1‘Listen to this, you descendants of Jacob, you who are called by the name of Israel and come from the line of Judah, you who take oaths in the name of the Lord and invoke the God of Israel – but not in truth or righteousness –2you who call yourselves citizens of the holy city and claim to rely on the God of Israel – the Lord Almighty is his name:3I foretold the former things long ago, my mouth announced them and I made them known; then suddenly I acted, and they came to pass.4For I knew how stubborn you were; your neck muscles were iron, your forehead was bronze.5Therefore I told you these things long ago; before they happened I announced them to you so that you could not say, “My images brought them about; my wooden image and metal god ordained them.”6You have heard these things; look at them all. Will you not admit them? ‘From now on I will tell you of new things, of hidden things unknown to you.7They are created now, and not long ago; you have not heard of them before today. So you cannot say, “Yes, I knew of them.”8You have neither heard nor understood; from of old your ears have not been open. Well do I know how treacherous you are; you were called a rebel from birth.9For my own name’s sake I delay my wrath; for the sake of my praise I hold it back from you, so as not to destroy you completely.10See, I have refined you, though not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.11For my own sake, for my own sake, I do this. How can I let myself be defamed? I will not yield my glory to another.
Israel freed
12‘Listen to me, Jacob, Israel, whom I have called: I am he; I am the first and I am the last.13My own hand laid the foundations of the earth, and my right hand spread out the heavens; when I summon them, they all stand up together.14‘Come together, all of you, and listen: which of the idols has foretold these things? The Lord’s chosen ally will carry out his purpose against Babylon; his arm will be against the Babylonians.[1]15I, even I, have spoken; yes, I have called him. I will bring him, and he will succeed in his mission.16‘Come near me and listen to this: ‘From the first announcement I have not spoken in secret; at the time it happens, I am there.’ And now the Sovereign Lord has sent me, endowed with his Spirit.17This is what the Lord says – your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: ‘I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go.18If only you had paid attention to my commands, your peace would have been like a river, your well-being like the waves of the sea.19Your descendants would have been like the sand, your children like its numberless grains; their name would never be blotted out nor destroyed from before me.’20Leave Babylon, flee from the Babylonians! Announce this with shouts of joy and proclaim it. Send it out to the ends of the earth; say, ‘The Lord has redeemed his servant Jacob.’21They did not thirst when he led them through the deserts; he made water flow for them from the rock; he split the rock and water gushed out.22‘There is no peace,’ says the Lord, ‘for the wicked.’
Isaiah 48
English Standard Version
Israel Refined for God’s Glory
1Hear this, O house of Jacob, who are called by the name of Israel, and who came from the waters of Judah, who swear by the name of the Lord and confess the God of Israel, but not in truth or right. (Ps 68:26; Isa 43:1; Jer 7:9)2For they call themselves after the holy city, and stay themselves on the God of Israel; the Lord of hosts is his name. (Mic 3:11)3“The former things I declared of old; they went out from my mouth, and I announced them; then suddenly I did them, and they came to pass. (Isa 41:26)4Because I know that you are obstinate, and your neck is an iron sinew and your forehead brass, (Ex 32:9)5I declared them to you from of old, before they came to pass I announced them to you, lest you should say, ‘My idol did them, my carved image and my metal image commanded them.’ (Isa 48:3; Jer 44:15)6“You have heard; now see all this; and will you not declare it? From this time forth I announce to you new things, hidden things that you have not known. (Isa 43:19)7They are created now, not long ago; before today you have never heard of them, lest you should say, ‘Behold, I knew them.’8You 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 from before birth you were called a rebel. (Isa 46:8)9“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. (Mal 3:6)10Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tried[1] you in the furnace of affliction. (De 4:20; Eze 22:18; Eze 22:20; Eze 22:22; 1Pe 1:7)11For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for how should my name[2] be profaned? My glory I will not give to another. (Isa 42:8; Isa 43:25; Eze 20:9)
The Lord’s Call to Israel
12“Listen to me, O Jacob, and Israel, whom I called! I am he; I am the first, and I am the last. (Isa 41:4)13My hand laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand spread out the heavens; when I call to them, they stand forth together. (Ps 102:25; Isa 40:26; Isa 51:13; Heb 1:10)14“Assemble, all of you, and listen! 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. (Isa 23:13; Isa 41:26; Isa 46:10; Isa 47:1)15I, even I, have spoken and called him; I have brought him, and he will prosper in his way. (Isa 45:1)16Draw 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. (Isa 45:19; Isa 61:1)17Thus 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.18Oh that you had paid attention to my commandments! Then your peace would have been like a river, and your righteousness like the waves of the sea; (De 32:29; Ps 81:13; Isa 66:12; Lu 19:42)19your 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.” (Ge 22:17; Isa 10:22; Ho 1:10)20Go out from Babylon, flee from Chaldea, declare this with a shout of joy, proclaim it, send it out to the end of the earth; say, “The Lord has redeemed his servant Jacob!” (Ex 19:4; Isa 23:13; Isa 35:10; Isa 44:23; Isa 47:1; Isa 52:9; Isa 52:11; Jer 50:8; Jer 51:6; Jer 51:45; Zec 2:6)21They did not thirst when he led them through the deserts; he made water flow for them from the rock; he split the rock and the water gushed out. (Ex 17:6; Nu 20:11; De 8:15; Isa 35:6; Isa 43:19; Isa 44:3)22“There is no peace,” says the Lord, “for the wicked.” (Isa 57:21)