Isaiah 48 | King James Version

King James Version

1 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' 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.

New International Reader’s Version

Israel is stubborn

1 People of Jacob, listen to me. You are called by the name of Israel. You come from the family line of Judah. You make promises in the name of the LORD. You pray to Israel’s God. But you aren’t honest. You don’t mean what you say. 2 You call yourselves citizens of the holy city of Jerusalem. You say you depend on Israel’s God. His name is the LORD Who Rules Over All. He says, 3 ‘Long ago I told you in advance what would happen. I announced it and made it known. Then all of a sudden I acted. And those things took place. 4 I knew how stubborn you were. Your neck muscles were as unbending as iron. Your forehead was as hard as bronze. 5 So I told you those things long ago. Before they happened I announced them to you. I did it so you would not be able to say, “My statues of gods did them. My wooden and metal gods made them happen.” 6 You have heard me tell you these things. Think about all of them. Won’t you admit they have taken place? ‘From now on I will tell you about new things that will happen. I have not made them known to you before. 7 These things are taking place at this very moment. They did not happen long ago. You have not heard of them before today. So you can’t say, “Oh, yes. I already knew about them.” 8 You have not heard or understood what I said. Your ears have been plugged up for a long time. I knew very well that you would turn against me. From the day you were born, you have refused to obey me. 9 For the honour of my own name I wait to show my anger. I hold it back from you so people will continue to praise me. I do not want to destroy you completely. 10 I have tested you in the furnace of suffering. I have tried to make you pure. But I did not use as much heat as it takes to make silver pure. 11 I tried to purify you for my own honour. I did it for the honour of my name. How can I let myself be dishonoured? I will not give up my glory to any other god.

Israel is set free

12 ‘Family of Jacob, listen to me. People of Israel, pay attention. I have chosen you. I am the first and the last. I am the LORD. 13 With my own hand I laid the foundations of the earth. With my right hand I spread out the heavens. When I send for them, they come and stand ready to obey me. 14 ‘People of Israel, come together and listen to me. What other god has said in advance that certain things would happen? I have chosen Cyrus. He will carry out my plans against Babylon. He will use his power against the Babylonians. 15 I myself have spoken. I have chosen him to carry out my purpose. I will bring him to Babylon. He will succeed in what I tell him to do. 16 ‘Come close and listen to me. ‘From the first time I said Cyrus was coming, I did not do it in secret. When he comes, I will be there.’ The LORD and King has filled me with his Spirit. People of Israel, he has sent me to you. 17 The LORD is the Holy One of Israel. He sets his people free. He says to them, ‘I am the LORD your God. I teach you what is best for you. I direct you in the way you should go. 18 I wish you would pay attention to my commands. If you did, peace would flow over you like a river. Godliness would sweep over you like the waves of the ocean. 19 Your family would be like the sand. Your children after you would be as many as the grains of sand by the sea. It would be impossible to count them. I would always accept the members of your family line. They would never disappear or be destroyed.’ 20 People of Israel, leave Babylon! Hurry up and get away from the Babylonians! Here is what I want you to announce. Make it known with shouts of joy. Send the news out from one end of the earth to the other. Say, ‘The LORD has set free his servant Jacob.’ 21 They didn’t get thirsty when he led them through the deserts. He made water flow out of the rock for them. He broke the rock open, and water came out of it. 22 ‘There is no peace for those who are evil,’ says the LORD.