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.”
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Isaiah 48: CEV
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.
Isaiah 48
48
Israel’s Stubbornness
1“Listen to this, O house of Jacob,
you who are called by the name of Israel,
who have descended from the line of Judah,
who swear by the name of the Lord,
who invoke the God of Israel—
but not in truth or righteousness—
2who indeed call yourselves after the holy city
and lean on the God of Israel;
the Lord of Hosts is His name.
3I foretold the former things long ago;
they came out of My mouth and I proclaimed them.
Suddenly I acted, and they came to pass.
4For I knew that you are stubborn;
your neck is iron and your forehead is bronze.
5Therefore I declared it to you long ago;
I announced it before it came to pass,
so that you could not claim, ‘My idol has done this;
my carved image and molten god has ordained it.’
6You have heard these things; look at them all.
Will you not acknowledge them?
From now on I will tell you of new things,
hidden things unknown to you.
7They are created now, and not long ago;
you have not heard of them before today.
So you cannot claim,
‘I already knew them!’
8You have never heard; you have never understood;
for a long time your ears have not been open.
For I knew how deceitful you are;
you have been called a rebel from birth.
9For the sake of My name I will delay My wrath;
for the sake of My praise I will restrain it,
so that you will not be cut off.
10See, I have refined you, but not as silver;
I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.
11For My own sake, My very own sake, I will act;
for how can I let Myself be defamed?
I will not yield My glory to another.
Deliverance Promised to Israel
12Listen to Me, O Jacob,
and Israel, whom I have called:
I am He; I am the first,
and I am the last.
13Surely My own hand founded the earth,
and My right hand spread out the heavens;
when I summon them,
they stand up together.
14Come together, all of you, and listen:
Which of the idols has foretold these things?
The Lord’s chosen ally will carry out His desire against Babylon,
and His arm will be against the Chaldeans.#48:14 That is, the Babylonians; also in verse 20
15I, even I, have spoken;
yes, I have called him.
I have brought him,
and he will succeed in his mission.
16Come near to Me and listen to this:
From the beginning I have not spoken in secret;
from the time it happened, I was there.”
And now the Lord GOD has sent me,
accompanied by His Spirit.
17Thus says the Lord your Redeemer,
the Holy One of Israel:
“I am the Lord your God,
who teaches you for your benefit,
who directs you in the way you should go.
18If only you had paid attention to My commandments,
your peace would have been like a river,
and your righteousness like waves of the sea.
19Your descendants would have been as countless as the sand,
and your offspring as numerous as its grains;#48:19 Literally like the sand, and your offspring like its grains
their name would never be cut off
or eliminated from My presence.”
20Leave Babylon!
Flee from the Chaldeans!
Declare it with a shout of joy,
proclaim it,
let it go out to the ends of the earth, saying,
“The Lord has redeemed His servant Jacob!”
21They did not thirst when He led them through the deserts;
He made water flow for them from the rock;
He split the rock, and water gushed out.
22“There is no peace,” says the Lord,
“for the wicked.”
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The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible, BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee. This text of God's Word has been dedicated to the public domain.