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43 And now the Lord God, making of nought thee, Jacob, and forming thee, Israel, saith these things, Do not thou dread, for I again-bought thee, and I called thee by thy name; thou art my servant. (And now the Lord God, making thee, Jacob, out of nothing, and forming thee, Israel, saith these things, Do not thou fear, for I have ransomed, or redeemed, thee, and I have called thee by thy name; thou art my servant.)

When thou shalt go by waters, I shall be with thee, and floods shall not cover thee; when thou shalt go in fire, thou shalt not be burnt, and flame shall not burn in thee (and the flame shall not burn thee).

For I am thy Lord God, the Holy of Israel, thy saviour. I gave (for) thy mercy Egypt, (yea, also) Ethiopia, and Seba, for thee. (For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour. I gave up Egypt for thy ransom, yea, also Ethiopia, and Seba, for thee.)

Since thou art made honourable, and glorious in mine eyes; I (have) loved thee, and I shall give (up) men for thee, and peoples for thy soul.

Do not thou dread, for I am with thee; I shall bring thy seed from the east, and I shall gather thee together from the west. (Do not thou fear, for I am with thee; I shall bring thy descendants from the east, and I shall gather thee together from the west.)

I shall say to the north, Give thou (them up), and to the south, Do not thou forbid (them); bring thou my sons from afar, and my daughters from the last parts of [the] earth (and my daughters from the ends of the earth).

And each that calleth my name to help, into my glory I made him of nought; I formed him, and made him. (Yea, each person who is called by my name, for I made them out of nothing, for my glory; I formed them, and I made them.)

Lead thou forth the blind people, and having eyes; the deaf people, and ears be to it. (Lead thou forth the people who have eyes, but be blind; the people who have ears, but be deaf.)

All heathen men be gathered together, and lineages be gathered together. Who among you, who shall tell this, and shall make you to hear those things, that be the first? give they [the] witnesses of them, and be they justified, and hear they, and say, (That is the truth). (All the heathen be gathered together, and the tribes be gathered together. Who among you, who shall tell out this, and shall help us to understand the former things? bring they in their witnesses, and be they justified, or proven right, and listen they, and say, That is the truth.)

10 Verily ye be my witnesses, saith the Lord, and my servant(s), whom I chose; that ye know, and believe to me, and understand, for I myself am; before me is no God former, and after me shall none be. (Truly ye be my witnesses, saith the Lord, and my servants, whom I chose; so that ye would know me, and believe me, and understand, that I am he; before me no God was formed, and there shall be no one after me.)

11 I am, I am the Lord, and without me is no saviour. (I am, yea, I am the Lord, and there is no other saviour besides me.)

12 I told, and saved; I made hearing, and none alien God was among you (I have told it out, and I have saved; I have made it heard, when there was no foreign, or strange, god among you). Ye be my witnesses, saith the Lord; and I am God,

13 from the beginning, I myself am, and none there is that delivereth from mine hand; I shall work, and who shall destroy it? (yea, from the beginning, I am he, and there is no one who taketh anything from my hand; I shall do my work, and who shall be able to destroy it?)

14 The Lord, your again-buyer, the Holy of Israel, saith these things, For you I sent out into Babylon, and I drew down all bars, and [the] Chaldees having glory in their ships. (The Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, saith these things, For your sakes I have sent to Babylon, and I have brought down all their bars, or all their gates, and the Chaldeans having glory in their ships.)

15 I am the Lord, your Holy, your king, making Israel of nought. (I am the Lord, your Holy One, your King, making Israel out of nothing.)

16 The Lord saith these things, that gave [a] way in the sea, and a path in running waters;

17 which led out a cart, and horse, a company, and (a) strong man; they slept together, neither they shall rise again; they be all-broken as flax, and be quenched (like a wick). (who led out chariots, and horses, yea, a company of strong men; they all sleep now, or be dead, and they shall never rise again; they be all-broken like flax, and be quenched, or snuffed out, like a wick.)

18 Think ye not on the former things, and behold ye not (on the) old things.

19 Lo! I make new things, and now those shall begin to be made; soothly ye shall know them. I shall set [a] way in (the) desert, and floods in a land without (a) way.

20 And a beast of the field shall glorify me, (the) dragons and ostriches shall glorify me; for I gave waters in desert, and floods in the land without (a) way, that I should give drink to my people, to my chosen people.

21 I formed this people to me, it shall tell my praising. (I formed this people for myself, and they shall tell out my praises.)

22 Jacob, thou calledest not me to help; and thou, Israel, travailedest not for me. (Yet Jacob, thou hast not called upon me for help; yea, Israel, thou hast not laboured for me.)

23 Thou offeredest not to me the ram of thy burnt sacrifice, and thou glorifiedest not me with thy slain sacrifices. I made not thee to serve in offering, neither I gave to thee travail in incense. (Thou hast not offered me the ram of thy burnt sacrifice, and thou hast not glorified me with thy slain sacrifices. And I did not ask thee to serve me with offerings, nor did I ask thee to offer incense to me.)

24 Thou boughtest not to me sweet smelling spicery for silver, and thou filledest not me with [the] fatness of thy slain sacrifices; nevertheless thou madest me to serve in thy sins, thou gavest travail to me in thy wickednesses. (Thou hast not brought me sweet smelling spices with thy silver, and thou hast not fulfilled, or satisfied, me/and thou hast not filled me with the fatness of thy slain sacrifices; nevertheless thou hast burdened me with thy sins, and thou hast given me trials and tribulation with thy wickednesses.)

25 I am, I myself am, that do away thy wickednesses for me, and I shall not have mind on thy sins. (But I am, yea, I am he who do away thy wickednesses for my own sake, and I shall not remember thy sins.)

26 Bring me again into mind, and be we deemed together; tell thou, if thou hast anything, that thou be justified. (Bring me again into mind, and be we judged together, or let us argue it out; tell thou it out, if thou hast anything, by which thou can be justified.)

27 Thy first father sinned, and thine interpreters trespassed against me. (Thy first father sinned, and thy expounders trespassed against me.)

28 And I made foul (the) holy princes, and I gave Jacob to death, and Israel into blasphemy. (And I defiled the princes of the sanctuary, and I gave Jacob unto death, and Israel unto reproach./And thy leaders defiled my sanctuary, and so I gave Jacob unto death, and Israel unto reproach.)

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.