with your sacrifices.(BW)
I have not burdened(BX) you with grain offerings
nor wearied you with demands(BY) for incense.(BZ)
24 You have not bought any fragrant calamus(CA) for me,
or lavished on me the fat(CB) of your sacrifices.
But you have burdened me with your sins
and wearied(CC) me with your offenses.(CD)
25 “I, even I, am he who blots out
your transgressions,(CE) for my own sake,(CF)
and remembers your sins(CG) no more.(CH)
26 Review the past for me,
let us argue the matter together;(CI)
state the case(CJ) for your innocence.
27 Your first father(CK) sinned;
those I sent to teach(CL) you rebelled(CM) against me.
28 So I disgraced the dignitaries of your temple;
I consigned Jacob to destruction[d](CN)
and Israel to scorn.(CO)
Footnotes
- Isaiah 43:3 That is, the upper Nile region
- Isaiah 43:14 Or Chaldeans
- Isaiah 43:22 Or Jacob; / surely you have grown weary of
- Isaiah 43:28 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them.
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