Isaiah 48

Stubborn Israel

48“Listen to this, you descendants of Jacob,

you who are called by the name of Israel^u

and come from the line of Judah,^v

you who take oaths^w in the name of the Lord^x

and invoke^y the God of Israel—

but not in truth^z or righteousness—

²you who call yourselves citizens of the holy city^a

and claim to rely^b on the God of Israel—

the Lord Almighty is his name:^c

³I foretold the former things^d long ago,

my mouth announced^e them and I made them known;

then suddenly^f I acted, and they came to pass.

⁴For I knew how stubborn^g you were;

your neck muscles^h were iron,

your foreheadⁱ was bronze.

⁵Therefore I told you these things long ago;

before they happened I announced^j them to you

so that you could not say,

‘My images brought them about;^k

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,^l

of hidden things unknown to you.

⁷They are created^m now, and not long ago;ⁿ

you have not heard of them before today.

So you cannot say,

‘Yes, I knew^o of them.’

⁸You have neither heard nor understood;^p

from of old your ears^q have not been open.

Well do I know how treacherous^r you are;

you were called a rebel^s from birth.

⁹For my own name’s sake^t 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

¹⁰See, I have refined^w you, though not as silver;

I have tested^x you in the furnace^y of affliction.

¹¹For 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

Israel Freed

¹²“Listen^c to me, Jacob,

Israel, whom I have called:^d

I am he;^e

I am the first and I am the last.^f

¹³My 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 foretold^k these things?

The Lord’s chosen ally^l

will carry out his purpose^m against Babylon;ⁿ

his arm will be against the Babylonians.^a

¹⁵I, even I, have spoken;

yes, I have called^o him.

I will bring him,

and he will succeed^p in his mission.

¹⁶“Come near^q me and listen^r 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 Lord^t has sent^u me,

endowed with his Spirit.^v

¹⁷This is what the Lord says—

your Redeemer,^w the Holy One^x of Israel:

“I am the Lord your God,

who teaches^y you what is best for you,

who directs^z you in the way^a you should go.

¹⁸If only you had paid attention^b to my commands,

your peace^c would have been like a river,^d

your well-being^e like the waves of the sea.

¹⁹Your descendants^f 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.”

²⁰Leave Babylon,

flee^j from the Babylonians!

Announce this with shouts of joy^k

and proclaim it.

Send it out to the ends of the earth;^l

say, “The Lord has redeemed^m his servant Jacob.”

²¹They did not thirstⁿ when he led them through the deserts;

he made water flow^o for them from the rock;

he split the rock

and water gushed out.^p

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