Isaiah 48

New American Standard Bible

Israel’s Obstinacy

48 “^(A)Hear this, house of Jacob, who are named Israel
And who came from the ^(B)waters of Judah,
Who ^(C)swear by the name of the Lord
And invoke the God of Israel,
But not in truth nor in ^(D)righteousness.
²For they name themselves after the ^(E)holy city,
And ^(F)lean on the God of Israel;
The Lord of armies is His name.
³I ^(G)declared the former things long ago,
And they went out of My mouth, and I proclaimed them.
^(H)Suddenly I acted, and they ^(I)came to pass.
⁴Because I know that you are ^[a]^(J)obstinate,
And your ^(K)neck is an iron tendon
And your ^(L)forehead bronze,
⁵Therefore I declared them to you long ago,
Before ^[b]they took place I proclaimed them to you,
So that you would not say, ‘My ^(M)idol has done them,
And my carved image and my cast metal image have commanded them.’
⁶You have heard; look at all this.
And you, will you not declare it?
I proclaim to you ^(N)new things from this time,
Hidden things which you have not known.
⁷They are created now and not long ago;
And before today you have not heard them,
So that you will not say, ‘Behold, I knew them.’
⁸You have not ^(O)heard, you have not known.
Even from long ago your ear has not been open,
Because I knew that you would deal very treacherously;
And you have been called a ^[c]^(P)rebel from ^[d]birth.
⁹^(Q)For the sake of My name I ^(R)delay My wrath,
And for My praise I restrain it for you,
In order not to cut you off.
¹⁰Behold, I have refined you, but ^(S)not as silver;
I have tested you in the ^(T)furnace of affliction.
¹¹^(U)For My own sake, for My own sake, I will act;
For how can My name be profaned?
And I will not give My ^(V)glory to another.

Rescue Promised

¹²“Listen to Me, Jacob, Israel ^[e]whom I called;
^(W)I am He, ^(X)I am the first, I am also the last.
¹³Assuredly My hand ^(Y)founded the earth,
And My right hand spread out the heavens;
When I ^(Z)call to them, they stand together.
¹⁴^(AA)Assemble, all of you, and listen!
^(AB)Who among them has declared these things?
The Lord loves him; he will ^(AC)carry out His good pleasure against ^(AD)Babylon,
And His arm will be against the Chaldeans.
¹⁵I, yes I, have spoken; indeed I have ^(AE)called him,
I have brought him, and He will make his ways successful.
¹⁶^(AF)Come near to Me, listen to this:
From the beginning I have ^(AG)not spoken in secret,
^(AH)From the time it took place, I was there.
And now ^(AI)the Lord ^[f]God has sent Me, and His Spirit.”

¹⁷This is what the Lord says, He who is your ^(AJ)Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:

“I am the Lord your God, who teaches you to benefit,
Who ^(AK)leads you in the way you should go.
¹⁸If only you had ^(AL)paid attention to My commandments!
Then your ^[g]^(AM)well-being would have been like a river,
And your ^(AN)righteousness like the waves of the sea.
¹⁹Your ^[h]^(AO)descendants would have been like the sand,
And ^[i]your offspring like its grains;
^(AP)Their name would never be eliminated or destroyed from My presence.”

²⁰^(AQ)Go out from Babylon! Flee from the Chaldeans!
Declare with the sound of ^(AR)joyful shouting, proclaim this,
^(AS)Send it out to the end of the earth;
Say, “^(AT)The Lord has redeemed His servant Jacob.”
²¹They did not ^(AU)thirst when He led them through the deserts.
He ^(AV)made the water flow out of the rock for them;
He split the rock and ^(AW)the water gushed out.
²²“^(AX)There is no peace for the wicked,” says the Lord.

Footnotes

Isaiah 48:4 Or harsh
Isaiah 48:5 Lit it
Isaiah 48:8 Or transgressor
Isaiah 48:8 Lit the belly
Isaiah 48:12 Lit My called one
Isaiah 48:16 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
Isaiah 48:18 Or peace
Isaiah 48:19 Lit seed
Isaiah 48:19 Lit the offspring of your inward parts

Revelation 18

New American Standard Bible

Babylon Is Fallen

18 After these things I saw another ^(A)angel ^(B)coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was ^(C)illuminated from his glory. ²And he cried out with a mighty voice, saying, “^[a]^(D)Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She ^(E)has become a dwelling place of demons and a ^[b]prison of every ^(F)unclean spirit, and a ^[c]prison of every unclean and hateful bird. ³For all the nations have fallen because of the ^(G)wine of the passion of her sexual immorality, and ^(H)the kings of the earth have committed acts of sexual immorality with her, and the ^(I)merchants of the earth have become rich from the ^[d]excessive wealth of her ^[e]^(J)luxury.”

⁴I heard another voice from heaven, saying, “^(K)Come out of her, my people, so that you will not participate in her sins and receive any of her plagues; ⁵for her sins have ^[f]^(L)piled up as high as heaven, and God has ^(M)remembered her offenses. ⁶^(N)Pay her back even as she has paid, and ^[g]give back to her double according to her deeds; in the ^(O)cup which she has mixed, mix twice as much for her. ⁷^(P)To the extent that she glorified herself and ^(Q)lived luxuriously, to the same extent give her torment and mourning; for she says in her heart, ‘^(R)I sit as a queen and I am not a widow, and will never see mourning.’ ⁸For this reason ^(S)in one day her plagues will come, ^[h]plague and mourning and famine, and she will be ^(T)burned up with fire; for the Lord God who judges her ^(U)is strong.

Grief over Babylon

⁹“And ^(V)the kings of the earth, who committed acts of sexual immorality and ^(W)lived luxuriously with her, will ^(X)weep and mourn over her when they ^(Y)see the smoke of her burning, ¹⁰^(Z)standing at a distance because of the fear of her torment, saying, ‘^(AA)Woe, woe, ^(AB)the great city, Babylon, the strong city! For in ^(AC)one hour your judgment has come.’

¹¹“And the ^(AD)merchants of the earth ^(AE)weep and mourn over her, because no one buys their cargo any more— ¹²cargo of ^(AF)gold, silver, precious ^[i]stones, and pearls; fine linen, purple, silk, and scarlet; every kind of citron wood, every article of ivory, and every article made from very valuable wood, ^[j]bronze, iron, and marble; ¹³cinnamon, ^[k]spice, incense, perfume, frankincense, wine, olive oil, fine flour, wheat, cattle, sheep, and cargo of horses, carriages, ^[l]slaves, and ^(AG)human lives. ¹⁴The fruit ^[m]you long for has left you, and all things that were luxurious and splendid have passed away from you and people will no longer find them. ¹⁵The ^(AH)merchants of ^(AI)these things, who became rich from her, will ^(AJ)stand at a distance because of the fear of her torment, weeping and mourning, ¹⁶saying, ‘^(AK)Woe, woe, ^(AL)the great city, she who ^(AM)was clothed in fine linen and purple and scarlet, and ^[n]adorned with gold, precious ^[o]stones, and pearls; ¹⁷for in ^(AN)one hour such great wealth has been laid ^(AO)waste!’ And ^(AP)every shipmaster and every ^[p]passenger and sailor, and all who ^[q]make their living by the sea, ^(AQ)stood at a distance, ¹⁸and were ^(AR)crying out as they ^(AS)saw the smoke of her burning, saying, ‘^(AT)What city is like ^(AU)the great city?’ ¹⁹And they threw ^(AV)dust on their heads and were crying out, weeping and mourning, saying, ‘^(AW)Woe, woe, the great city, in which all who had ships at sea ^(AX)became rich from her prosperity, for in ^(AY)one hour she has been laid ^(AZ)waste!’ ²⁰^(BA)Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you ^[r]saints and ^(BB)apostles and prophets, because ^(BC)God has ^[s]pronounced judgment for you against her.”

²¹Then ^[t]a ^(BD)strong angel ^(BE)picked up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, “So will Babylon, ^(BF)the great city, be thrown down with violence, and ^(BG)will never be found again. ²²And ^(BH)the sound of harpists, musicians, flute players, and trumpeters will never be heard in you again; and no craftsman of any craft will ever be found in you again; and the ^(BI)sound of a mill will never be heard in you again; ²³and the light of a lamp will never shine in you again; and the ^(BJ)voice of the groom and bride will never be heard in you again; for your ^(BK)merchants were the powerful people of the earth, because all the nations were deceived ^(BL)by your witchcraft. ²⁴And in her was found the ^(BM)blood of prophets and of ^[u]saints, and of ^(BN)all who have been slaughtered on the earth.”