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;
“Sh'ma ·Hear obey· this, house of Jacob [Supplanter], you who are called by the name of Israel [God prevails], and have come out of the waters of Judah [Praised]. You swear by Adonai’s name, and make mention of the God of Israel [God prevails], 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 citizens of the holy city, and rely on the God of Israel [God prevails]; Adonai Tzva'ot [Yahweh Commander of heaven’s armies] 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 of old; yes, they went out of my mouth, and I sh'ma ·heard obeyed, declared· them. I did them suddenly, and they happened.
4 Because I knew that—Obstinate, thou wast, —And, a sinew of iron, was thy neck, And thy brow, brazen,
Because I knew that you are obstinate, and your neck is an iron sinew, and your brow bronze;
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!
therefore I have declared it to you from of old; before it came to pass I sh'ma ·heard obeyed, declared· it to you; lest you should say, ‘My idol has done them, and my engraved image, and my molten image, has enjoined 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.
You have sh'ma ·hear obey· it; see all this. And you, won’t you declare it? “I have sh'ma ·hear obey, declared· you new things from this time, even hidden things, which you have not known.
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 of old; and before today you didn’t sh'ma ·hear obey· them; lest you should 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.
Yes, you didn’t sh'ma ·hear obey·; yes, you didn’t know; yes, from of old your ear was not opened: for I knew that you dealt very treacherously, and were 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, I will defer my anger, and for my tehilah ·praise song· I hold it back for you, so that I don’t cut you 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 you, but not as silver. I have chosen you 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 my own sake, for my own sake, I will do it; for how would my name be profaned? I will not give my kavod ·weighty glory· to another.
12 Hearken unto me O Jacob, And Israel, my called one, —I, am, the Same I, the first, yea, I, the last:
“Sh'ma ·Hear obey· me, O Jacob [Supplanter], and Israel [God prevails] my called: I am he; I am the first, I am also 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
Yes, my hand has laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand has spread out the heavens. When I call to 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.
“Assemble yourselves, all of you, and sh'ma ·hear obey·; who among them has declared these things? He whom Adonai 'ahav ·affectionately loves· will do what he likes to Babylon [Confusion], and his arm will be against the Chaldeans [Descendants of Loving-kindness].
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; yes, 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 near to me and sh'ma ·hear obey· this: “From the beginning I have not spoken in secret; from the time that it happened, I was there.” Now the Lord Adonai has sent me, with his Spirit.
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.
Adonai, your Redeemer, the haKadosh Isra'el [the Holy One of God prevails] says: “I am Adonai your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you by the way that you should 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:
Oh that you had listened to my mitzvot ·instructions·! Then your peace would have been like a river, and your righteousness like 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.
Your offspring also would have been as the sand, and the descendants of your body like its grains. His name would not be 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!
Leave Babylon [Confusion]! Flee from the Chaldeans [Descendants of Loving-kindness]! With a voice of singing sh'ma ·hear obey, declare· this, tell it even to the end of the earth: say, “Adonai has redeemed his servant Jacob [Supplanter]!”
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:
They didn’t thirst 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 No well-being, saith Yahweh to the lawless,
“There is no peace,” says Adonai, “for the wicked.”
