Isaiah 43-45

New American Standard Bible

Israel Redeemed

43 But now, this is what the Lord says, He who is your ^(A)Creator, Jacob,
And He who ^(B)formed you, Israel:
“Do not ^(C)fear, for I have ^(D)redeemed you;
I have ^(E)called you by name; you are ^(F)Mine!
²When you ^(G)pass through the waters, ^(H)I will be with you;
And through the rivers, they will not overflow you.
When you ^(I)walk through the fire, you will not be scorched,
Nor will the flame burn you.
³For ^(J)I am the Lord your God,
The Holy One of Israel, your ^(K)Savior;
I have given Egypt as your ransom,
^[a]^(L)Cush and Seba in exchange for you.
⁴Since you are ^(M)precious in My sight,
Since you are ^(N)honored and I ^(O)love you,
I will give other people in your place and other nations in exchange for your life.
⁵Do not fear, for ^(P)I am with you;
I will bring ^(Q)your offspring from the east,
And ^(R)gather you from the west.
⁶I will say to the ^(S)north, ‘Give them up!’
And to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’
Bring My ^(T)sons from afar
And My daughters from the ^(U)ends of the earth,
⁷Everyone who is ^(V)called by My name,
And whom I have ^(W)created for My ^(X)glory,
^(Y)Whom I have formed, even whom I have made.”

Israel Is God’s Witness

⁸Bring out the people who are ^(Z)blind, even though they have eyes,
And those who are deaf, even though they have ears.
⁹All the nations have ^(AA)gathered together
So that the peoples may be assembled.
Who among them can ^(AB)declare this
And proclaim to us the former things?
Let them present ^(AC)their witnesses so ^(AD)that they may be justified,
Or let them hear and say, “It is true.”
¹⁰“You are ^(AE)My witnesses,” declares the Lord,
“And ^(AF)My servant whom I have chosen,
So that you may know and believe Me
And understand that ^(AG)I am He.
^(AH)Before Me there was no God formed,
And there will be none after Me.
¹¹I, only I, am the Lord,
And there is no ^(AI)savior ^(AJ)besides Me.
¹²It is I who have declared and saved and proclaimed,
And there was no ^(AK)strange god among you;
So you are My witnesses,” declares the Lord,
“And I am God.
¹³Even ^[b]^(AL)from eternity ^(AM)I am He,
And there is ^(AN)no one who can rescue from My hand;
^(AO)I act, and who can reverse it?”

Babylon to Be Destroyed

¹⁴This is what the Lord your ^(AP)Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel says:

“For your sake I have sent to Babylon,
And will bring them all down as fugitives,
^[c]Even the ^(AQ)Chaldeans, into the ^(AR)ships ^[d]over which they rejoice.
¹⁵I am the Lord, your Holy One,
^(AS)The Creator of Israel, your ^(AT)King.”

¹⁶This is what the Lord says,

He who ^(AU)makes a way through the sea
And a path through the mighty waters,
¹⁷Who brings out the ^(AV)chariot and the horse,
The army and the mighty man
(They will lie down together and not rise again;
They have been ^(AW)extinguished, and have gone out like a wick):
¹⁸“^(AX)Do not call to mind the former things,
Or consider things of the past.
¹⁹Behold, I am going to do something ^(AY)new,
Now it will spring up;
Will you not be aware of it?
I will even ^(AZ)make a roadway in the wilderness,
Rivers in the desert.
²⁰The animals of the field will glorify Me,
The ^(BA)jackals and the ostriches,
Because I have ^(BB)given waters in the wilderness
And rivers in the desert,
To give drink to My chosen people.
²¹The people whom ^(BC)I formed for Myself
^(BD)Will declare My praise.

The Shortcomings of Israel

²²“Yet you have not called on Me, Jacob;
But you have become ^(BE)weary of Me, Israel.
²³You have ^(BF)not brought to Me the sheep of your burnt offerings,
Nor have you ^(BG)honored Me with your sacrifices.
I have not ^(BH)burdened you with ^[e]offerings,
Nor wearied you with ^(BI)incense.
²⁴You have not bought Me ^[f]^(BJ)sweet cane with money,
Nor have you satisfied Me with the fat of your sacrifices;
Rather, you have burdened Me with your sins,
You have ^(BK)wearied Me with your wrongdoings.

²⁵“I, I alone, am the one who ^(BL)wipes out your wrongdoings ^(BM)for My own sake,
And I will ^(BN)not remember your sins.
²⁶^[g]Meet Me in court, ^(BO)let’s argue our case together;
State your cause, ^(BP)so that you may be proved right.
²⁷Your ^(BQ)first ^[h]forefather sinned,
And your ^[i]^(BR)spokesmen have rebelled against Me.
²⁸So I will profane the ^[j]officials of the sanctuary,
And I will turn Jacob over to ^(BS)destruction and Israel to ^(BT)abuse.

The Blessings of Israel

44 “But now listen, Jacob, My ^(BU)servant,
And Israel, whom I have chosen:
²This is what the Lord says, He who made you
And ^(BV)formed you from the womb, who ^(BW)will help you:
‘^(BX)Do not fear, Jacob My servant,
And ^[k]^(BY)Jeshurun, whom I have chosen.
³For ^(BZ)I will pour water on ^[l]the thirsty land
And streams on the dry ground;
I will ^(CA)pour out My Spirit on your ^(CB)offspring,
And My blessing on your descendants;
⁴And they will spring up ^[m]among the grass
Like ^(CC)poplars by streams of water.’
⁵This one will say, ‘I am the Lord’s’;
And that one ^[n]will call on the name of Jacob;
And another will ^(CD)write ^[o]on his hand, ‘Belonging to the Lord,’
And will give himself Israel’s name with honor.

⁶“This is what the Lord says, He who is the ^(CE)King of Israel and his ^(CF)Redeemer, the Lord of armies:

‘I am the ^(CG)first and I am the last,
And there is no God ^(CH)besides Me.
⁷Who is like Me? ^(CI)Let him proclaim and declare it;
And, let him confront Me
^[p]Beginning with My establishing of the ancient ^[q]nation.
Then let them declare to them the things that are coming
And the events that are going to take place.
⁸Do not tremble and do not be afraid;
^(CJ)Have I not long since announced it to you and declared it?
And ^(CK)you are My witnesses.
Is there any God ^(CL)besides Me,
Or is there any other ^(CM)Rock?
I know of none.’”

The Foolishness of Idolatry

⁹Those who fashion an idol are all futile, and their treasured things are of no benefit; even their own witnesses fail to see or know, so that they will be ^(CN)put to shame. ¹⁰Who has fashioned a god or cast an idol to ^(CO)no benefit? ¹¹Behold, all his companions will be ^(CP)put to shame, for the craftsmen themselves are mere men. Let them all assemble themselves, let them stand up, let them tremble, let them be put to shame together.

¹²The ^(CQ)craftsman of iron shapes a cutting tool and does his work over the coals, ^[r]fashioning it with hammers and working it with his strong arm. He also gets hungry and ^[s]his strength fails; he drinks no water and becomes weary. ¹³^(CR)The craftsman of wood extends a measuring line; he outlines it with a marker. He works it with carving knives and outlines it with a compass, and makes it like the form of a man, like the beauty of ^(CS)mankind, so that it may sit in a ^(CT)house. ¹⁴He will cut cedars for himself, and he takes a holm-oak or another oak and lets it grow strong for himself among the trees of the forest. He plants a laurel tree, and the rain makes it grow. ¹⁵Then it becomes something for a person to burn, so he takes one of them and gets warm; he also makes a fire and bakes bread. He also ^(CU)makes a god and worships it; he makes it a carved image and ^(CV)bows down before it. ¹⁶Half of it he burns in the fire; over this half he eats meat, he roasts a roast, and is satisfied. He also warms himself and says, “Aha! I am warm, I have seen the fire.” ¹⁷Yet the rest of it he ^(CW)makes into a god, his carved image. He bows down before it and worships; he also ^(CX)prays to it and says, “Save me, for you are my god.”

¹⁸They do not ^(CY)know, nor do they understand, for He has ^(CZ)smeared over their eyes so that they cannot see, and their hearts so that they cannot comprehend. ¹⁹No one ^[t]remembers, nor is there ^(DA)knowledge or understanding to say, “I have burned half of it in the fire and also have baked bread over its coals. I roast meat and eat it. Then ^[u]I make the rest of it into an ^(DB)abomination, ^[v]I bow down before a block of wood!” ²⁰He ^[w]^(DC)feeds on ashes; a ^(DD)deceived heart has misled him. And he cannot save ^[x]himself, nor say, “^(DE)Is there not a lie in my right hand?”

God Forgives and Redeems

²¹“^(DF)Remember these things, Jacob,
And Israel, for you are ^(DG)My servant;
I have formed you, you are My servant,
Israel, you will ^(DH)not be forgotten by Me.
²²I have ^(DI)wiped out your wrongdoings like a thick cloud
And your sins like a ^[y]heavy mist.
^(DJ)Return to Me, for I have ^(DK)redeemed you.”
²³^(DL)Shout for joy, you heavens, for the Lord has done it!
Shout joyfully, you lower parts of the earth;
^(DM)Break into a shout of jubilation, you mountains,
Forest, and every tree in it;
For ^(DN)the Lord has redeemed Jacob,
And in Israel He ^(DO)shows His glory.

²⁴This is what the Lord says, He who is your ^(DP)Redeemer, and the one who ^(DQ)formed you from the womb:

“I, the Lord, am the maker of all things,
^(DR)Stretching out the heavens by Myself
And spreading out the earth ^[z]alone,
²⁵^(DS)Causing the ^[aa]omens of diviners to fail,
^[ab]Making fools of fortune-tellers;
^(DT)Causing wise men to turn back
And ^[ac]making their knowledge ridiculous,
²⁶^(DU)Confirming the word of His servant
And ^[ad]carrying out the purpose of His messengers.
It is I who says of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be inhabited!’
And of the ^(DV)cities of Judah, ‘^(DW)They shall be built.’
And I will raise her ruins again.
²⁷I am the One who says to the depth of the sea, ‘Dry up!’
And I will make your rivers ^(DX)dry up.
²⁸It is I who says of ^(DY)Cyrus, ‘He is My shepherd,
And he will carry out all My desire.’
And ^[ae]he says of Jerusalem, ‘^(DZ)She will be built,’
And of the temple, ‘^[af]Your foundation will be laid.’”

God Uses Cyrus

45 This is what the Lord says to ^(EA)Cyrus His anointed,
Whom I have taken by the right ^(EB)hand,
To ^(EC)subdue nations before him
And ^[ag]to ^(ED)undo the weapons belt on the waist of kings;
To open doors before him so that gates will not be shut:
²“I will go before you and ^(EE)make the ^[ah]rough places smooth;
I will ^(EF)shatter the doors of bronze and cut through their iron ^(EG)bars.
³I will give you the ^[ai]^(EH)treasures of darkness
And hidden wealth of secret places,
So that you may know that it is I,
The Lord, the God of Israel, who ^(EI)calls you by your name.
⁴For the sake of ^(EJ)Jacob My servant,
And Israel My chosen one,
I have also ^(EK)called you by your name;
I have given you a title of honor
Though you have ^(EL)not known Me.
⁵I am the Lord, and ^(EM)there is no one else;
^(EN)There is no God except Me.
I will ^(EO)^[aj]arm you, though you have not known Me,
⁶So that ^(EP)people may know from the rising to the setting of the sun
That there is ^(EQ)no one besides Me.
I am the Lord, and there is no one else,
⁷The One ^(ER)forming light and ^(ES)creating darkness,
Causing ^[ak]well-being and ^(ET)creating disaster;
I am the Lord who does all these things.

God’s Supreme Power

⁸“^(EU)Drip down, heavens, from above,
And let the clouds pour down righteousness;
Let the ^(EV)earth open up and salvation bear fruit,
^(EW)And righteousness sprout with it.
I, the Lord, have created it.

⁹“Woe to the one who ^(EX)quarrels with ^[al]his Maker—
A piece of pottery ^[am]among the other earthenware pottery pieces!
Will the ^(EY)clay say to the ^[an]potter, ‘What are you doing?’
Or the thing you are making say, ‘He has no hands’?
¹⁰Woe to him who says to a father, ‘What are you fathering?’
Or to a woman, ‘To what are you ^[ao]giving birth?’”

¹¹This is what the ^(EZ)Lord says, the Holy One of Israel and ^[ap]his ^(FA)Maker:

“^[aq]^(FB)Ask Me about the things to come ^[ar]concerning My ^(FC)sons,
And you shall commit to Me ^(FD)the work of My hands.
¹²It is I who ^(FE)made the earth, and created mankind upon it.
I ^(FF)stretched out the heavens with My hands,
And I ^[as]ordained ^(FG)all their ^[at]lights.
¹³I have stirred him in ^(FH)righteousness,
And I will ^(FI)make all his ways smooth.
He will ^(FJ)build My city and let My exiles go ^(FK)free,
Without any payment or reward,” says the Lord of armies.

¹⁴This is what the Lord says:

“The ^[au]products of ^(FL)Egypt and the merchandise of ^[av]^(FM)Cush
And the Sabeans, men of stature,
Will ^(FN)come over to you and will be yours;
They will walk behind you, they will come over in ^(FO)chains
And will ^(FP)bow down to you;
They will plead with you:
‘^[aw]^(FQ)God certainly is ^[ax]with you, and ^(FR)there is no one else,
No other God.’”
¹⁵Truly, You are a God who ^(FS)hides Himself,
God of Israel, ^(FT)Savior!
¹⁶They will be ^(FU)put to shame and even humiliated, all of them;
The ^(FV)manufacturers of idols will go away together in humiliation.
¹⁷Israel has been saved by the Lord
With an ^(FW)everlasting salvation;
You ^(FX)will not be put to shame or humiliated
To all eternity.

¹⁸For this is what the Lord says, He who ^(FY)created the heavens (He is the God who ^(FZ)formed the earth and made it, He established it and did not create it ^[ay]as a ^(GA)waste place, but formed it to be ^(GB)inhabited):

“I am the Lord, and ^(GC)there is no one else.
¹⁹^(GD)I have not spoken in secret,
In ^[az]some dark land;
I did not say to the ^[ba]^(GE)offspring of Jacob,
‘^(GF)Seek Me in ^[bb]a wasteland’;
I, the Lord, ^(GG)speak righteousness,
^(GH)Declaring things that are right.

²⁰“^(GI)Gather yourselves and come;
Come together, you survivors of the nations!
^(GJ)They have no knowledge,
Who ^(GK)carry around ^[bc]their wooden idol
And ^(GL)pray to a god who cannot save.
²¹^(GM)Declare and present your case;
Indeed, let them consult together.
^(GN)Who has announced this long ago?
Who has long since declared it?
Is it not I, the Lord?
And there is ^(GO)no other God besides Me,
A righteous God and a ^(GP)Savior;
There is none except Me.
²²^(GQ)Turn to Me and ^(GR)be saved, all the ends of the earth;
For I am God, and there is no other.
²³^(GS)I have sworn by Myself;
The ^(GT)word has gone out from My mouth in righteousness
And will not turn back,
That to Me ^(GU)every knee will bow, every tongue will ^(GV)swear allegiance.
²⁴They will say of Me, ‘Only ^(GW)in the Lord are righteousness and strength.’
People will come to Him,
And ^(GX)all who were angry at Him will be put to shame.
²⁵In the Lord all the offspring of Israel
Will be ^(GY)justified and will ^(GZ)boast.”

Footnotes

Isaiah 43:3 Or Ethiopia
Isaiah 43:13 As in LXX; MT from the day
Isaiah 43:14 Another reading is As for the Chaldeans, their rejoicing is turned into mourning
Isaiah 43:14 Lit of their rejoicing
Isaiah 43:23 Or a meal offering
Isaiah 43:24 Or calamus
Isaiah 43:26 Or Report to Me
Isaiah 43:27 Lit father
Isaiah 43:27 Or interpreters
Isaiah 43:28 Or holy princes
Isaiah 44:2 I.e., Israel
Isaiah 44:3 Or him who is thirsty
Isaiah 44:4 Another reading is like grass among the waters
Isaiah 44:5 Another reading is will be called by the name of Jacob
Isaiah 44:5 Or with
Isaiah 44:7 Lit From My establishing of
Isaiah 44:7 Or people
Isaiah 44:12 Lit and fashions
Isaiah 44:12 Lit there is no strength
Isaiah 44:19 Lit returns to his heart
Isaiah 44:19 Or shall I make?
Isaiah 44:19 Or shall I bow...?
Isaiah 44:20 Or is a companion of ashes
Isaiah 44:20 Lit his soul
Isaiah 44:22 Or cloud
Isaiah 44:24 Or who was with Me?
Isaiah 44:25 Lit signs
Isaiah 44:25 Lit He makes
Isaiah 44:25 Lit He turns
Isaiah 44:26 Lit He performs
Isaiah 44:28 Lit to say
Isaiah 44:28 Lit You will be founded
Isaiah 45:1 Lit I will loose
Isaiah 45:2 Another reading is mountains
Isaiah 45:3 Or hoarded treasures
Isaiah 45:5 Or embrace
Isaiah 45:7 Or peace
Isaiah 45:9 Lit He who formed him
Isaiah 45:9 Lit with
Isaiah 45:9 Lit he who formed him
Isaiah 45:10 Lit in labor pains with
Isaiah 45:11 Lit He who formed him
Isaiah 45:11 Or Will you ask
Isaiah 45:11 Or upon
Isaiah 45:12 Or commanded
Isaiah 45:12 Lit host; i.e., sun, stars, etc.
Isaiah 45:14 Lit labor
Isaiah 45:14 Or Ethiopia
Isaiah 45:14 Or God is with you alone
Isaiah 45:14 Or in
Isaiah 45:18 LXX in vain
Isaiah 45:19 Lit a place of a land of darkness
Isaiah 45:19 Lit seed
Isaiah 45:19 Or vain
Isaiah 45:20 Lit the wood of their carved image