Isaiah 43:1-7

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Isaiah 43:1-7

This chapter has a plain connexion with the close of the foregoing chapter, but a very surprising one. It was there said that Jacob and Israel would not walk in God's ways, and that when he corrected them for their disobedience they were stubborn and laid it not to heart; and now one would think it should have followed that God would utterly abandon and destroy them; but no, the next words are, But now, fear not, O Jacob! O Israel! I have redeemed thee, and thou art mine. Though many among... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 43:1

But now thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob ,.... This prophecy is not concerning Cyrus, and the redemption of the Jews by him, as some have thought; nor of Sennacherib and his army, and of their deliverance from him, as Kimchi and his father interpret it; but of the Christian church, and the state of it, when Jerusalem should be destroyed, as predicted in the preceding chapter; which goes by the name of Jacob and Israel, for the first churches chiefly consisted of Jews, and both... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 43:2

When thou passest through the waters; I will be with thee ,.... The Targum and Jarchi apply this to the Israelites' passage through the waters of the Red sea, as a thing past; and Kimchi to Sennacherib's army, compared to the waters of a river strong and many, Isaiah 8:7 . Jerom says, that the Jewish writers by "waters" would have the Egyptians understood; by the "rivers", the Babylonians; by "fire", the Macedonians; and by the "flame", the Romans; which is not amiss; but rather the... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 43:3

For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour ,.... The Lord is the covenant God of his people, holy in himself, and the sanctifier of them, and their Saviour in time of trouble; and therefore need no doubt of his presence and support amidst all their afflictions; and besides they should call to mind past experiences of his goodness, to encourage their faith in him, as to present help and assistance: I gave Egypt for thy ransom ; he sacrificed the Egyptians instead of... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 43:4

Since thou wast precious in my sight ,.... As the saints are; not that they are valuable in themselves; they have no intrinsic worth in them; they are in no wise better than others; they are of the same mass and lump with others; they are of the fallen race of Adam, and are earthly and simple as he was; nor are they precious in their own sight, and much less in the eyes of the world; they are mean and despicable: but they are precious in the sight of God and Christ; in the sight of God the... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 43:5

Fear not, for I am with thee ,.... With thy ministers that preach the everlasting Gospel, to make it effectual to the conversion of many everywhere, as well as to bear thee up under all trials, and to cause thee to stand against all opposition: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west ; which is to be understood not literally of the return of the Jews from the Babylonish captivity; for these several quarters, east, west, north, and south, will hardly agree with... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 43:6

I will say to the north, give up: and to the south, keep not back ,.... That is, give up, and not retain, those that belong to the Lord; here the winds are spoken to by a personification; or the inhabitants of the northern and southern climates are called upon to deliver up the Lord's people to him, for whose sake the Gospel was sent into these parts, to find them out, and bring them home; by the "north" may be meant the Goths, Swedes, Muscovites, and those northern isles of ours, with... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 43:7

Even everyone that is called by my name ,.... That is called by the name of God, a son or daughter of his; or by the name of Christ, a Christian; whoever belongs to the Lord, whom he calls by his name; and who, being called by his grace, call upon his name, make a profession of his name, and serve and worship him: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him, yea, I have made him ; all which is expressive of the power and grace of God, in the regeneration and conversion of his... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Isaiah 43:1

I have called thee by thy name - " בשמך קראתי karathi beshimcha . So all the versions. But it seems from the seventh verse, and from the thing itself, that we should read בשמי קראתיך karathicha bishmi , 'I have called thee by my name;' for this form of speech often occurs - the other never. For Isaiah 45:24 , concerning Cyrus, is another matter; but when God calls Jacob Israel, he calls him by the name of God. See Exodus 31:2 ." - Secker. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Isaiah 43:3

I gave Egypt for thy ransom - This is commonly supposed to refer to the time of Sennacherib's invasion; who, when he was just ready to fall upon Jerusalem, soon after his entering Judea, was providentially diverted from that design, and turned his arms against the Egyptians, and their allies the Cushean Arabians, with their neighbors the Sabeans, probably joined with them under Tirhakah. See Isaiah 20:1-6 ; and Isaiah 37:9 . Or as there are some reasonable objections to this opinion,... read more

Group of Brands