Isaiah 48
48
New things from now on
1Listen to this, house of Jacob,
who are known by the name of Israel,
descendants of Judah,#48.1 Or came out from the waters of Judah
who swear by the LORD’s name
and invoke Israel’s God dishonestly and unrighteously.
2They are known as residents of the holy city,
those who depend upon the God of Israel—
the LORD of heavenly forces is his name.
3Past things I announced long ago;
from my mouth I proclaimed them.
I acted suddenly, and they came about.
4Because I know that you are stubborn,
your neck is made of iron,
and your forehead is bronze.
5I informed you long ago;
before they came about I proclaimed them to you
so you wouldn’t say, “My idol did them;
my wood statue and metal god commanded them.”
6You’ve heard and seen all this—
won’t you admit it?
From now on I’ll tell you new things,
guarded secrets that you don’t know.
7They are created now, not long ago;
before today you hadn’t heard of them,
so you won’t say, “I already knew them.”
8You haven’t heard, nor have you known;
as in ages past your ears are closed,
because I knew what a traitor you were;
you were known as a rebel from birth.
9For the sake of my reputation I control my anger;
for your sake I restrain my powerful radiance
so as to not destroy you.
10See, I have refined you, but not like silver;
I have tested you#48.10 Or I have chosen in the furnace of misery.
11For the sake of my reputation, for my own sake, I will act,
for why will my name be made impure?
I won’t give my glory to another.
12Listen to me, Jacob;
Israel, whom I called:
I am the one;
I am the first and I am the last.
13My hand founded the earth;
my strong hand spread out the heavens.
When I call to them, they all stand up.
14Gather yourselves, all of you, and listen.
Who among you announced these things?
“The LORD loves him.
He will do what God wants with Babylon
and with the descendants#48.14 LXX; MT his arm of Chaldea.”
15I, I have spoken and told him
the things that will happen to him;
I will make him succeed.
16Come close to me; listen to this:
Since the very beginning I haven’t spoken in secret.
Whenever anything happens, I am there.
(And now the LORD God has sent me with his spirit.)
17The LORD your redeemer,
the holy one of Israel, proclaims:
I am the LORD your God
who teaches you for your own good,
who leads you in the way you should go.
18If you would pay attention to my commands,
your well-being would be like a river,
and your righteousness like the waves of the sea.
19Your offspring would be like the sand,
and your descendants like its grains.
Their name would never be eliminated,
never wiped out from before me.
20Go out from Babylon;
flee from the Chaldeans!
Report this with a loud shout, proclaim it;
broadcast it out to the end of the earth.
Say, “The LORD has redeemed his servant Jacob!”
21They weren’t thirsty when he led them through the deserts.
God made water flow from the rock for them;
split the rock, and water flowed out.
22There is no well-being, says the LORD, for the wicked.
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Isaiah 48: CEB
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2011 Common English Bible. All rights reserved.
Isaiah 48
48
God’s Stubborn People
1“Listen to me, O family of Jacob,
you who are called by the name of Israel
and born into the family of Judah.
Listen, you who take oaths in the name of the Lord
and call on the God of Israel.
You don’t keep your promises,
2even though you call yourself the holy city
and talk about depending on the God of Israel,
whose name is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
3Long ago I told you what was going to happen.
Then suddenly I took action,
and all my predictions came true.
4For I know how stubborn and obstinate you are.
Your necks are as unbending as iron.
Your heads are as hard as bronze.
5That is why I told you what would happen;
I told you beforehand what I was going to do.
Then you could never say, ‘My idols did it.
My wooden image and metal god commanded it to happen!’
6You have heard my predictions and seen them fulfilled,
but you refuse to admit it.
Now I will tell you new things,
secrets you have not yet heard.
7They are brand new, not things from the past.
So you cannot say, ‘We knew that all the time!’
8“Yes, I will tell you of things that are entirely new,
things you never heard of before.
For I know so well what traitors you are.
You have been rebels from birth.
9Yet for my own sake and for the honor of my name,
I will hold back my anger and not wipe you out.
10I have refined you, but not as silver is refined.
Rather, I have refined you in the furnace of suffering.
11I will rescue you for my sake—
yes, for my own sake!
I will not let my reputation be tarnished,
and I will not share my glory with idols!
Freedom from Babylon
12“Listen to me, O family of Jacob,
Israel my chosen one!
I alone am God,
the First and the Last.
13It was my hand that laid the foundations of the earth,
my right hand that spread out the heavens above.
When I call out the stars,
they all appear in order.”
14Have any of your idols ever told you this?
Come, all of you, and listen:
The Lord has chosen Cyrus as his ally.
He will use him to put an end to the empire of Babylon
and to destroy the Babylonian#48:14 Or Chaldean. armies.
15“I have said it: I am calling Cyrus!
I will send him on this errand and will help him succeed.
16Come closer, and listen to this.
From the beginning I have told you plainly what would happen.”
And now the Sovereign Lord and his Spirit
have sent me with this message.
17This is what the Lord says—
your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
“I am the Lord your God,
who teaches you what is good for you
and leads you along the paths you should follow.
18Oh, that you had listened to my commands!
Then you would have had peace flowing like a gentle river
and righteousness rolling over you like waves in the sea.
19Your descendants would have been like the sands along the seashore—
too many to count!
There would have been no need for your destruction,
or for cutting off your family name.”
20Yet even now, be free from your captivity!
Leave Babylon and the Babylonians.#48:20a Or the Chaldeans.
Sing out this message!
Shout it to the ends of the earth!
The Lord has redeemed his servants,
the people of Israel.#48:20b Hebrew his servant, Jacob. See note on 14:1.
21They were not thirsty
when he led them through the desert.
He divided the rock,
and water gushed out for them to drink.
22“But there is no peace for the wicked,”
says the Lord.
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