Isaiah 48
New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
God the Creator and Redeemer
48 Hear this, O house of Jacob,
who are called by the name of Israel,
and who came forth from the loins[a] of Judah;
who swear by the name of the Lord,
and invoke the God of Israel,
but not in truth or right.
2 For they call themselves after the holy city,
and lean on the God of Israel;
the Lord of hosts is his name.
3 The former things I declared long ago,
they went out from my mouth and I made them known;
then suddenly I did them and they came to pass.
4 Because I know that you are obstinate,
and your neck is an iron sinew
and your forehead brass,
5 I declared them to you from long ago,
before they came to pass I announced them to you,
so that you would not say, “My idol did them,
my carved image and my cast image commanded them.”
6 You have heard; now see all this;
and will you not declare it?
From this time forward I make you hear new things,
hidden things that you have not known.
7 They are created now, not long ago;
before today you have never heard of them,
so that you could not say, “I already knew them.”
8 You have never heard, you have never known,
from of old your ear has not been opened.
For I knew that you would deal very treacherously,
and that from birth you were called a rebel.
9 For my name’s sake I defer my anger,
for the sake of my praise I restrain it for you,
so that I may not cut you off.
10 See, I have refined you, but not like[b] silver;
I have tested you in the furnace of adversity.
11 For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it,
for why should my name[c] be profaned?
My glory I will not give to another.
12 Listen to me, O Jacob,
and Israel, whom I called:
I am He; I am the first,
and I am the last.
13 My hand laid the foundation of the earth,
and my right hand spread out the heavens;
when I summon them,
they stand at attention.
14 Assemble, all of you, and hear!
Who among them has declared these things?
The Lord loves him;
he shall perform his purpose on Babylon,
and his arm shall be against the Chaldeans.
15 I, even I, have spoken and called him,
I have brought him, and he will prosper in his way.
16 Draw near to me, hear this!
From the beginning I have not spoken in secret,
from the time it came to be I have been there.
And now the Lord God has sent me and his spirit.
17 Thus says the Lord,
your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
I am the Lord your God,
who teaches you for your own good,
who leads you in the way you should go.
18 O that you had paid attention to my commandments!
Then your prosperity would have been like a river,
and your success like the waves of the sea;
19 your offspring would have been like the sand,
and your descendants like its grains;
their name would never be cut off
or destroyed from before me.
20 Go out from Babylon, flee from Chaldea,
declare this with a shout of joy, proclaim it,
send it forth to the end of the earth;
say, “The Lord has redeemed his servant Jacob!”
21 They did not thirst when he led them through the deserts;
he made water flow for them from the rock;
he split open the rock and the water gushed out.
22 “There is no peace,” says the Lord, “for the wicked.”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 48:1 Cn: Heb waters
- Isaiah 48:10 Cn: Heb with
- Isaiah 48:11 Gk Old Latin: Heb for why should it
Isaiah 48
Contemporary English Version
The Lord Corrects His People
48 People of Israel,
you come from Jacob's family
and the tribe[a] of Judah.
You claim to worship me,
the Lord God of Israel,
but you are lying.
2 You call Jerusalem your home
and say you depend on me,
the Lord All-Powerful,
the God of Israel.
3 Long ago I announced
what was going to be,
then without warning,
I made it happen.
4 I knew you were stubborn
and hardheaded.
5 And I told you these things,
so that when they happened
you would not say,
“The idols we worship did this.”
6 You heard what I said,
and you have seen it happen.
Now admit it's true!
I will show you secrets
you have never known.
7 Today I am doing something new,
something you cannot say
you have heard before.
8 You have never been willing
to listen to what I say;
from the moment of your birth,
I knew you would rebel.
The Lord Warns Israel
9 I, the Lord, am true to myself;
I will be praised for not punishing
and destroying you.
10 I tested you in hard times
just as silver is refined
in a heated furnace.[b]
11 I did this because of who I am.
I refuse to be dishonored[c]
or share my praise
with any other god.
12 (A) Israel, my chosen people,
listen to me.
I alone am the Lord,
the first and the last.
13 With my own hand
I created the earth
and stretched out the sky.
They obey my every command.
The Lord Speaks to the Nations
14 Gather around me, all of you!
Listen to what I say.
Did any of your idols
predict this would happen?
Did they say that my friend[d]
would do what I want done
to Babylonia?[e]
15 I was the one who chose him.
I have brought him this far,
and he will be successful.
16 Come closer and listen!
I have never kept secret
the things I have said,
and I was here
before time began.
It Is Best To Obey the Lord
By the power of his Spirit
the Lord God has sent me
17 with this message:
People of Israel,
I am the holy Lord God,
the one who rescues you.
For your own good,
I teach you, and I lead you
along the right path.
18 How I wish that you
had obeyed my commands!
Your success and good fortune
would then have overflowed
like a flooding river.
19 Your nation would be blessed
with more people
than there are grains of sand
along the seashore.
And I would never have let
your country be destroyed.
20 (B) Now leave Babylon!
Celebrate as you go.
Be happy and shout
for everyone to hear,
“The Lord has rescued
his servant Israel!
21 He led us through the desert
and made water flow from a rock
to satisfy our thirst.
22 (C) But the Lord has promised
that none who are evil
will live in peace.”
Footnotes
- 48.1 tribe: Hebrew “waters.”
- 48.10 furnace: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 10.
- 48.11 I refuse to be dishonored: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 48.14 my friend: Probably Cyrus (see 44.28; 45.1).
- 48.14 Babylonia: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 14.
Isaiah 48
Authorized (King James) Version
48 Hear ye this, O house of Jacob,
which are called by the name of Israel,
and are come forth out of the waters of Judah,
which swear by the name of the Lord,
and make mention of the God of Israel,
but not in truth, nor in righteousness.
2 For they call themselves of the holy city,
and stay themselves upon the God of Israel;
the Lord of hosts is his name.
3 I have declared the former things from the beginning;
and they went forth out of my mouth, and I shewed them;
I did them suddenly, and they came to pass.
4 Because I knew that thou art obstinate,
and thy neck is an iron sinew, and thy brow brass;
5 I have even from the beginning declared it to thee;
before it came to pass I shewed it thee:
lest thou shouldest say, Mine idol hath done them, and my graven image,
and my molten image, hath commanded them.
6 Thou hast heard, see all this; and will not ye declare it?
I have shewed thee new things from this time,
even hidden things, and thou didst not know them.
7 They are created now, and not from the beginning;
even before the day when thou heardest them not;
lest thou shouldest say, Behold, I knew them.
8 Yea, thou heardest not; yea, thou knewest not;
yea, from that time that thine ear was not opened:
for I knew that thou wouldest deal very treacherously,
and wast called a transgressor from the womb.
9 For my name’s sake will I defer mine anger,
and for my praise will I refrain for thee,
that I cut thee not off.
10 Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver;
I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.
11 For mine own sake, even for mine own sake, will I do it:
for how should my name be polluted?
and I will not give my glory unto another.
12 Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called;
I am he; I am the first,
I also am the last.
13 Mine hand also hath laid the foundation of the earth,
and my right hand hath spanned the heavens:
when I call unto them, they stand up together.
14 All ye, assemble yourselves, and hear;
which among them hath declared these things?
The Lord hath loved him:
he will do his pleasure on Babylon,
and his arm shall be on the Chaldeans.
15 I, even I, have spoken; yea, I have called him:
I have brought him, and he shall make his way prosperous.
16 Come ye near unto me, hear ye this;
I have not spoken in secret from the beginning;
from the time that it was, there am I:
and now the Lord God, and his Spirit, hath sent me.
17 Thus saith the Lord, thy Redeemer,
the Holy One of Israel;
I am the Lord thy God which teacheth thee to profit,
which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go.
18 O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments!
then had thy peace been as a river,
and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea:
19 thy seed also had been as the sand,
and the offspring of thy bowels like the gravel thereof;
his name should not have been cut off
nor destroyed from before me.
20 Go ye forth of Babylon, flee ye from the Chaldeans,
with a voice of singing declare ye, tell this,
utter it even to the end of the earth;
say ye, The Lord hath redeemed his servant Jacob.
21 And they thirsted not when he led them through the deserts:
he caused the waters to flow out of the rock for them:
he clave the rock also, and the waters gushed out.
22 There is no peace, saith the Lord, unto the wicked.
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