Isaiah 43:3

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NIV

Isaiah

Isaiah 43

3 For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I give Egypt for your ransom, Cush^[a] and Seba in your stead.

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Isaiah 43:3 in Other Translations

KJV

3 For I am the LORD thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee.

ESV

3 For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I give Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in exchange for you.

NLT

3 For I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I gave Egypt as a ransom for your freedom; I gave Ethiopia and Seba in your place.

MSG

3 Because I am God, your personal God, The Holy of Israel, your Savior. I paid a huge price for you: all of Egypt, with rich Cush and Seba thrown in!

CSB

3 For I the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, and your Savior, give Egypt as a ransom for you, Cush and Seba in your place.

Isaiah 43:3 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 43:3

For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour,
&c.] 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 the Israelites; he destroyed the firstborn of Egypt, and saved Israel his firstborn; he drowned the Egyptians in the Red sea, when the Israelites passed safely through it; and the destruction of the former was to make way for the salvation of the latter, and so said to be a ransom for them; see ( Proverbs 11:8 ) ( 21:18 ) : Ethiopia and Seba for thee;
this refers either to the rumour brought to Sennacherib of Tirhakah king of Ethiopia coming against him to war, which diverted him from the siege of Jerusalem for a time, and caused him to turn his forces upon the Ethiopians and Sabeans, whereby the Jews had a respite, ( 2 Kings 19:9 ) or rather to the overthrow of the Ethiopians in the time of Asa, ( 2 Chronicles 14:9-13 ) or to the king of Assyria, perhaps Shalmaneser's being diverted from Palestine and Judea, and turning his forces upon Egypt and Ethiopia, as in ( Isaiah 20:1 ) and the Lord, by putting his people in mind of these instances, suggests hereby that he will sacrifice all their enemies, rather than they shall be destroyed, and therefore they need not fear.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible

Isaiah 43:3 In-Context

1 But now, this is what the LORD says— he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.

2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.

3 For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I give Egypt for your ransom, Cush and Seba in your stead.

4 Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you, I will give people in exchange for you, nations in exchange for your life.

5 Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west.