Isaiah 48

1 Hear ye this, O house of Jacob, who are called by the name of Israel, and have come forth out of the waters of Judah, who swear by the name of the LORD, and make mention of the God of Israel, but not in truth, nor in righteousness.

Hear these [words], you 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 For they call themselves of the holy city, and stay themselves upon the God of Israel; The LORD of hosts is his name.

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

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

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

I know that you are stubborn, and your neck is an iron sinew, and your forehead brazen.

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

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

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

You have heard all this, but you have not known: yet I have made known to you the new things from henceforth, which are coming to pass, and you said not,

7 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.

Now they come to pass, and not formerly: and you heard not of them in former days: say not you, Yes, I know them.

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

You have neither known, nor understood, neither from the beginning have I opened your ears: for I knew that you would surely deal treacherously, and would be called a transgressor even from the womb.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 ye, assemble yourselves, and hear; who 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.

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

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

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

16 Come ye near to 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.

Draw near to me, and hear you 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, has sent me.

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

Thus says the Lord that delivered you, the Holy One of Israel; I am your God, I have shown you how you should find the way wherein you should walk.

18 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:

And if you had listened to my commandments, [then] would your peace have been like a river, and your righteousness as a wave of the sea.

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

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

20 Go ye forth from 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.

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

21 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.

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

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