Commentary on Isaiah - Volume 3

1And now thus saith Jehovah, Thy Creator, O Jacob, And thy Former, O Israel; Fear not, for I have redeemed (thee); I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.

2When thou shalt pass through the waters, I will be with thee; Through rivers, they shall not overflow thee; When thou shalt pass through the fire itself, thou shalt not be scorched; And the flame shall not kindle on thee.

3For I am Jehovah thy God; The Holy One of Israel, thy Savior; I have given Egypt as the price of thy redemption, Ethiopia And Sheba in thy room.

4Because thou hast been precious in my eyes, Thou hast been honorable, And I have loved thee. I will give a man in thy stead, And peoples instead of thy soul.

5Fear not, for I am with thee; I will bring thy seed from the East, And I will gather thee from the West.

6I will say to the North, Give; And to the South, Hinder not; Bring my sons from a distance, And my daughters from the end of the earth.

7All are called by my name, And I have created them for my glory; I have formed them; yea, I have made them.

8That I may bring forth the blind people, who have eyes; And the deaf, who have ears.

9Let all the nations be assembled together, And let the peoples be gathered. Who is there among them to declare this, And to cause us to hear the former things? Let them produce their witnesses, they shall be declared righteous; But let them hear, And they shall says, It is truth.

10Ye are my witnesses, saith Jehovah, And my servant, whom I have chosen. Therefore ye shall know And believe me; And ye shall understand that I am He; Before me there was no god formed; Nor shall there be after me.

11I, I ²⁷⁰ am Jehovah; And there is no Savior besides me.

12I have declared, And have saved, And have made you to heat; And there is no strange (god) among you. Ye are my witnesses, saith Jehovah, That I am God.

13Even before the day was, I was; And there is none to deliver out of my hand. I will do; And who shall disannul it?

14Thus saith Jehovah, your Redeemer, The Holy One of Israel; For your sake have I sent to Babylon, And have made them come down. They are all fugitives; And the cry of the Babylonians is in the ships.

15I am Jehovah, your Holy One; The Creator of Israel, your King.

16Thus saith Jehovah, Who maketh a way in the sea, And a path in the stormy waters.

17When he bringeth (them) out, The chariot And the horse, The army And the power, Lie down together, so that they do not rise. They are quenched; they are quenched like flax.

18Remember not the former things, And mention not the things that are ancient.

19Behold, I do a new thing; Now it shall arise; Shall ye not know it? This time ²⁷¹ I will make a way ill the wilderness, Rivers in the desert.

20The beast of the field shall honor me; The dragons, And the young of the ostrich; Because I will give waters in the wilderness, Rivers in the desert, To give drink to my people, my chosen.

21This people have I created for myself; They shall declare my praise.

22And thou hast not called on me, O Jacob; But thou hast been wearied of me, O Israel.

23Thou hast not brought to me the cattle of thy burnt-offerings; And thou hast not honored me with thy sacrifices; I have not made thee to serve with offering, Nor to be wearied with incense.

24Thou hast not bought cane for me with money, And hast not made me drunk with the fat of thy sacrifices; But thou hast made me to serve with thy sills; And thou hast made me to weary with thine iniquities.

25I, I ²⁷² am He, Who blot out thine iniquities for my own sake; Therefore I will not remember thy sins.

26Bring to my remembrance; Let us plead together; declare thou, that thou mayest be justified.

27Thy first father hath sinned, And thy teachers have transgressed against me.

28Therefore I will pollute the princes of the sanctuary; And I will make Jacob a curse, And Israel a reproach.