Isaiah 48

1 [Yahweh says], “You descendants [MTY] of Jacob, who are [also] descendants of Judah and are now called [the people of] Israel, Listen to me! You make solemn promises using my name, Yahweh, and you request that I, the God to whom you Israeli people belong, [will hear you], but you do not do it sincerely.

Hear these [words], ye 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;

2 You say that you live in the holy city [of Jerusalem], and [you insincerely say] that you are relying on me, the God to whom you [people of] Israel belong, the one who is the Commander of the armies of angels.

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;

3 Long ago I [MTY] predicted what would happen [DOU]. And then suddenly, I caused those things to happen.

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

4 I knew that you people are very stubborn; I knew that your heads are [MET] [as hard as] iron or brass [DOU].

I know that thou art stubborn, and thy neck is an iron sinew, and thy forehead brazen.

5 That is why I told you those things long ago. Long before they occurred, I announced that they would occur, in order that [when they happened] you could not say ‘Our idols did it; our statue made of wood and our idol made of metal caused them to happen.’

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

6 You have heard those things [that I predicted] and now you have seen that they have all occurred, so why do you not admit it [RHQ]? Now I will tell you new things, things that you have not known previously.

Ye have heard all this, but ye have not known: yet I have made known to thee the new things from henceforth, which are coming to pass, and thou saidst not,

7 I am causing them to happen now; they are not things I did long ago. So you cannot say, ‘We already knew about those things.’

Now they come to pass, and not formerly: and thou heardest not of them in former days: say not thou, Yea, I know them.

8 [I will tell you about] things that you have never heard about or understood before. Even long ago you did not pay attention to me [IDM]. I know that you act very deceitfully/treacherously; you have rebelled against me since you first became a nation [MTY].

Thou hast neither known, nor understood, neither from the beginning have I opened thine ears: for I knew that thou wouldest surely deal treacherously, and wouldest be called a transgressor even from the womb.

9 But, for my own sake, in order that I will be honored, I will not punish [MTY] you immediately and I will not completely get rid of you.

For mine own sake will I shew thee my wrath, and will bring before thee my glorious acts, that I may not utterly destroy thee.

10 I have purified you, but not the way [people refine] silver. Instead, I have caused you to suffer very much [to get rid of your impure behavior], like [MET] [people put metal in a very hot] furnace [to get rid of the impurities].

Behold, I have sold thee, [but] not for silver; but I have rescued thee from the furnace of affliction.

11 But for my [MTY] own sake I will delay punishing you more; I will do it for my own sake in order that my reputation will not be damaged [RHQ]. I will not allow any [person or any idol] to be honored as I [deserve to be] honored.”

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

12 “You descendants [MTY] of Jacob, you people of Israel whom I have chosen, listen to me! [Only] I am God; I am the one who begins everything and who causes everything to end.

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

13 I [SYN] am the one who laid the foundation of the earth. I stretched out the sky with my hand. And when I tell [the stars] to appear, they all do what I tell them.

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

14 All of you, gather together and listen to me. None of your idols has [RHQ] told this to you: I, Yahweh, have chosen [Cyrus] to assist me, and he will do to Babylon what I want him to do, and his army will get rid of [the army of] Babylonia.

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

15 I have said it; I have summoned [Cyrus]. I have appointed him, and he will accomplish everything that he attempts to do.

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

16 Come close to me and listen to what I say. Long ago [MTY] I told you plainly/clearly [LIT] [what would happen], and when those things occurred, I was [causing them to happen].” And now Yahweh the Lord and his Spirit have sent me [to give you a message].

Draw nigh to me, and hear ye 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, hath sent me.

17 This is what Yahweh, the one who saves you, the Holy God of [us] Israelis, says: “I am Yahweh, your God; I teach you what is important for you [to know]; I direct you and lead you to the roads that you should walk on [MET].

Thus saith the Lord that delivered thee, the Holy One of Israel; I am thy God, I have shewn thee how thou shouldest find the way wherein thou shouldest walk.

18 I wish that you had paid attention to my commands! If you had done that, things would have gone well for you like [SIM] a river that flows gently; you would have been successful again and again, like [SIM] waves that come without ceasing.

And if thou hadst hearkened to my commandments, [then] would thy peace have been like a river, and thy righteousness as a wave of the sea.

19 Your descendants would have been [as many as] [MET] the grains of sand [on the seashore] [which no one can count]. I would not have needed to get rid of you; the country of [MTY] [Israel] would not have been destroyed.”

Thy seed also would have been as the sand, and the offspring of thy belly as the dust of the ground: neither now shalt thou by any means be utterly destroyed, neither shall thy name perish before me.

20 [However, now I tell you], leave Babylon! Flee from [being slaves of the people of] Babylonia! Proclaim this message joyfully; send it to the most remote/distant places on the earth: Yahweh freed the people of Israel [from being slaves in Egypt].

Go forth of Babylon, thou that fleest from the Chaldeans: utter aloud a voice of joy, and let this be made known, proclaim it to the end of the earth; say ye, The Lord hath delivered his servant Jacob.

21 They were not thirsty when he led them through the desert, because he split open the rock and caused water to gush/flow out for them [to drink].

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.

22 “But things will not go well [like that] for wicked people,” says Yahweh.

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