Isaiah 48
48
Israel Refined for God’s Glory
1“Hear this, O house of Jacob,
Who are called by the name of Israel,
And have come forth from the wellsprings of Judah;
Who swear by the name of the Lord,
And make mention of the God of Israel,
But #Is. 58:2; Jer. 4:2; 5:2not in truth or in righteousness;
2For they call themselves #Is. 52:1; 64:10after the holy city,
And #Is. 10:20; Jer. 7:4; 21:2; Mic. 3:11; Rom. 2:17lean on the God of Israel;
The Lord of hosts is His name:
3“I have #Is. 44:7, 8; 46:10declared the former things from the beginning;
They went forth from My mouth, and I caused them to hear it.
Suddenly I did them, #Josh. 21:45; Is. 42:9and they came to pass.
4Because I knew that you were obstinate,
And #Ex. 32:9; Deut. 31:27; Ezek. 2:4; 3:7your neck was an iron sinew,
And your brow bronze,
5Even from the beginning I have declared it to you;
Before it came to pass I proclaimed it to you,
Lest you should say, ‘My idol has done them,
And my carved image and my molded image
Have commanded them.’
6“You have heard;
See all this.
And will you not declare it?
I have made you hear new things from this time,
Even hidden things, and you did not know them.
7They are created now and not from the beginning;
And before this day you have not heard them,
Lest you should say, ‘Of course I knew them.’
8Surely you did not hear,
Surely you did not know;
Surely from long ago your ear was not opened.
For I knew that you would deal very treacherously,
And were called #Deut. 9:7, 24; Ps. 58:3; Is. 46:3, 8a transgressor from the womb.
9“For#Ps. 79:9; 106:8; Is. 43:25; Ezek. 20:9, 14, 22, 44 My name’s sake #(Neh. 9:30, 31); Ps. 78:38; Is. 30:18; 65:8I will defer My anger,
And for My praise I will restrain it from you,
So that I do not cut you off.
10Behold, #Ps. 66:10; Jer. 9:7I have refined you, but not as silver;
I have tested you in the #Deut. 4:20; 1 Kin. 8:51; Jer. 11:4furnace of affliction.
11For My own sake, for My own sake, I will do it;
For #Lev. 22:2, 32; Deut. 32:26, 27; Ezek. 20:9how should My name be profaned?
And #Is. 42:8I will not give My glory to another.
God’s Ancient Plan to Redeem Israel
12“Listen to Me, O Jacob,
And Israel, My called:
I am He, #Deut. 32:39I am the #Is. 44:6; (Rev. 22:13)First,
I am also the Last.
13Indeed #Ex. 20:11; Ps. 102:25; Is. 42:5; 45:12, 18; Heb. 1:10–12My hand has laid the foundation of the earth,
And My right hand has stretched out the heavens;
When #Is. 40:26I call to them,
They stand up together.
14“All of you, assemble yourselves, and hear!
Who among them has declared these things?
#Is. 45:1The Lord loves him;
#Is. 44:28; 47:1–15He shall do His pleasure on Babylon,
And His arm shall be against the Chaldeans.
15I, even I, have spoken;
Yes, #Is. 45:1, 2I have called him,
I have brought him, and his way will prosper.
16“Come near to Me, hear this:
#Is. 45:19I have not spoken in secret from the beginning;
From the time that it was, I was there.
And now #Is. 61:1; Zech. 2:8, 9, 11the Lord God and His Spirit
Have sent Me.”
17Thus says #Is. 43:14the Lord, your Redeemer,
The Holy One of Israel:
“I am the Lord your God,
Who teaches you to profit,
#Ps. 32:8; Is. 49:9, 10Who leads you by the way you should go.
18#Deut. 5:29; Ps. 81:13Oh, that you had heeded My commandments!
#Deut. 28:1–14; Ps. 119:165; Is. 32:16–18; 66:12Then your peace would have been like a river,
And your righteousness like the waves of the sea.
19#Gen. 22:17; Is. 10:22; 44:3, 4; 54:3; Jer. 33:22; Hos. 1:10Your descendants also would have been like the sand,
And the offspring of your body like the grains of sand;
His name would not have been cut off
Nor destroyed from before Me.”
20#Jer. 50:8; 51:6, 45; Zech. 2:6, 7; Rev. 18:4Go forth from Babylon!
Flee from the Chaldeans!
With a voice of singing,
Declare, proclaim this,
Utter it to the end of the earth;
Say, “The Lord has #(Ex. 19:4–6)redeemed
His servant Jacob!”
21And they #(Is. 41:17, 18)did not thirst
When He led them through the deserts;
He #Ex. 17:6; Ps. 105:41caused the waters to flow from the rock for them;
He also split the rock, and the waters gushed out.
22“There#(Is. 57:21) is no peace,” says the Lord, “for the wicked.”
Currently Selected:
Isaiah 48: NKJV
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
Isaiah 48
48
The Lord Corrects His People
1People of Israel,
you come from Jacob's family
and the tribe#48.1 tribe: Hebrew “waters.” of Judah.
You claim to worship me,
the Lord God of Israel,
but you are lying.
2You call Jerusalem your home
and say you depend on me,
the Lord All-Powerful,
the God of Israel.
3Long ago I announced
what was going to be,
then without warning,
I made it happen.
4I knew you were stubborn
and hardheaded.
5And I told you these things,
so that when they happened
you would not say,
“The idols we worship did this.”
6You heard what I said,
and you have seen it happen.
Now admit it's true!
I will show you secrets
you have never known.
7Today I am doing something new,
something you cannot say
you have heard before.
8You have never been willing
to listen to what I say;
from the moment of your birth,
I knew you would rebel.
The Lord Warns Israel
9I, the Lord, am true to myself;
I will be praised for not punishing
and destroying you.
10I tested you in hard times
just as silver is refined
in a heated furnace.#48.10 furnace: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 10.
11I did this because of who I am.
I refuse to be dishonored#48.11 I refuse to be dishonored: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
or share my praise
with any other god.
12 #
Is 44.6; Rev 1.17; 22.13. Israel, my chosen people,
listen to me.
I alone am the Lord,
the first and the last.
13With my own hand
I created the earth
and stretched out the sky.
They obey my every command.
The Lord Speaks to the Nations
14Gather around me, all of you!
Listen to what I say.
Did any of your idols
predict this would happen?
Did they say that my friend#48.14 my friend: Probably Cyrus (see 44.28; 45.1).
would do what I want done
to Babylonia?#48.14 Babylonia: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 14.
15I was the one who chose him.
I have brought him this far,
and he will be successful.
16Come closer and listen!
I have never kept secret
the things I have said,
and I was here
before time began.
It Is Best To Obey the Lord
By the power of his Spirit
the Lord God has sent me
17with this message:
People of Israel,
I am the holy Lord God,
the one who rescues you.
For your own good,
I teach you, and I lead you
along the right path.
18How I wish that you
had obeyed my commands!
Your success and good fortune
would then have overflowed
like a flooding river.
19Your nation would be blessed
with more people
than there are grains of sand
along the seashore.
And I would never have let
your country be destroyed.
20 #
Rev 18.4. Now leave Babylon!
Celebrate as you go.
Be happy and shout
for everyone to hear,
“The Lord has rescued
his servant Israel!
21He led us through the desert
and made water flow from a rock
to satisfy our thirst.
22 #
Is 57.21. But the Lord has promised
that none who are evil
will live in peace.”
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.