Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. I will bring your offspring from the east, and gather you from the west.
Parallel Translations
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Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. I will bring your offspring from the east, and gather you from the west.
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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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Fear not, for I am with thee; I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west;
Cross-references (27)
Passages linked to Isaiah 43:5 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Deuteronomy 30:3 that 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.
- Isaiah 49:12 Behold, these shall come from afar, and behold, these from the north and from the west; and these from the land of Sinim.”
- Ezekiel 39:25-29 “Therefore the Lord Yahweh says: ‘Now I will reverse the captivity of Jacob, and have mercy on the whole house of Israel. I will be jealous for my holy name. They will bear their shame, and all their trespasses by which they have trespassed against me, when they dwell securely in their land, and no one will make them afraid, when I have brought them back from the peoples, and gathered them out of their enemies’ lands, and am sanctified in them in the sight of many nations. They will know that I am Yahweh their God, in that I caused them to go into captivity among the nations, and have gathered them to their own land. Then I will leave none of them captive any more. I won’t hide my face from them any more; for I have poured out my Spirit on the house of Israel,’ says the Lord Yahweh.”
- Luke 13:29 They will come from the east, west, north, and south, and will sit down in God’s Kingdom.
- Isaiah 44:2 This 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.
- Isaiah 60:1-11 “Arise, shine; for your light has come, and Yahweh’s glory has risen on you. For, behold, darkness will cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but Yahweh will arise on you, and his glory shall be seen on you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising. “Lift up your eyes all around, and see: they all gather themselves together. They come to you. Your sons will come from far away, and your daughters will be carried in arms. Then you shall see and be radiant, and your heart will thrill and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea will be turned to you. The wealth of the nations will come to you. A multitude of camels will cover you, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah. All from Sheba will come. They will bring gold and frankincense, and will proclaim the praises of Yahweh. All the flocks of Kedar will be gathered together to you. The rams of Nebaioth will serve you. They will be accepted as offerings on my altar; and I will beautify my glorious house. “Who are these who fly as a cloud, and as the doves to their windows? Surely the islands will wait for me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring your sons from far, their silver and their gold with them, for the name of Yahweh your God, and for the Holy One of Israel, because he has glorified you. “Foreigners will build up your walls, and their kings will serve you: for in my wrath I struck you, but in my favor I have had mercy on you. Your gates also shall be open continually; they shall not be shut day nor night, that men may bring to you the wealth of the nations, and their kings led captive.
- Ezekiel 36:24-27 “ ‘ “For I will take you from among the nations and gather you out of all the countries, and will bring you into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your filthiness, and from all your idols. I will also give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit within you. I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes. You will keep my ordinances and do them.
- Acts 18:9-10 The Lord said to Paul in the night by a vision, “Don’t be afraid, but speak and don’t be silent; for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many people in this city.”
- Isaiah 43:2 When 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.
- Jeremiah 30:10-11 Therefore don’t be afraid, O Jacob my servant, says Yahweh. Don’t be dismayed, Israel. For, behold, I will save you from afar, and save your offspring from the land of their captivity. Jacob will return, and will be quiet and at ease. No one will make him afraid. For I am with you, says Yahweh, to save you; for I will make a full end of all the nations where I have scattered you, but I will not make a full end of you; but I will correct you in measure, and will in no way leave you unpunished.”
- Jeremiah 31:8-9 Behold, 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. They will come with weeping. I will lead them with petitions. I will cause them to walk by rivers of waters, in a straight way in which they won’t stumble; for I am a father to Israel. Ephraim is my firstborn.
- Zechariah 8:7 Yahweh of Armies says: “Behold, I will save my people from the east country, and from the west country;
- Isaiah 27:12-13 It 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. It will happen in that day that a great trumpet will be blown; and those who were ready to perish in the land of Assyria, and those who were outcasts in the land of Egypt, shall come; and they will worship Yahweh in the holy mountain at Jerusalem.
- Isaiah 41:10 Don’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.
- Isaiah 41:14 Don’t be afraid, you worm Jacob, and you men of Israel. I will help you,” says Yahweh. “Your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.
- Ezekiel 37:21-28 Say to them, ‘The Lord Yahweh says: “Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, where they have gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land. I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. One king will be king to them all. They will no longer be two nations. They won’t be divided into two kingdoms any more at all. They won’t defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions; but I will save them out of all their dwelling places, in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them. So they will be my people, and I will be their God. “ ‘ “My servant David will be king over them. They all will have one shepherd. They will also walk in my ordinances, and observe my statutes, and do them. They will dwell in the land that I have given to Jacob my servant, in which your fathers lived. They will dwell therein, they, and their children, and their children’s children, forever. David my servant will be their prince forever. Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them. It will be an everlasting covenant with them. I will place them, multiply them, and will set my sanctuary among them forever more. My tent also will be with them. I will be their God, and they will be my people. The nations will know that I am Yahweh who sanctifies Israel, when my sanctuary is among them forever more.” ’ ”
- Psalms 22:27-31 All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to Yahweh. All the relatives of the nations shall worship before you. For the kingdom is Yahweh’s. He is the ruler over the nations. All the rich ones of the earth shall eat and worship. All those who go down to the dust shall bow before him, even he who can’t keep his soul alive. Posterity shall serve him. Future generations shall be told about the Lord. They shall come and shall declare his righteousness to a people that shall be born, for he has done it.
- Psalms 106:47 Save us, Yahweh, our God, gather us from among the nations, to give thanks to your holy name, to triumph in your praise!
- Isaiah 41:8 “But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the offspring of Abraham my friend,
- Isaiah 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. They shall bring all your brothers out of all the nations for an offering to Yahweh, on horses, in chariots, in litters, on mules, and on camels, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, says Yahweh, as the children of Israel bring their offering in a clean vessel into Yahweh’s house.
- Micah 2:12 I 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.
- John 10:16 I 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.
- Psalms 107:3 And gathered out of the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south.
- Isaiah 11:11-12 It 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. He will set up a banner for the nations, and will assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.
- Jeremiah 30:18-19 Yahweh says: “Behold, I will reverse the captivity of Jacob’s tents, and have compassion on his dwelling places. The city will be built on its own hill, and the palace will be inhabited in its own place. Thanksgiving will proceed out of them with the voice of those who make merry. I will multiply them, and they will not be few; I will also glorify them, and they will not be small.
- 1 Kings 8:46-51 If 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; yet if they repent in the land where they are carried captive, and turn again, and make supplication to you in the land of those who carried them captive, saying, ‘We have sinned, and have done perversely; we have dealt wickedly;’ if they return to you with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies, who carried them captive, and pray to you toward their land, which you gave to their fathers, the city which you have chosen, and the house which I have built for your name; then hear their prayer and their supplication in heaven, your dwelling place, and maintain their cause; and forgive your people who have sinned against you, and all their transgressions in which they have transgressed against you; and give them compassion before those who carried them captive, that they may have compassion on them (for they are your people, and your inheritance, which you brought out of Egypt, from the middle of the iron furnace);
- Jeremiah 46:27-28 “But don’t you be afraid, Jacob my servant. Don’t 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. Don’t be afraid, O Jacob my servant,” says Yahweh; “for I am with you; for I will make a full end of all the nations where I have driven you; but I will not make a full end of you, but I will correct you in measure, and will in no way leave you unpunished.”
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (14 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain He prophesieth of their deliverance from the captivity of…
He prophesieth of their deliverance from the captivity of Babylon, and so of the calling of the universal Church, alluding to that which is written, Deut. 30:3.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Isa 43:5 Fear not: for I [am] with thee:…
Isa 43:5 Fear not: for I [am] with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west;
Ver. 5. I will bring thy seed from the east.] From all coasts and quarters. This was a type of the Church in the New Testament; see Mat 8:11 Joh 11:52 Joh 10:16 Gal 3:28; this was also a type of the last resurrection. See Rev 20:13.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Although the Jews shall for their sins be carried…
Although the Jews shall for their sins be carried captives out of their own land northward and eastward into Babylon and the adjacent countries, and others of them shall flee southward and westward, and shall there pine away in their iniquities, as I threatened; yet their posterity I will bring back into Canaan, from all the places where they are dispersed.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Fear not, for I am with thee,.... With thy…
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 that, though it may be supposed they were scattered in several countries; but spiritually of the gathering in of God's elect, whether Jews or Gentiles, which were scattered abroad throughout the world, called the "seed" of the church, because born to her, and brought up in her, and of which she consists; and therefore she herself is said to be gathered, converts being brought in from all quarters; from the "east", even from India, where the Apostle Thomas is said to preach the Gospel, and from other "eastern" countries; and from the "west", from the European nations, good part of which lay west of Judea. Our Lord seems to have respect to this passage in Mat 8:12.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Isa 43:5-7. I will bring thy seed from the…
Isa 43:5-7. I will bring thy seed from the east, &c. — Although the Jews, for their sins, shall be carried captives out of their own land northward and eastward into Babylon, and the adjacent countries; and others of them shall flee southward and westward, and shall there pine away in their iniquities, as I have threatened; yet I will bring back their posterity into Canaan, from all the places where they are dispersed. I will say to the north, Give up — Thou, who hast so long held my people in bondage, resign them to me, and permit them to return to their own land. He speaks to the countries by a prosopopœia. Bring my sons from far — Not only permit, but assist and further their return. Every one that is called — Rather, every one is called, or, they are all called, by my name — I own them for my people and children; and, therefore, what kindness or cruelty you exercise toward them, I take it as done to myself. I have created him for my glory — And therefore I will glorify my power, and goodness, and faithfulness in delivering them. I have formed him — I have not only created them out of nothing, but I have also formed and made them my peculiar people. We must observe, however, that while Isaiah “appears to speak of one thing only, two are understood: the less includes the greater. Speaking literally and properly of the collection of the dispersed church from Babylon, — a more noble collection, the spiritual one, of the converted Jews and Gentiles to the church of Christ, was in his view; and this is described in expressions taken from the external collection of the church from Babylon, and the restoration of the republic under the Maccabees; exactly in the same manner as in chap. 11:12, which should be compared with this place. The 7th verse plainly shows that the spiritual seed of Israel is spoken of. Every one that is called by my name, means, every one who is truly my son; for to be called by the name of any one is to be his son.” See chap. 45:5, and Vitringa.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Fear not - (see the note at Isa 41:10,…
Fear not - (see the note at Isa 41:10, Isa 41:14; compare Isa 43:1).
I will bring thy seed - Thy children; thy descendants. The sense is, I will re-collect my scattered people from all parts of the world. The passage appears to have been taken from Deu 30:3, where God promises to gather his people together again if they should be scattered among the nations, and should then repent. Vitringa understands this of the spiritual descendants of the Jews, or of those who should believe on the Messiah among the Gentiles, and who should become the people of God. But the more natural interpretation is, to refer it to the Jews who were scattered abroad during the exile at Babylon, and as a promise to re-collect them again in their own land.
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From the east ... - From all parts of the earth; from all lands where they were scattered. That they were driven to other places than Babylon on the invasion of their land by the Chaldeans, is abundantly manifest in the historical records Jer 9:16; Eze 5:12; Eze 17:21; Amo 9:9; Zec 2:6.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain East. Babylon. --- West. The island beyond the Mediterranean.
East. Babylon. --- West. The island beyond the Mediterranean.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain (Deu 30:3).
(Deu 30:3).
seed--descendants scattered in all lands. VITRINGA understands it of the spiritual "seed" of the Church produced by mystical regeneration: for the expression is, "bring," not "bring back." This sense is perhaps included, but not to the exclusion of the literal Israel's restoration (Jer 30:10-11; Amo 9:9; Zac 2:6-13).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 5-7. Fear not — Resumed from Isa_43:1, to add…
5-7. Fear not — Resumed from Isa_43:1, to add a second reason for Israel’s confidence — because God commands restoration from every quarter — from east, west, north, south. Not literal restoration of all the dispersed of Israel to the literal Zion, but a spiritual restoring, shall occur of every one… called by my name. Thus explaining why God has created… formed… made, Israel. Gentiles are hence intended as included with believing Jews.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 5–7. The ingathering of the Dispersion (cf. ch. Isa_49:12).
5–7. The ingathering of the Dispersion (cf. ch. Isa_49:12).
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (5) From the east . . .—Even from Isaiah’s…
(5) From the east . . .—Even from Isaiah’s stand-point, the dispersion of Israel might well be contemplated in all this wide extent. The Ten Tribes were already carried off to the cities of the Medes (2Ki_17:6). The Babylonian exile had its beginning under Esar-haddon (2Ch_33:11); others may have been found before the time of Zephaniah (Zep_3:10) beyond the rivers of Ethiopia. Even in the time of Joel the slave-trade of the Phœnicians had carried the sons of Judah and Jerusalem to the western isles of Javan, or Ionia (Joe_3:6).
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Fear not: for I am with thee. (comp. Isa_41:10)…
Fear not: for I am with thee. (comp. Isa_41:10) I will bring thy seed from the east... from the west. The actual extent of the Jewish diaspora in Isaiah"s day has been greatly exaggerated by some modern critics, who say that there were at that date "bands of Jewish exiles in the far lands of the Mediterranean, and even in China" (Cheyne). Israel had been carried captive into Mesopotamia and into Media, (1Ch_5:26) perhaps, also, into other regions belonging at the time to Assyria, as Babylonia, Assyria Proper, Syria. Two hundred thousand Jews had been taken to Nineveh by Sennacherib ("Eponym Canon," p. 134), and planted probably by him m outlying portions of his dominions. But such transplantation would not carry the dispersion further than Cilicia and Cyprus towards the west, Armenia towards the north, Media towards the east, and the shores of the Persian Gulf towards the south. Any scattering of the nation into regions more remote than these, as into Egypt, Ethiopia, Elam, (Isa_11:11) and China if Sinim is (Isa_49:12) must have been seen by Isaiah in vision, or made known to him by revelation. It had not taken place in his day. The expression, "ends of the earth" (ver. 6), must not be pressed in Isaiah any more than in Herodotus, where the escatiai thv oikoumehv are India, Arabia, Ethiopia, and Scythia (3:106-116).
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain I will bring thy seed from the east
Isa_43:5-6
I will bring thy seed from the east
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Obligations of Christians to labour for the conversion of the Jews
This prophecy looks far beyond the deliverance of the Jews from their former captivity.
It evidently points to that great and glorious deliverance which still awaits them. A deliverance that will eclipse and infinitely outshine their former deliverances from Egypt and from Babylon. Apply the passage to the recall and conversion of the Jews.
I. OUR OBLIGATIONS, AS CHRISTIANS, TO ENGAGE IN THIS WORK.
1. Gratitude for the inestimable benefits which we have derived from them Rom_3:1-2; Rom_9:4-5).
2. As a reparation of the cruel wrongs and injuries which we have inflicted upon them. Every Christian country is deep in this guilt, and every Christian country requires a national expiation of it.
3. From an ardent desire to promote the glory of God.
II. OUR ENCOURAGEMENT TO PROCEED AND PERSEVERE IN IT. To some, the attempt to convert the Jews may appear visionary; to others, inexpedient; but they who are acquainted with their Bibles must know that it is not hopeless. We are encouraged to attempt this work--
1. From the testimony of prophecy.
2. From the very great attention which has already been excited among the Jews.
3. From the present signs of the times.
III. THE GLORIOUS CONSEQUENCES THAT WILL RESULT FROM THE CONVERSION OF THE JEWS.
1. To the world. It will be the commencement of a new and blessed era to all nations.
2. To the Church of God. The conversion of the Jews shall be the means of bringing in the whole fulness of the Gentiles.
(1) To Gods covenant with Abraham and with his seed you owe all that you are, and all that you hope to be.
(2) When Christ sent forth His apostles to preach the Gospel of the kingdom, He particularly charged them to begin at Jerusalem. (Earl Gibbee, D. D.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain (A Motto Text for the New Year.)
FOREBODINGS FORBIDDEN
(A Motto Text for the New Year.)
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Isa_43:5. Fear not, for I am with thee.
Again we enter upon the dark of uncertainty. Standing upon the threshold of another year, which we know by experience will have its cares, and its perils, and its sorrows. What is the true antidote of fear? What is the real elixir of the happiness we wish to one another but the presence and protection of the Lord? This He guarantees to us: “Fear not, for I am with thee.”
I. FEAR IS NATURAL TO MAN.
1. As a feeble creature in the midst of the irresistible and mysterious powers of the universe. What can allay this fear but the protection of One who can control those forces, who is mightier than they, and will use that might in my behalf?
2. As a sinner, conscious of violations of the law of the Great Ruler, and therefore justly apprehensive of the divine displeasure. The religion of the Bible reveals the Creator as a Saviour, delighting in mercy. Thus the real language of the Bible is, Fear not. To Abraham, Isaac, Joshua, Gideon, &c. In all these exhortations not to fear, the reason given is Jehovah’s presence; but it is that very presence that makes the conscious sinner afraid (Gen_3:8). Yet in the Bible the presence of God is urged as a dissuasive against fear. Because God is revealed to us as merciful, &c.—in Jesus Christ as the Saviour and the friend of sinners.
II. THOSE QUALITIES WHICH RENDER THE PRESENCE OF GOD AN ANTIDOTE TO FEAR.
The power which any one possesses to dissipate fear by his presence depends upon the qualities of that person, his ability and his willingness to help. The character of God is what He is in Himself, what He has already done, and what He has promised to do; it is this which gives force to the exhortation, “Fear not, for I am with thee.”
III. SOME OF THOSE OCCASIONS TO WHICH THE EXHORTATION IS SPECIALLY APPLICABLE.
The first Sabbath of the year. We walk forward in darkness; what that darkness conceals we cannot even conjecture. Fear may suggest various evils. God says, “Fear not, for I am with thee.” To some the year is sure to prove one of severe trial. To some this year will be the last on earth.
CONCLUSION.—Appeal to those who do not regard the presence of God as the chief element of their joy, as that which chiefly will make the year a happy one.—Newman Hall, LL.B.: The Christian World, January 8, 1864.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.