Isaiah 48
48
Exhortations to the Exiles
1Hear this, house of Jacob
called by the name Israel,
sprung from the stock of Judah,
You who swear by the name of the Lord
and invoke the God of Israel
without sincerity, without justice,
2Though you are named after the holy city
and rely on the God of Israel,
whose name is the Lord of hosts.
3Things of the past I declared long ago,
they went forth from my mouth, I announced them;
then suddenly I took action and they came to be.
4Because I know that you are stubborn
and that your neck is an iron sinew
and your forehead bronze,
5I declared them to you of old;
before they took place I informed you,
That you might not say, “My idol did them,
my statue, my molten image commanded them.”
6Now that you have heard, look at all this;
must you not admit it?#Is 42:9.
From now on I announce new things to you,
hidden events you never knew.
7Now, not from of old, they are created,
before today you did not hear of them,
so that you cannot claim, “I have known them.”
8You never heard, you never knew,
they never reached your ears beforehand.
Yes, I know you are utterly treacherous,
a rebel you were named from the womb.#Is 43:22–24.
9For the sake of my name I restrain my anger,
for the sake of my renown I hold it back from you,
lest I destroy you.
10See, I refined you, but not like silver;
I tested you in the furnace of affliction.#Is 1:25; Jer 6:29–30; Zec 13:9; Mal 3:2.
11For my sake, for my own sake, I do this;
why should my name be profaned?
My glory I will not give to another.
12Listen to me, Jacob,
Israel, whom I called!
I, it is I who am the first,
and am I the last.#Is 41:4; 44:6; 48:12; Rev 1:8, 17.
13Yes, my hand laid the foundations of the earth;
my right hand spread out the heavens.
When I summon them,
they stand forth at once.#Is 40:22, 26; 45:12, 18.
14All of you assemble and listen:
Who among you declared these things?
The one the Lord loves#The one the Lord loves: the reference is no doubt to Cyrus, who does the Lord’s will by overcoming Babylon and releasing Israel from captivity. shall do his will
against Babylon and the offspring of Chaldea.
15I myself have spoken, I have summoned him,
I have brought him, and his way succeeds!
16Come near to me and hear this!
From the beginning I did not speak in secret;
At the time it happens, I am there:
“Now the Lord God has sent me, and his spirit.”#“Now the Lord…spirit”: said by Cyrus; cf. v. 14.
17Thus says the Lord, your redeemer,
the Holy One of Israel:
I am the Lord, your God,
teaching you how to prevail,
leading you on the way you should go.
18If only you would attend to my commandments,
your peace would be like a river,
your vindication like the waves of the sea,
19Your descendants like the sand,
the offspring of your loins like its grains,
Their name never cut off
or blotted out from my presence.
20Go forth from Babylon, flee from Chaldea!
With shouts of joy declare this, announce it;
Make it known to the ends of the earth,
Say: “The Lord has redeemed his servant Jacob.
21They did not thirst
when he led them through dry lands;
Water from the rock he set flowing for them;
he cleft the rock, and waters welled forth.”#Ex 17:6; Nm 20:11.
22There is no peace#No peace: while the good news proclaimed by the prophet is directed to the people as a whole, “peace,” which can represent the fullness of God’s blessings and which would here include deliverance from exile, is not extended to all regardless of disposition. for the wicked,
says the Lord.
Currently Selected:
Isaiah 48: NABRE
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc
Isaiah 48
48
Israel Must Leave Babylon
1“Listen to this, house of Jacob —
those who are called by the name Israel
and have descended from#48:1 Lit have come from the waters of Judah,#Nm 24:7; Dt 33:28; Ps 68:26
who swear by the name of the Lord#Dt 6:13; Is 45:23; 65:16
and declare the God of Israel,
but not in truth or righteousness.
2For they are named after the holy city,
and lean on the God of Israel;#Is 10:20; Jr 7:4; 21:2; Mc 3:11; Rm 2:17
his name is the Lord of Armies.
3I declared the past events long ago;
they came out of my mouth; I proclaimed them.
Suddenly I acted, and they occurred.
4Because I know that you are stubborn,
and your neck is iron#48:4 Lit is an iron sinew
and your forehead bronze,#Ex 32:9; Dt 31:27; Ezk 2:4; 3:7–9
5therefore I declared to you long ago.
I announced it to you before it occurred,
so you could not claim, ‘My idol caused them;
my carved image and cast idol control them.’#Jr 44:15–18
6You have heard it. Observe it all.
Will you not acknowledge it?
From now on I will announce new things to you,
hidden things that you have not known.#Is 42:9; 43:19
7They have been created now, and not long ago;
you have not heard of them before today,
so you could not claim, ‘I already knew them!’
8You have never heard; you have never known;
for a long time your ears have not been open.
For I knew that you were very treacherous,
and were known as a rebel from birth.#Dt 9:7,24; Ps 58:3; Is 46:8
9I will delay my anger for the sake of my name,
and I will restrain myself for your benefit and for my praise,
so that you will not be destroyed.
10Look, I have refined you,#Dt 4:20; 1Kg 8:51; Jr 11:4; Ezk 22:18–22; 1Pt 1:7 but not as silver;
I have tested#48:10 DSS; MT reads chosen you in the furnace of affliction.
11I will act for my own sake, indeed, my own,#Is 43:25; Ezk 20:9
for how can I#48:11 DSS, Syr; MT reads it be defiled?
I will not give my glory to another.#Is 42:8
12“Listen to me, Jacob,
and Israel, the one called by me:
I am he; I am the first,
I am also the last.#Is 41:4; 43:10–13; 46:4; Rv 1:17
13My own hand founded the earth,
and my right hand spread out the heavens;#Ps 102:25; Is 42:5; 45:12,18; Heb 1:10–12
when I summoned them,
they stood up together.
14All of you, assemble and listen!
Who among the idols#48:14 Lit among them has declared these things?
The Lord loves him;#48:14 = Cyrus
he will accomplish his will against Babylon,#Is 13:4–5,17–19; 46:10–11
and his arm will be against the Chaldeans.
15I — I have spoken;
yes, I have called him;#Is 41:2; 45:1–2
I have brought him,
and he will succeed in his mission.#Is 53:10
16Approach me and listen to this.
From the beginning I have not spoken in secret;#Is 45:19
from the time anything existed, I was there.”
And now the Lord God
has sent me and his Spirit.#Nm 27:18; Ps 51:11; Is 61:1; 63:7,10; Zch 2:9,11
17This is what the Lord, your Redeemer,#Is 41:14; 43:14 the Holy One of Israel#Is 1:4 says:
I am the Lord your God,
who teaches you for your benefit,
who leads you in the way you should go.
18If only you had paid attention to my commands.
Then your peace would have been like a river,#Is 32:16–18; 66:12
and your righteousness like the waves of the sea.#Dt 5:29; 32:29; Ps 81:13–16; Am 5:24
19Your descendants would have been as countless as the sand,#Gn 22:17; Is 10:22; 44:3–4; 54:3; Hs 1:10
and the offspring of your body like its grains;
their name would not be cut off
or eliminated from my presence.
20Leave Babylon,
flee from the Chaldeans!
Declare with a shout of joy,
proclaim this,
let it go out to the end of the earth;
announce,
“The Lord has redeemed his servant#Is 41:8–9; 42:19; 43:10; 44:1–2,21; 45:4; 49:3; 54:17; Lk 1:54 Jacob!”
21They did not thirst
when he led them through the deserts;
he made water flow from the rock for them;#Ex 17:6; Ps 78:15–16
he split the rock, and water gushed out.
22“There is no peace for the wicked,” says the Lord.#Is 57:21
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
© 2017 Holman Bible Publishers