Isaiah 43:8-21

Bring out the people who have eyes but don’t see and those who have ears but don’t hear. All the nations gather together, and all the people come together. Which of their gods said this would happen? Which of their gods can tell what happened in the beginning? Let them bring their witnesses to prove they were right. Then others will say, “It is true.” The LORD says, “You are my witnesses and the servant I chose. I chose you so you would know and believe me, so you would understand that I am the true God. There was no God before me, and there will be no God after me. I myself am the LORD; I am the only Savior. I myself have spoken to you, saved you, and told you these things. It was not some foreign god among you. You are my witnesses, and I am God,” says the LORD. “I have always been God. No one can save people from my power; when I do something, no one can change it.” This is what the LORD, who saves you, the Holy One of Israel, says: “I will send armies to Babylon for you, and I will knock down all its locked gates. The Babylonians will shout their cries of sorrow. I am the LORD, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King.” This is what the LORD says. He is the one who made a road through the sea and a path through rough waters. He is the one who defeated the chariots and horses and the mighty armies. They fell together and will never rise again. They were destroyed as a flame is put out. The LORD says, “Forget what happened before, and do not think about the past. Look at the new thing I am going to do. It is already happening. Don’t you see it? I will make a road in the desert and rivers in the dry land. Even the wild animals will be thankful to me— the wild dogs and owls. They will honor me when I put water in the desert and rivers in the dry land to give water to my people, the ones I chose. The people I made will sing songs to praise me.