El Israel obstinado

48 »Escuchen esto ustedes, los de la familia de Jacob,
    descendientes de Judá,
    que llevan el nombre de Israel;
que juran en el nombre del Señor
    e invocan al Dios de Israel,
    pero no con lealtad ni justicia.
Ustedes que se llaman ciudadanos de la ciudad santa
    y confían en el Dios de Israel,
    cuyo nombre es el Señor de los Ejércitos:
Desde hace mucho tiempo
    anuncié las cosas pasadas.
Yo las profeticé;
    yo mismo las di a conocer.
Actué de repente
    y se hicieron realidad.
Porque yo sabía que eres muy obstinado;
    que tu cuello es un tendón de hierro
    y que tu frente es de bronce.
Por eso te declaré esas cosas desde hace tiempo;
    te las di a conocer antes que sucedieran,
para que no dijeras:
    “¡Fue mi ídolo quien las hizo!
    ¡Mi imagen tallada o fundida las dispuso!”.
De todo esto has tenido noticia,
    ¿y no vas a proclamarlo?

»Desde ahora te haré conocer cosas nuevas;
    cosas que te son ocultas y desconocidas.
Son cosas creadas ahora y no hace tiempo;
    hasta hoy no habías oído hablar de ellas,
para que no dijeras:
    “¡Sí, ya las sabía!”.
Nunca habías oído ni entendido;
    nunca antes se te había abierto el oído.
Yo sé bien que eres muy traicionero
    y que desde tu nacimiento te llaman rebelde.
Por amor a mi nombre contengo mi ira;
    por causa de mi alabanza me refreno,
    para no aniquilarte.
10 ¡Mira! Te he refinado, pero no como a la plata;
    te he probado en el horno de la aflicción.
11 Y lo he hecho por mí, por mi honor.
    ¿Cómo puedo permitir que se me profane?
    ¡No cederé mi gloria a ningún otro!

Liberación de Israel

12 »Escúchame, Jacob,
    Israel, a quien he llamado:
Yo soy Dios.
    Yo soy el Primero y el Último.
13 Con mi mano afirmé la tierra
    y con mi derecha desplegué los cielos.
Yo pronuncié su nombre
    y todos ellos aparecieron.

14 »Todos ustedes, reúnanse y escuchen:
    ¿Quién de ellos ha profetizado estas cosas?
El amado del Señor
    ejecutará su propósito contra Babilonia;
    su brazo estará contra los babilonios.[a]
15 Solo yo he hablado;
    solo yo lo he llamado.
Lo haré venir
    y triunfará en su misión.

16 »Acérquense a mí, escuchen esto:

»Desde el principio, jamás hablé en secreto;
    cuando las cosas suceden, allí estoy yo».

Y ahora el Señor y Dios
    me ha enviado con su Espíritu.

17 Así dice el Señor,
    tu Redentor, el Santo de Israel:
«Yo soy el Señor tu Dios,
    que te enseña lo que te conviene,
    que te guía por el camino en que debes andar.
18 Si hubieras prestado atención a mis mandamientos,
    tu paz habría sido como un río;
    tu justicia, como las olas del mar.
19 Como la arena serían tus descendientes;
    como los granos de arena, tus hijos;
su nombre nunca habría sido eliminado
    ni borrado de mi presencia».

20 ¡Salgan de Babilonia!
    ¡Huyan de los babilonios![b]
Anuncien esto con gritos de alegría
    y háganlo saber.
Publíquenlo hasta en los confines de la tierra;
    digan: «El Señor ha redimido a su siervo Jacob».
21 Cuando los guio a través de los desiertos,
    no tuvieron sed;
hizo que de la roca brotara agua para ellos;
    partió la roca, y manaron las aguas.

22 «No hay paz para los malvados», dice el Señor.

Footnotes

  1. 48:14 Lit. caldeos.
  2. 48:20 Lit. caldeos.

God the Creator and Redeemer

48 Hear this, O house of Jacob,
    who are called by the name of Israel,
    and who came forth from the loins[a] of Judah;
who swear by the name of the Lord,
    and invoke the God of Israel,
    but not in truth or right.
For they call themselves after the holy city,
    and lean on the God of Israel;
    the Lord of hosts is his name.

The former things I declared long ago,
    they went out from my mouth and I made them known;
    then suddenly I did them and they came to pass.
Because I know that you are obstinate,
    and your neck is an iron sinew
    and your forehead brass,
I declared them to you from long ago,
    before they came to pass I announced them to you,
so that you would not say, ‘My idol did them,
    my carved image and my cast image commanded them.’

You have heard; now see all this;
    and will you not declare it?
From this time forward I make you hear new things,
    hidden things that you have not known.
They are created now, not long ago;
    before today you have never heard of them,
    so that you could not say, ‘I already knew them.’
You have never heard, you have never known,
    from of old your ear has not been opened.
For I knew that you would deal very treacherously,
    and that from birth you were called a rebel.

For my name’s sake I defer my anger,
    for the sake of my praise I restrain it for you,
    so that I may not cut you off.
10 See, I have refined you, but not like[b] silver;
    I have tested you in the furnace of adversity.
11 For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it,
    for why should my name[c] be profaned?
    My glory I will not give to another.

12 Listen to me, O Jacob,
    and 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,
    and my right hand spread out the heavens;
when I summon them,
    they stand at attention.

14 Assemble, all of you, and hear!
    Who among them has declared these things?
The Lord loves him;
    he shall perform his purpose on Babylon,
    and his arm shall be against the Chaldeans.
15 I, even I, have spoken and called him,
    I have brought him, and he will prosper in his way.
16 Draw near to me, hear this!
    From the beginning I have not spoken in secret,
    from the time it came to be I have been there.
And now the Lord God has sent me and his spirit.

17 Thus says the Lord,
    your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
I am the Lord your God,
    who teaches you for your own good,
    who leads you in the way you should go.
18 O that you had paid attention to my commandments!
    Then your prosperity would have been like a river,
    and your success like the waves of the sea;
19 your offspring would have been like the sand,
    and your descendants like its grains;
their name would never be cut off
    or destroyed from before me.

20 Go out from Babylon, flee from Chaldea,
    declare this with a shout of joy, proclaim it,
send it forth to the end of the earth;
    say, ‘The Lord has redeemed his servant Jacob!’
21 They did not thirst when he led them through the deserts;
    he made water flow for them from the rock;
    he split open the rock and the water gushed out.

22 ‘There is no peace’, says the Lord, ‘for the wicked.’

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 48:1 Cn: Heb waters
  2. Isaiah 48:10 Cn: Heb with
  3. Isaiah 48:11 Gk Old Latin: Heb for why should it

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—
you 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)
I 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.
For I knew how stubborn(M) you were;
    your neck muscles(N) were iron,
    your forehead(O) was bronze.
Therefore 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.’
You 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.
They 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.’
You 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.
For 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)
10 See, I have refined(AC) you, though not as silver;
    I have tested(AD) you in the furnace(AE) of affliction.
11 For 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)
13 My 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]
15 I, 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)

17 This 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.
18 If 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.
19 Your 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.”

20 Leave 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.”
21 They 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)

22 “There is no peace,”(BW) says the Lord, “for the wicked.”(BX)

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 48:14 Or Chaldeans; also in verse 20

48 Hear ye this, O house of Jacob, which are called by the name of Israel, and are come forth out of the waters of Judah, which swear by the name of the Lord, and make mention of the God of Israel, but not in truth, nor in righteousness.

For they call themselves of the holy city, and stay themselves upon the God of Israel; The Lord of hosts is his name.

I have declared the former things from the beginning; and they went forth out of my mouth, and I shewed them; I did them suddenly, and they came to pass.

Because I knew that thou art obstinate, and thy neck is an iron sinew, and thy brow brass;

I have even from the beginning declared it to thee; before it came to pass I shewed it thee: lest thou shouldest say, Mine idol hath done them, and my graven image, and my molten image, hath commanded them.

Thou hast heard, see all this; and will not ye declare it? I have shewed thee new things from this time, even hidden things, and thou didst not know them.

They are created now, and not from the beginning; even before the day when thou heardest them not; lest thou shouldest say, Behold, I knew them.

Yea, thou heardest not; yea, thou knewest not; yea, from that time that thine ear was not opened: for I knew that thou wouldest deal very treacherously, and wast called a transgressor from the womb.

For my name's sake will I defer mine anger, and for my praise will I refrain for thee, that I cut thee not off.

10 Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.

11 For mine own sake, even for mine own sake, will I do it: for how should my name be polluted? and I will not give my glory unto another.

12 Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I am he; I am the first, I also am the last.

13 Mine hand also hath laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spanned the heavens: when I call unto them, they stand up together.

14 All ye, assemble yourselves, and hear; which among them hath declared these things? The Lord hath loved him: he will do his pleasure on Babylon, and his arm shall be on the Chaldeans.

15 I, even I, have spoken; yea, I have called him: I have brought him, and he shall make his way prosperous.

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

17 Thus saith the Lord, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the Lord thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go.

18 O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments! then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea:

19 Thy seed also had been as the sand, and the offspring of thy bowels like the gravel thereof; his name should not have been cut off nor destroyed from before me.

20 Go ye forth of Babylon, flee ye from the Chaldeans, with a voice of singing declare ye, tell this, utter it even to the end of the earth; say ye, The Lord hath redeemed his servant Jacob.

21 And they thirsted not when he led them through the deserts: he caused the waters to flow out of the rock for them: he clave the rock also, and the waters gushed out.

22 There is no peace, saith the Lord, unto the wicked.