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.

Listen to this, descendants of Jacob, called by the name of Israel, and who come from the lineage of Judah. Listen, you people who swear by the name of the Lord, or who invoke the God of Israel, but not truly or sincerely.

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.

You say you're from the “Holy City,” and claim you're trusting in the God of Israel, whose name is the Lord Almighty.

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

I predicted long ago what was going to happen—I said it and let people know. Then suddenly I decided to act, and it all came true.

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 how stubborn you are, with necks as unbending as iron and foreheads as hard as bronze.

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.’

I predicted these things to you long ago, before they happened. I explained them to you so that you couldn't say “My idol did this,” or “My image and my metal god ordered this to happen.”

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.

You've heard all I predicted, and seen it happen. Won't you admit it? Now I'm going to tell you new things, secrets you don't know anything about.

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.’

These are brand-new, not something from the past. Before today you won't have heard anything about them, so you can't say, “Oh yes, I know about that.”

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].

No, you've never heard that, and you've never known that! Nobody's told you about that before! I know how deviously you operate—you're called “rebels from birth”!

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.

But because of my nature I am delaying my punishment; and because of my reputation, I'm not going to destroy you.

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].

Look how I've refined you, but not like silver—I chose you in the furnace of trouble.

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.”

The reason I'm doing this is because of who I am, yes, because of my very nature. I won't let my reputation be damaged—I won't let anyone else have it.

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.

Listen to me, Jacon, and Israel, the one I called. Only I am God. I am the first, and I am the last.

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.

I laid the foundations of the earth with my own hands; I personally spread out the heavens. When I call the stars, they all take their positions.

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.

Everyone gather round and listen. Which of your “gods” told you anything like this? The one the Lord loves will carry out the Lord's wishes against Babylon—he will attack the Babylonians.

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

I myself have spoken. I have called him to do this, and he will be successful in what he does.

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].

Come close to me, and listen to this. From the very beginning I haven't spoken in secret; I am always there right when it happens. Now the Lord God and his Spirit has sent me to tell you this:

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].

This is what the Lord says, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, I am the Lord your God. I am the one who teaches you what is good for you, who leads you along the way you should go.

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.

If you had only listened carefully to what I told you! Then your blessings would have flowed like a river, and goodness would have washed over you like the waves 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.”

Your children, your descendants, would have been like all those grains of sand. They wouldn't have had to be destroyed, wiped out 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].

Leave Babylon! Run away from Babylonia with happy shouts! Let everyone know, telling the whole earth, “The Lord has redeemed 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].

They weren't thirsty when he led them through the desert—he made water come out of the rock for them. He split the rock open and water poured out.

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

The wicked have no peace, says the Lord.