Isaiah 48

Israel Must Leave Babylon

48“Listen to this, house of Jacob—

those who are called by the name Israel

and have descended from ⁿJudah, ^o

who swear by the name of Yahweh ^p

and declare the God of Israel,

but not in truth or righteousness.

²For they are named after the Holy City,

and lean on the God of Israel; ^q

His name is Yahweh of Hosts.

³I declared the past events long ago;

they came out of My mouth; I proclaimed them.

Suddenly I acted, and they occurred.

⁴Because I know that you are stubborn,

and your neck is iron ^r

and your forehead bronze, ^s

⁵therefore I declared to you long ago.

I announced it to you before it occurred,

so you could not claim, ‘My idol caused them;

my carved image and cast idol control them.’ ^t

⁶You have heard it. Observe it all.

Will you not acknowledge it?

From now on I will announce new things to you,

hidden things that you have not known. ^u

⁷They have been created now, and not long ago;

you have not heard of them before today,

so you could not claim, ‘I already knew them!’

⁸You have never heard; you have never known;

For a long time your ears have not been open.

For I knew that you were very treacherous,

and were known as a rebel from birth. ^v

⁹I will delay My anger for the honor of My name,

and I will restrain Myself for your benefit and for My praise,

so that you will not be destroyed.

¹⁰Look, I have refined you, ^wbut not as silver;

I have tested ^xyou in the furnace of affliction.

¹¹I will act for My own sake, indeed, My own, ^y

for how can I ^zbe defiled?

I will not give My glory to another. ^a

¹²“Listen to Me, Jacob,

and Israel, the one called by Me:

I am He; I am the first,

I am also the last. ^b

¹³My own hand founded the earth,

and My right hand spread out the heavens; ^c

when I summoned them,

they stood up together.

¹⁴All of you, assemble and listen!

Who among the idols ^dhas declared these things?

The Lord loves him; ^e

he will accomplish His will against Babylon, ^f

and His arm will be against the Chaldeans.

¹⁵I—I have spoken;

yes, I have called him; ^g

I have brought him,

and he will succeed in his mission. ^h

¹⁶Approach Me and listen to this.

From the beginning I have not spoken in secret; ⁱ

from the time anything existed, I was there.”

And now the Lord God

has sent me and His Spirit. ^j

¹⁷This is what the Lord, your Redeemer, ^kthe Holy One of Israel ^lsays:

I am Yahweh your God,

who teaches you for your benefit,

who leads you in the way you should go.

¹⁸If only you had paid attention to My commands.

Then your peace would have been like a river, ^m

and your righteousness like the waves of the sea. ⁿ

¹⁹Your descendants would have been as countless as the sand, ^o

and the offspring of your body like its grains;

their name would not be cut off

or eliminated from My presence.

²⁰Leave Babylon,

flee from the Chaldeans!

Declare with a shout of joy,

proclaim this,

let it go out to the end of the earth;

announce,

“The Lord has redeemed His servant ^pJacob!”

²¹They did not thirst

when He led them through the deserts;

He made water flow for them from the rock; ^q

He split the rock, and water gushed out.

²²“There is no peace for the wicked,” says the Lord. ^r