Isaiah 48

1 “Hear this, O house of Jacob, Who are called by the name of Israel, And from the waters of Judah came out, Who are swearing by the Name of YHWH, And make mention of the God of Israel, Not in truth nor in righteousness.

Hear 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.

2 For they have been called from the Holy City, And been supported on the God of Israel, YHWH of Hosts [is] His Name.

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

3 I declared the former things from that time, And they have gone forth from My mouth, And I proclaim them, Suddenly I have done, and it comes.

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.

4 From My knowing that you are obstinate, And your neck—a sinew of iron, And your forehead—bronze,

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

5 And from that time I declare [it] to you, Before it comes I have caused you to hear, Lest you say, My idol has done them, And my carved image, And my molten image commanded them.

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

6 You have heard, see the whole of it, And you, do you not declare? I have caused you to hear new things from this time, And things reserved that you did not know.

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

7 Now they have been produced and not from that time, Indeed, before the day, and you have not heard them, Lest you say, Behold, I have known them.

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.

8 Indeed, you have not heard, Indeed, you have not known, Indeed, your ear has not opened from that time, For I have known you deal treacherously, And [are] a transgressor from the belly, One is crying to you.

Yes, you heard not; yes, you knew not; yes, 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.

9 I defer My anger for My Name’s sake, And [for] My praise I restrain for you, So as not to cut you off.

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

10 Behold, I have refined you, and not with silver, I have chosen you in a furnace of affliction.

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

11 For My sake, for My own sake, I do [it], For how is it defiled? And I do not give My glory to another.

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

12 Listen to me, O Jacob, and Israel, My called one, I [am] He, I [am] first, and I [am] last;

Listen to me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I am he; I am the first, I also am the last.

13 Also, My hand has founded earth, And My right hand stretched out the heavens, I am calling to them, they stand together.

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

14 Be gathered, all of you, and hear, Who among them declared these things? YHWH has loved him, He does His pleasure on Babylon, And His arm [is on] the Chaldeans.

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.

15 I have spoken, indeed, I have called him, I have brought him in, And he has made his way prosperous.

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

16 Come near to Me, hear this, I have not spoken in secret from the beginning, From the time of its being, I [am] there, And now Lord YHWH has sent Me, and His Spirit.”

Come you near to me, hear 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.

17 Thus said YHWH, your Redeemer, The Holy One of Israel: “I [am] your God YHWH, teaching you to profit, Causing you to tread in the way you go.

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.

18 O that you had attended to My commands, Then your peace is as a river, And your righteousness as billows of the sea,

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

19 And your seed is as sand, And the offspring of your bowels as gravel, His name would not be cut off nor destroyed before Me.”

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.

20 Go out from Babylon, flee from the Chaldeans, Declare with a voice of singing, Cause this to be heard, Bring it forth to the end of the earth, Say, “YHWH has redeemed His servant Jacob.”

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

21 And they have not thirsted in wastelands, He has caused them to go on, He has caused waters from a rock to flow to them, Indeed, he cleaves a rock, and waters flow.

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

22 “There is no peace,” said YHWH, “for the wicked!”

There is no peace, says the LORD, to the wicked.