Isaiah 48

Israel Called Out for Hypocrisy

1 Listen, house of Jacob, you who are called by the name Israel, who came from Judah’s line, you swear by the Lord’s name and claim the God of Israel, but not in truth or righteousness.

2 You call yourselves citizens of the holy city and lean on the God of Israel, the Lord of Armies is His name.

3 I told you what would happen long ago. I declared it, then I acted, and it came to pass.

4 I know how stubborn you are, your neck like iron, your forehead hard like bronze.

5 That is why I told you ahead of time. I announced it before it happened, so you would not say, “My idol did it. My carved image and my cast god made it happen.”

God Refines His People

6 You heard it, now look at it. And you still will not admit it, from now on I will tell you new things, hidden things you never knew before.

7 They are created now, not in the past, so you cannot say, “Yeah, I already knew about that.”

8 You never heard this before, I did not let you. I knew you would betray Me. You were called a rebel from the womb.

9 But for My name’s sake, I hold back My anger. For the sake of My praise, I restrain Myself, so I do not wipe you out.

10 I refined you, not like silver, I tested you in the furnace of suffering.

11 For My own sake, yes, for My sake, I act. I will not let My name be dishonored. I will not give My glory to another.

Listen to the Lord, Your Redeemer

12 Listen to Me, Jacob, Israel, whom I called: I am He. I am the first, and I am the last.

13 My hand laid the foundation of the earth. My right hand spread out the heavens. When I call them, they stand together.

14 All of you, gather and listen. Which of your idols ever told you what is coming, the Lord loves Cyrus, he will carry out My purpose against Babylon.

15 I, yes, I, have spoken and called him. I brought him and will make his path successful.

If Only Israel Had Listened

16 Come near and listen, from the beginning I did not speak in secret. I was there when it all started. Now the Lord God has sent Me, and His Spirit is with Me.

17 This is what the Lord says, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is best and leads you where you should go.”

18 “If only you had listened to My commands, your peace would have flowed like a river, and your righteousness like waves of the sea.”

19 “Your descendants would have been like the sand, too many to count. Their name would not be cut off or destroyed.”

Leave Babylon

20 Leave Babylon! Run from the Chaldeans! Declare with shouting, let the world hear it: “The Lord has redeemed His servant Jacob!”

21 They did not thirst when He led them through the deserts, He made water flow from the rock. He split the rock, and water poured out.

22 “There is no peace,” says the Lord, “for the wicked.”