Isaiah 48
48
1Listen to this, descendants of Jacob, called by the name of Israel, and who come from the lineage#48:1. “Lineage”: literally, “waters.” of Judah. Listen, you people who swear by the name of the Lord, or who invoke the God of Israel, but not truly or sincerely. 2You say you're from the “Holy City,” and claim you're trusting in the God of Israel, whose name is the Lord Almighty. 3I predicted long ago what was going to happen—I said it and let people know. Then suddenly I decided to act, and it all came true. 4I know how stubborn you are, with necks as unbending as iron and foreheads as hard as bronze. 5I predicted these things to you long ago, before they happened. I explained them to you so that you couldn't say “My idol did this,” or “My image and my metal god ordered this to happen.” 6You've heard all I predicted, and seen it happen. Won't you admit it? Now I'm going to tell you new things, secrets you don't know anything about. 7These are brand-new, not something from the past. Before today you won't have heard anything about them, so you can't say, “Oh yes, I know about that.”
8No, you've never heard that, and you've never known that! Nobody's told you about that before! I know how deviously you operate—you're called “rebels from birth”! 9But because of my nature#48:9. “Nature”: literally, “name.” I am delaying my punishment; and because of my reputation, I'm not going to destroy you. 10Look how I've refined you, but not like silver—I chose you in the furnace of trouble. 11The reason I'm doing this is because of who I am, yes, because of my very nature. I won't let my reputation be damaged—I won't let anyone else have it.
12Listen to me, Jacob, and Israel, the one I called. Only I am God. I am the first, and I am the last. 13I laid the foundations of the earth with my own hands; I personally spread out the heavens. When I call the stars, they all take their positions.
14Everyone gather round and listen. Which of your “gods”#48:14. “Of your ‘gods’”: literally, “among you,” but the reference in context is clearly to idol. told you anything like this? The one the Lord loves will carry out the Lord's wishes against Babylon—he will attack the Babylonians. 15I myself have spoken. I have called him to do this, and he will be successful in what he does. 16Come close to me, and listen to this. From the very beginning I haven't spoken in secret; I am always there right when it happens. Now the Lord God and his Spirit has sent me to tell you this:
17This is what the Lord says, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, I am the Lord your God. I am the one who teaches you what is good for you, who leads you along the way you should go. 18If you had only listened carefully to what I told you! Then your blessings would have flowed like a river, and goodness would have washed over you like the waves of the sea. 19Your children, your descendants, would have been like all those grains of sand. They wouldn't have had to be destroyed, wiped out before me. 20Leave Babylon! Run away from Babylonia with happy shouts! Let everyone know, telling the whole earth, “The Lord has redeemed his servant Jacob!” 21They weren't thirsty when he led them through the desert—he made water come out of the rock for them. He split the rock open and water poured out.
22The wicked have no peace, says the Lord.
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com
Isaiah 48
48
Israel Refined for God’s Glory
1Hear this, O house of Jacob,
# ch. 43:1 who are called by the name of Israel,
and #Ps. 68:26 who came from the waters of Judah,
#
Jer. 7:9
who swear by the name of the Lord
and confess the God of Israel,
but not in truth or right.
2For they call themselves after the holy city,
# [Mic. 3:11] and stay themselves on the God of Israel;
the Lord of hosts is his name.
3“The former things #ch. 41:26I declared of old;
they went out from my mouth, and I announced them;
then suddenly I did them, and they came to pass.
4Because I know that #[Ex. 32:9]you are obstinate,
and your neck is an iron sinew
and your forehead brass,
5 # [See ver. 3 above] I declared them to you from of old,
before they came to pass I announced them to you,
lest you should say, #See Jer. 44:15-17‘My idol did them,
my carved image and my metal image commanded them.’
6“You have heard; now see all this;
and will you not declare it?
From this time forth #See ch. 43:19I announce to you new things,
hidden things that you have not known.
7They are created now, not long ago;
before today you have never heard of them,
lest you should say, ‘Behold, I knew them.’
8You have never heard, you have never known,
from of old your ear has not been opened.
For I knew that you would surely deal treacherously,
and that #ch. 46:8from before birth you were called a rebel.
9 # [Mal. 3:6] “For my name’s sake I defer my anger;
for the sake of my praise I restrain it for you,
that I may not cut you off.
10Behold, I have refined you, #[1 Pet. 1:7] but not as silver;
# [Deut. 4:20; Ezek. 22:18, 20, 22] I have tried#48:10 Or I have chosen you in the furnace of affliction.
11 # ch. 43:25; Ezek. 20:9 For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it,
for how should my name#48:11 Hebrew lacks my name be profaned?
# ch. 42:8 My glory I will not give to another.
The Lord’s Call to Israel
12“Listen to me, O Jacob,
and Israel, whom I called!
I am he; #See ch. 41:4I am the first,
and I am the last.
13My hand #ch. 51:13; [Ps. 102:25; Heb. 1:10] laid the foundation of the earth,
and my right hand #ch. 51:13; [Ps. 102:25; Heb. 1:10] spread out the heavens;
# [ch. 40:26] when I call to them,
they stand forth together.
14“Assemble, all of you, and listen!
# [ch. 41:26] Who among them has declared these things?
The Lord loves him;
# ch. 46:10, 11 he shall perform his purpose on Babylon,
and his arm shall be against #ch. 23:13; 47:1the Chaldeans.
15 # See ch. 45:1-3 I, even I, have spoken and called him;
I have brought him, and he will prosper in his way.
16 # ch. 45:19 Draw near to me, hear this:
from the beginning I have not spoken in secret,
from the time it came to be I have been there.”
And now #ch. 61:1the Lord God has sent me, and his Spirit.
17Thus says the Lord,
your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
“I am the Lord your God,
who teaches you to profit,
who leads you in the way you should go.
18 #
Ps. 81:13; Luke 19:42; [Deut. 32:29] Oh that you had paid attention to my commandments!
# ch. 66:12 Then your peace would have been like a river,
and your righteousness like the waves of the sea;
19 # ch. 10:22; Gen. 22:17; Hos. 1:10 your offspring would have been like the sand,
and your descendants like its grains;
their name would never be cut off
or destroyed from before me.”
20 # ch. 52:11; Jer. 50:8; 51:6, 45; Zech. 2:6, 7 Go out from Babylon, flee from #ch. 23:13; 47:1 Chaldea,
declare this #[ch. 35:10; 52:9] with a shout of joy, proclaim it,
send it out to the end of the earth;
say, #ch. 44:23; [Ex. 19:4-6]“The Lord has redeemed his servant Jacob!”
21 # [ch. 35:6; 44:3; Deut. 8:15] They did not thirst when he led them through the deserts;
# ch. 43:19; Ex. 17:6; Num. 20:11 he made water flow for them from the rock;
he split the rock and the water gushed out.
22 # ch. 57:21 “There is no peace,” says the Lord, “for the wicked.”
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