Isaiah 48
48
The LORD Will Refine His People Before He Rescues Them from Babylon
1Listen to this, descendants of Jacob!
You are given the name of Israel.
You are descended from Judah.#48:1 Dead Sea Scrolls; Masoretic Text “the fountain of Judah.”
You take oaths by the name of the Lord.
You acknowledge the God of Israel,
but you are not honest or sincere.
2You call yourselves ⌞citizens⌟ of the holy city.
You depend on the God of Israel.
His name is the Lord of Armies.
3From the beginning I revealed to you what would happen.
These words came out of my mouth,
and I made them known.
Suddenly, I acted, and they happened.
4I know that you are stubborn.
Like iron, you are hardheaded.
Like bronze, nothing gets through your thick skull.
5That is why I revealed to you what would happen long ago.
I told you about them before they happened.
⌞I did this⌟ so you couldn’t say,
“My gods have done these things.
My carved idols and my metal idols
have commanded them to happen.”
6You’ve heard these words.
Now look at all this.
Won’t you admit it?
From now on I will reveal to you new things,
hidden things that you do not know.
7They are created now, not in the past.
You haven’t heard about them before today,
so you can’t say that you already knew about them.
8You have never heard about them.
You have never known about them.
Your ears have never been open to hear them before.
I know that you’ve acted very treacherously
and that you have been called a rebel since you were born.
9For my name’s sake I’ll be patient.
For my glory’s sake I’ll hold my anger back from you,
rather than destroy you.
10I have refined you,
but not like silver.
I have tested you in the furnace of suffering.
11I am doing this for myself, only for myself.
Why should my name be dishonored?
I will not give my glory to anyone else.
12Listen to me, Jacob,
Israel, whom I have called.
I am the one.
I am the first and the last.
13My hand laid the foundation of the earth.
My right hand stretched out the heavens.
When I call for them, they both stand.
14Gather together, all of you, and listen.
What idol has revealed such things?
The Lord loves Cyrus.
He will carry out the Lord’s plan against Babylon.
He will use his strength against the Babylonians.
15I alone have spoken.
I have called him.
I will bring him here, and he will succeed.
16Come here. Listen to this:
From the beginning I have spoken nothing in private.
From the time it took place, I was there.
Now the Almighty Lord has sent me and his Spirit.
17This is what the Lord, your Defender, the Holy One of Israel, says:
I am the Lord your God.
I teach you what is best for you.
I lead you where you should go.
18If only you had listened to my commands!
Your peace would be like a river ⌞that never runs dry⌟.
Your righteousness would be like waves on the sea.
19Your descendants would be like sand.
Your children would be like its grains.
Their names would not be cut off or wiped out in my presence.
20Leave Babylon; flee from the Babylonians!
Shout for joy as you tell it and announce it.
Shout it out to the ends of the earth.
Say that the Lord has reclaimed his servant Jacob.
21They weren’t thirsty when he led them through the deserts.
He made water flow from a rock for them.
He split a rock, and water gushed out.
22“There is no peace for the wicked,” says the Lord.
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Isaiah 48: GW
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GOD'S WORD® Translation ©1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God's Word to the Nations Mission 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.