Isaiah 48

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—

2 who indeed call yourselves after the holy city and lean on the God of Israel; the LORD of Hosts is His name.

3 I foretold the former things long ago; they came out of My mouth and I proclaimed them. Suddenly I acted, and they came to pass.

4 For I knew that you are stubborn; your neck is iron and your forehead is bronze.

5 Therefore 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.’

6 You 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.

7 They are created now, and not long ago; you have not heard of them before today. So you cannot claim, ‘I already knew them!’

8 You 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.

9 For 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.

10 See, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.

11 For 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.

12 Listen to Me, O Jacob, and Israel, whom I have called: I am He; I am the first, and I am the last.

13 Surely My own hand founded the earth, and My right hand spread out the heavens; when I summon them, they stand up together.

14 Come 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.

15 I, even I, have spoken; yes, I have called him. I have brought him, and he will succeed in his mission.

16 Come 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.

17 Thus 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.

18 If only you had paid attention to My commandments, your peace would have been like a river, and your righteousness like waves of the sea.

19 Your descendants would have been as countless as the sand, and your offspring as numerous as its grains; their name would never be cut off or eliminated from My presence.”

20 Leave 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!”

21 They 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.”

1 ¶ Hear ye this, O house of Jacob, which are called by the name of Israel, and are come forth out of the waters of Judah, which swear by the name of the LORD, and make mention of the God of Israel, [but] not in truth, nor in righteousness.

2 For they call themselves of the holy city, and stay themselves upon the God of Israel; The LORD of hosts [is] his name.

3 I have declared the former things from the beginning; and they went forth out of my mouth, and I shewed them; I did [them] suddenly, and they came to pass.

4 Because I knew that thou [art] obstinate, and thy neck [is] an iron sinew, and thy brow brass;

5 I have even from the beginning declared [it] to thee; before it came to pass I shewed [it] thee: lest thou shouldest say, Mine idol hath done them, and my graven image, and my molten image, hath commanded them.

6 Thou hast heard, see all this; and will not ye declare [it]? I have shewed thee new things from this time, even hidden things, and thou didst not know them.

7 They are created now, and not from the beginning; even before the day when thou heardest them not; lest thou shouldest say, Behold, I knew them.

8 Yea, thou heardest not; yea, thou knewest not; yea, from that time [that] thine ear was not opened: for I knew that thou wouldest deal very treacherously, and wast called a transgressor from the womb.

9 ¶ For my name's sake will I defer mine anger, and for my praise will I refrain for thee, that I cut thee not off.

10 Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.

11 For mine own sake, [even] for mine own sake, will I do [it]: for how should [my name] be polluted? and I will not give my glory unto another.

12 Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I [am] he; I [am] the first, I also [am] the last.

13 Mine hand also hath laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spanned the heavens: [when] I call unto them, they stand up together.

14 All ye, assemble yourselves, and hear; which among them hath declared these [things]? The LORD hath loved him: he will do his pleasure on Babylon, and his arm [shall be on] the Chaldeans.

15 I, [even] I, have spoken; yea, I have called him: I have brought him, and he shall make his way prosperous.

16 ¶ Come ye near unto me, hear ye this; I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; from the time that it was, there [am] I: and now the Lord GOD, and his Spirit, hath sent me.

17 Thus saith the LORD, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I [am] the LORD thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way [that] thou shouldest go.

18 O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments! then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea:

19 Thy seed also had been as the sand, and the offspring of thy bowels like the gravel thereof; his name should not have been cut off nor destroyed from before me.

20 Go ye forth of Babylon, flee ye from the Chaldeans, with a voice of singing declare ye, tell this, utter it [even] to the end of the earth; say ye, The LORD hath redeemed his servant Jacob.

21 And they thirsted not [when] he led them through the deserts: he caused the waters to flow out of the rock for them: he clave the rock also, and the waters gushed out.

22 [There is] no peace, saith the LORD, unto the wicked.

1 Hear this, ye of the house of Jacob, which are called by the name of Israel, and are flowed out of the waters of Judah, which swear by the name of the LORD, and remember God in Israel, but not in truth nor righteousness.

2 For they call themselves of the holy city, and defy the God of Israel, which is called the LORD of hosts:

3 I have declared these things before: they are come out of my mouth, and I have spoken them: I do it suddenly that they come.

4 For I know that thou art hard; and thy neck is a vein of iron, and thy forehead is a vein of steel.

5 I told thee before, and I sent word unto thee before it came, lest thou shouldest say, My idol hath done it, and my image and my god hath commanded it.

6 These things thou hearest, and seest, and hast not declared. For I have told thee new things before, and hidden things, which thou knewest not.

7 But now is it created, and not then; and thou hast not heard of it a day before, lest thou shouldest say, Behold, I knew it.

8 For thou heardest not, neither knewest, neither was thine ear open at that time: but I knew that thou wouldest despise, and be called a transgressor from thy mother's womb.

9 Therefore I am patient for my name's sake, and for my glory's sake will I forbear thee, that thou be not cut off.

10 Behold, I will purify thee, but not as silver; but I will make thee choice in the furnace of affliction.

11 For mine own sake, yea, for mine own sake will I do it, that I be not blasphemed: for I will not leave mine honour to another.

12 Hearken unto me, O Jacob, and thou, O Israel, my called: I am he, I am the first, and also the last.

13 My hand hath laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath compassed the heavens: whatsoever I call, there standeth.

14 Gather yourselves together, all of you, and hear: Who is there among these that can declare these things? The LORD loveth him: therefore will he prove his will against Babylon, and his arm against the Chaldeans.

15 I, even I, have said it, I have called him; I will also cause him to come, and his way shall prosper him.

16 Come near unto me, and hear these things: I have not spoken them before in secret. From the time that it is spoken, I am there: and now the Lord GOD and his Spirit send me.

17 Thus saith the LORD thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the LORD thy God, which teach thee that which is good, and guide thee in the way that thou goest.

18 O that thou wouldest hearken unto my commandments! Then thy peace shall be as a river of water, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea,

19 And thy seed shall be as the sand, and the increase of thy body as the gravel thereof; whose name shall not be cut off nor destroyed from before me.

20 Go ye out from Babylon, flee from the Chaldeans with a joyful noise; proclaim and let it be heard; bring it forth unto the end of the world. Say, The LORD hath redeemed his servant Jacob.

21 They thirsted not, when he led them in the wilderness; he caused water to flow out of the rock for them; he rent the rock, and water ran out.

22 But the wicked, saith the LORD, have no peace.