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¹ Descendants of Jacob,
I, the Lord, created you
    and formed your nation.
Israel, don't be afraid.
    I have rescued you.
I have called you by name;
    now you belong to me.
² When you cross deep rivers,
I will be with you,
    and you won't drown.
When you walk through fire,
you won't be burned
    or scorched by the flames.

³ I am the Lord, your God,
the Holy One of Israel,
    the God who saves you.
I gave up Egypt, Ethiopia,^[a]
and the region of Seba^[b]
    in exchange for you.
⁴ To me, you are very dear,
    and I love you.
That's why I gave up nations
    and people to rescue you.

⁵ Don't be afraid! I am with you.
From both east and west
    I will bring you together.
⁶ I will say to the north
    and to the south,
"Free my sons and daughters!
Let them return
    from distant lands.
⁷ They are my people—
I created each of them
    to bring honor to me."

⁸ Bring my people together.
They have eyes and ears,
    but they can't see or hear.
⁹ Tell everyone of every nation
    to gather around.
None of them can honestly say,
    "We told you so!"
If someone heard them say this,
    then tell us about it now.

¹⁰ My people, you are my witnesses
    and my chosen servant.
I want you to know me,
to trust me,
and understand
    that I alone am God.
I have always been God;
    there can be no others.

¹¹ I alone am the Lord;
    only I can rescue you.
¹² I promised to save you,
    and I kept my promise.
You are my witnesses
that no other god did this.
    I, the Lord, have spoken.
¹³ I am God now and forever.
No one can snatch you from me
    or stand in my way.

¹⁴ I, the Lord, will rescue you!
I am Israel's holy God,
    and this is my promise:
For your sake, I will send
    an army against Babylon
to drag its people away,
    crying as they go.^[c]

¹⁵ I am the Lord, your holy God,
    Israel's Creator and King.
¹⁶ I am the one who cut a path
    through the mighty ocean.
¹⁷ I sent an army to chase you
    with chariots and horses;
now they lie dead,
    unable to move.
They are like an oil lamp
    with the flame snuffed out.

¹⁸ Forget what happened long ago!
    Don't think about the past.
¹⁹ I am creating something new.
    There it is! Do you see it?
I have put roads in deserts,
    streams^[d] in thirsty lands.
²⁰ Every wild animal honors me,
    even jackals^[e] and owls.
I provide water in deserts—
streams in thirsty lands
    for my chosen people.
²¹ I made them my own nation,
    so they would praise me.

²² I, the Lord, said to Israel:
You have become weary,
    but not from worshiping me.
²³ You have not honored me
by sacrificing sheep
    or other animals.
And I have not burdened you
with demands for sacrifices
    or sweet-smelling incense.

²⁴ You have not brought
    delicious spices for me
or given me the best part
    of your sacrificed animals.
Instead, you burden me down
    with your terrible sins.
²⁵ But I wipe away your sins
    because of who I am.
And so, I will forget
    the wrongs you have done.

²⁶ Meet me in court!
State your case
and prove
    that you are right.
²⁷ Your earliest ancestor^[f]
and all of your leaders^[g]
    rebelled against me.
²⁸ That's why I don't allow
    your priests to serve me;
I let Israel be destroyed
    and your people disgraced.