Israel Blind and Deaf

18 “Hear, you deaf;(A)
    look, you blind, and see!
19 Who is blind(B) but my servant,(C)
    and deaf like the messenger(D) I send?
Who is blind like the one in covenant(E) with me,
    blind like the servant of the Lord?
20 You have seen many things, but you pay no attention;
    your ears are open, but you do not listen.”(F)
21 It pleased the Lord
    for the sake(G) of his righteousness
    to make his law(H) great and glorious.
22 But this is a people plundered(I) and looted,
    all of them trapped in pits(J)
    or hidden away in prisons.(K)
They have become plunder,
    with no one to rescue them;(L)
they have been made loot,
    with no one to say, “Send them back.”

23 Which of you will listen to this
    or pay close attention(M) in time to come?
24 Who handed Jacob over to become loot,
    and Israel to the plunderers?(N)
Was it not the Lord,(O)
    against whom we have sinned?
For they would not follow(P) his ways;
    they did not obey his law.(Q)
25 So he poured out on them his burning anger,(R)
    the violence of war.
It enveloped them in flames,(S) yet they did not understand;(T)
    it consumed them, but they did not take it to heart.(U)

Israel’s Only Savior

43 But now, this is what the Lord says—
    he who created(V) you, Jacob,
    he who formed(W) you, Israel:(X)
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed(Y) you;
    I have summoned you by name;(Z) you are mine.(AA)
When you pass through the waters,(AB)
    I will be with you;(AC)
and when you pass through the rivers,
    they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,(AD)
    you will not be burned;
    the flames will not set you ablaze.(AE)
For I am the Lord your God,(AF)
    the Holy One(AG) of Israel, your Savior;(AH)
I give Egypt(AI) for your ransom,
    Cush[a](AJ) and Seba(AK) in your stead.(AL)
Since you are precious and honored(AM) in my sight,
    and because I love(AN) you,
I will give people in exchange for you,
    nations in exchange for your life.
Do not be afraid,(AO) for I am with you;(AP)
    I will bring your children(AQ) from the east
    and gather(AR) you from the west.(AS)
I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’
    and to the south,(AT) ‘Do not hold them back.’
Bring my sons from afar
    and my daughters(AU) from the ends of the earth(AV)
everyone who is called by my name,(AW)
    whom I created(AX) for my glory,(AY)
    whom I formed and made.(AZ)

Lead out those who have eyes but are blind,(BA)
    who have ears but are deaf.(BB)
All the nations gather together(BC)
    and the peoples assemble.
Which of their gods foretold(BD) this
    and proclaimed to us the former things?
Let them bring in their witnesses to prove they were right,
    so that others may hear and say, “It is true.”
10 “You are my witnesses,(BE)” declares the Lord,
    “and my servant(BF) whom I have chosen,
so that you may know(BG) and believe me
    and understand that I am he.
Before me no god(BH) was formed,
    nor will there be one after me.(BI)
11 I, even I, am the Lord,(BJ)
    and apart from me there is no savior.(BK)
12 I have revealed and saved and proclaimed—
    I, and not some foreign god(BL) among you.
You are my witnesses,(BM)” declares the Lord, “that I am God.
13     Yes, and from ancient days(BN) I am he.(BO)
No one can deliver out of my hand.
    When I act, who can reverse it?”(BP)

God’s Mercy and Israel’s Unfaithfulness

14 This is what the Lord says—
    your Redeemer,(BQ) the Holy One(BR) of Israel:
“For your sake I will send to Babylon
    and bring down as fugitives(BS) all the Babylonians,[b](BT)
    in the ships in which they took pride.
15 I am the Lord,(BU) your Holy One,
    Israel’s Creator,(BV) your King.(BW)

16 This is what the Lord says—
    he who made a way through the sea,
    a path through the mighty waters,(BX)
17 who drew out(BY) the chariots and horses,(BZ)
    the army and reinforcements together,(CA)
and they lay(CB) there, never to rise again,
    extinguished, snuffed out like a wick:(CC)
18 “Forget the former things;(CD)
    do not dwell on the past.
19 See, I am doing a new thing!(CE)
    Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness(CF)
    and streams in the wasteland.(CG)
20 The wild animals(CH) honor me,
    the jackals(CI) and the owls,
because I provide water(CJ) in the wilderness
    and streams in the wasteland,
to give drink to my people, my chosen,
21     the people I formed(CK) for myself(CL)
    that they may proclaim my praise.(CM)

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 43:3 That is, the upper Nile region
  2. Isaiah 43:14 Or Chaldeans

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