Isaiah 43:1-24

Now this is what the LORD says. He created you, people of Jacob; he formed you, people of Israel. He says, “Don’t be afraid, because I have saved you. I have called you by name, and you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you. When you cross rivers, you will not drown. When you walk through fire, you will not be burned, nor will the flames hurt you. This is because I, the LORD, am your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I gave Egypt to pay for you, and I gave Cush and Seba to make you mine. Because you are precious to me, because I give you honor and love you, I will give other people in your place; I will give other nations to save your life. Don’t be afraid, because I am with you. I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west. I will tell the north: Give my people to me. I will tell the south: Don’t keep my people in prison. Bring my sons from far away and my daughters from faraway places. Bring to me all the people who are mine, whom I made for my glory, whom I formed and made.” 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. “People of Jacob, you have not called to me; people of Israel, you have become tired of me. You have not brought me your sacrifices of sheep nor honored me with your sacrifices. I did not weigh you down with sacrifices to offer or make you tired with incense to burn. So you did not buy incense for me; you did not freely bring me fat from your sacrifices. Instead you have weighed me down with your many sins; you have made me tired of your many wrongs.