Isaiah 48

1 Hear ye this—O house of Jacob, Ye who call yourselves by the name of Israel, Yea from the waters of Judah, came they forth, —Who swear by the name of Yahweh, And, by the God of Israel, call to remembrance—Not in truth, nor in righteousness;

HEAR ye 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 of the holy city, do they call themselves, And on the God of Israel, do they stay themselves, —Yahweh of hosts, is his name.

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

3 Things in advance, of old, I declared, Yea out of mine own mouth, came they forth, that I might let them be known, —Suddenly, I wrought and they came to pass.

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

4 Because I knew that—Obstinate, thou wast, —And, a sinew of iron, was thy neck, And thy brow, brazen,

Because I knew that thou art obstinate, and thy neck is an iron sinew, and thy brow brass;

5 therefore told I thee—in time past, Ere yet it came, I let thee hear, —Lest thou shouldest say Mine idol wrought them, Yea, my carved image and my molten image, commanded them!

I have even from the beginning declared it to thee; before it came to pass I shewed it thee: lest thou shouldest say, Mine idol hath done them, and my graven image, and my molten image, hath commanded them.

6 Thou hast heard—see it whole, And will, ye, not tell? I have let thee hear new things—from the present time, Even secrets which ye knew not.

Thou hast heard, see all this; and will not ye declare it? I have shewed thee new things from this time, even hidden things, and thou didst not know them.

7 Now, are they created, and not in time past, And, before to-day, thou hadst not heard of them, —Lest thou shouldest say, Lo! I knew them!

They are created now, and not from the beginning; even before the day when thou heardest them not; lest thou shouldest say, Behold, I knew them.

8 Nay! thou hadst not heard, Nay! thou hadst not known, Nay! in time past, thine ear, was not opened, —For I knew that thou, wouldst be treacherous, Yea a transgressor from birth, hast thou been called.

Yea, thou heardest not; yea, thou knewest not; yea, from that time that thine ear was not opened: for I knew that thou wouldest deal very treacherously, and wast called a transgressor from the womb.

9 For the sake of mine own Name, will I defer mine anger, And for my praise, will I restrain myself towards thee, —So as not to cut thee off.

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

10 Lo! I have refined thee, but not as silver, —I have tested thee, in a smelting-pot of affliction.

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

11 For mine own sake—for mine own sake, will I effectually work For how should it be profaned? And, my glory—to another, will I not give.

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.

12 Hearken unto me O Jacob, And Israel, my called one, —I, am, the Same I, the first, yea, I, the last:

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

13 Surely, mine own hand, founded the earth, And, my right hand, stretched out the heavens, —While I was calling unto them, they stood forth, at once

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

14 Assemble yourselves—all of you and hear, Who among them, hath told these things? he whom Yahweh loveth, will execute—His pleasure, on Babylon, And his stroke on the Chaldeans.

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

15 I—I, have spoken, Yea I have called him, —I have brought him in, and he shall make prosperous his way.

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

16 Draw ye near unto me—hear ye this, Not in advance in secret, have I spoken, From the very time it cometh into being, there, am I, —And, now, My Lord Yahweh hath sent me and his spirit.

Come ye near unto me, hear ye 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, hath sent me.

17 Thus saith Yahweh—Thy Redeemer, The Holy One of Israel, —I—Yahweh, am thy God, Teaching thee to profit, Guiding thee in the way thou shouldest go.

Thus saith the Lord, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the Lord thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go.

18 Oh! that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments, —Then had been, like a river, thy prosperity, And, thy righteousness, like the waves of the sea:

O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments! then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea:

19 Then had been, like the sand, thy seed, And, the offspring of thy body, like the grains thereof, —Neither cut off nor destroyed had been his name from before me.

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

20 Come ye forth out of Babylon, Flee from among the Chaldeans, With triumphant voice, tell ye—let this be heard, Let it go forth as far as the end of the earth, —Say ye—Yahweh hath redeemed his servant Jacob!

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

21 And they thirsted not, when, through dry places, he led them, Waters out of the rock, caused he to flow out to them, —Yea be cleft a rock and, there gushed out waters:

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.

22 No well-being, saith Yahweh to the lawless,

There is no peace, saith the Lord, unto the wicked.