CHAPTER 43

1 And now thus saith Jehovah, Thy Creator, O Jacob, And thy Former, O Israel; Fear not, for I have redeemed (thee); I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.

2 When thou shalt pass through the waters, I will be with thee; Through rivers, they shall not overflow thee; When thou shalt pass through the fire itself, thou shalt not be scorched; And the flame shall not kindle on thee.

3 For I am Jehovah thy God; The Holy One of Israel, thy Savior; I have given Egypt as the price of thy redemption, Ethiopia And Sheba in thy room.

4 Because thou hast been precious in my eyes, Thou hast been honorable, And I have loved thee. I will give a man in thy stead, And peoples instead of thy soul.

5 Fear not, for I am with thee; I will bring thy seed from the East, And I will gather thee from the West.

6 I will say to the North, Give; And to the South, Hinder not; Bring my sons from a distance, And my daughters from the end of the earth.

7 All are called by my name, And I have created them for my glory; I have formed them; yea, I have made them.

8 That I may bring forth the blind people, who have eyes; And the deaf, who have ears.

9 Let all the nations be assembled together, And let the peoples be gathered. Who is there among them to declare this, And to cause us to hear the former things? Let them produce their witnesses, they shall be declared righteous; But let them hear, And they shall says, It is truth.

10 Ye are my witnesses, saith Jehovah, And my servant, whom I have chosen. Therefore ye shall know And believe me; And ye shall understand that I am He; Before me there was no god formed; Nor shall there be after me.

11 I, I ¹ am Jehovah; And there is no Savior besides me.

12 I have declared, And have saved, And have made you to heat; And there is no strange (god) among you. Ye are my witnesses, saith Jehovah, That I am God.

13 Even before the day was, I was; And there is none to deliver out of my hand. I will do; And who shall disannul it?

14 Thus saith Jehovah, your Redeemer, The Holy One of Israel; For your sake have I sent to Babylon, And have made them come down. They are all fugitives; And the cry of the Babylonians is in the ships.

15 I am Jehovah, your Holy One; The Creator of Israel, your King.

16 Thus saith Jehovah, Who maketh a way in the sea, And a path in the stormy waters.

17 When he bringeth (them) out, The chariot And the horse, The army And the power, Lie down together, so that they do not rise. They are quenched; they are quenched like flax.

18 Remember not the former things, And mention not the things that are ancient.

19 Behold, I do a new thing; Now it shall arise; Shall ye not know it? This time ² I will make a way ill the wilderness, Rivers in the desert.

20 The beast of the field shall honor me; The dragons, And the young of the ostrich; Because I will give waters in the wilderness, Rivers in the desert, To give drink to my people, my chosen.

21 This people have I created for myself; They shall declare my praise.

22 And thou hast not called on me, O Jacob; But thou hast been wearied of me, O Israel.

23 Thou hast not brought to me the cattle of thy burnt-offerings; And thou hast not honored me with thy sacrifices; I have not made thee to serve with offering, Nor to be wearied with incense.

24 Thou hast not bought cane for me with money, And hast not made me drunk with the fat of thy sacrifices; But thou hast made me to serve with thy sills; And thou hast made me to weary with thine iniquities.

25 I, I ³ am He, Who blot out thine iniquities for my own sake; Therefore I will not remember thy sins.

26 Bring to my remembrance; Let us plead together; declare thou, that thou mayest be justified.

27 Thy first father hath sinned, And thy teachers have transgressed against me.

28 Therefore I will pollute the princes of the sanctuary; And I will make Jacob a curse, And Israel a reproach.