Isaiah 43-44
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!
2 When 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.
3 For (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.
4 Since 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.
5 Do not fear, for (P)I am with you;
I will bring (Q)your offspring from the east,
And (R)gather you from the west.
6 I 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,
7 Everyone 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
8 Bring out the people who are (Z)blind, even though they have eyes,
And those who are deaf, even though they have ears.
9 All 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.
11 I, only I, am the Lord,
And there is no (AI)savior (AJ)besides Me.
12 It 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.
13 Even [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
14 This 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.
15 I am the Lord, your Holy One,
(AS)The Creator of Israel, your (AT)King.”
16 This is what the Lord says,
He who (AU)makes a way through the sea
And a path through the mighty waters,
17 Who 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.
19 Behold, 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.
20 The 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.
21 The 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.
23 You 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.
24 You 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.
27 Your (BQ)first [h]forefather sinned,
And your [i](BR)spokesmen have rebelled against Me.
28 So 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:
2 This 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.
3 For (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;
4 And they will spring up [m]among the grass
Like (CC)poplars by streams of water.’
5 This 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.
7 Who 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.
8 Do 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
9 Those 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. 10 Who has fashioned a god or cast an idol to (CO)no benefit? 11 Behold, 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.
12 The (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. 14 He 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. 15 Then 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. 16 Half 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.” 17 Yet 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.”
18 They 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. 19 No 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!” 20 He [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.
22 I 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.
24 This 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.
27 I am the One who says to the depth of the sea, ‘Dry up!’
And I will make your rivers (DX)dry up.
28 It 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.’”
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
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