Isaiah 48

1 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.

Listen to these things, O house of Jacob, you who are called by the name of Israel, and who went forth from the waters of Judah. You swear by the name of the Lord and you call to mind the God of Israel, but not in truth, and not in justice.

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

For they have been called from the holy city, and they have been founded upon the God of Israel. The Lord of hosts is his name.

3 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.

From that time, I announced the former things. They went forth from my mouth, and I have caused them to be heard. I wrought these things suddenly, and they were fulfilled.

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

For I knew that you are stubborn, and that your neck is like an iron sinew, and that your forehead is like brass.

5 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.”

From that time, I foretold to you. Before these things happened, I revealed them to you, lest you say: “My idols have accomplished these things, and my graven and molten images have commanded them.”

6 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.

See all the things that you have heard. But were you the ones who announced them? From that time, I caused you to hear about new things, and you do not know how these were preserved.

7 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.”

They are created now, and not in that time. And even before today, you did not hear of them; otherwise, you might say, “Behold, I knew them.”

8 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”!

You have neither heard, nor known, nor were your ears open in that time. For I knew that you would transgress greatly, and so I called you a transgressor from the womb.

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

For the sake of my name, I will take the face of my fury far away. And for the sake of my praise, I will bridle you, lest you perish.

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

Behold, I have refined you, but not like silver. I have chosen you for the furnace of poverty.

11 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.

For my sake, for my own sake, I will do it, so that I may not be blasphemed. For I will not give my glory to another.

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

Listen to me, O Jacob, and Israel whom I call. I am the same, I am the first, and I am the last.

13 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.

Also, my hand has founded the earth, and my right hand has measured the heavens. I will call them, and they will stand together.

14 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.

Gather together, all of you, and listen. Who among them has announced these things? The Lord has loved him; he will do his will with Babylon, and his arm is upon the Chaldeans.

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

I am, I have spoken, and I have called him. I have led him forward, and his way has been straight.

16 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:

Draw near to me, and listen to this. From the beginning, I have not spoken in secret. From the time before it happened, I was there. And now, the Lord God has sent me, and his Spirit.

17 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.

Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: I am the Lord, your God, who teaches you beneficial things, who guides you in the way that you walk.

18 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.

If only you had paid attention to my commandments! Your peace would have been like a river, and your justice would have been like the waves of the sea,

19 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.

and your offspring would have been like the sand, and the stock from your loins would have been like its stones. His name would not have passed away, nor would it have been worn away before my face.

20 Leave Babylon! Run away from Babylonia with happy shouts! Let everyone know, telling the whole earth, “The Lord has redeemed his servant Jacob!”

Depart from Babylon! Flee from the Chaldeans! Announce it with a voice of exultation. Cause it to be heard, and carry it even to the ends of the earth. Say: “The Lord has redeemed his servant Jacob.”

21 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.

They did not thirst in the desert, when he led them out. He produced water from the rock for them. For he split the rock, and the waters flowed out.

22 The wicked have no peace, says the Lord.

“There is no peace for the impious,” says the Lord.