Isaiah 48

1 Hear all of you this, O house of Jacob, which are called by the name of Israel, and are come forth out of the waters of Judah, which swear by the name of the LORD, and make mention of the God of Israel, but not in truth, nor in righteousness.

“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—

2 For they call themselves of the holy city, and stay themselves upon the God of Israel; The LORD of hosts is his name.

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

3 I have declared the former things from the beginning; and they went forth out of my mouth, and I showed them; I did them suddenly, and they came to pass.

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.

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

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

5 I have even from the beginning declared it to you; before it came to pass I showed it you: lest you should say, Mine idol has done them, and my graven image, and my molten image, has commanded them.

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.’

6 You have heard, see all this; and will not all of you declare it? I have showed you new things from this time, even hidden things, and you did not know them.

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.

7 They are created now, and not from the beginning; even before the day when you heard them not; lest you should say, Behold, I knew them.

They are created now, and not long ago; you have not heard of them before today. So you cannot claim, ‘I already knew them!’

8 Yea, you heard not; yea, you knew not; yea, from that time that your ear was not opened: for I knew that you would deal very treacherously, and were called a transgressor from the womb.

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.

9 For my name's sake will I defer mine anger, and for my praise will I refrain for you, that I cut you not off.

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.

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

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

11 For mine own sake, even for mine own sake, will I do it: for how should my name be polluted? and I will not give my glory unto another.

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.

12 Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I am he; I am the first, I also am the last.

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

13 Mine hand also has laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand has spanned the heavens: when I call unto them, they stand up together.

Surely My own hand founded the earth, and My right hand spread out the heavens; when I summon them, they stand up together.

14 All you, assemble yourselves, and hear; which among them has declared these things? The LORD has loved him: he will do his pleasure on Babylon, and his arm shall be on the Chaldeans.

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.

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

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

16 Come all of you near unto me, hear all of you this; I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; from the time that it was, there am I: and now the Lord GOD, and his Spirit, has sent me.

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.

17 Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the LORD your God which teaches you to profit, which leads you by the way that you should go.

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.

18 O that you had hearkened to my commandments! then had your peace been as a river, and your righteousness as the waves of the sea:

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.

19 Your seed also had been as the sand, and the offspring of your bowels like the gravel thereof; his name should not have been cut off nor destroyed from before me.

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.”

20 Go all of you out of Babylon, flee all of you from the Chaldeans, with a voice of singing declare all of you, tell this, utter it even to the end of the earth; say all of you, The LORD has redeemed his servant Jacob.

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!”

21 And they thirsted not when he led them through the deserts: he caused the waters to flow out of the rock for them: he clave the rock also, and the waters gushed out.

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.

22 There is no peace, says the LORD, unto the wicked.

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