Esias 48

1 Hear these [words], you house of Jacob, who are called by the name of Israel, and have come forth out of Juda, who swear by the name of the Lord God of Israel, making mention [of it, but] not with truth, nor with righteousness;

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 maintaining also the name of the holy city, and staying themselves on the God of Israel: the Lord of hosts is his name. The former things I have already declared;

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 and they that have proceeded out of my mouth, and it became well known; I wrought suddenly, and [the events] came to pass.

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 that you are stubborn, and your neck is an iron sinew, and your forehead brazen.

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

5 And I told you of old what [should be] before it came upon you; I made it known to you, lest you should say, [My] idols have done [it] for me; and should say, [My] graven and molten images have commanded me.

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 have heard all this, but you have not known: yet I have made known to you the new things from henceforth, which are coming to pass, and you said not,

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 Now they come to pass, and not formerly: and you heard not of them in former days: say not you, Yes, I know them.

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 You have neither known, nor understood, neither from the beginning have I opened your ears: for I knew that you would surely deal treacherously, and would be called a transgressor even from the womb.

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 For mine own sake will I show you my wrath, and will bring before you my glorious acts, that I may not utterly 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 Behold, I have sold you, [but] not for silver; but I have rescued you from the furnace of affliction.

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

11 For mine own sake I will do [this] for you, because my name is profaned; and I will not give my glory to another.

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 Hear me, O Jacob, and Israel whom I call; I am the first, and I endure for ever.

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

13 My hand also has founded the earth, and my right hand has fixed the sky: I will call them, and they shall stand together.

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 And all shall be gathered, and shall hear: who has told them these things? Out of love to you I have fulfilled your desire on Babylon, to abolish the seed of the Chaldeans.

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 have spoken, I have called, I have brought him, and made his way prosperous.

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

16 Draw near to me, and hear you these words; I have not spoken in secret from the beginning: when it took place, there was I, and now the Lord, [even] the Lord, and his Spirit, has sent me.

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 Thus says the Lord that delivered you, the Holy One of Israel; I am your God, I have shown you how you should find the way wherein you should walk.

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 And if you had listened to my commandments, [then] would your peace have been like a river, and your righteousness as a wave 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 seed also would have been as the sand, and the offspring of your belly as the dust of the ground: neither now shall you by any means be utterly destroyed, neither shall your name perish 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 Go forth of Babylon, you that flee from the Chaldeans: utter aloud a voice of joy, and let this be made known, proclaim it to the end of the earth; say you, The Lord has delivered 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 And if they shall thirst, he shall lead them through the desert; he shall bring forth water to them out of the rock: the rock shall be cloven, and the water shall flow forth, and my people shall drink.

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 There is no joy, says the Lord, to the ungodly.

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