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—

Listen to this, descendants of Jacob, called by the name of Israel, and who come from the lineage of Judah. Listen, you people who swear by the name of the Lord, or who invoke the God of Israel, but not truly or sincerely.

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

You say you're from the “Holy City,” and claim you're trusting in the God of Israel, whose name is the Lord Almighty.

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.

I predicted long ago what was going to happen—I said it and let people know. Then suddenly I decided to act, and it all came true.

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

I know how stubborn you are, with necks as unbending as iron and foreheads as hard as 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.’

I predicted these things to you long ago, before they happened. I explained them to you so that you couldn't say “My idol did this,” or “My image and my metal god ordered this to happen.”

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.

You've heard all I predicted, and seen it happen. Won't you admit it? Now I'm going to tell you new things, secrets you don't know anything about.

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!’

These are brand-new, not something from the past. Before today you won't have heard anything about them, so you can't say, “Oh yes, I know about that.”

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.

No, you've never heard that, and you've never known that! Nobody's told you about that before! I know how deviously you operate—you're called “rebels 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.

But because of my nature I am delaying my punishment; and because of my reputation, I'm not going to destroy you.

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

Look how I've refined you, but not like silver—I chose you in the furnace of trouble.

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.

The reason I'm doing this is because of who I am, yes, because of my very nature. I won't let my reputation be damaged—I won't let anyone else have it.

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

Listen to me, Jacon, and Israel, the one I called. Only I am God. 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.

I laid the foundations of the earth with my own hands; I personally spread out the heavens. When I call the stars, they all take their positions.

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.

Everyone gather round and listen. Which of your “gods” told you anything like this? The one the Lord loves will carry out the Lord's wishes against Babylon—he will attack the Babylonians.

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

I myself have spoken. I have called him to do this, and he will be successful in what he does.

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.

Come close to me, and listen to this. From the very beginning I haven't spoken in secret; I am always there right when it happens. Now the Lord God and his Spirit has sent me to tell you this:

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.

This is what the Lord says, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, I am the Lord your God. I am the one who teaches you what is good for you, who leads you along 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.

If you had only listened carefully to what I told you! Then your blessings would have flowed like a river, and goodness would have washed over you like the 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.”

Your children, your descendants, would have been like all those grains of sand. They wouldn't have had to be destroyed, wiped out before me.

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!”

Leave Babylon! Run away from Babylonia with happy shouts! Let everyone know, telling the whole earth, “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.

They weren't thirsty when he led them through the desert—he made water come out of the rock for them. He split the rock open and water poured out.

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

The wicked have no peace, says the Lord.