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Chapter 43

Promises of Redemption and Restoration

But now, thus says the Lord,
    who created you, Jacob, and formed you, Israel:
Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
    I have called you by name: you are mine.
When you pass through waters, I will be with you;
    through rivers, you shall not be swept away.
When you walk through fire, you shall not be burned,
    nor will flames consume you.
For I, the Lord, am your God,
    the Holy One of Israel, your savior.
I give Egypt as ransom for you,
    Ethiopia and Seba[a] in exchange for you.
Because you are precious in my eyes
    and honored, and I love you,
I give people in return for you
    and nations in exchange for your life.(A)
Fear not, for I am with you;
    from the east I will bring back your offspring,
    from the west I will gather you.
I will say to the north: Give them up!
    and to the south: Do not hold them!
Bring back my sons from afar,
    and my daughters from the ends of the earth:(B)
All who are called by my name
    I created for my glory;
    I formed them, made them.
Lead out the people, blind though they have eyes,
    deaf though they have ears.

Let all the nations gather together,
    let the peoples assemble!
Who among them could have declared this,
    or announced to us the earlier things?[b]
Let them produce witnesses to prove themselves right,
    that one may hear and say, “It is true!”
10 You are my witnesses[c]—oracle of the Lord
    my servant whom I have chosen
To know and believe in me
    and understand that I am he.
Before me no god was formed,
    and after me there shall be none.
11 I, I am the Lord;
    there is no savior but me.
12 It is I who declared, who saved,
    who announced, not some strange god among you;
You are my witnesses—oracle of the Lord.
    I am God,
13     yes, from eternity I am he;
There is none who can deliver from my hand:
    I act and who can cancel it?(C)

14 Thus says the Lord, your redeemer,[d]
    the Holy One of Israel:
For your sake I send to Babylon;
    I will bring down all her defenses,
    and the Chaldeans shall cry out in lamentation.
15 I am the Lord, your Holy One,
    the creator of Israel, your King.
16 Thus says the Lord,
    who opens a way in the sea,
    a path in the mighty waters,(D)
17 Who leads out chariots and horsemen,
    a powerful army,
Till they lie prostrate together, never to rise,
    snuffed out, quenched like a wick.(E)
18 Remember not[e] the events of the past,
    the things of long ago consider not;
19 See, I am doing something new!
    Now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
In the wilderness I make a way,
    in the wasteland, rivers.
20 Wild beasts honor me,
    jackals and ostriches,
For I put water in the wilderness
    and rivers in the wasteland
    for my chosen people to drink,
21 The people whom I formed for myself,
    that they might recount my praise.

22 Yet you did not call upon me, Jacob,[f]
    for you grew weary of me, Israel.
23 You did not bring me sheep for your burnt offerings,
    nor honor me with your sacrifices.
I did not exact from you the service of offerings,
    nor weary you for frankincense.(F)
24 You did not buy me sweet cane,[g]
    nor did you fill me with the fat of your sacrifices;
Instead, you burdened me with your sins,
    wearied me with your crimes.
25 It is I, I, who wipe out,
    for my own sake, your offenses;
    your sins I remember no more.
26 Would you have me remember, have us come to trial?
    Speak up, prove your innocence!
27 Your first father[h] sinned;
    your spokesmen rebelled against me
28 Till I repudiated the holy princes,
    put Jacob under the ban,
    exposed Israel to scorn.

Footnotes

  1. 43:3–4 Egypt…Ethiopia and Seba: countries which God permitted the Persians to conquer in return for having given Israel its freedom.
  2. 43:9 Who among them…?: God, and only God, can foretell the future because it is he who brings it to pass. The argument from prediction is an important theme in Second Isaiah and occurs also in 41:22; 43:10; 44:7–8, 26.
  3. 43:10 You are my witnesses: Israel’s role as chosen people now takes a new turn as they are given the active role of bearing witness before humankind to the Lord’s role in history by proclaiming events beforehand and bringing them to pass; see also 44:8. The false gods, on the other hand, cannot produce such witnesses (v. 9; cf. 44:9). I am he: this formula of self-identification, repeated in vv. 13 and 25, is used here to support the assertion that the Lord alone is God; see also 41:4; 46:4; 48:12; 51:12; 52:6. This expression in part may be behind the self-identification formula used by Jesus in John’s gospel (cf. Jn 8:58). Before…after: another example of the same assertion, that the Lord alone is God; see also note on 44:6.
  4. 43:14–17 The destruction of Babylon is described in language that recalls the drowning of the Egyptian army in the Red Sea (Ex 14–15).
  5. 43:18 Remember not: God’s new act of delivering Israel from the Babylonian captivity is presented as so great a marvel as to eclipse even the memory of the exodus from Egypt. This comparison of the return from Babylon to the exodus from Egypt recurs throughout Second Isaiah (cf. 41:17–20; 43:18–21; 48:20–21; 49:8–13; 51:9–11).
  6. 43:22–28 The reason for the liberation of the Israelites is not their constancy but rather God’s faithfulness to his promise (cf. 40:6–8).
  7. 43:24 Sweet cane: a fragrant substance used in making incense and the sacred anointing oil; cf. Ex 30:23; Jer 6:20.
  8. 43:27 First father: Jacob. Spokesmen: leaders, priests, prophets.

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)

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.