Isaiah 46:1–48:22
46 Belh bows down, Nebo stoops low;
their idolsi are borne by beasts of burden.a
The images that are carriedj about are burdensome,
a burden for the weary.
2 They stoop and bow down together;
unable to rescue the burden,
they themselves go off into captivity.k
3 “Listenl to me, you descendants of Jacob,
all the remnantm of the people of Israel,
you whom I have upheld since your birth,n
and have carriedo since you were born.p
4 Even to your old age and gray hairsq
I am he,r I am he who will sustain you.
I have made you and I will carry you;
I will sustains you and I will rescue you.
5 “With whom will you compare me or count me equal?
To whom will you liken me that we may be compared?t
6 Some pour out gold from their bags
and weigh out silver on the scales;
they hire a goldsmithu to make it into a god,
and they bow down and worship it.v
7 They lift it to their shoulders and carryw it;
they set it up in its place, and there it stands.
From that spot it cannot move.x
Even though someone cries out to it, it cannot answer;y
it cannot savez them from their troubles.
8 “Remembera this, keep it in mind,
take it to heart, you rebels.b
9 Remember the former things,c those of long ago;d
I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like me.e
10 I make known the end from the beginning,f
from ancient times,g what is still to come.h
I say, ‘My purpose will stand,i
and I will do all that I please.’
11 From the east I summonj a bird of prey;k
from a far-off land, a man to fulfill my purpose.
What I have said, that I will bring about;
what I have planned,l that I will do.m
12 Listenn to me, you stubborn-hearted,o
you who are now far from my righteousness.p
13 I am bringing my righteousnessq near,
it is not far away;
and my salvationr will not be delayed.
I will grant salvation to Zion,s
my splendort to Israel.
47 “Go down, sit in the dust,u
Virgin Daughterv Babylon;
sit on the ground without a throne,
queen city of the Babylonians.a w
No more will you be called
tender or delicate.x
2 Take millstonesy and grindz flour;
take off your veil.a
Lift up your skirts,b bare your legs,
and wade through the streams.
3 Your nakednessc will be exposed
and your shamed uncovered.
I will take vengeance;e
I will spare no one.f”
4 Our Redeemerg—the Lord Almightyh is his namei—
is the Holy Onej of Israel.
5 “Sit in silence,k go into darkness,l
queen city of the Babylonians;m
no more will you be called
6 I was angryp with my people
and desecrated my inheritance;q
I gave them into your hand,r
and you showed them no mercy.s
Even on the aged
you laid a very heavy yoke.
7 You said, ‘I am forevert—
the eternal queen!’u
But you did not consider these things
or reflectv on what might happen.w
8 “Now then, listen, you lover of pleasure,
lounging in your securityx
and saying to yourself,
‘I am, and there is none besides me.y
I will never be a widowz
or suffer the loss of children.’
9 Both of these will overtake you
in a moment,a on a single day:
loss of childrenb and widowhood.c
They will come upon you in full measure,
in spite of your many sorceriesd
and all your potent spells.e
10 You have trustedf in your wickedness
and have said, ‘No one sees me.’g
Your wisdomh and knowledge misleadi you
when you say to yourself,
‘I am, and there is none besides me.’
11 Disasterj will come upon you,
and you will not know how to conjure it away.
A calamity will fall upon you
that you cannot ward off with a ransom;
a catastrophe you cannot foresee
will suddenlyk come upon you.
12 “Keep on, then, with your magic spells
and with your many sorceries,l
which you have labored at since childhood.
Perhaps you will succeed,
perhaps you will cause terror.
13 All the counsel you have received has only worn you out!m
Let your astrologersn come forward,
those stargazers who make predictions month by month,
let them saveo you from what is coming upon you.
14 Surely they are like stubble;p
the fireq will burn them up.
They cannot even save themselves
from the power of the flame.r
These are not coals for warmth;
this is not a fire to sit by.
15 That is all they are to you—
these you have dealt with
and laboreds with since childhood.
All of them go on in their error;
there is not one that can savet you.
48 “Listen to this, you descendants of Jacob,
you who are called by the name of Israelu
and come from the line of Judah,v
you who take oathsw in the name of the Lordx
and invokey the God of Israel—
but not in truthz or righteousness—
2 you who call yourselves citizens of the holy citya
and claim to relyb on the God of Israel—
the Lord Almighty is his name:c
3 I foretold the former thingsd long ago,
my mouth announcede them and I made them known;
then suddenlyf I acted, and they came to pass.
4 For I knew how stubborng you were;
your neck musclesh were iron,
your foreheadi was bronze.
5 Therefore I told you these things long ago;
before they happened I announcedj them to you
so that you could not say,
‘My images brought them about;k
my wooden image and metal god ordained them.’
6 You have heard these things; look at them all.
Will you not admit them?
“From now on I will tell you of new things,l
of hidden things unknown to you.
7 They are createdm now, and not long ago;n
you have not heard of them before today.
So you cannot say,
‘Yes, I knewo of them.’
8 You have neither heard nor understood;p
from of old your earsq have not been open.
Well do I know how treacherousr you are;
you were called a rebels from birth.
9 For my own name’s saket I delay my wrath;u
for the sake of my praise I hold it back from you,
so as not to destroy you completely.v
10 See, I have refinedw you, though not as silver;
I have testedx you in the furnacey of affliction.
11 For my own sake,z for my own sake, I do this.
How can I let myself be defamed?a
I will not yield my glory to another.b
12 “Listenc to me, Jacob,
Israel, whom I have called:d
I am he;e
I am the first and I am the last.f
13 My own hand laid the foundations of the earth,g
and my right hand spread out the heavens;h
when I summon them,
they all stand up together.i
14 “Come together,j all of you, and listen:
Which of the idols has foretoldk these things?
The Lord’s chosen allyl
will carry out his purposem against Babylon;n
his arm will be against the Babylonians.a
yes, I have calledo him.
I will bring him,
and he will succeedp in his mission.
16 “Come nearq me and listenr to this:
“From the first announcement I have not spoken in secret;s
at the time it happens, I am there.”
And now the Sovereign Lordt has sentu me,
endowed with his Spirit.v
17 This is what the Lord says—
your Redeemer,w the Holy Onex of Israel:
“I am the Lord your God,
who teachesy you what is best for you,
who directsz you in the waya you should go.
18 If only you had paid attentionb to my commands,
your peacec would have been like a river,d
your well-beinge like the waves of the sea.
19 Your descendantsf would have been like the sand,g
your children like its numberless grains;h
their name would never be blotted outi
nor destroyed from before me.”
fleej from the Babylonians!
Announce this with shouts of joyk
and proclaim it.
Send it out to the ends of the earth;l
say, “The Lord has redeemedm his servant Jacob.”
21 They did not thirstn when he led them through the deserts;
he made water flowo for them from the rock;
he split the rock
and water gushed out.p