We hear God speak some of the most intimate words in all of Scripture to His exiled people. 'Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.' Through fire and through water, God promises to be with Israel. Nations will be given as ransom because Israel is precious in God's eyes. The chapter moves from this tender opening to a second trial scene where Israel serves as God's witnesses against the idols (vv.8-13). Then comes the announcement of a new exodus — 'Behold, I am doing a new thing' (v.19) — that will surpass even the original deliverance from Egypt. The chapter closes with a devastating reversal: despite God's grace, Israel has burdened Him with sins, yet God declares, 'I am He who blots out your transgressions for my own sake' (v.25).
What Makes This Chapter Remarkable
Verse 1 contains three of the most powerful clauses in prophetic literature: 'I have redeemed you,' 'I have called you by name,' and 'you are mine.' Each clause moves from action to intimacy to possession. Verse 4 — 'you are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you' — is God's direct declaration of love to a sinful, exiled people. The 'new thing' of v.19 became a programmatic text for the early church (2 Corinthians 5:17, Revelation 21:5). Verse 25 is among the clearest statements of grace in the Old Testament: God forgives not because Israel deserves it but 'for my own sake.'
Translation Friction
The phrase 'I give Egypt as your ransom' (v.3) raises difficult questions about whether God values Israel over other nations. We render it faithfully and note in the translator's notes that the language is covenantal rather than comparative — it speaks to God's redemptive commitment to His chosen people. The verb bara' (create) in v.1 applied to Israel (not just the cosmos) is theologically significant and we preserve it. 'Do not remember the former things' (v.18) is startling given the centrality of remembrance in Israelite faith — the prophet commands a forgetting that is actually a reorientation of hope.
Connections
The new exodus theme (vv.16-21) parallels the original exodus throughout: water parting, a way in the wilderness, enemies destroyed. Paul draws on 'new creation' language (2 Corinthians 5:17) that has roots here. 'You are my witnesses' (v.10) anticipates Jesus' commission in Acts 1:8. 'I am He who blots out your transgressions' (v.25) connects to Psalm 51:1-2, Micah 7:18-19, and the NT theology of justification. The go'el (Redeemer) title (v.14) continues from 41:14.
But now, this is what the LORD says —
He who created you, O Jacob,
He who formed you, O Israel:
Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine.
KJV But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.
Notes & Key Terms
1 term
Key Terms
גְאַלְתִּיךָge'alticha
"I have redeemed you"—I have acted as kinsman-redeemer, I have bought back, I have reclaimed
The go'el verb applied to God's action — He acts as Israel's nearest kinsman, paying the price to reclaim what was lost to bondage
Translator Notes
This verse follows immediately after the devastating indictment of 42:25. The ve'attah (but now) marks the great pivot: despite Israel's blindness and burning, God speaks redemption. 'Created' (bara') and 'formed' (yatsar) use creation vocabulary — Israel is God's deliberate handiwork. The three declarations build: redeemed (legal act), called by name (personal knowledge), 'you are mine' (covenant possession). This is what the LORD says.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
and the flame shall not consume you.
KJV When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The waters evoke the Red Sea (Exodus 14) and the Jordan (Joshua 3); the fire evokes Daniel's three friends (Daniel 3). The promise is not that Israel will avoid these trials but that God will be present through them. 'I will be with you' (itti-ani) is the core of the Immanuel promise (Isaiah 7:14). The poetic structure is chiastic: waters/rivers, fire/flame.
The kofer is the price paid to redeem a life; God declares that entire nations serve as the redemption price for Israel
Translator Notes
The Holy One of Israel is also 'your Savior' (moshi'ekha). The ransom language is striking: God gives Egypt, Cush (Ethiopia/Nubia), and Seba as the kofer (ransom price) for Israel. Historically this may refer to Cyrus's conquests of these regions. Theologically it declares that God values Israel supremely within His covenant purposes.
Because you are precious in my eyes,
and honored, and I love you,
I give men in return for you,
peoples in exchange for your life.
KJV Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honourable, and I have loved thee: therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
This is God's direct declaration of love — rare in its explicitness. Yaqarta (precious/costly), nikhbadta (honored/weighty), ahavticha (I love you) — three words that demolish any notion of God as distant or indifferent. The first-person emphasis (va'ani, 'and I myself') makes the love declaration unmistakably personal.
Fear not, for I am with you;
I will bring your offspring from the east,
and from the west I will gather you.
KJV Fear not: for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west;
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Another 'fear not' oracle (cf. 41:10, 13, 14). The gathering from east and west envisions a regathering of exiles scattered across the known world. The scope anticipates the universal regathering promised in Isaiah 11:11-12.
I will say to the north, Give up,
and to the south, Do not withhold;
bring my sons from afar
and my daughters from the ends of the earth,
KJV I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth;
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
God commands the four directions (east, west in v.5; north, south here) to release His children. The language is parental — 'my sons' (banai) and 'my daughters' (benotai). The compass points represent totality: wherever Israel is scattered, God will reclaim them.
everyone who is called by my name,
whom I created for my glory,
whom I formed and made.
KJV Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Three creation verbs — bara' (created), yatsar (formed), 'asah (made) — echo Genesis 1-2. Israel exists not by accident but by divine design, and their purpose is God's glory (likhvodi). 'Called by my name' means they bear God's identity — they are His representation on earth.
Bring out the people who are blind, yet have eyes,
who are deaf, yet have ears!
KJV Bring forth the blind people that have eyes, and the deaf that have ears.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The paradox of Israel continues from 42:18-20: they have eyes but are blind, ears but are deaf. Yet God still summons them — not to condemn but to serve as witnesses (v.10). Even blind Israel has seen enough of God's works to testify.
All the nations gather together,
and the peoples assemble.
Who among them can declare this
and tell us the former things?
Let them bring their witnesses to prove them right;
let them hear and say, 'It is true.'
KJV Let all the nations be gathered together, and let the people be assembled: who among them can declare this, and shew us former things? let them bring forth their witnesses, that they may be justified: or let them hear, and say, It is truth.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The second trial scene (cf. 41:1, 21). The nations are again assembled and challenged: can any of their gods declare the future or explain the past? 'Let them bring their witnesses' — the idols must produce evidence. They cannot. But God has witnesses: Israel.
'You are my witnesses,' declares the LORD,
'and my servant whom I have chosen,
that you may know and believe me
and understand that I am He.
Before me no god was formed,
nor shall there be any after me.'
KJV Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.
Notes & Key Terms
1 term
Key Terms
אֲנִי הוּאani hu
"I am He"—I am He, I am the one, it is I
The divine self-identification formula of Second Isaiah (41:4, 43:10, 13, 25, 46:4, 48:12); Jesus echoes it with ego eimi ('I am') in John's Gospel
Translator Notes
'You are my witnesses' (attem edai) — Israel's role in the cosmic trial is to testify from their experience of God's faithfulness. 'Declares the LORD' renders ne'um YHWH. The threefold purpose — know, believe, understand — describes progressive deepening of faith. 'I am He' (ani hu) is the most concentrated monotheistic declaration in the Hebrew Bible. Jesus' 'I am' (ego eimi) statements in John's Gospel echo this formula.
I, I am the LORD,
and besides me there is no savior.
KJV I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The doubled anokhi anokhi (I, I) is emphatic: 'I and no other am the LORD.' Ein mibbal'adai moshia' — 'there is no savior besides me.' The claim is absolute: salvation is available from one source only. Hosea 13:4 makes the same claim. The NT applies this exclusively to Jesus (Acts 4:12).
I declared and saved and proclaimed,
when there was no strange god among you;
and you are my witnesses, declares the LORD,
and I am God.
KJV I have declared, and have saved, and I have shewed, when there was no strange god among you: therefore ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, that I am God.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Three past-tense verbs — declared, saved, proclaimed — point to God's historical track record with Israel. 'When there was no strange god among you' recalls the early period when Israel worshiped the LORD alone. Their experience of God's undivided faithfulness qualifies them as witnesses. 'Declares the LORD' renders ne'um YHWH.
Also from this day forward I am He;
there is none who can deliver from my hand.
I work, and who can turn it back?
KJV Yea, before the day was I am he; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand: I will work, and who shall let it?
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Gam-miyyom — 'even from today/from the day' — extends the claim from past (v.12) into the eternal future. 'No one delivers from my hand' asserts absolute sovereignty. 'Who can turn it back?' (mi yeshivenah) — no power can reverse God's action. This is the divine guarantee behind every promise in this chapter.
This is what the LORD says,
your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
'For your sake I send to Babylon
and bring them all down as fugitives,
even the Chaldeans, in the ships in which they rejoice.'
KJV Thus saith the LORD, your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; For your sake I have sent to Babylon, and have brought down all their nobles, and the Chaldeans, whose cry is in the ships.
Notes & Key Terms
1 term
Key Terms
גֹּאַלְכֶםgo'alkhem
"your Redeemer"—your kinsman-redeemer, your reclaimer, your avenger
God as go'el — the kinsman who acts to buy back His people from Babylonian captivity, as a relative would redeem a family member from slavery
Translator Notes
God is identified by two titles: 'your Redeemer' (go'alkhem) and 'the Holy One of Israel.' The Redeemer sends judgment to Babylon — the captor itself will become captive. 'Brings them all down as fugitives' (barichim, fleeing ones/bars — the text is difficult) reverses Babylon's role: the imprisoner becomes the prisoner. This is what the LORD says.
I am the LORD, your Holy One,
the Creator of Israel, your King.
KJV I am the LORD, your Holy One, the creator of Israel, your King.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Four titles in rapid succession: the LORD, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King. The progression moves from covenant name to moral character to creative power to sovereign authority. 'Creator of Israel' (bore' Yisra'el) again uses the verb reserved for divine creation.
This is what the LORD says —
He who makes a way in the sea,
a path in the mighty waters,
KJV Thus saith the LORD, which maketh a way in the sea, and a path in the mighty waters;
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The Exodus is evoked without being named: 'a way in the sea' can only be the parting of the Red Sea (Exodus 14). God is identified by His greatest past act of salvation — but only as prelude to announcing something even greater (vv.18-19). This is what the LORD says.
who brings out chariot and horse,
army and warrior;
they lie down together, they cannot rise;
they are extinguished, quenched like a wick.
KJV Which bringeth forth the chariot and horse, the army and the power; they shall lie down together, they shall not rise: they are extinct, they are quenched as tow.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Pharaoh's army is described without naming Pharaoh: chariots, horses, army, warriors — all 'extinguished like a wick' (pishtah). The wick image connects to the servant's 'faintly burning wick' in 42:3. Egypt's military power guttered out in the sea. The past tense recounts history as evidence of God's power.
Remember not the former things,
nor consider the things of old.
KJV Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
This is a shocking command in a tradition built on remembrance (zakhor). After evoking the Exodus (vv.16-17), God says: stop looking back. The 'former things' (rishonot) include even the Exodus itself. Something so new is coming that the greatest act of the past pales beside it.
Behold, I am doing a new thing;
now it springs forth — do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness
and rivers in the desert.
KJV Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.
Notes & Key Terms
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Key Terms
חֲדָשָׁהchadashah
"a new thing"—new, fresh, unprecedented
This 'new thing' transcends the Exodus; it will become a foundational concept for New Testament theology (2 Corinthians 5:17, Revelation 21:5)
Translator Notes
This is one of the most quoted verses in Isaiah. The 'new thing' (chadashah) is the new exodus — return from Babylon — but its language reaches beyond any single historical event into the eschatological future. 'Do you not perceive it?' challenges Israel's blindness (42:18-20). The way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert reverse the harshness of the original wilderness wandering.
The wild beasts will honor me,
the jackals and the ostriches,
for I give water in the wilderness,
rivers in the desert,
to give drink to my chosen people.
KJV The beast of the field shall honour me, the dragons and the owls: because I give waters in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert, to give drink to my people, my chosen.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Even the animals of the desert — jackals and ostriches, creatures of desolation — will honor God when water flows in the wasteland. Creation itself responds to God's redemptive acts. 'My chosen people' (ammi bechiri) echoes the servant language of 42:1.
the people whom I formed for myself
that they might declare my praise.
KJV This people have I formed for myself; they shall shew forth my praise.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The purpose of Israel's existence is stated with crystalline clarity: to declare God's praise (tehillah). Yatsarti li — 'I formed for myself' — uses the potter verb (yatsar), emphasizing that Israel is God's deliberate handiwork, shaped for a specific purpose.
Yet you did not call upon me, O Jacob;
but you have been weary of me, O Israel!
KJV But thou hast not called upon me, O Jacob; but thou hast been weary of me, O Israel.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The tone shifts sharply. After declaring Israel's purpose (v.21), God indicts their failure. 'You have been weary of me' (yaga'ta bi) is a stunning accusation: the people grew tired of the God who never tires (40:28). The roles are reversed — Israel wearies of God rather than God wearying of Israel.
You have not brought me your sheep for burnt offerings,
or honored me with your sacrifices.
I have not burdened you with grain offerings,
or wearied you with frankincense.
KJV Thou hast not brought me the small cattle of thy burnt offerings; neither hast thou honoured me with thy sacrifices. I have not caused thee to serve with an offering, nor wearied thee with incense.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
God clarifies: He did not exhaust Israel with excessive ritual demands. The requirements were not burdensome. Yet Israel failed even these. The irony is that Israel was 'weary' of God (v.22) while God had not 'wearied' them (hoga'ticha) with demands.
You have not bought me sweet cane with money,
or satisfied me with the fat of your sacrifices.
But you have burdened me with your sins;
you have wearied me with your iniquities.
KJV Thou hast bought me no sweet cane with money, neither hast thou filled me with the fat of thy sacrifices: but thou hast made me to serve with thy sins, thou hast wearied me with thine iniquities.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The pivot word is he'evadtani ('you have burdened/enslaved me') — the same root as 'eved (servant). Israel has made God their servant by loading Him with sins. 'You have wearied me' (hoga'tani) with iniquities reverses the earlier statement: God did not weary Israel with incense (v.23), but Israel has wearied God with sin. This is one of the most remarkable anthropomorphisms in the Hebrew Bible.
I, I am He
who blots out your transgressions for my own sake,
and I will not remember your sins.
KJV I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.
Notes & Key Terms
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Key Terms
מֹחֶהmocheh
"blots out"—to wipe away, blot out, erase, obliterate
The same verb used for wiping a dish clean (2 Kings 21:13) or erasing a record — God annihilates the record of sin completely
Translator Notes
This verse is one of the most powerful declarations of grace in the Hebrew Bible. The doubled 'I, I' (anokhi anokhi) insists that forgiveness comes from God's initiative alone. 'For my own sake' (lema'ani) grounds forgiveness in God's character, not Israel's worthiness. 'I will not remember' (lo ezkor) is not forgetfulness but a sovereign decision to treat sin as non-existent. This anticipates Jeremiah 31:34 and Hebrews 8:12.
Put me in remembrance; let us argue together;
set forth your case, that you may be proved right.
KJV Put me in remembrance: let us plead together: declare thou, that thou mayest be justified.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The courtroom language returns, but now with irony: God invites Israel to make their case — 'prove that you deserve acquittal.' The invitation is rhetorical; after vv.22-24, Israel has no defense. Yet God has already granted acquittal (v.25) before the case is even argued. Grace precedes the verdict.
Your first father sinned,
and your mediators transgressed against me.
KJV Thy first father hath sinned, and thy teachers have transgressed against me.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
'Your first father' (avicha harishon) likely refers to Jacob/Israel, whose name the nation bears, or possibly to Abraham or Adam. 'Your mediators' (melitsekha) — priests, prophets, or intercessors — also failed. The point is comprehensive: from the founding ancestor through the spiritual leadership, the pattern is transgression.
Therefore I profaned the princes of the sanctuary,
and I gave Jacob over to utter destruction
and Israel to reviling.
KJV Therefore I have profaned the princes of the sanctuary, and have given Jacob to the curse, and Israel to reproaches.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The consequences are stated bluntly: even the holy leaders (sarei qodesh — temple princes/priests) were profaned, and Jacob was given to cherem (the ban, utter destruction — the same word used for the devoted destruction of Jericho). Israel became an object of scorn. Yet this devastating verse follows v.25's promise of forgiveness — the judgment is real but not final.