Isaiah 43:8-21

Lead out those who have eyes but are blind, those who have ears but are deaf. Let all the nations gather together and the people assemble. Which of their gods prophesied this? Which of them foretold what is about to happen? Let them bring out their witnesses to make their case; let them take the stand and testify, “It is true.” YAHWEH says, “You are my witnesses, my chosen servants. I chose you in order that you would know me intimately, believe me always, and fully understand that I am the only God. There was no god before me, and there will be no other god after me. I, only I, am YAHWEH, and there is no Savior-God but me. I am the only one who revealed this to you. I saved you, foretold the future, and brought it to pass. It was not some foreign god who did this! You are my witnesses that I am God,” declares YAHWEH. “From the very beginning, I am the only God! No one can be snatched from my hand. When I choose to act, who can reverse it?” This is what YAHWEH, your Kinsman-Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, says: “For your good, I will send for the Babylonians; I will bring them all as fugitives and turn the shouting of the Chaldeans into mourning. I am YAHWEH, your Holy One and your King, the Creator of Israel.” YAHWEH is the one who makes a way in the sea, a pathway in the mighty waters. He destroyed chariots and horses and all their mighty warriors. They fell, never to rise again— gone forever, snuffed out like a wick. This is what he says: “Stop dwelling on the past. Don’t even remember these former things. I am doing something brand new, something unheard of. Even now it sprouts and grows and matures. Don’t you perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and open up flowing streams in the desert. Wild beasts, jackals, and owls will glorify me. For I supply streams of water in the desert and rivers in the wilderness to satisfy the thirst of my people, my chosen ones, so that you, whom I have shaped and formed for myself, will proclaim my praise.