ISRAEL MUST LEAVE BABYLON

48 “Listen to this, house of Jacob—

those who are called by the name Israel

and have descended fromD Judah,o

who swear by the name of the Lordp

and declare the God of Israel,

but not in truth or righteousness.

2 For they are named after the holy city,

and lean on the God of Israel;q

his name is the Lord of Armies.

3 I declared the past events long ago;

they came out of my mouth; I proclaimed them.

Suddenly I acted, and they occurred.

4 Because I know that you are stubborn,

and your neck is ironA

and your forehead bronze,a

5 therefore 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.’b

6 You 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.c

7 They 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!’

8 You 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.d

9 I will delay my anger for the sake of my name,

and I will restrain myself for your benefit and for my praise,

so that you will not be destroyed.

10 Look, I have refined you,e but not as silver;

I have testedB you in the furnace of affliction.

11 I will act for my own sake, indeed, my own,f

for how can IC be defiled?

I will not give my glory to another.g

12 “Listen to me, Jacob,

and Israel, the one called by me:

I am he; I am the first,

I am also the last.h

13 My own hand founded the earth,

and my right hand spread out the heavens;i

when I summoned them,

they stood up together.

14 All of you, assemble and listen!

Who among the idolsD has declared these things?

The Lord loves him;E

he will accomplish his will against Babylon,j

and his arm will be against the Chaldeans.

15 I—I have spoken;

yes, I have called him;k

I have brought him,

and he will succeed in his mission.l

16 Approach me and listen to this.

From the beginning I have not spoken in secret;m

from the time anything existed, I was there.”

And now the Lord God

has sent me and his Spirit.n

17 This is what the Lord, your Redeemer,o the Holy One of Israelp says:

I am the Lord your God,

who teaches you for your benefit,

who leads you in the way you should go.

18 If only you had paid attention to my commands.

Then your peace would have been like a river,q

and your righteousness like the waves of the sea.r

19 Your descendants would have been as countless as the sand,s

and the offspring of your body like its grains;

their name would not be cut off

or eliminated from my presence.

20 Leave 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 servantt Jacob!”

21 They did not thirst

when he led them through the deserts;

he made water flow from the rock for them;u

he split the rock, and water gushed out.

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