Limitless Word
Don’t be afraid; for I am with you. I will bring your offspring from the east, and gather you from the west.
Isaiah 43:5 · World English Bible
Parallel translations
  • KJV Fear not: for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west;
  • BSB Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east and gather you from the west.
  • NKJV Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring your descendants from the east, And gather you from the west;
  • NASB “Do not fear, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, And gather you from the west.
  • NLT “Do not be afraid, for I am with you. I will gather you and your children from east and west.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

God tells His people not to fear, for He is with them and will gather their offspring from east and west. It promises a worldwide regathering grounded in God's presence.

Overview

The repeated 'don't be afraid' rests on the assurance of God's presence. The LORD pledges to bring His scattered people home from every direction. This regathering foreshadows the gospel ingathering of God's people from all nations into one family in Christ.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 27

  • Deut 30:3that then Yahweh your God will release you from captivity, have compassion on you, and will return and gather you from all the peoples where Yahweh your God has scattered you.
  • Ezek 39:25–29Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: Now will I bring back the captivity of Jacob, and have mercy on the whole house of Israel; and I will be jealous for my holy name.
  • Isa 49:12Behold, these shall come from afar; and behold, these from the north and from the west; and these from the land of Sinim.”
  • Luke 13:29They will come from the east, west, north, and south, and will sit down in God’s Kingdom.
  • Isa 60:1–11“Arise, shine; for your light has come, and Yahweh’s glory has risen on you.
  • Isa 44:2This is what Yahweh who made you, and formed you from the womb, who will help you says: “Don’t be afraid, Jacob my servant; and you, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen.
  • Ezek 36:24–27For I will take you from among the nations, and gather you out of all the countries, and will bring you into your own land.
  • Acts 18:9–10The Lord said to Paul in the night by a vision, “Don’t be afraid, but speak and don’t be silent;
  • Isa 43:2When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned, and flame will not scorch you.
  • Jer 30:10–11Therefore don’t you be afraid, O Jacob my servant, says Yahweh; neither be dismayed, Israel: for, behold, I will save you from afar, and your offspring from the land of their captivity. Jacob shall return, and shall be quiet and at ease, and no one shall make him afraid.
  • Zech 8:7Yahweh of Armies says: “Behold, I will save my people from the east country, and from the west country;
  • Jer 31:8–9Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the uttermost parts of the earth, along with the blind and the lame, the woman with child and her who travails with child together. They will return as a great company.
  • Isa 41:14Don’t be afraid, you worm Jacob, and you men of Israel. I will help you,” says Yahweh, “and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.
  • Isa 27:12–13It will happen in that day, that Yahweh will thresh from the flowing stream of the Euphrates to the brook of Egypt; and you will be gathered one by one, children of Israel.
  • Ezek 37:21–28Say to them, Thus says the Lord Yahweh: Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, where they are gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land:
  • Isa 41:10Don’t you be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. Yes, I will help you. Yes, I will uphold you with the right hand of my righteousness.
  • Isa 66:19–20“I will set a sign among them, and I will send those who escape of them to the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, who draw the bow, to Tubal and Javan, to far-away islands, who have not heard my fame, nor have seen my glory; and they shall declare my glory among the nations.
  • Ps 106:47Save us, Yahweh, our God, gather us from among the nations, to give thanks to your holy name, to triumph in your praise!
  • Ps 22:27–31All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to Yahweh. All the relatives of the nations shall worship before you.
  • Isa 41:8“But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the offspring of Abraham my friend,
  • John 10:16I have other sheep, which are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will hear my voice. They will become one flock with one shepherd.
  • Mic 2:12I will surely assemble, Jacob, all of you; I will surely gather the remnant of Israel; I will put them together as the sheep of Bozrah, as a flock in the middle of their pasture; they will swarm with people.
  • Jer 30:18–19Yahweh says: “Behold, I will turn again the captivity of Jacob’s tents, and have compassion on his dwelling places. The city shall be built on its own hill, and the palace shall be inhabited in its own place.
  • Isa 11:11–12It will happen in that day that the Lord will set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant that is left of his people from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Cush, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.
  • Ps 107:3And gathered out of the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south.
  • Jer 46:27–28“But don’t you be afraid, Jacob my servant, neither be dismayed, Israel; for, behold, I will save you from afar, and your offspring from the land of their captivity. Jacob will return, and will be quiet and at ease. No one will make him afraid.
  • 1 Kgs 8:46–51If they sin against you (for there is no man who doesn’t sin), and you are angry with them, and deliver them to the enemy, so that they carry them away captive to the land of the enemy, far off or near;

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (1)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Isaiah videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Isaiah 43:5YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on IsaiahMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Isaiah sees him most clearly: the virgin's son Immanuel, the child on David's throne, the shoot from Jesse, the light to the nations, and above all the Suffering Servant pierced for our transgressions (ch. 53).

How Isaiah 43:5 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.