Isaiah 43:15-28

43:15 I am the Lord, your Holy One, ¹ 

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, ² 

together with a mighty army.

They fell down, ³  never to rise again;

they were extinguished, put out like a burning wick:

43:18 “Don’t remember these earlier events; ⁴ 

don’t recall these former events.

43:19 “Look, I am about to do something new.

Now it begins to happen! ⁵  Do you not recognize ⁶  it?

Yes, I will make a road in the desert

and paths ⁷  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.” ⁸ 

The Lord Rebukes His People

43:22 “But you did not call for me, O Jacob;

you did not long ⁹  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 ¹⁰  incense.

43:24 You did not buy me aromatic reeds; ¹¹ 

you did not present to me ¹²  the fat of your sacrifices.

Yet you burdened me with your sins;

you made me weary with your evil deeds. ¹³ 

43:25 I, I am the one who blots out your rebellious deeds for my sake;

your sins I do not remember.

43:26 Remind me of what happened! Let’s debate!

You, prove to me that you are right! ¹⁴ 

43:27 The father of your nation ¹⁵  sinned;

your spokesmen ¹⁶  rebelled against me.

43:28 So I defiled your holy princes,

and handed Jacob over to destruction,

and subjected ¹⁷  Israel to humiliating abuse.”

[43:15]  ¹ sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.

[43:17]  ² 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.

[43:17]  ³ tn Heb “lay down”; NAB “lie prostrate together”; CEV “lie dead”; NRSV “they lie down.”

[43:18]  ⁴ tn Heb “the former things” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NLT “forget all that.”

[43:19]  ⁵ tn Heb “sprouts up”; NASB “will spring forth.”

[43:19]  ⁶ tn Or “know” (KJV, ASV); NASB “be aware of”; NAB, NIV, NRSV “perceive.”

[43:19]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew texts has “streams,” probably under the influence of v. 20. The Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a has נתיבות (“paths”).

[43:21]  ⁸ tn Heb “[so] they might declare my praise.”

[43:22]  ⁹ tn Or “strive”; KJV, ASV, NRSV “been weary of me.”

[43:23]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “with.” The words “by demanding” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[43:24]  ¹¹ tn That is, “calamus” (so NIV); NCV, TEV, NLT “incense”; CEV “spices.”

[43:24]  ¹² tn Heb “you did not saturate me”; NASB “Neither have you filled Me.”

[43:24]  ¹³ 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.

[43:26]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “you, tell in order that you may be right”; NAB “prove your innocence.”

[43:27]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “your first father.” This could refer to Abraham (see 51:2), but elsewhere in Isaiah he does not appear in a negative light (see 29:22; 41:8; 63:16). A more likely candidate is Jacob/Israel, also referred to as the nation’s “father” elsewhere (see 58:14; 63:16).

[43:27]  ¹⁶ tn On the meaning of the term לִיץ (lits), see HALOT 590 s.v. מֵלִיץ. This may refer to the nation’s prophets, priests, and/or kings.

[43:28]  ¹⁷ tn The word “subjected” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.