Israel's Only Savior

43 But now thus says the Lord,
(A)he who created you, O Jacob,
    he who formed you, O Israel:
(B)“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
    (C)I have called you by name, you are mine.
(D)When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
    and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
(E)when you walk through fire (F)you shall not be burned,
    and the flame shall not consume you.
For (G)I am the Lord your God,
    the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
(H)I give Egypt as your ransom,
    Cush and (I)Seba in exchange for you.
Because you are precious in my eyes,
    and honored, and I love you,
I give men in return for you,
    peoples in exchange for your life.
(J)Fear not, for I am with you;
    (K)I will bring your offspring from the east,
    and from the west I will gather you.
I will say to the north, Give up,
    and to the south, Do not withhold;
bring (L)my sons from afar
    and (M)my daughters from the end of the earth,
everyone who is called by my name,
    whom I created for my glory,
    whom I formed and made.”

Bring out (N)the people who are blind, yet have eyes,
    who are deaf, yet have ears!
(O)All the nations gather together,
    and the peoples assemble.
Who among them can declare this,
    and show us the former things?
Let them bring their witnesses to prove them right,
    and let them hear and say, It is true.
10 (P)“You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord,
    “and (Q)my servant whom I have chosen,
that you may know and believe me
    and understand that I am he.
(R)Before me no god was formed,
    nor shall there be any after me.
11 (S)I, I am the Lord,
    and besides me there is no savior.
12 I declared and saved and proclaimed,
    when there was no strange god among you;
    and (T)you are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, “and I am God.
13 Also (U)henceforth I am he;
    there is none who can deliver from my hand;
    I work, and who can turn it back?”

14 Thus says the Lord,
    your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
(V)“For your sake I send to Babylon
    and (W)bring them all down as fugitives,
    (X)even the Chaldeans, in the ships in which they rejoice.
15 I am the Lord, your Holy One,
    the Creator of Israel, your King.”

16 Thus says the Lord,
    (Y)who makes a way in the sea,
    a path in the mighty waters,
17 who (Z)brings forth chariot and horse,
    army and warrior;
they lie down, they cannot rise,
    (AA)they are extinguished, (AB)quenched like a wick:
18 (AC)“Remember not the former things,
    nor consider the things of old.
19 (AD)Behold, I am doing a new thing;
    now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
(AE)I will make a way in the wilderness
    (AF)and rivers in the desert.
20 The wild beasts will honor me,
    (AG)the jackals and the ostriches,
(AH)for I give water in the wilderness,
    rivers in the desert,
to give drink to my chosen people,
21     the people whom I formed for myself
(AI)that they might declare my praise.

22 “Yet you did not call upon me, O Jacob;
    but (AJ)you have been weary of me, O Israel!
23 (AK)You have not brought me your sheep for burnt offerings,
    or honored me with your sacrifices.
I have not burdened you with offerings,
    (AL)or wearied you with frankincense.
24 You have not bought me sweet cane with money,
    or satisfied me with the fat of your sacrifices.
But you have burdened me with your sins;
    you have wearied me with your iniquities.

25 “I, I am he
    (AM)who blots out (AN)your transgressions for my own sake,
    and I will not remember your sins.
26 Put me in remembrance; (AO)let us argue together;
    set forth your case, that you may be proved right.
27 (AP)Your first father sinned,
    and (AQ)your mediators transgressed against me.
28 Therefore (AR)I will profane the princes of the sanctuary,
    and (AS)deliver Jacob to utter destruction
    and Israel to reviling.

Israel the Lord's Chosen

44 “But now hear, (AT)O Jacob my servant,
    Israel whom I have chosen!
Thus says the Lord who made you,
    (AU)who formed you from the womb and will help you:
(AV)Fear not, O Jacob my servant,
    (AW)Jeshurun whom I have chosen.
(AX)For I will pour water on the thirsty land,
    and streams on the dry ground;
I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring,
    and my blessing on your descendants.
They shall spring up among the grass
    (AY)like willows by flowing streams.
(AZ)This one will say, ‘I am the Lord's,’
    another will call on the name of Jacob,
and another will write on his hand, ‘The Lord's,’
    and name himself by the name of Israel.”

Besides Me There Is No God

Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel
    and (BA)his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts:
(BB)“I am the first and I am the last;
    besides me there is no god.
(BC)Who is like me? Let him proclaim it.[a]
    Let him declare and set it before me,
since I appointed an ancient people.
    Let them declare what is to come, and what will happen.
Fear not, nor be afraid;
    have I not told you from of old and declared it?
    (BD)And you are my witnesses!
(BE)Is there a God besides me?
    There is no (BF)Rock; I know not any.”

The Folly of Idolatry

(BG)All who fashion idols are nothing, and the things they delight in do not profit. Their witnesses neither see nor know, that they may be put to shame. 10 (BH)Who fashions a god or casts an idol that is profitable for nothing? 11 (BI)Behold, all his companions shall be put to shame, and the craftsmen are only human. Let them all assemble, let them stand forth. They shall be terrified; they shall be put to shame together.

12 (BJ)The ironsmith takes a cutting tool and works it over the coals. He fashions it with hammers and works it with his strong arm. He becomes hungry, and his strength fails; he drinks no water and is faint. 13 The carpenter stretches a line; he marks it out with a pencil.[b] He shapes it with planes and marks it with a compass. (BK)He shapes it into the figure of a man, with the beauty of a man, to dwell in a house. 14 (BL)He cuts down cedars, or he chooses a cypress tree or an oak and lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest. He plants a cedar and the rain nourishes it. 15 Then it becomes fuel for a man. He takes a part of it and warms himself; he kindles a fire and bakes bread. Also he makes a god and worships it; he makes it an idol and falls down before it. 16 Half of it he burns in the fire. Over the half he eats meat; he roasts it and is satisfied. Also he warms himself and says, “Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire!” 17 And the rest of it he makes into a god, his idol, and falls down to it and worships it. (BM)He prays to it and says, “Deliver me, for you are my god!”

18 They know not, nor do they discern, for he has shut their eyes, so that they cannot see, and their hearts, so that they cannot understand. 19 No one considers, nor is there knowledge or discernment to say, “Half of it I burned in the fire; I also baked bread on its coals; I roasted meat and have eaten. And shall I make the rest of it an (BN)abomination? Shall I fall down before a block of wood?” 20 (BO)He feeds on (BP)ashes; a deluded heart has led him astray, and he cannot deliver himself or say, “Is there not (BQ)a lie in my right hand?”

The Lord Redeems Israel

21 Remember these things, O Jacob,
    and Israel, for you are (BR)my servant;
I formed you; you are my servant;
    (BS)O Israel, you will not be forgotten by me.
22 (BT)I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud
    and your sins like mist;
return to me, for I have redeemed you.

23 (BU)Sing, O heavens, for the Lord has done it;
    shout, O (BV)depths of the earth;
break forth into singing, O mountains,
    O forest, and every tree in it!
For the Lord has redeemed Jacob,
    (BW)and will be glorified[c] in Israel.

24 Thus says the Lord, (BX)your Redeemer,
    (BY)who formed you from the womb:
(BZ)“I am the Lord, who made all things,
    (CA)who alone stretched out the heavens,
    who spread out the earth by myself,
25 who frustrates the signs of liars
    and makes fools of diviners,
(CB)who turns wise men back
    and makes their knowledge foolish,
26 (CC)who confirms the word of his servant
    and fulfills the counsel of his messengers,
who says of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be inhabited,’
    (CD)and of the cities of Judah, ‘They shall be built,
    and I will raise up their ruins’;
27 (CE)who says to the deep, ‘Be dry;
    I will dry up your rivers’;
28 who says of (CF)Cyrus, ‘He is (CG)my shepherd,
    and he shall fulfill all my purpose’;
saying of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be built,’
    (CH)and of the temple, ‘Your foundation shall be laid.’”

Cyrus, God's Instrument

45 Thus says the Lord to (CI)his anointed, to Cyrus,
    (CJ)whose right hand I have grasped,
to subdue nations before him
    and (CK)to loose the belts of kings,
to open doors before him
    that gates may not be closed:
“I will go before you
    and (CL)level the exalted places,[d]
(CM)I will break in pieces the doors of bronze
    and cut through the bars of iron,
(CN)I will give you the treasures of darkness
    and the hoards in secret places,
that you may know that it is I, the Lord,
    the God of Israel, (CO)who call you by your name.
For the sake of my servant Jacob,
    and Israel my chosen,
(CP)I call you by your name,
    (CQ)I name you, though you do not know me.
(CR)I am the Lord, and there is no other,
    besides me there is no God;
    (CS)I equip you, though you do not know me,
(CT)that people may know, from the rising of the sun
    and from the west, that there is none besides me;
    I am the Lord, and there is no other.
I form light and create darkness;
    I make well-being and (CU)create calamity;
    I am the Lord, who does all these things.

(CV)“Shower, O heavens, from above,
    and (CW)let the clouds rain down righteousness;
let the earth open, that salvation and righteousness may bear fruit;
    let the earth cause them both to sprout;
    I the Lord have created it.

(CX)“Woe to him who strives with him who formed him,
    a pot among earthen pots!
(CY)Does the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?’
    or ‘Your work has no handles’?
10 Woe to him who says to a father, ‘What are you begetting?’
    or to a woman, ‘With what are you in labor?’”

11 Thus says (CZ)the Lord,
    the Holy One of Israel, and the one who formed him:
(DA)“Ask me of things to come;
    will you command me (DB)concerning my children and (DC)the work of my hands?[e]
12 (DD)I made the earth
    and created man on it;
it was my hands (DE)that stretched out the heavens,
    and (DF)I commanded all their host.
13 (DG)I have stirred him up in righteousness,
    (DH)and I will make all his ways level;
(DI)he shall build my city
    (DJ)and set my exiles free,
not for price or reward,”
    says the Lord of hosts.

The Lord, the Only Savior

14 Thus says the Lord:
(DK)“The wealth of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush,
    and the Sabeans, men of stature,
shall come over to you (DL)and be yours;
    they shall follow you;
    they shall come over in chains and bow down to you.
They will plead with you, saying:
    ‘Surely God is in you, and there is no other,
    no god besides him.’”

15 (DM)Truly, you are a God who hides himself,
    O God of Israel, the Savior.
16 (DN)All of them are put to shame and confounded;
    the makers of idols go in confusion together.
17 But Israel is saved by the Lord
    with everlasting salvation;
(DO)you shall not be put to shame or confounded
    to all eternity.

18 (DP)For thus says the Lord,
who created the heavens
    (he is God!),
who formed the earth and made it
    (he established it;
he (DQ)did not create it empty,
    (DR)he formed it to be inhabited!):
“I am the Lord, and there is no other.
19 (DS)I did not speak in secret,
    in a land of darkness;
I did not say to the offspring of Jacob,
    (DT)‘Seek me in vain.’[f]
I the Lord speak (DU)the truth;
    I declare what is right.

20 (DV)“Assemble yourselves and come;
    draw near together,
    you survivors of the nations!
(DW)They have no knowledge
    who (DX)carry about their wooden idols,
(DY)and keep on praying to a god
    that cannot save.
21 (DZ)Declare and present your case;
    let them take counsel together!
Who told this long ago?
    Who declared it of old?
Was it not I, the Lord?
    And there is no other god besides me,
a righteous God (EA)and a Savior;
    there is none besides me.

22 “Turn to me and be saved,
    (EB)all the ends of the earth!
    For I am God, and there is no other.
23 (EC)By myself I have sworn;
    from my mouth has gone out in (ED)righteousness
    a word that shall not return:
(EE)‘To me every knee shall bow,
    every tongue shall swear allegiance.’[g]

24 (EF)“Only in the Lord, it shall be said of me,
    are righteousness and (EG)strength;
to him shall come and be ashamed
    (EH)all who were incensed against him.
25 In the Lord all the offspring of Israel
    shall be justified and shall glory.”

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 44:7 Or Who like me can proclaim it?
  2. Isaiah 44:13 Hebrew stylus
  3. Isaiah 44:23 Or will display his beauty
  4. Isaiah 45:2 Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scroll, Septuagint level the mountains
  5. Isaiah 45:11 A slight emendation yields will you question me about my children, or command me concerning the work of my hands?
  6. Isaiah 45:19 Hebrew in emptiness
  7. Isaiah 45:23 Septuagint every tongue shall confess to God

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)
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)
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)
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.
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)
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)
everyone who is called by my name,(AB)
    whom I created(AC) for my glory,(AD)
    whom I formed and made.(AE)

Lead out those who have eyes but are blind,(AF)
    who have ears but are deaf.(AG)
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)

Israel the Chosen

44 “But now listen, Jacob, my servant,(CP)
    Israel, whom I have chosen.(CQ)
This is what the Lord says—
    he who made(CR) you, who formed you in the womb,(CS)
    and who will help(CT) you:
Do not be afraid,(CU) Jacob, my servant,(CV)
    Jeshurun,[e](CW) whom I have chosen.
For I will pour water(CX) on the thirsty land,
    and streams on the dry ground;(CY)
I will pour out my Spirit(CZ) on your offspring,
    and my blessing(DA) on your descendants.(DB)
They will spring up like grass(DC) in a meadow,
    like poplar trees(DD) by flowing streams.(DE)
Some will say, ‘I belong(DF) to the Lord’;
    others will call themselves by the name of Jacob;
still others will write on their hand,(DG) ‘The Lord’s,’(DH)
    and will take the name Israel.

The Lord, Not Idols

“This is what the Lord says—
    Israel’s King(DI) and Redeemer,(DJ) the Lord Almighty:
I am the first and I am the last;(DK)
    apart from me there is no God.(DL)
Who then is like me?(DM) Let him proclaim it.
    Let him declare and lay out before me
what has happened since I established my ancient people,
    and what is yet to come—
    yes, let them foretell(DN) what will come.
Do not tremble, do not be afraid.
    Did I not proclaim(DO) this and foretell it long ago?
You are my witnesses. Is there any God(DP) besides me?
    No, there is no other Rock;(DQ) I know not one.”

All who make idols(DR) are nothing,
    and the things they treasure are worthless.(DS)
Those who would speak up for them are blind;(DT)
    they are ignorant, to their own shame.(DU)
10 Who shapes a god and casts an idol,(DV)
    which can profit nothing?(DW)
11 People who do that will be put to shame;(DX)
    such craftsmen are only human beings.
Let them all come together and take their stand;
    they will be brought down to terror and shame.(DY)

12 The blacksmith(DZ) takes a tool
    and works with it in the coals;
he shapes an idol with hammers,
    he forges it with the might of his arm.(EA)
He gets hungry and loses his strength;
    he drinks no water and grows faint.(EB)
13 The carpenter(EC) measures with a line
    and makes an outline with a marker;
he roughs it out with chisels
    and marks it with compasses.
He shapes it in human form,(ED)
    human form in all its glory,
    that it may dwell in a shrine.(EE)
14 He cut down cedars,
    or perhaps took a cypress or oak.
He let it grow among the trees of the forest,
    or planted a pine,(EF) and the rain made it grow.
15 It is used as fuel(EG) for burning;
    some of it he takes and warms himself,
    he kindles a fire and bakes bread.
But he also fashions a god and worships(EH) it;
    he makes an idol and bows(EI) down to it.
16 Half of the wood he burns in the fire;
    over it he prepares his meal,
    he roasts his meat and eats his fill.
He also warms himself and says,
    “Ah! I am warm; I see the fire.(EJ)
17 From the rest he makes a god, his idol;
    he bows down to it and worships.(EK)
He prays(EL) to it and says,
    “Save(EM) me! You are my god!”
18 They know nothing, they understand(EN) nothing;
    their eyes(EO) are plastered over so they cannot see,
    and their minds closed so they cannot understand.
19 No one stops to think,
    no one has the knowledge or understanding(EP) to say,
“Half of it I used for fuel;(EQ)
    I even baked bread over its coals,
    I roasted meat and I ate.
Shall I make a detestable(ER) thing from what is left?
    Shall I bow down to a block of wood?”(ES)
20 Such a person feeds on ashes;(ET) a deluded(EU) heart misleads him;
    he cannot save himself, or say,
    “Is not this thing in my right hand a lie?(EV)

21 “Remember(EW) these things, Jacob,
    for you, Israel, are my servant.(EX)
I have made you, you are my servant;(EY)
    Israel, I will not forget you.(EZ)
22 I have swept away(FA) your offenses like a cloud,
    your sins like the morning mist.
Return(FB) to me,
    for I have redeemed(FC) you.”

23 Sing for joy,(FD) you heavens, for the Lord has done this;
    shout aloud, you earth(FE) beneath.
Burst into song, you mountains,(FF)
    you forests and all your trees,(FG)
for the Lord has redeemed(FH) Jacob,
    he displays his glory(FI) in Israel.

Jerusalem to Be Inhabited

24 “This is what the Lord says—
    your Redeemer,(FJ) who formed(FK) you in the womb:(FL)

I am the Lord,
    the Maker of all things,
    who stretches out the heavens,(FM)
    who spreads out the earth(FN) by myself,
25 who foils(FO) the signs of false prophets
    and makes fools of diviners,(FP)
who overthrows the learning of the wise(FQ)
    and turns it into nonsense,(FR)
26 who carries out the words(FS) of his servants
    and fulfills(FT) the predictions of his messengers,

who says of Jerusalem,(FU) ‘It shall be inhabited,’
    of the towns of Judah, ‘They shall be rebuilt,’
    and of their ruins,(FV) ‘I will restore them,’(FW)
27 who says to the watery deep, ‘Be dry,
    and I will dry up(FX) your streams,’
28 who says of Cyrus,(FY) ‘He is my shepherd
    and will accomplish all that I please;
he will say of Jerusalem,(FZ) “Let it be rebuilt,”
    and of the temple,(GA) “Let its foundations(GB) be laid.”’

45 “This is what the Lord says to his anointed,(GC)
    to Cyrus,(GD) whose right hand I take hold(GE) of
to subdue nations(GF) before him
    and to strip kings of their armor,
to open doors before him
    so that gates will not be shut:
I will go before you(GG)
    and will level(GH) the mountains[f];
I will break down gates(GI) of bronze
    and cut through bars of iron.(GJ)
I will give you hidden treasures,(GK)
    riches stored in secret places,(GL)
so that you may know(GM) that I am the Lord,
    the God of Israel, who summons you by name.(GN)
For the sake of Jacob my servant,(GO)
    of Israel my chosen,
I summon you by name
    and bestow on you a title of honor,
    though you do not acknowledge(GP) me.
I am the Lord, and there is no other;(GQ)
    apart from me there is no God.(GR)
I will strengthen you,(GS)
    though you have not acknowledged me,
so that from the rising of the sun
    to the place of its setting(GT)
people may know(GU) there is none besides me.(GV)
    I am the Lord, and there is no other.
I form the light and create darkness,(GW)
    I bring prosperity and create disaster;(GX)
    I, the Lord, do all these things.

“You heavens above, rain(GY) down my righteousness;(GZ)
    let the clouds shower it down.
Let the earth open wide,
    let salvation(HA) spring up,
let righteousness flourish with it;
    I, the Lord, have created it.

“Woe to those who quarrel(HB) with their Maker,(HC)
    those who are nothing but potsherds(HD)
    among the potsherds on the ground.
Does the clay say to the potter,(HE)
    ‘What are you making?’(HF)
Does your work say,
    ‘The potter has no hands’?(HG)
10 Woe to the one who says to a father,
    ‘What have you begotten?’
or to a mother,
    ‘What have you brought to birth?’

11 “This is what the Lord says—
    the Holy One(HH) of Israel, and its Maker:(HI)
Concerning things to come,
    do you question me about my children,
    or give me orders about the work of my hands?(HJ)
12 It is I who made the earth(HK)
    and created mankind on it.
My own hands stretched out the heavens;(HL)
    I marshaled their starry hosts.(HM)
13 I will raise up Cyrus[g](HN) in my righteousness:
    I will make all his ways straight.(HO)
He will rebuild my city(HP)
    and set my exiles free,
but not for a price or reward,(HQ)
    says the Lord Almighty.”

14 This is what the Lord says:

“The products(HR) of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush,[h]
    and those tall Sabeans(HS)
they will come over to you(HT)
    and will be yours;
they will trudge behind you,(HU)
    coming over to you in chains.(HV)
They will bow down before you
    and plead(HW) with you, saying,
‘Surely God is with you,(HX) and there is no other;
    there is no other god.(HY)’”

15 Truly you are a God who has been hiding(HZ) himself,
    the God and Savior(IA) of Israel.
16 All the makers of idols will be put to shame and disgraced;(IB)
    they will go off into disgrace together.
17 But Israel will be saved(IC) by the Lord
    with an everlasting salvation;(ID)
you will never be put to shame or disgraced,(IE)
    to ages everlasting.

18 For this is what the Lord says—
he who created the heavens,
    he is God;
he who fashioned and made the earth,(IF)
    he founded it;
he did not create it to be empty,(IG)
    but formed it to be inhabited(IH)
he says:
“I am the Lord,
    and there is no other.(II)
19 I have not spoken in secret,(IJ)
    from somewhere in a land of darkness;(IK)
I have not said to Jacob’s descendants,(IL)
    ‘Seek(IM) me in vain.’
I, the Lord, speak the truth;
    I declare what is right.(IN)

20 “Gather together(IO) and come;
    assemble, you fugitives from the nations.
Ignorant(IP) are those who carry(IQ) about idols of wood,
    who pray to gods that cannot save.(IR)
21 Declare what is to be, present it—
    let them take counsel together.
Who foretold(IS) this long ago,
    who declared it from the distant past?(IT)
Was it not I, the Lord?
    And there is no God apart from me,(IU)
a righteous God(IV) and a Savior;(IW)
    there is none but me.

22 “Turn(IX) to me and be saved,(IY)
    all you ends of the earth;(IZ)
    for I am God, and there is no other.(JA)
23 By myself I have sworn,(JB)
    my mouth has uttered in all integrity(JC)
    a word that will not be revoked:(JD)
Before me every knee will bow;(JE)
    by me every tongue will swear.(JF)
24 They will say of me, ‘In the Lord alone
    are deliverance(JG) and strength.(JH)’”
All who have raged against him
    will come to him and be put to shame.(JI)
25 But all the descendants(JJ) of Israel
    will find deliverance(JK) in the Lord
    and will make their boast in him.(JL)

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 43:3 That is, the upper Nile region
  2. Isaiah 43:14 Or Chaldeans
  3. Isaiah 43:22 Or Jacob; / surely you have grown weary of
  4. Isaiah 43:28 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them.
  5. Isaiah 44:2 Jeshurun means the upright one, that is, Israel.
  6. Isaiah 45:2 Dead Sea Scrolls and Septuagint; the meaning of the word in the Masoretic Text is uncertain.
  7. Isaiah 45:13 Hebrew him
  8. Isaiah 45:14 That is, the upper Nile region