Isaiah 48:1–11

Stubborn Israel

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