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 this, O house of Jacob! Ye that are called by the name of Israel; Ye that have come forth from the fountain of Judah; Ye that swear by the name of Jehovah, And praise the God of Israel, But not in truth and sincerity!

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, Whose name is Jehovah of hosts: —

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.

What hath happened I declared to you long ago; From my mouth it proceeded, and I made it known; On a sudden I effected it, and it 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 thou art obstinate, And that thy neck is a bar of iron, And that thy brow is 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 declared it to thee long ago; Before it came to pass, I made it known to thee; Lest thou shouldst say, My idol effected it, And my graven image, and my molten image ordained it.

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.

Thou hast heard it; now see it all! And will ye not confess it? From this time I make you hear a new thing, Even a hidden thing, which thou hast not known.

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.

It is produced now, and not long ago; Before this day thou hast not heard of it, Lest thou shouldst say, Behold, I knew it.

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.

Yea, thou heardest it not; yea, thou knewest it not; Yea, it was not disclosed to thee long ago; For I knew that thou wast wholly faithless, And wast called rebellious from thy birth.

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 the sake of my name I will defer my anger, And for the sake of my praise I will restrain it from thee, That I may not utterly cut thee off.

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

Behold, I have melted thee, and found no silver; I have tried thee 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 mine own sake will I do it; For how would my name be blasphemed? And my glory will I not give to another.

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

Hearken to me, O Jacob, And Israel, whom I have called! I am He, I am the first, and I 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.

Yea, my hand hath founded the earth, And my right hand hath spread out the heavens; I called them; they stood forth 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.

Assemble yourselves, all of you, and hear! Who among you hath declared these things? He whom Jehovah loveth will execute his pleasure upon Babylon, And his power upon the Chaldaeans.

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; yea, I have called him; I have brought him, and his way shall be 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.”

Draw near to me, and hear ye this! I spake not in secret from the beginning; And since it began to be, I have been there; And now hath the Lord Jehovah sent me with his spirit.

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 saith Jehovah, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am Jehovah, thy God, who teacheth thee what will profit thee; Who leadeth thee in the way thou shouldst 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 thou wouldst hearken to my commandments! Then shall thy peace be as a river, And thy prosperity 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.”

Then shall thy posterity be as the sand, And the fruit of thy body as the offspring of the sea; Thy name shall not be cut off, nor destroyed 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.”

Come ye forth from Babylon, flee ye from the land of the Chaldaeans with the voice of joy! Publish ye this, and make it known; Let it resound to the ends of the earth! Say: “Jehovah hath 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.

They thirst not in the deserts through which he leadeth them; Waters from the rock he causeth to flow for them; He cleaveth the rock, and the waters gush forth.

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

There is no peace, saith Jehovah, for the wicked.”