Isaiah 48

1 “Hear this, house of Jacob, you who are called by the name of Israel, and have come out of the waters of Judah. You swear by the LORD’s name, and make mention of the God of Israel, but not in truth, nor in righteousness—

Hear this, O house of Jacob! Ye that are called by the name of Israel; Ye that have come forth from the fountain of Judah; Ye that swear by the name of Jehovah, And praise the God of Israel, But not in truth and sincerity!

2 for they call themselves citizens of the holy city, and rely on the God of Israel; the LORD of Armies is his name.

For they call themselves of the holy city, And stay themselves on the God of Israel, Whose name is Jehovah of hosts: —

3 I have declared the former things from of old. Yes, they went out of my mouth, and I revealed them. I did them suddenly, and they happened.

What hath happened I declared to you long ago; From my mouth it proceeded, and I made it known; On a sudden I effected it, and it came to pass.

4 Because I knew that you are obstinate, and your neck is an iron sinew, and your brow bronze;

Because I knew that thou art obstinate, And that thy neck is a bar of iron, And that thy brow is brass,

5 therefore I have declared it to you from of old; before it came to pass I showed it to you; lest you should say, ‘My idol has done them. My engraved image and my molten image has commanded them.’

I declared it to thee long ago; Before it came to pass, I made it known to thee; Lest thou shouldst say, My idol effected it, And my graven image, and my molten image ordained it.

6 You have heard it. Now see all this. And you, will not you declare it? “I have shown you new things from this time, even hidden things, which you have not known.

Thou hast heard it; now see it all! And will ye not confess it? From this time I make you hear a new thing, Even a hidden thing, which thou hast not known.

7 They are created now, and not from of old. Before today, you did not hear them, lest you should say, ‘Behold, I knew them.’

It is produced now, and not long ago; Before this day thou hast not heard of it, Lest thou shouldst say, Behold, I knew it.

8 Yes, you did not hear. Yes, you did not know. Yes, from of old your ear was not opened, for I knew that you dealt very treacherously, and were called a transgressor from the womb.

Yea, thou heardest it not; yea, thou knewest it not; Yea, it was not disclosed to thee long ago; For I knew that thou wast wholly faithless, And wast called rebellious from thy birth.

9 For my name’s sake, I will defer my anger, and for my praise, I hold it back for you so that I do not cut you off.

For the sake of my name I will defer my anger, And for the sake of my praise I will restrain it from thee, That I may not utterly cut thee off.

10 Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver. I have chosen you in the furnace of affliction.

Behold, I have melted thee, and found no silver; I have tried thee in the furnace of affliction.

11 For my own sake, for my own sake, I will do it; for how would my name be profaned? I will not give my glory to another.

For mine own sake will I do it; For how would my name be blasphemed? And my glory will I not give to another.

12 “Listen to me, O Jacob, and Israel my called: I am he. I am the first. I am also the last.

Hearken to me, O Jacob, And Israel, whom I have called! I am He, I am the first, and I the last.

13 Yes, my hand has laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand has spread out the heavens. when I call to them, they stand up together.

Yea, my hand hath founded the earth, And my right hand hath spread out the heavens; I called them; they stood forth together.

14 “Assemble yourselves, all of you, and hear! Who among them has declared these things? He whom the LORD loves will do what he likes to Babylon, and his arm will be against the Chaldeans.

Assemble yourselves, all of you, and hear! Who among you hath declared these things? He whom Jehovah loveth will execute his pleasure upon Babylon, And his power upon the Chaldaeans.

15 I, even I, have spoken. Yes, I have called him. I have brought him and he shall make his way prosperous.

I, even I, have spoken; yea, I have called him; I have brought him, and his way shall be prosperous.

16 “Come near to me and hear this: “From the beginning I have not spoken in secret; from the time that it happened, I was there.” Now the Lord GOD has sent me with his Spirit.

Draw near to me, and hear ye this! I spake not in secret from the beginning; And since it began to be, I have been there; And now hath the Lord Jehovah sent me with his spirit.

17 The LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, says: “I am the LORD your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you by the way that you should go.

Thus saith Jehovah, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am Jehovah, thy God, who teacheth thee what will profit thee; Who leadeth thee in the way thou shouldst go.

18 Oh that you had listened to my commandments! Then your peace would have been like a river and your righteousness like the waves of the sea.

O that thou wouldst hearken to my commandments! Then shall thy peace be as a river, And thy prosperity as the waves of the sea;

19 Your offspring also would have been as the sand and the descendants of your body like its grains. His name would not be cut off nor destroyed from before me.”

Then shall thy posterity be as the sand, And the fruit of thy body as the offspring of the sea; Thy name shall not be cut off, nor destroyed before me.

20 Leave Babylon! Flee from the Chaldeans! With the sound of joyful shouting announce this, tell it even to the end of the earth; say, “The LORD has redeemed his servant Jacob!”

Come ye forth from Babylon, flee ye from the land of the Chaldaeans with the voice of joy! Publish ye this, and make it known; Let it resound to the ends of the earth! Say: “Jehovah hath redeemed his servant Jacob;

21 They did not thirst when he led them through the deserts. He caused the waters to flow out of the rock for them. He also split the rock and the waters gushed out.

They thirst not in the deserts through which he leadeth them; Waters from the rock he causeth to flow for them; He cleaveth the rock, and the waters gush forth.

22 “There is no peace”, says the LORD, “for the wicked.”

There is no peace, saith Jehovah, for the wicked.”