Isaiah 48

1 Hear ye these things, O house of Jacob, you that are called by the name of Israel, and are come forth out of the waters of Juda, you who swear by the name of the Lord, and make mention of the God of Israel, but not in truth, nor in justice.

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 are called of the holy city, and are established 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 The former things of old I have declared, and they went forth out of my mouth, and I have made them to be heard: 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 For I knew that thou art stubborn, and thy neck is as an iron sinew, and thy forehead as brass.

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

5 I foretold thee of old, before they came to pass I told thee, lest thou shouldst say: My idols have done these things, and my graven and molten things have 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 See now all the things which thou hast heard: but have you declared them? I have shewn thee new things from that time, and things are kept which thou knowest not:

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 of old: and before the day, when thou heardest them not, lest thou shouldst 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 Thou hast neither heard, nor known, neither was thy ear opened of old. For I know that transgressing thou wilt transgress, and I have called thee 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 I will remove my wrath far off: and for my praise I will bridle thee, lest thou shouldst perish.

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 as silver, I have chosen thee in the furnace of poverty.

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

11 For my own sake, for my own sake will I do it, that I may not be blasphemed: 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 thou Israel whom I call: I am he, I am the first, and I 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 founded the earth, and my right hand hath measured the heavens: I shall call them, and they shall stand 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 Assemble yourselves together, all you, and hear: who among them hath declared these things? the Lord hath loved him, he will do his pleasure in 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 and called him: I have brought him, and his way is made prosperous.

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

16 Come ye near unto me, and hear this: I have not spoken in secret from the beginning: from the time before it was done, I was there, and now the Lord God hath sent me, and his spirit.

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 that teach thee profitable things, that govern thee in the way that thou walkest.

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: thy peace had been as a river, and thy justice 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 And thy seed had been as the sand, and the offspring of thy bowels like the gravel thereof: his name should not have perished, nor have been destroyed from before my face.

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 Come forth out of Babylon, flee ye from the Chaldeans, declare it with the voice of joy: make this to be heard, and speak it out even to the ends of the earth. Say: 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 They thirsted not in the desert, when he led them out: he brought forth water out of the rock for them, and he clove the rock, 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 to the wicked, saith the Lord.

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