Isaiah 48
1 Hear yee this, O house of Iaakob, which are called by the name of Israel, and are come out of the waters of Iudah: which sweare by the Name of the Lord, and make mention of the God of Israel, but not in truth, nor in righteousnesse.
[Yahweh says], “You descendants [MTY] of Jacob, who are [also] descendants of Judah and are now called [the people of] Israel, Listen to me! You make solemn promises using my name, Yahweh, and you request that I, the God to whom you Israeli people belong, [will hear you], but you do not do it sincerely.
2 For they are called of the holy citie, and staie themselues vpon the God of Israel, whose Name is the Lord of hostes.
You say that you live in the holy city [of Jerusalem], and [you insincerely say] that you are relying on me, the God to whom you [people of] Israel belong, the one who is the Commander of the armies of angels.
3 I haue declared ye former things of old, and they went out of my mouth, and I shewed them: I did them suddenly, and they came to passe.
Long ago I [MTY] predicted what would happen [DOU]. And then suddenly, I caused those things to happen.
4 Because I knewe, that thou art obstinate, and thy necke is an yron sinew, and thy brow brasse,
I knew that you people are very stubborn; I knew that your heads are [MET] [as hard as] iron or brass [DOU].
5 Therefore I haue declared it to thee of old: before it came to passe, I shewed it thee, lest thou shouldest say, Mine idole hath done them, and my carued image, and my molten image hath commanded them.
That is why I told you those things long ago. Long before they occurred, I announced that they would occur, in order that [when they happened] you could not say ‘Our idols did it; our statue made of wood and our idol made of metal caused them to happen.’
6 Thou hast heard, behold all this, and wil not yee declare it? I haue shewed thee newe things, euen now, and hid things, which thou knewest not.
You have heard those things [that I predicted] and now you have seen that they have all occurred, so why do you not admit it [RHQ]? Now I will tell you new things, things that you have not known previously.
7 They are created now, and not of olde, and euen before this thou heardest them not, lest thou shouldest say, Beholde, I knewe them.
I am causing them to happen now; they are not things I did long ago. So you cannot say, ‘We already knew about those things.’
8 Yet thou heardest them not, neither diddest know them, neither yet was thine eare opened of olde: for I knewe that thou wouldest grieuously transgresse: therefore haue I called thee a transgressour from the wombe.
[I will tell you about] things that you have never heard about or understood before. Even long ago you did not pay attention to me [IDM]. I know that you act very deceitfully/treacherously; you have rebelled against me since you first became a nation [MTY].
9 For my Names sake will I defer my wrath, and for my praise will I refraine it from thee, that I cut thee not off.
But, for my own sake, in order that I will be honored, I will not punish [MTY] you immediately and I will not completely get rid of you.
10 Behold, I haue fined thee, but not as siluer: I haue chosen thee in the fornace of affliction.
I have purified you, but not the way [people refine] silver. Instead, I have caused you to suffer very much [to get rid of your impure behavior], like [MET] [people put metal in a very hot] furnace [to get rid of the impurities].
11 For mine owne sake, for mine owne sake wil I doe it: for how should my Name be polluted? surely I wil not giue my glory vnto another.
But for my [MTY] own sake I will delay punishing you more; I will do it for my own sake in order that my reputation will not be damaged [RHQ]. I will not allow any [person or any idol] to be honored as I [deserve to be] honored.”
12 Heare me, O Iaakob and Israel, my called, I am, I am the first, and I am the last.
“You descendants [MTY] of Jacob, you people of Israel whom I have chosen, listen to me! [Only] I am God; I am the one who begins everything and who causes everything to end.
13 Surely mine hand hath laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spanned the heaues: when I cal them, they stand vp together.
I [SYN] am the one who laid the foundation of the earth. I stretched out the sky with my hand. And when I tell [the stars] to appear, they all do what I tell them.
14 All you, assemble your selues, and heare: which among them hath declared these thinges? The Lord hath loued him: he wil doe his will in Babel, and his arme shalbe against the Chaldeans.
All of you, gather together and listen to me. None of your idols has [RHQ] told this to you: I, Yahweh, have chosen [Cyrus] to assist me, and he will do to Babylon what I want him to do, and his army will get rid of [the army of] Babylonia.
15 I, euen I haue spoken it, and I haue called him: I haue brought him, and his way shall prosper.
I have said it; I have summoned [Cyrus]. I have appointed him, and he will accomplish everything that he attempts to do.
16 Come neere vnto me: heare ye this: I haue not spoken it in secret from the beginning: from the time that the thing was, I was there, and now the Lord God and his Spirit hath sent me.
Come close to me and listen to what I say. Long ago [MTY] I told you plainly/clearly [LIT] [what would happen], and when those things occurred, I was [causing them to happen].” And now Yahweh the Lord and his Spirit have sent me [to give you a message].
17 Thus saith the Lord thy redeemer, the Holy one of Israel, I am the Lord thy God, which teach thee to profite, and lead thee by the way, that thou shouldest goe.
This is what Yahweh, the one who saves you, the Holy God of [us] Israelis, says: “I am Yahweh, your God; I teach you what is important for you [to know]; I direct you and lead you to the roads that you should walk on [MET].
18 Oh that thou haddest hearkened to my commandements! then had thy prosperitie bene as the floude, and thy righteousnesse as the waues of the sea.
I wish that you had paid attention to my commands! If you had done that, things would have gone well for you like [SIM] a river that flows gently; you would have been successful again and again, like [SIM] waves that come without ceasing.
19 Thy seede also had beene as the sande, and the fruite of thy body like the grauell thereof: his name should not haue bene cut off nor destroied before me.
Your descendants would have been [as many as] [MET] the grains of sand [on the seashore] [which no one can count]. I would not have needed to get rid of you; the country of [MTY] [Israel] would not have been destroyed.”
20 Goe yee out of Babel: flee yee from the Chaldeans, with a voice of ioy: tel and declare this: shewe it foorth to the ende of the earth: say yee, The Lord hath redeemed his seruant Iaakob.
[However, now I tell you], leave Babylon! Flee from [being slaves of the people of] Babylonia! Proclaim this message joyfully; send it to the most remote/distant places on the earth: Yahweh freed the people of Israel [from being slaves in Egypt].
21 And they were not thirstie: hee led them through the wildernesse: hee caused the waters to flowe out of the rocke for them: for he claue the rocke, and the water gushed out.
They were not thirsty when he led them through the desert, because he split open the rock and caused water to gush/flow out for them [to drink].
22 There is no peace, sayeth the Lord, vnto the wicked.
“But things will not go well [like that] for wicked people,” says Yahweh.
