1 But now thus saith Jehovah, 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.
every one that is called by my name, and whom I have created for my glory: I have formed him, yea, I have made him.
And I will bring the third part into the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried. They shall call on my name, and I will answer them: I will say, It is my people; and they shall say, Jehovah is my God.
and I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places; that thou mayest know that I, Jehovah, who call thee by name, [am] the God of Israel. For Jacob my servant's sake, and Israel mine elect, I have called thee by thy name; I surnamed thee, though thou didst not know me;
thus saith Jehovah, that made thee, and formed thee from the womb, who helpeth thee, Fear not, Jacob, my servant, and thou, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen.
Wherefore be of good courage, men, for I believe God that thus it shall be, as it has been said to me.
Fear not, thou worm Jacob, ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith Jehovah, and thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.
And he said, Thy name shall not henceforth be called Jacob, but Israel; for thou hast wrestled with God, and with men, and hast prevailed.
This people have I formed for myself: they shall shew forth my praise.
For finding fault, he says to them, Behold, days come, saith the Lord, and I will consummate a new covenant as regards the house of Israel, and as regards the house of Juda; not according to the covenant which I made to their fathers in [the] day of my taking their hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because *they* did not continue in my covenant, and *I* did not regard them, saith [the] Lord. Because this [is] the covenant that I will covenant to the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord: Giving my laws into their mind, I will write them also upon their hearts; and I will be to them for God, and *they* shall be to me for people.
And they shall call them, The holy people, The redeemed of Jehovah; and thou shalt be called, The sought out, The city not forsaken.
And they shall be unto me a peculiar treasure, saith Jehovah of hosts, in the day that I prepare; and I will spare them as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.
And I passed by thee, and looked upon thee, and behold, thy time was the time of love; and I spread my skirt over thee, and covered thy nakedness; and I swore unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord Jehovah, and thou becamest mine.
Remember these things, O Jacob, and Israel, for thou art my servant; I have formed thee: thou art my servant, Israel; thou shalt not be forgotten of me. I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins: return unto me; for I have redeemed thee. Sing, ye heavens; for Jehovah hath done it: shout, ye lower parts of the earth; break forth into singing, ye mountains, the forest, and every tree therein! For Jehovah hath redeemed Jacob, and glorified himself in Israel. Thus saith Jehovah, thy Redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb: I [am] Jehovah, the maker of all things; who alone stretched out the heavens, who did spread forth the earth by myself;
This shall be written for the generation to come; and a people that shall be created shall praise Jah:
who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all lawlessness, and purify to himself a peculiar people, zealous for good works.
Thou by thy mercy hast led forth the people that thou hast redeemed; Thou hast guided them by thy strength unto the abode of thy holiness.
And now, if ye will hearken to my voice indeed and keep my covenant, then shall ye be my own possession out of all the peoples -- for all the earth is mine -- and ye shall be to me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak to the children of Israel.
And Jehovah said to Moses, I will do this thing also that thou hast said; for thou hast found grace in mine eyes, and I know thee by name.
For Jehovah's portion is his people; Jacob the lot of his inheritance.
No lion shall be there, nor shall ravenous beast go up thereon, nor be found there; but the redeemed shall walk [there]. And the ransomed of Jehovah shall return, and come to Zion with singing; and everlasting joy shall be upon their heads: they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
Thus saith Jehovah, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: For your sake I have sent to Babylon, and have brought all of them down as fugitives, even the Chaldeans, whose cry is in the ships. I [am] Jehovah, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King.
One shall say, I am Jehovah's; and another shall call [himself] by the name of Jacob; and another shall write with his hand: [I am] Jehovah's, and surname [himself] by the name of Israel. Thus saith Jehovah, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, Jehovah of hosts: I [am] the first, and I [am] the last, and beside me there is no God.
Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye peoples from afar. Jehovah hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name.
Fear not, for thou shalt not be ashamed; neither be thou confounded, for thou shalt not be put to shame: for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood any more. For thy Maker is thy husband: Jehovah of hosts is his name, and thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: the God of the whole earth shall he be called.
[then] will I also cast away the seed of Jacob, and of David my servant, so as not to take of his seed to be rulers over the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: for I will turn their captivity, and will have mercy on them.
And neither sun nor stars appearing for many days, and no small storm lying on us, in the end all hope of our being saved was taken away.
Yet the firm foundation of God stands, having this seal, [The] Lord knows those that are his; and, Let every one who names the name of [the] Lord withdraw from iniquity.
Thus saith Jehovah, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I [am] Jehovah thy God, who teacheth thee for [thy] profit, who leadeth thee in the way that thou shouldest go.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Isaiah 43
Commentary on Isaiah 43 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 43
The contents of this chapter are much the same with those of the foregoing chapter, looking at the release of the Jews out of their captivity, but looking through that, and beyond that, to the great work of man's redemption by Jesus Christ, and the grace of the gospel, which through him believers partake of. Here are,
Isa 43:1-7
This chapter has a plain connexion with the close of the foregoing chapter, but a very surprising one. It was there said that Jacob and Israel would not walk in God's ways, and that when he corrected them for their disobedience they were stubborn and laid it not to heart; and now one would think it should have followed that God would utterly abandon and destroy them; but no, the next words are, But now, fear not, O Jacob! O Israel! I have redeemed thee, and thou art mine. Though many among them were untractable and incorrigible, yet God would continue his love and care for his people, and the body of that nation should still be reserved for mercy. God's goodness takes occasion from man's badness to appear so much the more illustrious. Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound (Rom. 5:20), and mercy rejoices against judgment, as having prevailed and carried the day, Jam. 2:13. Now the sun, breaking out thus of a sudden from behind a thick and dark cloud, shines the brighter, and with a pleasing surprise. The expressions of God's favour and good-will to his people here are very high, and speak abundance of comfort to all the spiritual seed of upright Jacob and praying Israel; for to us is this gospel preached as well as unto those that were captives in Babylon, Heb. 4:2. Here we have,
Isa 43:8-13
God here challenges the worshippers of idols to produce such proofs of the divinity of their false gods as even this very instance (to go no further) of the redemption of the Jews out of Babylon furnished the people of Israel with, to prove that their God is the true and living God, and he only.
Isa 43:14-21
To so low an ebb were the faith and hope of God's people in Babylon brought that there needed line upon line to assure them that they should be released out of their captivity; and therefore, that they might have strong consolation, the assurances of it are often repeated, and here very expressly and encouragingly.
Isa 43:22-28
This charge (and a high charge it is which is here exhibited against Jacob and Israel, God's professing people) comes in here,