Text -- Isaiah 43:1-25 (NET)

The Lord Will Rescue His People

43:1 Now, this is what the Lord says, the one who created you, O Jacob, and formed you, O Israel: “Don’t be afraid, for I will protect you. I call you by name, you are mine. 43:2 When you pass through the waters, I am with you; when you pass through the streams, they will not overwhelm you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not harm you. 43:3 For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your deliverer. I have handed over Egypt as a ransom price, Ethiopia and Seba in place of you. 43:4 Since you are precious and special in my sight, and I love you, I will hand over people in place of you, nations in place of your life. 43:5 Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. From the east I will bring your descendants; from the west I will gather you. 43:6 I will say to the north, ‘Hand them over!’ and to the south, ‘Don’t hold any back!’ Bring my sons from distant lands, and my daughters from the remote regions of the earth, 43:7 everyone who belongs to me, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed– yes, whom I made!

The Lord Declares His Sovereignty

43:8 Bring out the people who are blind, even though they have eyes, those who are deaf, even though they have ears! 43:9 All nations gather together, the peoples assemble. Who among them announced this? Who predicted earlier events for us? Let them produce their witnesses to testify they were right; let them listen and affirm, ‘It is true.’ 43:10 You are my witnesses,” says the Lord, “my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may consider and believe in me, and understand that I am he. No god was formed before me, and none will outlive me. 43:11 I, I am the Lord, and there is no deliverer besides me. 43:12 I decreed and delivered and proclaimed, and there was no other god among you. You are my witnesses,” says the Lord, “that I am God. 43:13 From this day forward I am he; no one can deliver from my power; I will act, and who can prevent it?”

The Lord Will Do Something New

43:14 This is what the Lord says, your protector, the Holy One of Israel: “For your sake I send to Babylon and make them all fugitives, turning the Babylonians’ joyful shouts into mourning songs. 43:15 I am the Lord, your Holy One, the one who created Israel, your king.” 43:16 This is what the Lord says, the one who made a road through the sea, a pathway through the surging waters, 43:17 the one who led chariots and horses to destruction, together with a mighty army. They fell down, never to rise again; they were extinguished, put out like a burning wick: 43:18 “Don’t remember these earlier events; don’t recall these former events. 43:19 “Look, I am about to do something new. Now it begins to happen! Do you not recognize it? Yes, I will make a road in the desert and paths in the wilderness. 43:20 The wild animals of the desert honor me, the jackals and ostriches, because I put water in the desert and streams in the wilderness, to quench the thirst of my chosen people, 43:21 the people whom I formed for myself, so they might praise me.”

The Lord Rebukes His People

43:22 “But you did not call for me, O Jacob; you did not long for me, O Israel. 43:23 You did not bring me lambs for your burnt offerings; you did not honor me with your sacrifices. I did not burden you with offerings; I did not make you weary by demanding incense. 43:24 You did not buy me aromatic reeds; you did not present to me the fat of your sacrifices. Yet you burdened me with your sins; you made me weary with your evil deeds. 43:25 I, I am the one who blots out your rebellious deeds for my sake; your sins I do not remember.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Isa 43:1

¹ tn Or “redeem.” See the note at 41:14. Cf. NCV “saved you”; CEV “rescued you”; NLT “ransomed you.”

NET Notes: Isa 43:2

¹ tn The verb is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).

² tn Heb “burn” (so NASB); NAB, NRSV, NLT “consume”; NIV “set you ablaze.”

NET Notes: Isa 43:3

¹ sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.

² sn Seba is not the same as Sheba in southern Arabia; cf. Gen 1:10; 1 Chr 1:9.

NET Notes: Isa 43:4

¹ tn Heb “Since you are precious in my eyes and you are honored.”

NET Notes: Isa 43:7

¹ tn Heb “everyone who is called by my name” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV).

NET Notes: Isa 43:9

¹ tn Heb “and the former things was causing us to hear?”

NET Notes: Isa 43:10

¹ tn Or “know” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

² tn Heb “and after me, there will not be”; NASB “there will be none after Me.”

NET Notes: Isa 43:13

¹ tn Heb “hand” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NLT “No one can oppose what I do.”

NET Notes: Isa 43:14

¹ tn Or “kinsman redeemer.” See the note at 41:14.

² sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.

³ tn Heb “and I bring down [as] fugitives all of them.”

⁴ tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “as for the Babylonians, in ships their joyful shout.” This might be paraphrased, “even the Babylonians in the ships [over which] they joyfully shouted.” The point would be that the Lord caused the Babylonians to flee for safety in the ships in which they took such great pride. A slight change in vocalization yields the reading “into mourning songs,” which provides a good contrast with “joyful shout.” The prefixed bet (בְּ) would indicate identity.

NET Notes: Isa 43:15

¹ sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.

NET Notes: Isa 43:17

¹ tn Heb “led out chariots and horses.” The words “to destruction” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The verse refers to the destruction of the Egyptians at the Red Sea.

² tn Heb “lay down”; NAB “lie prostrate together”; CEV “lie dead”; NRSV “they lie down.”

NET Notes: Isa 43:18

¹ tn Heb “the former things” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NLT “forget all that.”

NET Notes: Isa 43:19

¹ tn Heb “sprouts up”; NASB “will spring forth.”

² tn Or “know” (KJV, ASV); NASB “be aware of”; NAB, NIV, NRSV “perceive.”

³ tn The Hebrew texts has “streams,” probably under the influence of v. 20. The Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a has נתיבות (“paths”).

NET Notes: Isa 43:21

¹ tn Heb “[so] they might declare my praise.”

NET Notes: Isa 43:22

¹ tn Or “strive”; KJV, ASV, NRSV “been weary of me.”

NET Notes: Isa 43:23

¹ tn Heb “with.” The words “by demanding” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

NET Notes: Isa 43:24

¹ tn That is, “calamus” (so NIV); NCV, TEV, NLT “incense”; CEV “spices.”

² tn Heb “you did not saturate me”; NASB “Neither have you filled Me.”

³ sn In vv. 22-24 the Lord appears to be condemning his people for failure to bring the proper sacrifices. However, this is problematic. If this refers to the nation’s behavior while in exile, such cultic service was impossible and could hardly be expected by the Lord. If this refers to the nation’s conduct before the exile, it contradicts other passages that depict Israel as bringing excessive sacrifices (see, e.g., Isa 1:11-14; Jer 6:20; Amos 4:4-5, 5:21-23). Rather than being a condemnation of Israel’s failure to bring sacrifices, these verses are better taken as a highly rhetorical comment on the worthlessness of Israel’s religious ritual. They may have brought sacrifices, but not to the Lord, for he did not accept them or even want them. See C. R. North, Second Isaiah, 127, and R. Whybray, Isaiah 40-66 (NCBC), 91.