Isaiah 48
International Standard Version
God the Creator and Redeemer
48 “Listen to this, house of Jacob,
you who are called by the name of Israel,
and who have come forth from Judah’s loins;[a]
you who swear oaths in the name of the Lord
and invoke the God of Israel—
but not in truth, nor in good faith.
2 For they name themselves after the holy city,
and rely on the God of Israel—
the Lord of the Heavenly Armies is his name.
3 I foretold the former things long ago;
it[b] went forth from my mouth,
and I disclosed them;
Suddenly, I acted,
and they came to pass.
4 Because I knew[c] that you are obstinate,
and because your neck is an iron sinew,
and your forehead is bronze,
5 I told you these things long ago;
I announced them to you before they happened
so that you couldn’t say, ‘My idol did them;
my[d] carved image or metal idol ordained them.’
6 “You have heard—now look at them all!
How[e] can you not admit them?
From now on, I’ll make you hear new things,
hidden things that you have not known.
7 They are created now, and not long ago;
you didn’t hear them before today,
so you cannot say, ‘Yes, I knew them.’
8 And[f] neither had you heard, nor did you understand,
nor did you open[g] your ear long ago.[h]
Indeed, I knew that[i] you would act very deceitfully,
and they would call[j] you a rebel from birth.
9 I defer my anger for my name’s sake,
and as my first act[k] I’m restraining it for you,
so as not to cut you off.
10 Look, I have refined you, but not like silver;
I have purified[l] you in the furnace of affliction.
11 For my own sake—Yes, for my own sake!—I’m doing it;
indeed, how can I be profaned?[m]
Furthermore, I won’t give my glory to another.”
The Lord Calls Israel
12 “Listen to these things,[n] Jacob,
and Israel, whom I have called.
I am the One: I am the first,
I am even[o] the last.
13 Moreover, my hands laid[p] the earth’s foundation,
and my right hand spread out the heavens.
I call out to them,
and[q] they stand up together.
14 Let all of them come together and listen:[r]
Who is there among them that could declare[s] these things?
“The Lord loves me,[t]
and he will accomplish[u] my purpose[v] against Babylon;
his arm[w] will be against the Chaldeans.
15 I—Yes, I!—have spoken;
indeed, I’ve called and[x] I’ve brought him,
and he will make his path successful.[y]
16 Draw near to me, and[z] listen to this:
‘From the beginning I haven’t spoken in secret;
at[aa] the time it happened, I was there.’
And now the Lord God, and his Spirit, has sent me.[ab]
17 “This is what the Lord says,
your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
“I am the Lord your God,
who teaches you how to succeed,
who directs you[ac] in the path by which[ad] you should go.
18 Now[ae] if only you had paid attention to my commandments!
Then your peace would have been like a river,
and your success like the waves of the sea.
19 Your descendants would’ve been like the sand,
and your offspring[af] like its numberless grains.
Their name wouldn’t have been cut off
or annihilated out of my reach.
20 “Go out from Babylon, flee from the Chaldeans!
With happy shouts, announce
and[ag] proclaim this[ah] to the ends[ai] of the earth:
Say, ‘The Lord has redeemed his servant Jacob!’
21 They didn’t thirst when he led him[aj] through the desolate places.
He made water gush[ak] from a rock for them;
he split open the rock, and water gushed out.
22 “But[al] there is no peace,” says the Lord, “for the wicked.”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 48:1 Lit. waters; this word is misspelled in both 1QIsaa and MT
- Isaiah 48:3 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read they
- Isaiah 48:4 Lit. Because of my knowledge
- Isaiah 48:5 So 1QIsaa; MT reads and my
- Isaiah 48:6 Lit. And how
- Isaiah 48:8 So 1QIsaa; 4QIsab MT LXX lack And
- Isaiah 48:8 So 1QIsaa Targ; MT reads did your ear open itself; CaiGen Syr Vulg read was your ear uncovered
- Isaiah 48:8 Lit. ear from of old
- Isaiah 48:8 So 1QIsaa LXX; MT lacks that
- Isaiah 48:8 So 1QIsaa; LXX Targ read and you would be called; 4QIsad MT read deceitfully, calling
- Isaiah 48:9 Lit. and for my commencement; or and for my profanation; so 1QIsaa; 4QIsad MT read for my praise; LXX reads for my glorious deeds
- Isaiah 48:10 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read chosen
- Isaiah 48:11 Or can I wait; so 1QIsaa; 4QIsad MT read can it be profaned; 4QIsad MT read can it wait; LXX reads can my name be profaned
- Isaiah 48:12 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read me
- Isaiah 48:12 So 1QIsaa MT; 4QIsad reads also
- Isaiah 48:13 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read hand laid
- Isaiah 48:13 So 1QIsaa 4QIsac 4QIsad LXX; MT lacks and
- Isaiah 48:14 So 1QIsaa LXX; 4QIsad MT read Come together, all of you, and listen!
- Isaiah 48:14 So 1QIsaa; 4QIsad MT LXX read has declared
- Isaiah 48:14 So 1QIsaa; 4QIsad MT read him; LXX reads you
- Isaiah 48:14 So 1QIsaa (misspelling carry out); 4QIsad MT read He will carry out; LXX reads I have carried out
- Isaiah 48:14 So 1QIsaa; 4QIsad MT LXXms read his purpose; LXX reads your purpose
- Isaiah 48:14 I.e. the Messiah; so 1QIsaa; MT reads and his arm; LXX reads to do away with the offspring
- Isaiah 48:15 So 1QIsaa; 4QIsad MT read called him; 4QIsac LXX read brought him
- Isaiah 48:15 Or his path will be successful; so 1QIsaa (feminine) and 4QIsad MT (masculine); 4QIsac LXX read I will make his path successful
- Isaiah 48:16 So 1QIsaa LXX; MT lacks and
- Isaiah 48:16 So 1QIsaa LXX; MT reads from
- Isaiah 48:16 Or has sent me and his Spirit.
- Isaiah 48:17 1QIsaa misspells this word
- Isaiah 48:17 So 1QIsaa LXX; 1QIsab 4QIsac 4QIsad MT lack which
- Isaiah 48:18 So 1QIsaa 1QIsab 4QIsac LXX; MT lacks Now
- Isaiah 48:19 So 1QIsaa; 1QIsab MT LXX read the offspring of your loins
- Isaiah 48:20 So 1QIsaa LXX; 1QIsab MT lack and
- Isaiah 48:20 So 1QIsaa; 1QIsab 4QIsad MT LXX read this. Send it forth
- Isaiah 48:20 So 1QIsaa; 4QIsad MT LXX read end
- Isaiah 48:21 So 1QIsaa LXXmss; 4QIsad MT LXX read them
- Isaiah 48:21 So 1QIsaa Syr; cf. Ps 78:20 and 105:41; 1QIsab 4QIsad MT read flow; LXX reads he will bring forth
- Isaiah 48:22 So 1QIsaa; 1QIsab MT LXX lack But
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