Isaiah 43

The Savior of Israel

43But now, O Jacob, listen to the Lord who created you. O Israel, the one who formed you says, “Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine.H559H3068H1254H3290H3335H3478H3372H1350H7121H80342When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you.H5674H4325H5104H7857H3212H1119H784H3554H3852H11973For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I gave Egypt as a ransom for your freedom; I gave Ethiopia

and Seba in your place.H3068H430H6918H3478H3467H5414H4714H3724H3568H54344Others were given in exchange for you. I traded their lives for yours because you are precious to me. You are honored, and I love you.H3365H5869H3513H157H5414H120H3816H53155“Do not be afraid, for I am with you. I will gather you and your children from east and west.H3372H935H2233H4217H6908H46286I will say to the north and south, ‘Bring my sons and daughters back to Israel from the distant corners of the earth.H559H6828H5414H8486H3607H935H1121H7350H1323H7097H7767Bring all who claim me as their God, for I have made them for my glory. It was I who created them.’”H3605H7121H8034H1254H3519H3335H62138Bring out the people who have eyes but are blind, who have ears but are deaf.H3318H5787H5971H3426H5869H2795H2419Gather the nations together! Assemble the peoples of the world! Which of their idols has ever foretold such things? Which can predict what will happen tomorrow? Where are the witnesses of such predictions? Who can verify that they spoke the truth?H1471H6908H3162H3816H622H5046H8085H7223H5414H5707H6663H8085H559H57110“But you are my witnesses, O Israel!” says the Lord. “You are my servant. You have been chosen to know me, believe in me, and understand that I alone am God. There is no other God—there never has been, and there never will be.H5707H5002H3068H5650H977H3045H539H995H6440H410H3335H31011I, yes I, am the Lord, and there is no other Savior.H3068H1107H346712First I predicted your rescue, then I saved you and proclaimed it to the world. No foreign god has ever done this. You are witnesses that I am the only God,” says the Lord.H5046H3467H8085H2114H5707H5002H3068H41013“From eternity to eternity I am God. No one can snatch anyone out of my hand. No one can undo what I have done.”H3117H5337H3027H6466H7725

The Lord’s Promise of Victory

14This is what the Lord says—your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. “For your sakes I will send an army against Babylon, forcing the Babylonians

to flee in those ships they are so proud of.H559H3068H1350H6918H3478H7971H894H3381H1281H3778H7440H59115I am the Lord, your Holy One, Israel’s Creator and King.H3068H6918H1254H3478H442816I am the Lord, who opened a way through the waters, making a dry path through the sea.H559H3068H5414H1870H3220H5410H5794H432517I called forth the mighty army of Egypt with all its chariots and horses. I drew them beneath the waves, and they drowned, their lives snuffed out like a smoldering candlewick.H3318H7393H5483H2428H5808H7901H3162H6965H1846H3518H659418“But forget all that—it is nothing compared to what I am going to do.H2142H7223H995H693119For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.H6213H2319H6779H3045H7760H1870H4057H5104H345220The wild animals in the fields will thank me, the jackals and owls, too, for giving them water in the desert. Yes, I will make rivers in the dry wasteland so my chosen people can be refreshed.H2416H7704H3513H8577H1323H3284H5414H4325H4057H5104H3452H8248H5971H97221I have made Israel for myself, and they will someday honor me before the whole world.H2098H5971H3335H5608H841622“But, dear family of Jacob, you refuse to ask for my help. You have grown tired of me, O Israel!H7121H3290H3021H347823You have not brought me sheep or goats for burnt offerings. You have not honored me with sacrifices, though I have not burdened and wearied you with requests for grain offerings and frankincense.H935H7716H5930H3513H2077H5647H4503H3021H382824You have not brought me fragrant calamus or pleased me with the fat from sacrifices. Instead, you have burdened me with your sins and wearied me with your faults.H7069H7070H3701H7301H2459H2077H5647H2403H3021H577125“I—yes, I alone—will blot out your sins for my own sake and will never think of them again.H4229H6588H2142H240326Let us review the situation together, and you can present your case to prove your innocence.H2142H8199H3162H5608H666327From the very beginning, your first ancestor sinned against me; all your leaders broke my laws.H7223H1H2398H3887H658628That is why I have disgraced your priests; I have decreed complete destruction

for Jacob and shame for Israel.H2490H8269H6944H5414H3290H2764H3478H1421