Israel Refined for God's Glory

48 Hear this, O house of Jacob,
    (A)who are called by the name of Israel,
    and (B)who came from the waters of Judah,
(C)who swear by the name of the Lord
    and confess the God of Israel,
    but not in truth or right.
For they call themselves after the holy city,
    (D)and stay themselves on the God of Israel;
    the Lord of hosts is his name.

“The former things (E)I declared of old;
    they went out from my mouth, and I announced them;
    then suddenly I did them, and they came to pass.
Because I know that (F)you are obstinate,
    and your neck is an iron sinew
    and your forehead brass,
(G)I declared them to you from of old,
    before they came to pass I announced them to you,
lest you should say, (H)‘My idol did them,
    my carved image and my metal image commanded them.’

“You have heard; now see all this;
    and will you not declare it?
From this time forth (I)I announce to you new things,
    hidden things that you have not known.
They are created now, not long ago;
    before today you have never heard of them,
    lest you should say, ‘Behold, I knew them.’
You have never heard, you have never known,
    from of old your ear has not been opened.
For I knew that you would surely deal treacherously,
    and that (J)from before birth you were called a rebel.

(K)“For my name's sake I defer my anger;
    for the sake of my praise I restrain it for you,
    that I may not cut you off.
10 Behold, I have refined you, (L)but not as silver;
    (M)I have tried[a] you in the furnace of affliction.
11 (N)For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it,
    for how should my name[b] be profaned?
    (O)My glory I will not give to another.

The Lord's Call to Israel

12 “Listen to me, O Jacob,
    and Israel, whom I called!
I am he; (P)I am the first,
    and I am the last.
13 My hand (Q)laid the foundation of the earth,
    and my right hand (R)spread out the heavens;
(S)when I call to them,
    they stand forth together.

14 “Assemble, all of you, and listen!
    (T)Who among them has declared these things?
The Lord loves him;
    (U)he shall perform his purpose on Babylon,
    and his arm shall be against (V)the Chaldeans.
15 (W)I, even I, have spoken and called him;
    I have brought him, and he will prosper in his way.
16 (X)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 (Y)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 to profit,
    who leads you in the way you should go.
18 (Z)Oh that you had paid attention to my commandments!
    (AA)Then your peace would have been like a river,
    and your righteousness like the waves of the sea;
19 (AB)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 (AC)Go out from Babylon, flee from (AD)Chaldea,
    declare this (AE)with a shout of joy, proclaim it,
send it out to the end of the earth;
    say, (AF)“The Lord has redeemed his servant Jacob!”
21 (AG)They did not thirst when he led them through the deserts;
    (AH)he made water flow for them from the rock;
    he split the rock and the water gushed out.

22 (AI)“There is no peace,” says the Lord, “for the wicked.”

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 48:10 Or I have chosen
  2. Isaiah 48:11 Hebrew lacks my name

Stubborn Israel

48 “Listen to this, you descendants of Jacob,
    you who are called by the name of Israel(A)
    and come from the line of Judah,(B)
you who take oaths(C) in the name of the Lord(D)
    and invoke(E) the God of Israel—
    but not in truth(F) or righteousness—
you who call yourselves citizens of the holy city(G)
    and claim to rely(H) on the God of Israel—
    the Lord Almighty is his name:(I)
I foretold the former things(J) long ago,
    my mouth announced(K) them and I made them known;
    then suddenly(L) I acted, and they came to pass.
For I knew how stubborn(M) you were;
    your neck muscles(N) were iron,
    your forehead(O) was bronze.
Therefore I told you these things long ago;
    before they happened I announced(P) them to you
so that you could not say,
    ‘My images brought them about;(Q)
    my wooden image and metal god ordained them.’
You have heard these things; look at them all.
    Will you not admit them?

“From now on I will tell you of new things,(R)
    of hidden things unknown to you.
They are created(S) now, and not long ago;(T)
    you have not heard of them before today.
So you cannot say,
    ‘Yes, I knew(U) of them.’
You have neither heard nor understood;(V)
    from of old your ears(W) have not been open.
Well do I know how treacherous(X) you are;
    you were called a rebel(Y) from birth.
For my own name’s sake(Z) I delay my wrath;(AA)
    for the sake of my praise I hold it back from you,
    so as not to destroy you completely.(AB)
10 See, I have refined(AC) you, though not as silver;
    I have tested(AD) you in the furnace(AE) of affliction.
11 For my own sake,(AF) for my own sake, I do this.
    How can I let myself be defamed?(AG)
    I will not yield my glory to another.(AH)

Israel Freed

12 “Listen(AI) to me, Jacob,
    Israel, whom I have called:(AJ)
I am he;(AK)
    I am the first and I am the last.(AL)
13 My own hand laid the foundations of the earth,(AM)
    and my right hand spread out the heavens;(AN)
when I summon them,
    they all stand up together.(AO)

14 “Come together,(AP) all of you, and listen:
    Which of the idols has foretold(AQ) these things?
The Lord’s chosen ally(AR)
    will carry out his purpose(AS) against Babylon;(AT)
    his arm will be against the Babylonians.[a]
15 I, even I, have spoken;
    yes, I have called(AU) him.
I will bring him,
    and he will succeed(AV) in his mission.

16 “Come near(AW) me and listen(AX) to this:

“From the first announcement I have not spoken in secret;(AY)
    at the time it happens, I am there.”

And now the Sovereign Lord(AZ) has sent(BA) me,
    endowed with his Spirit.(BB)

17 This is what the Lord says—
    your Redeemer,(BC) the Holy One(BD) of Israel:
“I am the Lord your God,
    who teaches(BE) you what is best for you,
    who directs(BF) you in the way(BG) you should go.
18 If only you had paid attention(BH) to my commands,
    your peace(BI) would have been like a river,(BJ)
    your well-being(BK) like the waves of the sea.
19 Your descendants(BL) would have been like the sand,(BM)
    your children like its numberless grains;(BN)
their name would never be blotted out(BO)
    nor destroyed from before me.”

20 Leave Babylon,
    flee(BP) from the Babylonians!
Announce this with shouts of joy(BQ)
    and proclaim it.
Send it out to the ends of the earth;(BR)
    say, “The Lord has redeemed(BS) his servant Jacob.”
21 They did not thirst(BT) when he led them through the deserts;
    he made water flow(BU) for them from the rock;
he split the rock
    and water gushed out.(BV)

22 “There is no peace,”(BW) says the Lord, “for the wicked.”(BX)

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 48:14 Or Chaldeans; also in verse 20