Isaiah
In the midst of the flames, you shall not be burned
43
3 For I am your savior,
3 I, Yahweh, your God,
3 the Holy One of Israel.
3 I give Egypt for your ransom,
3 Ethiopia and Seba in exchange for you.
4 Since you are precious in my sight,
4 and important – for I have loved you,
4 I give people in exchange for you
4 and nations in return for your life.
5 Fear not, for I am with you:
5 I will bring your children from the east
5 and gather you from the west.
6 I will say to the north, “Give them up!”
6 and to the south, “Do not hold them!”
6 Bring back my sons from afar,
6 my daughters from the ends of the earth,
7 all those called by my name
7 all I have created for my glory.
8 Lead out my people –
8 who have eyes but are blind,
8 who have ears but are deaf.
10 You are my witnesses, says Yah weh, 10 you are my servant whom I have chosen,
10 that you may know and believe me
10 and understand that I am He.
10 Before me no God was formed,
10 neither will there be one after me.
11 I, I am Yahweh,
11 there is no savior but me.
12 It is I who have foretold;
12 I have spoken and made it known,
12 I, not any of your foreign gods.
12 Therefore you are my witnesses
12 – it is Yahweh who speaks,
12 I am God.
13 From ever I am God
13 there is no one who can deliver from my hand.
13 I act, and what I do no one undoes.
14 Thus says Yahweh,
14 your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
14 For your sake I send an army to Baby lon
14 to bring down all their bars.
14 The Chaldeans’ shout of joy
14 will turn into lamentation.
17 who brought down chariots and horses,
17 a whole army of them,
17 and there they lay, never to rise again,
17 snuffed out like a wick.
18 But do not dwell on the past,
18 or remember the things of old.
22 You have not called upon me, O Jacob, 22 indeed you were tired of me, O Israel;
23 neither have you brought me sheep for burnt offerings,
23 nor honored me with your sacrifices.
23 I have not burdened you with offerings,
23 nor wearied you asking for incense.
24 You have not spent money on sweet frankincense for me,
24 neither have you satisfied me with the fat of your sacrifices.
24 Instead you have burdened me with your sins
24 and wearied me with your offenses.
25 I it is, I am He
25 who blots out your offenses for my own sake,
25 and remembers your sins no more.
26 Remind me about the past;
26 let us argue together.
26 Speak up and prove your innocence.
27 Your first father sinned, and your mediators have rebelled against me. 28 Therefore I have disgraced the dignitaries of your temple, I have consigned Jacob to destruction, Israel to scorn.