Isaiah 43

1 And now, thus said Jehovah, Thy Creator, O Jacob, and thy Fashioner, O Israel, Be not afraid, for I have redeemed thee, I have called on thy name — thou [art] Mine.

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 into waters, I [am] with thee, And into floods, they do not overflow thee, When thou goest into fire, thou art not burnt, And a flame doth not burn against 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 — Jehovah thy God, The Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour, I have appointed Egypt thine atonement, Cush 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 Since thou wast precious in Mine eyes, Thou wast honoured, and I have loved thee, And I appoint men in thy stead, And peoples instead of 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 Be not afraid, for I [am] with thee, From the east I bring in thy seed, And from the west 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 am saying to the north, 'Give up,' And to the south, 'Restrain not.' Bring in My sons from afar, 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, Even for My honour I have created him, I have formed him, yea, I have made him.

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

8 He brought out a blind people who have eyes, And deaf ones who have ears.

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

9 All the nations have been gathered together, And the peoples are assembled, Who among them declareth this, And former things causeth us to hear? They give their witnesses, And they are declared righteous, And they 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, an affirmation of Jehovah, And My servant whom I have chosen, So that ye know and give credence to Me, And understand that I [am] He, Before Me there was no God formed, And after Me there is none.

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] Jehovah, And besides Me there is no saviour.

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

12 I — I declared, and saved, and proclaimed, And there is no stranger with you, And ye [are] My witnesses, an affirmation of Jehovah, And 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 the day I [am] He, And there is no deliverer from My hand, I work, and who doth turn it back?

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

14 Thus said Jehovah, your Redeemer, The Holy One of Israel: 'For your sake I have sent to Babylon, And caused bars to descend — all of them, And the Chaldeans, whose song [is] in the ships.

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 [am] Jehovah, your Holy One, Creator of Israel, your King.'

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

16 Thus said Jehovah, Who is giving in the sea a way, And in the strong 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 is bringing forth chariot and horse, A force, even a strong one: 'Together they lie down — they rise not, They have been extinguished, As flax they have been 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 Remember not former things, And ancient things consider not.

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

19 Lo, I am doing a new thing, now it springeth up, Do ye not know it? Yea, I put in a wilderness a way, In a desolate place — floods.

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 Honour me doth the beast of the field, Dragons and daughters of an ostrich, For I have given in a wilderness waters, Floods in a desolate place, To give drink to 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 This people I have formed for Myself, My praise they recount.

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

22 And Me thou hast not 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, The lamb of thy burnt-offerings, And [with] thy sacrifices thou hast not honoured Me, I have not caused thee to serve with a present, Nor 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 money sweet cane, And [with] the fat of thy sacrifices hast not filled Me, Only — thou hast caused Me to serve 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 who is blotting out Thy transgressions for Mine own sake, And thy sins I do 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 Cause me to remember — we are judged together, Declare 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 first father sinned, And thine interpreters transgressed against me,

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

28 And I pollute princes of the sanctuary, And I give Jacob to destruction, and Israel to revilings!

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