43 1 The Lord comforteth his people. He promiseth deliverance to the Jews. 11 There is no God but one alone.
1 But now thus saith the Lord, [a]that created thee, O Jacob: and he that formed thee, O Israel, [b]Fear not: for I have redeemed thee: I have called thee by thy name, thou art mine.
2 When thou passest through the [c]waters, I will be with thee, and through the floods, that they do not overflow thee. When thou walkest through the very fire, thou shalt not be burnt, neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.
3 For I am the Lord thy God, the holy one of Israel, thy Savior: I gave [d]Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia, and Seba for thee.
4 Because thou wast precious in my sight, and thou wast honorable, and I loved thee, therefore will I give [e]man for thee, and people for thy sake.
5 Fear not, for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the [f]East, and gather thee from the West.
6 I will say to the North, Give: and to the South, Keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth.
7 Everyone shall be called by my [g]Name: for I created him for my glory, formed him and made him.
8 I will bring forth the blind people, and they shall have eyes, and the deaf, and they shall have ears.
9 Let all the nations be gathered [h]together, and let the people be assembled: who among them can declare this, and show us former things? let them bring forth their [i]witnesses, that they may be justified: but let them [j]hear, and say, It is truth.
10 You [k]are my witnesses, saith the Lord, and my [l]servant, whom I have chosen: therefore ye shall know and believe me, and ye shall understand that I am: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.
11 I, even I am the Lord, and beside me there is no Savior.
12 I have declared, and I have saved, and I have showed, when there was no strange god among you: therefore you are my witnesses, saith the Lord, that I am God.
13 Yea, before the day was, I am, and there is none that can deliver out of mine hand: I will do it, and who shall let it?
14 Thus saith the Lord your redeemer, the holy one of Israel, For your sake I have sent to Babel, and [m]brought it down: they are all fugitives, and the Chaldeans cry in [n]the ships.
15 I am the Lord your holy one, the creator of Israel, your King.
16 Thus saith the Lord which maketh a way in [o]the Sea, and a path in the mighty [p]waters.
17 When he [q]bringeth out the [r]chariot and horse, the army and the power lie together, and shall not rise, they are extinct, and quenched as tow.
18 Remember ye not the former things, neither regard the things of old.
19 Behold, I do a new thing: now shall it come forth: shall you not know it? I will even make a way in the [s]desert, and floods in the wilderness.
20 The wild [t]beasts shall honor me, the dragons and the ostriches, because I gave water in the desert, and floods in the wilderness to give drink to my people, even to mine elect.
21 This people have I formed for myself: they shall show forth my praise.
22 And thou hast not [u]called upon me, O Jacob, but thou hast [v]wearied me, O Israel.
23 Thou [w]hast not brought me the sheep of thy burnt offerings, neither hast thou honored me with thy sacrifices. I have not caused thee to serve with an offering, nor wearied thee with incense.
24 Thou broughtest me no sweet [x]savor with money, neither hast thou made me drunk with the fat of thy sacrifices, but thou hast made me to [y]serve with thy sins, and wearied me with thine iniquities.
25 I, even I am he that putteth away thine iniquities for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.
26 Put me in [z]remembrance: let us be judged together: count thou that thou mayest be justified.
27 Thy [aa]first father hath sinned, and thy [ab]teachers have transgressed against me.
28 Therefore I have [ac]profaned the rulers of the Sanctuary, and have made Jacob a curse, and Israel a reproach.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 43:1 After these threatenings he promiseth deliverance to his Church, because he hath regenerated them, adopted them, and called them.
- Isaiah 43:1 When thou seest dangers and conspiracies on all sides, remember this benefit and the love of thy God, and it shall encourage thee.
- Isaiah 43:2 By water and fire he meaneth all kind of troubles and perils.
- Isaiah 43:3 I turned Sennacherib’s power against these countries, and made them to suffer that affliction which thou shouldest have done, and so were as the payment of thy ransom, Isa. 37:9.
- Isaiah 43:4 I will not spare any man, rather than thou shouldest perish, for God more esteemeth one of his faithful than all the wicked in the world.
- Isaiah 43:5 He prophesieth of their deliverance from the captivity of Babylon, and so of the calling of the universal Church, alluding to that which is written, Deut. 30:3.
- Isaiah 43:7 Meaning, that he could not be unmindful of them, except he would neglect his own Name and glory.
- Isaiah 43:9 Signifying, that no power can resist him in doing this miraculous work, nor all their idols are able to do the like, as Isa. 41:22.
- Isaiah 43:9 To prove that the things which are spoken of them, are true.
- Isaiah 43:9 Showing, that the malice of the wicked hindereth them in the knowledge of the truth, because they will not hear when God speaketh by his word.
- Isaiah 43:10 The Prophets and people to whom I have given my Law.
- Isaiah 43:10 Meaning specially Christ, and by him all the faithful.
- Isaiah 43:14 By Darius and Cyrus.
- Isaiah 43:14 They shall cry when they would escape by my water, seeing that the course of Euphrates is turned another way by the enemy.
- Isaiah 43:16 When he delivered Israel from Pharaoh, Exod. 14:22.
- Isaiah 43:16 When the Israelites passed through Jordan, Josh. 3:17.
- Isaiah 43:17 When he delivered his people out of Egypt.
- Isaiah 43:17 Pharaoh and his mighty army.
- Isaiah 43:19 Meaning, that their deliverance out of Babylon should be more famous than that from Egypt was, Jer. 23:7; Hag. 2:10; 2 Cor. 5:17; Rev. 21:5, 7.
- Isaiah 43:20 They shall have such abundance of all things as they return home, even in the dry and barren places, that the very beasts shall feel my benefits, and shall acknowledge them: much more men ought to be thankful for the same.
- Isaiah 43:22 Thou hast not worshipped me as thou oughtest to have done.
- Isaiah 43:22 Because thou hast not willingly received that which I did command thee, thou didst grieve me. Whereby he showeth that his mercies were the only cause of their deliverance, forasmuch as they had deserved the contrary.
- Isaiah 43:23 Meaning, in true faith and obedience.
- Isaiah 43:24 Either for the composition of the sweet ointment, Exod. 30:34, or for the sweet incense, Exod. 30:7.
- Isaiah 43:24 Thou hast made me to bear an heavy burden by thy sins.
- Isaiah 43:26 If I forget anything that may make for thy justification, put me in remembrance and speak for thyself.
- Isaiah 43:27 Thine ancestors.
- Isaiah 43:27 Thy Priests and thy Prophets.
- Isaiah 43:28 That is, rejected, abhorred, and destroyed them in the wilderness and at other times.