Isaiah 48

New International Version

Stubborn Israel

48 “Listen to this, you descendants of Jacob,
    you who are called by the name of Israel^(A)
    and come from the line of Judah,^(B)
you who take oaths^(C) in the name of the Lord^(D)
    and invoke^(E) the God of Israel—
    but not in truth^(F) or righteousness—
²you who call yourselves citizens of the holy city^(G)
    and claim to rely^(H) on the God of Israel—
    the Lord Almighty is his name:^(I)
³I foretold the former things^(J) long ago,
    my mouth announced^(K) them and I made them known;
    then suddenly^(L) I acted, and they came to pass.
⁴For I knew how stubborn^(M) you were;
    your neck muscles^(N) were iron,
    your forehead^(O) was bronze.
⁵Therefore I told you these things long ago;
    before they happened I announced^(P) them to you
so that you could not say,
    ‘My images brought them about;^(Q)
    my wooden image and metal god ordained them.’
⁶You have heard these things; look at them all.
    Will you not admit them?

“From now on I will tell you of new things,^(R)
    of hidden things unknown to you.
⁷They are created^(S) now, and not long ago;^(T)
    you have not heard of them before today.
So you cannot say,
    ‘Yes, I knew^(U) of them.’
⁸You have neither heard nor understood;^(V)
    from of old your ears^(W) have not been open.
Well do I know how treacherous^(X) you are;
    you were called a rebel^(Y) from birth.
⁹For my own name’s sake^(Z) I delay my wrath;^(AA)
    for the sake of my praise I hold it back from you,
    so as not to destroy you completely.^(AB)
¹⁰See, I have refined^(AC) you, though not as silver;
    I have tested^(AD) you in the furnace^(AE) of affliction.
¹¹For my own sake,^(AF) for my own sake, I do this.
    How can I let myself be defamed?^(AG)
    I will not yield my glory to another.^(AH)

Israel Freed

¹²“Listen^(AI) to me, Jacob,
    Israel, whom I have called:^(AJ)
I am he;^(AK)
    I am the first and I am the last.^(AL)
¹³My own hand laid the foundations of the earth,^(AM)
    and my right hand spread out the heavens;^(AN)
when I summon them,
    they all stand up together.^(AO)

¹⁴“Come together,^(AP) all of you, and listen:
    Which of the idols has foretold^(AQ) these things?
The Lord’s chosen ally^(AR)
    will carry out his purpose^(AS) against Babylon;^(AT)
    his arm will be against the Babylonians.^[a]
¹⁵I, even I, have spoken;
    yes, I have called^(AU) him.
I will bring him,
    and he will succeed^(AV) in his mission.

¹⁶“Come near^(AW) me and listen^(AX) to this:

“From the first announcement I have not spoken in secret;^(AY)
at the time it happens, I am there.”

And now the Sovereign Lord^(AZ) has sent^(BA) me,
endowed with his Spirit.^(BB)

¹⁷This is what the Lord says—
    your Redeemer,^(BC) the Holy One^(BD) of Israel:
“I am the Lord your God,
    who teaches^(BE) you what is best for you,
    who directs^(BF) you in the way^(BG) you should go.
¹⁸If only you had paid attention^(BH) to my commands,
    your peace^(BI) would have been like a river,^(BJ)
    your well-being^(BK) like the waves of the sea.
¹⁹Your descendants^(BL) would have been like the sand,^(BM)
    your children like its numberless grains;^(BN)
their name would never be blotted out^(BO)
    nor destroyed from before me.”

²⁰Leave Babylon,
    flee^(BP) from the Babylonians!
Announce this with shouts of joy^(BQ)
    and proclaim it.
Send it out to the ends of the earth;^(BR)
    say, “The Lord has redeemed^(BS) his servant Jacob.”
²¹They did not thirst^(BT) when he led them through the deserts;
    he made water flow^(BU) for them from the rock;
he split the rock
    and water gushed out.^(BV)