Isaiah 43
The Lord tells Israel not to be afraid, as He has redeemed them and will be with them through trials. He reminds them of His power and love, and that He has chosen them for His glory. The Lord declares that He is the only God and Savior, and that He has no equal. He reminds Israel of His past deliverance and promises to do new things, bringing life-giving water to the desert for His people. However, He also rebukes Israel for not calling upon Him or offering sacrifices, and for burdening Him with their sins, yet He offers to forgive their iniquities and invites them to come to judgment together.
1And now thus says the Lord who created you, O Jacob, and who formed you, O Israel: Do not be afraid. For I have redeemed you, and I have called you by your name. You are mine2When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, and the rivers will not cover you. When you walk through fire, you will not be burned, and the flames will not scorch you3For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour. I have presented Egypt as your atonement, Ethiopia and Seba on your behalf4Since then, you have become honorable in my eyes, and glorious. I have loved you, and I will present men on behalf of you, and people on behalf of your life5Fear not, for I am with you. I will lead your offspring from the East, and I will gather you from the West6I will say to the North, "Release him," and to the South, "Do not turn him away." Bring my sons from far away, and my daughters from the ends of the earth7And each one who calls upon my name, I have created for my glory. I have formed him, and I have made him8Lead forth the people who are blind and have eyes, who are deaf and have ears9All the nations have been assembled together, and the tribes have been collected. Who among you will announce this, and who will cause us to listen to the things that are first? Let them present their witnesses. Let them act justly, and listen, and say: "It is true.10You are my witnesses, says the Lord, and you are my servant, whom I have chosen, so that you may know, and may believe in me, and so that you may understand that I am the same. Before me, there was no god formed, and after me there will be none11I am. I am the Lord. And there is no savior apart from me12I have announced, and I have saved. I have caused it to be heard. And there was no stranger among you. You are my witnesses, says the Lord, and I am God13And from the beginning, I am the same. And there is no one who can rescue from my hand. I act, and who can turn it aside14Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: For your sake, I sent to Babylon, and tore down all their bars, with the Chaldeans who glory in their ships15I am the Lord, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King16Thus says the Lord, who gave you a way through the sea and a path through the torrent of waters17who led out the chariot and the horse, the column of robust troops. They went to sleep together, and they will not arise. They have been crushed like flax, and they have been extinguished18You need not call to mind the past, nor consider the things of antiquity19Behold, I am accomplishing new things. And presently, they will spring forth. With certainty, you will know them. I will make a way in the desert, and rivers in an impassible place20The wild beasts of the field will glorify me, with the serpents and the ostriches. For I have brought waters to the desert, rivers to inaccessible places, in order to give drink to my people, to my elect21This is the people whom I have formed for myself. They will speak my praise22But you have not called upon me, O Jacob, nor have you struggled for me, O Israel23You have not offered me the ram of your holocaust, and you have not glorified me with your victims. I have not burdened you with oblations, nor have I wearied you with incense24You have bought me no sweet cane with money, and you have not inebriated me with the fat of your victims. Yet truly, you have burdened me with your sins; you have wearied me with your iniquities25I am. I am the very One who wipes away your iniquities for my own sake. And I will not remember your sins26Call me to mind, and let us go to judgment together. If you have anything to justify yourself, explain it27Your first father sinned, and your interpreters have betrayed me28And so, I have defiled the holy leaders. I have handed over Jacob to slaughter, and Israel to calumny
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