Discovery BoxIsaiah 43:14-21 
Context43:14 This is what the Lord says,
your protector, 1 the Holy One of Israel: 2
“For your sake I send to Babylon
and make them all fugitives, 3
turning the Babylonians’ joyful shouts into mourning songs. 4
43:15 I am the Lord, your Holy One, 5
the one who created Israel, your king.”
43:16 This is what the Lord says,
the one who made a road through the sea,
a pathway through the surging waters,
43:17 the one who led chariots and horses to destruction, 6
together with a mighty army.
They fell down, 7 never to rise again;
they were extinguished, put out like a burning wick:
43:18 “Don’t remember these earlier events; 8
don’t recall these former events.
43:19 “Look, I am about to do something new.
Now it begins to happen! 9 Do you not recognize 10 it?
Yes, I will make a road in the desert
and paths 11 in the wilderness.
43:20 The wild animals of the desert honor me,
the jackals and ostriches,
because I put water in the desert
and streams in the wilderness,
to quench the thirst of my chosen people,
43:21 the people whom I formed for myself,
so they might praise me.” 12
1 tn Or “kinsman redeemer.” See the note at 41:14.
2 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
3 tn Heb “and I bring down [as] fugitives all of them.”
4 tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “as for the Babylonians, in ships their joyful shout.” This might be paraphrased, “even the Babylonians in the ships [over which] they joyfully shouted.” The point would be that the Lord caused the Babylonians to flee for safety in the ships in which they took such great pride. A slight change in vocalization yields the reading “into mourning songs,” which provides a good contrast with “joyful shout.” The prefixed bet (בְּ) would indicate identity.
5 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
6 tn Heb “led out chariots and horses.” The words “to destruction” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The verse refers to the destruction of the Egyptians at the Red Sea.
7 tn Heb “lay down”; NAB “lie prostrate together”; CEV “lie dead”; NRSV “they lie down.”
8 tn Heb “the former things” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NLT “forget all that.”
9 tn Heb “sprouts up”; NASB “will spring forth.”
10 tn Or “know” (KJV, ASV); NASB “be aware of”; NAB, NIV, NRSV “perceive.”
11 tn The Hebrew texts has “streams,” probably under the influence of v. 20. The Qumran scroll 1QIsaa has נתיבות (“paths”).
12 tn Heb “[so] they might declare my praise.”
