UNROLL
A river ford at first light: shallow, fast water running over stones, a path going down into it and coming out on the far bank among willows.

Comfort My people

Isaiah 43

What waters are you walking through right now?

28 verses≈ 5 minBSB

Images are artistic interpretations.

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Where we are

  1. 1–5Zion on trialJudah’s sin, the mountain raised, the vineyard’s song
  2. 6Holy, holy, holyIsaiah’s call, in the year King Uzziah died (about 740 BC)
  3. 7–12ImmanuelAhaz’s fear, the sign, the Child, the shoot of Jesse
  4. 13–23The nations judgedBabylon to Tyre: the LORD is Judge of all the earth
  5. 24–27The whole earthThe earth laid waste, and death swallowed up
  6. 28–35Woe and a KingEgypt’s help or the LORD’s, and the King in His beauty
  7. 36–39Hezekiah’s crisisSennacherib, 701 BC: the prayer, the sickness, the envoys
  8. 40–48Comfort My peopleTo the exiles ahead: Cyrus, the idols, the ServantChapter 43
  9. 49–55The Servant and ZionPierced for our transgressions; Zion restored
  10. 56–66New heavens and earthA house of prayer, the Anointed One, all things new

Israel’s Only Savior

God

But now, this is what the LORD says—

He who created you, O Jacob,

and He who formed you, O Israel:

“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;

I have called you by your name; you are Mine!

Tap to go deeper: meaning, history and related Scripture

God

When you pass through the waters,

I will be with you;

and when you go through the rivers,

they will not overwhelm you.

When you walk through the fire,

you will not be scorched;

the flames will not set you ablaze.

Isaiah 43:2

God

For I am the LORD your God,

the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;

I give Egypt for your ransom,

Cush and Seba in your place.

Because you are precious and honored in My sight,

and because I love you,

I will give men in exchange for you

and nations in place of your life.

God
Early morning seen from a hilltop: several roads across a wide plain converging on one road that climbs into the hills, small groups of families walking on each.

Do not be afraid, for I am with you;

I will bring your offspring from the east

and gather you from the west.

I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’

and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back!’

Bring My sons from afar,

and My daughters from the ends of the earth—

God

everyone called by My name and created for My glory,

whom I have indeed formed and made.”

God

Bring out a people who have eyes but are blind,

and who have ears but are deaf.

All the nations gather together

and the peoples assemble.

Who among them can declare this,

and proclaim to us the former things?

Let them present their witnesses to vindicate them,

so that others may hear and say, “It is true.”

God

“You are My witnesses,” declares the LORD, “and My servant whom I have chosen, so that you may consider and believe Me and understand that I am He. Before Me no god was formed, and after Me none will come.

God

I, yes I, am the LORD,

and there is no Savior but Me.

God

I alone decreed and saved and proclaimed—

I, and not some foreign god among you.

So you are My witnesses,” declares the LORD,

“that I am God.

Even from eternity I am He,

and none can deliver out of My hand.

When I act, who can reverse it?”

Question

Quick question

The LORD has put the idols on trial. Read verses 10 and 12 again before you answer.

What does the LORD call His people in 43:10 and 12?

A Way in the Wilderness

God
Babylon’s river quay on the Euphrates in the morning: reed-bundle and plank river boats moored along a mud-brick embankment, the great flat-topped wall behind.

Thus says the LORD your Redeemer,

the Holy One of Israel:

“For your sake, I will send to Babylon

and bring them all as fugitives,

even the Chaldeans,

in the ships in which they rejoice.

God

I am the LORD, your Holy One,

the Creator of Israel, and your King.”

God
In the gray before dawn, a chariot's six-spoked wheel twisted and sunk in the wet seabed, horses straining in the mud behind.

Thus says the LORD, who makes a way in the sea

and a path through the surging waters,

who brings out the chariots and horses,

the armies and warriors together,

to lie down, never to rise again;

to be extinguished, snuffed out like a wick:

God

“Do not call to mind the former things;

pay no attention to the things of old.

God
A broad, dry wilderness valley of tan rock with a clear stream running through the middle, a green strip of reeds and grass along its banks, in the morning.

Behold, I am about to do something new;

even now it is coming. Do you not see it?

Indeed, I will make a way in the wilderness

and streams in the desert.

God
God

The beasts of the field will honor Me,

the jackals and the ostriches,

because I provide water in the wilderness

and rivers in the desert,

to give drink to My chosen people.

God

The people I formed for Myself

will declare My praise.

Israel’s Unfaithfulness

God

But you have not called on Me, O Jacob,

because you have grown weary of Me, O Israel.

God
God

You have not brought Me sheep for burnt offerings,

nor honored Me with your sacrifices.

I have not burdened you with offerings,

nor wearied you with frankincense.

You have not bought Me sweet cane with your silver,

nor satisfied Me with the fat of your sacrifices.

But you have burdened Me with your sins;

you have wearied Me with your iniquities.

God

I, yes I, am He

who blots out your transgressions for My own sake

and remembers your sins no more.

Isaiah 43:25

God

Remind Me, let us argue the matter together.

State your case, so that you may be vindicated.

Your first father sinned,

and your spokesmen rebelled against Me.

God
The temple court of fallen Jerusalem: fallen stones, the great altar cracked and cold, weeds growing in the paving, a gray sky above.

So I will disgrace the princes of your sanctuary,

and I will devote Jacob to destruction and Israel to reproach.”

0:08

Narrated by Bob Souer · BSB audio, public domain

Pray

Pray

LORD, thank You for calling me by name and making me Yours. Be with me in the waters and the fire. You blot out my sins for Your own sake; let me never grow weary of You. Amen.

You’ve experienced

Isaiah 43

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A verse to carry with you

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you go through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched; the flames will not set you ablaze.

Isaiah 43:2

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