Chapter Forty-Three

Following the proclamation of strict punishment to Israel at the end of the preceding chapter (Isa 42:18-25), there follows, as is usual with the prophet Isaiah (Isa 1:25-27, Isa 6:2-6, Isa 9:1-16, etc.), at the beginning of this chapter encouragement and comfort for his people as the people of God, who have been at all times in their history under the special guidance and protection of God. The comfort of Israel—the main theme of the entire second part of the book of the prophet Isaiah—in this case aims to point him to a favorable exit from the impending Babylonian captivity (8 v. 14 v.). Increasing the joy of his comfort, the prophet transitions from the carnal Israel to the spiritual, to the formation from true Israelites and converted gentiles of a new chosen people who will proclaim the glory of God. (21). From this, by contrast, comes again a transition to historical Israel, which did not justify its election, and therefore, despite all the wealth of divine mercy and patience, did not escape a heavy fate.

1–4 A promise to Israel about its salvation and preservation amid disasters and sorrows. 5–7. A new calling of Israel and pagan peoples to the true God. 8–21. The liberation of the Jews and the conversion of the gentiles. 22–28. An indictment of Israel, its preservation by the mercy of God, and punishment for its constant apostasy from Him.

Isa 43:1-4. The looming storm of Babylonian captivity and those even more terrible disasters that Isaiah had just foretold to the disobedient Israel could have brought him into a state of dejection and utter despair. That is why the prophet found it necessary to provide timely comfort, so that by such an alternation of threats and promises he might produce the desired impression, at least on the better part of Israel.

Isaiah 43:1. Now thus says the Lord, who created you, Jacob, and formed you, Israel: do not be afraid, for I have redeemed you, I have called you by your name; you are mine. “Now thus says the Lord... Jacob and... Israel, do not be afraid.” A very solemn opening of the speech, determining its task in one word—“do not be afraid.”

Genesis 17:5. “I have called you by your name.” “When the Lord calls anyone by name, it signifies a new mercy of God, which summons either an individual person or an entire people to special activity for the fulfillment of the decrees of God’s wisdom and love” (Vlastov, Gen.17:5, 15; Exod 33:17; Num 27:17-20; 1 Sam 19:9, etc.). Isaiah 43:2. When you pass through the waters, I am with you—through the rivers they shall not drown you; when you walk through fire, you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not scorch you. “When you pass through the waters... through the rivers... through fire... and the flame.” This is a general emblem of various earthly sufferings and disasters from which the Lord has repeatedly saved His Israel. It is also possible, of course, to seek here more particular historical allusions; for instance, in the crossing through “rivers” to see an indication of Babylonian captivity, when the Jewish people were taken away beyond the great river. In the reference to fire that will not burn and to flame that will not scorch, we have grounds to see a prophetic indication of the history of the three youths in the fiery furnace of Babylon (Dan 3 ch.). As the closest parallel to this passage, one cannot but note the following words of the Psalmist: “We went through fire and water, and you brought us out to a wide place” (Ps 65:12). Some see the historical confirmation of this prophetic comfort in the particular event that took place at the return of the Jews from Babylonian captivity, described in the first book of Ezra (Ezra 8:22-31). Under the fiery trials that the Old Testament church endured, they understand the persecutions of Antiochus Epiphanes (1 Macc 1 ch.).

Isaiah 43:3. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I give Egypt as your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba in return for you. “For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel.” The last epithet, when applied to the Messiah, has already been encountered in the prophet Isaiah before (Isa 41:14). But here to it is added yet another significant definition—“Your Savior.” Although it does not yet have here the special meaning that it later acquired, it is important for us to note even the very fact of its use. The Holy One of Israel is called here Savior both for all past historical cases of deliverance of the Hebrews from their political enemies (Exod 14:23-31; Judg 4; Judg 7 ch. 2 Sam 8:1; 2 Sam 14:9-16, etc.), and for similar future cases, most directly for the fact of deliverance from Babylonian captivity, revealed to the prophet’s spiritual vision. This new epithet becomes one of the beloved in the second part of his book (Isa 45:15; Isa 47:15; Isa 49:26; Isa 60:16; Isa 63, etc.). I give Egypt as your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba... “This happened during the attacks on these peoples by Shalmaneser, in the sixth year of the reign of Hezekiah,” declares the Bishop Peter decisively, citing the twentieth chapter of the prophet Isaiah. But most other exegetes, according to the connection with the whole context, see here a reference to a future event, namely the compensation given by the Lord to the conquerors—the Persians—in exchange for the Jews whom they released, in the form of the subjugation of Egypt with its provinces. Such a fact indeed took place after the death of Cyrus, under his successor Cambyses (526 BC). With this understanding, this prophecy acquires very important textual-critical significance. Defenders of the “Second Isaiah” hypothesis assert that this book appeared no later than the end of Babylonian captivity, i.e., the early years of Cyrus’s reign. But not only at this time, but even during the height of Cyrus’s dominion, no one would have risked saying that the vast and powerful Egyptian monarchy would be tributary to the Persians. Consequently, to speak of this event as having already occurred could only someone contemporary with Cambyses, and in no way someone in Cyrus’s time, which the author of “Second Isaiah” would have been. Hence, another opinion gains greater credibility: that here we have not a recounting of the past, but a prophecy about the future, which could easily have been given even before Cyrus, i.e., belong to the true prophet Isaiah. According to some modern critics, the Book of the Prophet Isaiah, included in the canonical Bible, was written by at least three different authors, whom, as a rule, they call Isaiah, Second Isaiah, and Third Isaiah. As they believe, the first 39 chapters were written by Isaiah in the 8th century before the birth of Christ. The author of the next 16 chapters (from 40 to 55) is considered to be Second Isaiah, who personally experienced the return from Babylonian captivity and wrote these chapters in the 6th century before the birth of Christ. The last 11 chapters, written in a more lyrical style and containing mainly eschatological predictions, are attributed to Third Isaiah, whose lifetime is placed roughly in the III-II century before the birth of Christ. However, these hypotheses lack convincing proofs and are based on purely subjective assumptions. Indeed, Jesus Christ Himself and the apostles refer to the prophet Isaiah, attributing to him chapters 40 through 66 (Gospel of Matthew, chapter 12; Gospel of Luke, chapters 3 and 4; Gospel of John, chapters 1 and 12; and so on). Moreover, the complete manuscript of the Book of the Prophet Isaiah found in 1947 in the caves of Qumran confirms the unity of the original source. This list was made around 120 BC and contains nothing that could serve as evidence for the assumption of modern critics. The LXX and Slavonic instead of “Seba” have “Soine” or “Siinu”—Συηνην, Σουην. Only one thing is certain: as under Seba in the Masoretic text, so under “Soine” in the LXX should be understood a part of Ethiopia. But since the Bible knows two Ethiopias—one on the Arabian peninsula (Gen 2:11; Gen 25:18; Num 12:1), and another in upper Egypt (Ps 67:32; Isa 20:4; Jer 46, etc.), it is difficult to determine precisely what is meant here. The Hebrew text apparently speaks of the Arabian province located on the coast of the Red Sea and named after a coastal city mentioned by Strabo (Geogr. Lib. XVI, 14), and later renamed by Cambyses in honor of his sister—“Meroch.” The LXX have in view an Egyptian province that received its name from the city of Sion, lying on the southern border of upper Egypt and known in hieroglyphic inscriptions as Siene or Aswan, near which were the famous quarries of the ancient pharaohs.

Isaiah 43:4. Because you are precious in my sight, and honored, and I love you, I will give people in return for you, and nations for your life. “I will give other people for you.” According to the words of the blessed Theodoret, by “other people” are meant the immediate enemies of the Jews—the Babylonians, whom the Lord gave into the hands of Cyrus—the liberator of the Hebrews. But in general this verse is the usual pleonasm and parallelism of thought (3 v.), so characteristic of biblical prophetic-poetic speech.

Isaiah 43:5. Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east and gather you from the west. Isaiah 43:6. I will say to the north, “Give them,” and to the south, “Do not hold back; bring my sons from far away, and my daughters from the ends of the earth, A new motif of comfort and encouragement is put forward by pointing out that Israel faces not a reduction and diminishment, but on the contrary—an increase and worldwide spreading. “Do not be afraid.” That is the leitmotif of this entire speech (cf. 1 v.). “From the east I will bring... from the west I will gather... to the north I will say... and to the south.” The very combination of all four directions of the world clearly shows that here we are dealing not with any particular and precise geographical terms, but with the most general, universal indication. It is curious to note that it appears almost verbatim in the Psalmist, who regarding those delivered by God from the hands of their enemies says that the Lord “gathered them from the lands, from the east and the west, from the north and the sea.” (Ps 106:3) In a certain, very conditional sense, this can also be applied to the returned Judean captives, again gathered in Jerusalem. But in a more correct and full sense, this prophecy should be referred to spiritual Israel, or members of the New Testament church. Here the best parallel to it is the following words of the Lord Himself: “I say to you that many will come from the east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, but the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness” (Matt 8:11-12). “And my daughters.” Many commentators point out this purely New Testament feature: ordinarily in the Old Testament the birth of daughters is not mentioned, and generally they are spoken of most often with reproach. And only here, where, evidently, there is also talk of New Testament times, it is spoken the same way as the Apostle Paul (Gal 3:28) speaks of the equality of the sexes.

Isaiah 43:7. everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made. “Created... formed and made.” An interesting philological example of how related Hebrew verbs expressing particular nuances of thought—“created” from Hebrew bara, that is, brought into being from nothing (Gen 1, etc.); “formed”—from Yatzar—shaped, molded from ready material; and made—from Asa—finally polished, completed, and improved the finish. Isa 43:8-13. Here in more compressed form is repeated what constituted the special subject of an earlier chapter (Isa 41:1), namely—the judgment of the Almighty with the nations. The Lord again calls the Jews to judgment with Him (8 v.) and the gentiles (9 v.) and demands from them reliable witnesses, which they, of course, do not have. In contrast to them, the Almighty first forces all his enemies to be unwilling witnesses about Him (10 v.) and then comes forward Himself with solemn self-attestation (11–13 v.).

Isaiah 43:8. Bring forth the people who are blind, yet have eyes; who are deaf, yet have ears. The closest parallel to this verse and the definitions given in it of the Jewish people is found in Isa 42:7 (See our commentary on them).

Isaiah 43:9. Let all the nations gather together, and let the peoples assemble. Who among them declared this, and foretold to us the former things? Let them bring their witnesses to justify them, and let them hear and say, “It is true. “Who among them foretold this?” The question posed, as well as all the content of this verse, closely recalls verse 26 of chapter 41. The substantive content of it concerns the appearance of the Servant of the Lord, the rejection of Judaism, and the renewal of paganism. The prophet asks here whether anyone from the representatives of Judaism or paganism could have foreseen all this and predicted it by purely natural means alone. Of course not: none of them would have been able either to make such a prediction or, all the more, to confirm its correctness.

Isaiah 43:10. You are my witnesses, declares the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor shall any be after me. “You are my witnesses, declares the Lord.” Since the prophet’s speech was directly addressed to the people of Israel, it is this people, consequently, that should be considered the first witness. Indeed, the entire history of the chosen people, with all the divine manifestations, revelations, laws, and miracles given to it, is the best and most convincing proof of God’s divine omnipotence and His creative, peace-making wisdom and power. But in addition, the Hebrew people was a direct witness to the fulfillment of many divine prophecies concerning the fate of various pagan peoples, and also experienced on itself the vindication of many prophetic threats and promises. “And my servant whom I have chosen.” These words inevitably remind us of the beginning of chapter 42: “Behold my Servant... whom I have chosen, and my soul delights in him” (1 v.). Evidently, they refer to one and the same Person—the Mediator of the Old and New Testaments, the Lord Jesus Christ, who not in vain, as testimony of his truthfulness, referred to his works and to the will of the Father who sent him (John 5:36-37). “I was born and came into the world for this, to testify to the truth”—the Lord solemnly answered the question of Pilate: “what is truth” (John 18:37-38). “The faithful witness” is repeatedly called He in the Apocalypse (Rev 1:5; Rev 3:14). The holy Church Fathers refer this passage to Jesus Christ (Saint Cyril of Alexandria, the blessed Theodoret, Jerome).

Isaiah 43:11. I, even I, am the Lord, and apart from me there is no savior. “I, even I, am the Lord, and apart from me there is no savior.” The absence of witnesses on the opposing side and the presence of reliable witnesses on the side of the true God give special force and persuasiveness to His solemn confession that before Him there was no God, and after Him there will be none, and that, consequently, only He alone is the eternally living and ever-saving God, who has no and cannot have any real rivals.

Isaiah 43:12. I have declared and saved and proclaimed, and there was no foreign god among you; you are my witnesses, declares the Lord, that I am God. “I have declared and saved and proclaimed.” In these words, apart from the general thought about the fulfillment of divine prophecies, many also find a more particular allusion to the liberation of Jerusalem from the invasion of Sennacherib, proclaimed through the prophet Isaiah (Isa 37:33-36; cf. 2 Sam 19:20-35); an event that he had previously predicted, and later also celebrated in song.

Isaiah 43:13. From ancient days I am he; none can deliver out of my hand. When I act, who can reverse it? “From ancient days I am he.” Comparing the corresponding parallels, of which the closest is found in verse 4 of chapter 41 (see the commentary), we have the right to assert that here is indicated the Eternity, Self-existence, Omnipotence, and Immutability of the Almighty as such properties of His that easily and indisputably prove His Divine dignity to all. Isa 43:14-18. Here is set forth the immediate, practical purpose of the speech—the encouragement of the Jews in view of the impending Babylonian captivity. The Creator of the universe and king of Israel proclaims through the prophet that the enemies of the Jewish people—the Babylonians or Chaldeans—will be crushed, and thus the captives will obtain freedom (14–15). The inviolability of such a prophecy is confirmed by analogous historical parallels, chiefly the destruction of the Pharaoh and all his army at the crossing of the Red Sea (16–17). But for Israel all the lessons of history apparently pass without effect (18 v.).

Isaiah 43:14. Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I send to Babylon and break down all the bars, and the shouting of the Chaldeans will be turned to laments. “For your sake I send to Babylon and break down all the bars, and the Chaldeans, exulting in their ships.” For the sake of Israel’s deliverance from captivity, the Lord will send the Medes and Persians under the leadership of Cyrus against the Babylonians, and he will turn all enemies of Israel into hasty flight. By “Chaldeans” is understood here the Babylonians in general (Isa 47:1), and in particular, perhaps the inhabitants of southern Babylonia, dwelling near the sea (hence the mention of ships) and not far from Ur of the Chaldees.

Isaiah 43:16. Thus says the Lord, who makes a way in the sea, a path in the mighty waters, Isaiah 43:17. who brings out chariot and horse, army and warrior; they lie down together, they cannot rise, they are extinguished, quenched like a wick. In these verses there is a fairly transparent reference to the deliverance of the Hebrews from Egyptian slavery, more precisely, to the miraculous salvation of the Jews from the pursuit of the Pharaoh, who sought to return the released people. But just as then such an attempt did not succeed and ended in the complete destruction of the enemies of the chosen people, so, evidently, now all enemies of Israel will be put to shame.

Isaiah 43:18. But forget the former things, do not dwell on the past. “But forget the former things and do not think on the ancient.” A well-deserved reproach to the representatives of the Jewish people, who poorly remembered the divine blessings and did not draw from them lessons for themselves. The present verse serves as an excellent transition to the next section, since it explains why God, having abandoned the old Israel, decided to form a new one for Himself. Isa 43:19-21. The subject is the formation by God of this new people, which He is to prepare for Himself almost miraculously from apparently the most ungrateful material and amidst the most unsuitable conditions (roads in the steppe, rivers in the wilderness—19–20). This people will take the place of the Israel that proved unworthy, to proclaim the glory of God (21).

Isaiah 43:19. 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. “Behold, I am doing a new thing.” Since memories of the old did not move the prophet’s listeners, he wishes to strike them with a prophecy of something new, even more significant and important. Under this new is understood partly the nearest new miracle of God’s mercy—deliverance from Babylonian captivity—and chiefly the further results of it—the appearance of the Messiah and the founding of His new gracious kingdom. “The word ‘new’ is used frequently by the prophets and by New Testament writers concerning the blessings of the New Testament economy” (Isa 41:15; Isa 42:10; Ps 95:1; Ps 97:1; Jer 31:31; Ezek 36:26; 2 Cor 5, etc., Bishop Peter).

Isaiah 43:20. The beasts of the field 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, “I will give water in the deserts, rivers in the dry steppe.” Comparing this passage with its parallels from the same prophet (Isa 32:15-16; Isa 35:1; Isa 41:18-19; Isa 42:10-11, etc.), we are clearly convinced that under these images there is talk of the enlightenment of paganism and its watering with the gracious streams of gospel preaching (cf. the commentary of Saint Cyril of Alexandria and the blessed Jerome).

Isaiah 43:21. the people whom I formed for myself, that they might declare my praise. “This people whom I have formed for myself.” The best commentary to this verse is the following passage from the Apostle Peter, addressed to Christians: “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light” (1 Pet 2:9). Isa 43:22-28. The concluding section of this chapter, like the preceding one (chapter 42), contains an indictment of the stiff-necked Israel and a prophecy of its rejection by God. The connection to the preceding speech is based on the law of contrast. Having spoken of the future arising of a new, spiritual Israel, the prophet is naturally led to make a remark about the fate of the old, ancient Israel. The latter he accuses of non-fulfillment, or more precisely, of improper fulfillment of the divine law (a failure to understand the spirit of the ceremonial law) and of direct violation of it (sins and iniquities—24 v.). And although the Lord, by His unspeakable mercy, is ready to blot out these sins for all who ask for it (25 v.); but the majority of Israel, led by its leaders, does not display such a sense of repentance, and therefore must be subjected to all the sad consequences of the legal curse that was proclaimed to it long ago (28 v. Cf. Deut 31:29, etc.).

Isaiah 43:22. But you did not call upon me, O Jacob; but you have grown weary of me, O Israel. Isaiah 43:23. You have not brought me your lambs for burnt offerings, nor honored me with your sacrifices. I have not burdened you with offerings, nor wearied you with frankincense. Isaiah 43:24. You have not bought me aromatic cane with money, nor filled me with the fat of your sacrifices. But you have burdened me with your sins and wearied me with your iniquities. “But you... Israel... did not bring me lambs... and with your sacrifices... did not honor me... the fat of your sacrifices... did not satisfy me.” Israel deserved reproach for the disorderly presentation of sacrifices, which the prophet Isaiah reproves at the very beginning of his book (Isa 1:11-16). At the same time, it is necessary to give them and a more extensive interpretation. Evidently, they must be interpreted in light of the prophetic indictments of chapter 1: so the prophet harshly reproached Israel for its soulless formalism in the observance of the Old Testament law, and said that such a practice, though zealous, but senseless, not only has no positive merit in God’s eyes, but even constitutes a great, purely negative quantity (“abomination” (Isa 1:13)). The same thought, only from another, reverse side, is also carried through here: since you, Israel, performed your sacrifices improperly, without proper understanding of their actual meaning, you not only did not honor me with them, but even, as with new sins, as with a profanation of the holy, only each time burdened and offended me more (cf. Isa 7:13), that is, you insulted me and distanced yourself from me.

Isaiah 43:25. I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins. “I myself blot out your transgressions for my own sake.” If individual representatives of Israel are to obtain salvation by entering as proselytes into the new gracious kingdom or the Church of Christ, they achieved it not through any merits of their own, but solely through the unspeakable divine love and His boundless mercy (Heb 10:17; Eph 2:4-10).

Isaiah 43:26. Remember this and stand firm, recall it to mind, you transgressors, and return to the Lord. “Let us plead together; state your case, so that you may be proved right.” A symbolic picture of God’s judgment with sinners, in which He comes forth as one of the parties—one of the beloved images of the prophet Isaiah (see, for example, chapter 41). In this particular place, one can establish the following course of thought: Israel, having boasted of its legal righteousness, could take credit both for its own salvation (partial) and for the conversion of the gentiles. But the Lord, in the preceding verse, attributed the work of salvation exclusively to Himself. It is supposed that Israel could disagree with this or dispute, wherefore the Lord proposes to him a proper judicial proceeding.

Isaiah 43:27. Your first father sinned, and your mediators transgressed against me. “Your first father sinned, and your mediators transgressed against me.” Whenever the Jews wished to display their own righteousness and closeness to God, they referred to the merits of their patriarchs—Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—their high priests and leaders—Moses, Aaron, Samuel, and others. The Lord now strikes them in the most sensitive place: He says that even they—the celebrated founders and leaders of the Jewish people—were far from blameless in their lives and moral conduct, as is witnessed by the impartial biblical history of each of them (Gen 12:13; Gen 17:17; Gen 20:2, etc.). The Hebrew text has the word “father,” which troubles many exegetes into seeking some specific historical personality (Adam, Abraham, Jacob, etc.). But the LXX term—abicha they translated as “οι πατρες υμων,” that is, as a collective noun, which much better expresses the general sense of the text. If the “fathers” only sinned, then again rose and achieved, with the aid of Divine help, high righteousness, the “mediators” of yours have completely departed from me. Under these godless mediators it is most correct to understand the “false priests and prophets” who particularly multiplied in the pre-exile epoch, according to the testimony of the true prophets (Jer 5:13; Jer 14:15 ch.; Ezek 14:9; Zeph 3, etc.).

Isaiah 43:28. Therefore I depose the dignitaries of your sanctuary, and give Jacob to the curse, and Israel to insults. “I strip the priests of the sanctuary of their sacred office.” Since in the judgment with God, the representatives of the Jewish people proved speechless, the verdict of this judgment, of course, was not in their favor. “Tribulation and distress on every soul of man that works evil, of the Jew first” (Rom 2:9). And from among the Jews first of all and more than all, this tribulation falls upon the heads of their blind and turbulent leaders, who, for instance, like the high priest Uriah, pandered to all impiety and wickedness (2 Sam 16:10-16). Jacob I deliver to the curse and Israel to insult. According to the literal grammatical sense of the Hebrew verbs used here—vaahallel and veettena—they should be translated in the future tense—“and I will give to the curse” and “deliver,” which even more corresponds to the prophetic character of the speech. By “curse and... insult” of the people of Israel should be understood, most immediately, the impending Babylonian captivity, and then all the subsequent disasters to which Israel was subjected during the remainder of its history, which was on the whole very sorrowful. * * * Notes Pleonasm (Greek pleonasmon, from pleonaxo—I am excessive)—a term of stylistics, meaning the use in a sentence of unnecessary words that add nothing to what is already expressed in it. Ed. note.