✝
← Bible
ARCBLIVREKJVVBL

Isaías 43

BLIVRE · Chapter 43/66

1Porém agora assim diz o SENHOR, o teu Criador, ó Jacó, e o teu Formador, ó Israel: Não temas, porque eu te resgatei; chamei a ti por teu nome; tu és meu.

2Quando passares pelas águas, estarei contigo; e [ao passares] pelos rios, eles não te submergirão; quando passares pelo fogo, não te queimarás, nem a chamas arderão em ti.

3Porque eu sou o SENHOR teu Deus, o Santo de Israel, teu Salvador; dei ao Egito, a Cuxe, e a Seba como teu resgate, em teu lugar.

4Visto que foste precioso em meus olhos, [assim] foste glorificado, e eu te amei; por isso dei homens em troca de ti, e povos em troca de tua alma.

5Não temas, pois estou contigo; eu trarei tua semente desde o oriente, e te ajuntarei desde o ocidente.

6Direi ao norte: Dá!, E ao sul: Não retenhas! Trazei meus filhos de longe, e minhas filhas desde os confins da terra;

7Todos os chamados do meu nome, e os que criei para minha gloria; eu os formei; sim, eu os fiz.

8Trazei ao povo cego, que tem olhos; e aos surdos, que tem ouvidos.

9Todas as nações se reúnam, e os povos se ajuntem. Quem deles isto isto anuncia, e nos faz ouvir as coisas do passado? Mostrem suas testemunhas, para que se justifiquem, e se ouça, e se diga: É verdade.

10Vós sois minhas testemunhas (diz o SENHOR); e meu servo, a quem escolhi; para que saibais, e creiais em mim, e entendais que eu sou o próprio, e [que] antes de mim nenhum Deus se formou, e depois de minha nenhum haverá.

11Eu, eu sou o SENHOR; e fora de mim não há salvador.

12Eu anunciei, eu salvei, e eu fiz ouvir, e deus estrangeiro não houve entre vós, e vós sois minhas testemunhas, (diz o SENHOR), que eu sou Deus.

13E desde antes de haver dia, eu o sou; e ninguém há que possa livrar das minhas mãos. Eu estou agindo, quem pode impedir?

14Assim diz o SENHOR o teu Redentor, o Santo de Israel: Por causa de vós eu enviei [inimigos] a Babilônia, e a todos eu os fiz descerem [como] fugitivos, inclusive os Caldeus, nos navios em que se orgulhavam.

15Eu sou o SENHOR, vosso Santo; o Criador de Israel, o vosso Rei.

16Assim diz o SENHOR, aquele que preparou no mar um caminho, e nas águas impetuosas uma vereda;

17Aquele que trouxe carruagens e cavalos, exército e forças; [todos] juntamente caíram, e não mais se levantaram; estão extintos, foram apagados como um pavio:

18Não vos lembreis das coisas passadas, nem considereis as antigas;

19Eis que farei uma coisa nova, agora surgirá; por acaso não a reconhecereis? Pois porei um caminho no deserto, [e] rios na terra vazia.

20Os animais do campo me honrarão; os chacais e os filhotes de avestruz; porque porei águas no deserto, rios na terra vazia, para dar de beber a meu povo, meu escolhido.

21Este povo formei para mim, eles declararão louvor a mim.

22Porém tu não me invocaste, ó Jacó; pois te cansaste de mim, ó Israel.

23Não me trouxeste o gado miúdo de teus holocaustos, nem me honraste [com] teus sacrifícios; eu não vos oprimi com ofertas, nem te cansei com incenso.

24Não me compraste com dinheiro cana aromática, nem me saciaste com a gordura de teus sacrifícios; mas me oprimiste com teus pecados, [e] me cansaste com tuas maldades.

25Eu, eu sou o que anulo tuas transgressões por causa de mim; e te teus pecados eu não me lembro.

26Faze-me lembrar, entremos em juízo juntos; mostra [teus argumentos] ,para que possas te justificar.

27Teu primeiro pai pecou; e teus intérpretes transgrediram contra mim.

28Por isso profanei os líderes do santuário, e entreguei Jacó à desgraça, e Israel à humilhação.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

God reaffirms his commitment to Israel, promising to be with his people through waters and fire, and to gather his scattered children from every direction. He declares that he alone is Savior, able to do something entirely new, like opening a way in the wilderness.

Explanation

The promise 'when you pass through the waters, I will be with you... when you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned' has become one of the most quoted verses in times of personal difficulty, promising God's presence (not the absence of trials) as a source of security. The repeated declaration 'I, I am the Lord, and besides me there is no Savior' is one of the most direct and emphatic monotheistic statements in the whole Hebrew Bible. The promise to 'do a new thing... a way in the wilderness' anticipates the physical return of the exiles from Babylon, but it also carries a larger spiritual principle: God is never bound by the past and can always act in unprecedented ways. The practical application today is to remember that difficulties ('waters' and 'fire') do not mean God has abandoned us, but rather occasions where his sustaining presence becomes most evident.

Fun facts

  • The phrase 'remember not the former things... behold, I will do a new thing' (v. 18-19) is frequently quoted in contexts of personal new beginnings and spiritual transformation, even outside religious settings.
  • The final verse of the chapter offers a striking contrast: despite so many promises of care, God notes that Israel has actually 'grown weary' of him, showing a God who loves even when that love is not returned with the same intensity.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Isaías 43:1“I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine” is language of personal ownership, the kind of assurance given to someone who feels lost amid a faceless crowd of exiles.
  2. Isaías 43:2Passing through waters and fire without drowning or burning isn’t about literal elements: it’s language of total protection in any extreme situation, echoing the crossing of the Red Sea that the people already knew from their own history.
  3. Isaías 43:3Ethiopia and Seba, regions of Egypt and Africa, appear here as though “traded” for Israel’s salvation, an image of other nations paying the price so the chosen people can be freed, without detailing the mechanics of that exchange.
  4. Isaías 43:4“Will I give men for thee, and people for thy life” repeats the same idea of exchange from the previous verse, valuing Israel to the point that other nations serve as the counterweight in the text’s poetic logic.
  5. Isaías 43:5The promise to gather Israel’s seed “from the east” and “from the west” describes a return that comes not only from Babylon in the east, but from every direction the people may have been scattered.
  6. Isaías 43:6Commanding the north and the south to give back the people’s sons and daughters extends the promise of return to every point of the compass, gathering the exiles from wherever they may be.
  7. Isaías 43:7“Called by my name” and “created him for my glory” tie the people’s existence to a purpose declared from creation, not merely a historical accident.
  8. Isaías 43:8Calling the people blind and deaf, even though they have eyes and ears, repeats the criticism from chapter 42 about Israel not perceiving what it saw or understanding what it heard.
  9. Isaías 43:9The trial against the nations and their gods continues here: they are invited to produce witnesses proving their ability to announce the future, the same challenge already issued in chapter 41.
  10. Isaías 43:10Calling the people themselves “witnesses” reverses the expected role: instead of needing to prove something to God, it’s the people who serve as living proof that there is only one God, before and after any other supposed god.
  11. Isaías 43:11The statement “beside me there is no saviour” is one of the most direct declarations in the book against any religious rival, summing up the argument repeated in the previous chapters.
  12. Isaías 43:12“There was no strange god among you” reinforces that the salvation the people had experienced up to that point involved no intermediary or foreign rival, an argument used to cement exclusive loyalty to this God.
  13. Isaías 43:13“Before the day was I am he” is a claim of existence prior to time itself, the basis for the following assurance that no one can escape or divert what God decides to do.
  14. Isaías 43:14Chaldeans is another name for the Babylonians, and here Isaiah is already anticipating Babylon’s fall. The same empire that will still enslave the people will later be brought down, and it’s that future downfall that comforts whoever is reading this during the exile.
  15. Isaías 43:15The three titles together — Holy One, Creator, and King of Israel — sum up distinct roles: set apart and pure, responsible for the people’s existence, and supreme political authority over them.
  16. Isaías 43:16Recalling the path opened in the sea points back to the crossing of the Red Sea in the Exodus, a recurring reference in the book used to lend credibility to the promise of a similar new deliverance.
  17. Isaías 43:17Chariots, horses, and army, “quenched as tow,” describe the fate of the Egyptian army at the Red Sea, cited as historical backdrop right before the text announces something even greater in the next verse.
  18. Isaías 43:18Asking the people not to dwell on “the former things” is surprising right after citing the Exodus: the idea is that the new deliverance announced next will be so great it will overshadow even the memory of the Red Sea.
  19. Isaías 43:19“A new thing” contrasts with the Exodus recalled before: instead of repeating the past, the text promises an unprecedented event, with a way in the wilderness and rivers in dry land, an image of provision on a journey home.
  20. Isaías 43:20Even the wild desert animals, the dragons and the owls, are described benefiting from the water God will provide, reinforcing that the transformed landscape favors all creation, not just people.
  21. Isaías 43:21“Formed for myself” repeats the theme of purpose from verse 7: the people exist to declare God’s praise, a role recalled right before the accusation that follows in the rest of the chapter.
  22. Isaías 43:22After so many promises, the tone shifts to rebuke: in spite of everything, the people grew weary of calling on God, a sharp contrast between the divine care described before and the human response of indifference.
  23. Isaías 43:23God complains that the people brought neither animals nor incense for sacrifice — it isn’t a complaint about missing ritual, but irony. Even keeping up the sacrifices would fall short of what God wants, because the real problem lies in the wrongs that wore out the relationship, not in a checklist of offerings.
  24. Isaías 43:24Sweet cane was an expensive ingredient used in incense and sacred oil, something the people didn’t even bother to buy for worship. The text overturns the expectation: instead of sacrifices, the people brought God only sin and weariness.
  25. Isaías 43:25“Will not remember” their sins is an image of complete, voluntary forgetting, presented right after the list of complaints, as a contrast between the people’s failure and the willingness to forgive described here.
  26. Isaías 43:26The invitation to “plead together” and present reasons is almost ironic: God challenges the people to formally defend themselves against the accusations, knowing there’s no argument that could justify them.
  27. Isaías 43:27“Thy first father” probably refers to Jacob or Adam, tying the people’s sin to a failure that goes back to the very oldest origins of the line, not to a recent problem.
  28. Isaías 43:28“Profaned the princes of the sanctuary” and given Jacob over to the curse describes the severe punishment that results from the accusation: even the most important religious leaders lose their status because of the people’s collective unfaithfulness.

Chapters

123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536373839404142434445464748495051525354555657585960616263646566

Our apps

Our apps →

Bible in Stories

The Bible told as a story, with audio and videos.

📱 Get the app

World in Stories

True stories of humanity that sound made up.

App StoreGoogle Play

Feito! Pequenas Vitórias

A light daily routine for people who lose track of the day.

App StoreGoogle Play