Isaiah 43
1
But now thus saith the LORD 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.
2
When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.
3
For I am the LORD thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Savior: I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Cush and Seba for thee.
4
Since thou hast been precious in my sight, thou hast been honorable, and I have loved thee: therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life.
5
Fear not: for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west;
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I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth;
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Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; verily, I have made him.
8
Bring forth the blind people that have eyes, and the deaf that have ears.
9
Let all the nations be collected, and let the people be assembled: who among them can declare this, and show us former things? let them bring forth their witnesses, that they may be justified: or let them hear, and say, It is truth.
10
Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no god formed, neither shall there be after me.
11
I, even I, am the LORD; and besides me there is no savior.
12
I have declared, and have saved, and I have shown, when there was no strange god among you: therefore ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, that I am God.
13
Yes, before the day was, I am he; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand: I will work, and who shall hinder it?
14
Thus saith the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; For your sake I have sent to Babylon, and have brought down all their nobles, and the Chaldeans, whose cry is in the ships.
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I am the LORD, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King.
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Thus saith the LORD, who maketh a way in the sea, and a path in the mighty waters;
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Who bringeth forth the chariot and horse, the army and the power; they shall lie down together, they shall not rise: they are extinct, they are quenched as tow.
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Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old.
19
Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.
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The beast of the field shall honor me, the dragons and the owls: because I give waters in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert, to give drink to my people, my chosen.
21
This people have I formed for myself; they shall show forth my praise.
22
But thou hast not called upon me, O Jacob; but thou hast been weary of me, O Israel.
23
Thou hast not brought me the small cattle of thy burnt-offerings; neither hast thou honored me with thy sacrifices. I have not caused thee to serve with an offering, nor wearied thee with incense.
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Thou hast bought me no sweet cane with money, neither hast thou filled me with the fat of thy sacrifices: but thou hast made me to serve with thy sins, thou hast wearied me with thy iniquities.
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I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for my own sake, and will not remember thy sins.
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Put me in remembrance: let us plead together: declare thou, that thou mayest be justified.
27
Thy first father hath sinned, and thy teachers have transgressed against me.
28
Therefore I have profaned the princes of the sanctuary, and have given Jacob to the curse, and Israel to reproaches.
True Christian Religion＃314
314. In the spiritual sense committing adultery means adulterating the various kinds of good in the Word and falsifying its truths. These meanings of committing adultery have until now been unknown, because the spiritual sense of the Word has until now been hidden. It is perfectly plain from the following passages that this and nothing else is meant in the Word by 'committing fornication, committing adultery, and whoring.'
Run up and down the streets of Jerusalem, and seek to find a man who acts righteously and seeks the truth; when I gave them plenty, they went after whores, Jeremiah 5:1, 7.
Among the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen horrible obstinacy, in committing adultery and going about lying, Jeremiah 23:14.
They acted foolishly in Israel, they went after whores, and spoke my Word untruthfully, Jeremiah 29:23.
They went after whores, because they have abandoned Jehovah, Hosea 4:10.
I will cut off the soul which pays attention to soothsayers and fortunetellers, to go whoring after them, Leviticus 20:6.
No treaty is to be made with the inhabitants of the land, for fear the people should go whoring after their gods, Exodus 34:15.
Since Babylon stands pre-eminent in adulterating and falsifying the Word, that is why she is called the great prostitute, and the following things are said about her in Revelation:
Babylon has given all nations to drink from the wine of anger of her whoring, Revelation 14:8.
The angel said, I will show you the judgment of the great prostitute, with whom the kings of the earth have gone whoring, Revelation 17:1-2.
He has judged the great prostitute, who corrupted the earth with her whoring, Revelation 19:2.
It was because the Jewish nation falsified the Word that it was called by the Lord 'an adulterous generation' (Matthew 12:39; 16:4; Mark 8:38) and 'the seed of an adulterer' (Isaiah 57:3). In many other passages too adulteries and whoring are to be understood as meaning adulteration and falsification of the Word: e.g, Jeremiah 3:6, 8; 13:27; Ezekiel 16:15-16, 26, 28-29, 32-33; 23:2-3, 5, 7, 11, 14, 17; Hosea 5:3; 6:10; Nahum 3:4.
