Yesaya 41:8

The Lord Encourages His People

41:8 “You, my servant Israel,

Jacob whom I have chosen,

offspring of Abraham my friend, ¹ 

Yesaya 43:20

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,

Yesaya 44:1-2

The Lord Will Renew Israel

44:1 “Now, listen, Jacob my servant,

Israel whom I have chosen!”

44:2 This is what the Lord, the one who made you, says –

the one who formed you in the womb and helps you:

“Don’t be afraid, my servant Jacob,

Jeshurun, ²  whom I have chosen!

Yesaya 45:4

45:4 For the sake of my servant Jacob,

Israel, my chosen one,

I call you by name

and give you a title of respect, even though you do not recognize ³  me.

Yesaya 48:12

48:12 Listen to me, O Jacob,

Israel, whom I summoned!

I am the one;

I am present at the very beginning

and at the very end. ⁴ 

Yesaya 51:2

51:2 Look at Abraham, your father,

and Sarah, who gave you birth. ⁵ 

When I summoned him, he was a lone individual, ⁶ 

but I blessed him ⁷  and gave him numerous descendants. ⁸ 

[41:8]  ¹ tn Or perhaps, “covenantal partner” (see 1 Kgs 5:15 HT [5:1 ET]; 2 Chr 20:7).

[44:2]  ² sn Jeshurun is a poetic name for Israel; it occurs here and in Deut 32:15; 33:5, 26.

[45:4]  ³ tn Or “know” (NCV, NRSV, TEV, NLT); NIV “acknowledge.”

[48:12]  ⁴ tn Heb “I [am] he, I [am the] first, also I [am the] last.”

[51:2]  ⁵ sn Although Abraham and Sarah are distant ancestors of the people the prophet is addressing, they are spoken of as the immediate parents.

[51:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “one”; NLT “was alone”; TEV “was childless.”

[51:2]  ⁷ tn “Bless” may here carry the sense of “endue with potency, reproductive power.” See Gen 1:28.

[51:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “and I made him numerous.”