Israel’s Obstinacy
And who came from the waters of Judah,
Who swear by the name of the Lord
And invoke the God of Israel,
But not in truth nor in righteousness.
2 For they name themselves after the holy city,
And lean on the God of Israel;
The Lord of armies is His name.
3 I declared the former things long ago,
And they went out of My mouth, and I proclaimed them.
Suddenly I acted, and they came to pass.
4 Because I know that you are [a]obstinate,
And your neck is an iron tendon
And your forehead bronze,
5 Therefore I declared them to you long ago,
Before [b]they took place I proclaimed them to you,
So that you would not say, ‘My idol has done them,
And my carved image and my cast metal image have commanded them.’
6 You have heard; look at all this.
And you, will you not declare it?
I proclaim to you new things from this time,
Hidden things which you have not known.
7 They are created now and not long ago;
And before today you have not heard them,
So that you will not say, ‘Behold, I knew them.’
8 You have not heard, you have not known.
Even from long ago your ear has not been open,
Because I knew that you would deal very treacherously;
And you have been called a [c]rebel from [d]birth.
9 For the sake of My name I delay My wrath,
And for My praise I restrain it for you,
In order not to cut you off.
10 Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver;
I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.
11 For My own sake, for My own sake, I will act;
For how can My name be profaned?
And I will not give My glory to another.
Rescue Promised
12 “Listen to Me, Jacob, Israel [e]whom I called;
I am He, I am the first, I am also the last.
13 Assuredly My hand founded the earth,
And My right hand spread out the heavens;
When I call to them, they stand together.
14 Assemble, all of you, and listen!
Who among them has declared these things?
The Lord loves him; he will carry out His good pleasure against Babylon,
And His arm will be against the Chaldeans.
15 I, yes I, have spoken; indeed I have called him,
I have brought him, and He will make his ways successful.
16 Come near to Me, listen to this:
From the beginning I have not spoken in secret,
From the time it took place, I was there.
And now the Lord [f]God has sent Me, and His Spirit.”
17 This is what the Lord says, He who is your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
“I am the Lord your God, who teaches you to benefit,
Who leads you in the way you should go.
18 If only you had paid attention to My commandments!
Then your [g]well-being would have been like a river,
And your righteousness like the waves of the sea.
19 Your [h]descendants would have been like the sand,
And [i]your offspring like its grains;
Their name would never be eliminated or destroyed from My presence.”
Declare with the sound of joyful shouting, proclaim this,
Send it out to the end of the earth;
Say, “The Lord has redeemed His servant Jacob.”
21 They did not thirst when He led them through the deserts.
He made the water flow out of the rock for them;
He split the rock and the water gushed out.
22 “There is no peace for the wicked,” says the Lord.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 48:4 Or harsh
- Isaiah 48:5 Lit it
- Isaiah 48:8 Or transgressor
- Isaiah 48:8 Lit the belly
- Isaiah 48:12 Lit My called one
- Isaiah 48:16 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
- Isaiah 48:18 Or peace
- Isaiah 48:19 Lit seed
- Isaiah 48:19 Lit the offspring of your inward parts