Isaiah 43

1 Now, therefore, Thus, saith Yahweh—Creating thee, O Jacob, and Fashioning thee O Israel, —Do not fear, For I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name. Mine, thou art!

But now this is what the Lord says to Jacob, the one who created you; to Israel, the one who formed you: “Don't be afraid! I have saved you! I have called you by name; you are mine!

2 When thou passest through the waters, with thee, I am, Or, through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee, —When thou walkest through fire, thou shall not be scorched, And, a flame, shall not kindle upon thee;

When you walk through the water, I will be with you; and when you go through the rivers, they won't flood over you. When you walk through fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you on fire.

3 For, I,—Yahweh, am, Thy God, The Holy One of Israel Ready to save thee, —I have given, as thy ransom, Egypt, Ethiopia and Seba, in thy stead.

For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I gave Egypt to pay for your freedom; I traded Ethiopia and Seba for you.

4 Because thou art precious in mine eyes, art honoured And, I, love thee, —And will give mankind, in thy stead, Yea, peoples, for thy life,

Because you are so valuable to me, because I honor you, and because I love you, I give people in exchange for you, nations in exchange for your lives.

5 Do not fear for, with thee, I am, —From the East, will I bring in thy seed, And, from the West, will I gather thee:

Don't be afraid, for I am with you! I will bring you and your children from the east and the west, and gather you together.

6 I will say to the North Give up! And to the South Do not withhold! Bring in My sons from far, and My daughters from the end of the earth;

I will tell the north, ‘Hand them over!’ and the south, ‘Don't stop them!’ Bring my sons back from far away and my daughters from distant lands.

7 Every one who is called by my Name, Whom for mine own glory, I have created—formed—yea, made!

Bring back everyone who bears my name, those I created for my honor, those I formed and made.

8 Bring forth A blind people that have, eyes, and A deaf, that have, ears.

Bring back those who have eyes but are blind, those who have ears but are deaf.

9 All the nations, are gathered together Yea there is an assembling of peoples, Who among them, can tell this, And things in advance, can let us hear? Let them set forth their witnesses that they may get their right, Or let them hear, and say Truth!

Have all the nations gather together! Have all the peoples assemble! Who among them could have said this, and predict what was going to happen? Have them bring their witnesses to prove that they're right. Then have them listen, and say, ‘It's true!’

10 Ye, are my witnesses Declareth Yahweh, And my Servant, whom I have chosen, —That ye may take note—and believe me, And perceive that, I, am He, Before me, was not formed a GOD, Nor after me, shall one come into being:

However, you are my witnesses, the Lord declares, and my chosen servant, so that you can think about it, and believe me and understand that I am God. No god preceded me, and none will come after me.

11 I—I, am Yahweh, —And there is none besides me ready to save:

I, yes I am the Lord, and there is no Savior apart from me.

12 I, have told—and will save, and make known, That there is among you no strange one; And, ye, are my witnesses, Declareth Yahweh That, I, am GOD.

I predicted what was going to happen, then I saved you, then I announced it—there was no foreign god among you that did this. You are my witnesses that I am God, declares the Lord.

13 Even from To-day, I, am He, And none, out of my hand, can deliver, —I work and who reverseth?

I am God from the beginning. No one can snatch anybody from my hand. No one can reverse what I do.

14 Thus saith Yahweh, Your Redeemer, The Holy One of Israel, —For your sakes, have I sent into Babylon, And will bring down as fugitives, all of them, —Even the Chaldeans, in the ships which cause them loud outcry.

This is what the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, says: For your sake I will send attackers against Babylon and bring them down. All the Babylonians will be like fugitives, escaping in the ships they're so proud of.

15 I—Yahweh, am Your Holy One, —The Creator of Israel, Your King.

I am the Lord, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, and your King.

16 Thus, saith Yahweh, —Who setteth in the sea, a way, —And in the mighty waters, a path;

This is what the Lord says, the one who makes a way through the sea, a path through the mighty waters;

17 Who bringeth forth Chariot and horse, Force and strength, Together, shall they lie down They shall not arise, They are extinguished Like a wick, are they quenched!

the one who brought out a great army with it horses and chariots and lay them down, never to rise again, snuffed out like a burning wick.

18 Do not keep in mind former things, —And things of old, do not consider:

But don't dwell on the past; don't concentrate on what happened back then.

19 Behold me! doing a new thing, Now, shall it spring forth, Will ye not take note thereof? Surely I will set In the desert, a way, In a desolate land, rivers:

Just look at something new I'm going to do now! In fact it's started already. Can't you see it? Yes, I'm making a way through the wilderness, rivers in the desert!

20 The wild beast of the field shall honour me, Jackals, and ostriches, Because I have given—In the desert, waters, Rivers in, desolate land, To give drink unto my people, my chosen:

The wild animals will be grateful to me, the jackals and the owls, because I'm providing water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert, so my people, my chosen people, can drink.

21 A people which I have fashioned for myself, My praise, shall they record.

I made this people for myself so that through their praise for me they could make me known.

22 Yet not upon me, hast thou called, O Jacob, —For thou hast been wearied of me O Israel:

But you haven't called on me for help, Jacob. You've grown tired of me, Israel.

23 Thou hast not brought in to me small cattle as thine ascending-offerings, Nor, with thy sacrifices, hast thou honoured me, —I have not oppressed thee with meal-offerings, Nor have I wearied thee with frankincense;

You haven't brought me sheep for burnt offerings; you haven't honored me with your sacrifices. I haven't burdened you by asking for grain offerings; I haven't tired you out by demanding incense.

24 Thou hast not bought for me with silver, fragrant calamus, Nor with the fat of thy sacrifices, hast thou sated me, —Thou hast done nothing but oppress me with thy sins, Thou hast wearied me with thine iniquities.

You haven't used your money to buy scented calamus; you have not pleased me with the fat of your sacrifices. Instead you have burdened me with your sins, and tired me out with your guilt.

25 I—I, am he that is ready, To wipe out thy transgressions for mine own sake, —And, thy sins, not remember.

I, yes I am the God who wipes out your sins because of who I am, and who doesn't remember your sins any more.

26 Put me in mind, Let us enter into judgment at once, —Recount, thou, that thou mayest be justified:

Remind me of the evidence so we can come to a decision together! Present your case to prove that you're right!

27 Thy chief father, hath sinned, And thine interpreters, have transgressed against me;

Your very first father sinned, and your leaders rebelled against me.

28 So then I must needs profane the rulers of the holy place, —And deliver Jacob to be devoted to destruction, and Israel, unto reviling!

So I treated the priests of the sanctuary with contempt, and I handed Jacob over to be destroyed, and Israel to be scorned.”