Isaiah 48

Modern

Literal

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—

¹“ Hear this, O house of Jacob, those being called by the name of Israel and having come forth from the wellsprings of Judah, and those swearing by the name of YHWH and calling to mind the God of Israel, not in truth and not in righteousness!

²who indeed call yourselves after the holy city

and lean on the God of Israel;

the LORD of Hosts is His name.

²Indeed, they have been called from the city of holiness, and upon the God of Israel they have leaned—YHWH 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.

³The former things of old I have declared, and from My mouth they went forth, and I caused them to be heard—I acted suddenly, and they came to pass.

⁴For I knew that you are stubborn;

your neck is iron and your forehead is bronze.

⁴From my knowing that you are obstinate, and your neck is an iron sinew, and your forehead 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.’

⁵and I declared to you from then, before it came to pass; I informed you, lest you should say, ‘My idol has done them, and my carved image and my molten image has commanded them!’

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.

⁶You have heard—see all of it—and will you not declare it? I make you to hear new things from now, and hidden things that you did not know.

⁷They are created now, and not long ago;

you have not heard of them before today.

So you cannot claim,

‘I already knew them!’

⁷Now they have been created, and not from then; and before this day, and you did not hear of them, lest you should say, ‘Behold, I 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.

⁸Indeed, you have not heard; indeed you have not known; even from long ago your ear was not opened; for I knew that you would be utterly treacherous,, and ‘one rebelling from the womb’ is it called out for you.

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.

⁹For the sake of My name, I will lengthen My nose, and for My praise I will hold it back from you, so as to not cut you off.

¹⁰See, I have refined you, but not as silver;

I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.

¹⁰Behold, I have refined you, and 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.

¹¹For My own sake, My very own sake, I will act—for how can I let Myself be profaned! And My glory I will give not 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.

¹²Listen to Me, O Jacob, and Israel, My called one! I am He; I am the First; also 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.

¹³Surely My own hand founded the earth, and My right hand spread out the heavens; I call to 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.^a

¹⁴Assemble, all of you, and hear! Who among them has declared these things? YHWH has loved him; He will accomplish His desire against Babylon, and His arm against the Chaldeans.

¹⁵I, even I, have spoken;

yes, I have called him.

I have brought him,

and he will succeed in his mission.

¹⁵I, I have spoken, yes, I have called him; I have brought him and he has made prosperous his way.

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.

¹⁶Come near to Me, hear this! From the beginning I have not spoken in secret; from the time of its coming to be, there” I am. And now, the Lord YHWH has sent me, and 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.

¹⁷Thus says YHWH your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am YHWH your God the One teaching you to profit, the One leading you by 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.

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

¹⁹Your descendants would have been as countless as the sand,

and your offspring as numerous as its grains;^a

their name would never be cut off

or eliminated from My presence.”

¹⁹and your seed would have been like the sand, and the offspring of your bowels like its grains. It would not have been cut off and not destroyed—His name from before Me!”

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!”

²⁰Go forth from Babylon! Flee from the Chaldeans! With a voice ringing out, declare it, let this be heard; let it go forth to the end of the earth! Say, “YHWH 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.

²¹And they did not thirst in the deserts when He led them; He made flow the waters from the rock for them, and He split the rock, and the waters gushed out.

²²“There is no peace,” says the LORD,

“for the wicked.”

²²“There is no peace,” says YHWH, “For the wicked.”