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Isaiah 48:7-49:21
The Message
Isaiah 48:7-49:21
The Message
Tested in the Furnace of Affliction
48 1-11 “And now listen to this, family of Jacob,
you who are called by the name Israel:
Who got you started in the loins of Judah,
you who use God’s name to back up your promises
and pray to the God of Israel?
But do you mean it?
Do you live like it?
You claim to be citizens of the Holy City;
you act as though you lean on the God of Israel,
named God-of-the-Angel-Armies.
For a long time now, I’ve let you in on the way I work:
I told you what I was going to do beforehand,
then I did it and it was done, and that’s that.
I know you’re a bunch of hardheads,
obstinate and flint-faced,
So I got a running start and began telling you
what was going on before it even happened.
That is why you can’t say,
‘My god-idol did this.’
‘My favorite god-carving commanded this.’
You have all this evidence
confirmed by your own eyes and ears.
Shouldn’t you be talking about it?
And that was just the beginning.
I have a lot more to tell you,
things you never knew existed.
This isn’t a variation on the same old thing.
This is new, brand-new,
something you’d never guess or dream up.
When you hear this you won’t be able to say,
‘I knew that all along.’
You’ve never been good listeners to me.
You have a history of ignoring me,
A sorry track record of fickle attachments—
rebels from the womb.
But out of the sheer goodness of my heart,
because of who I am,
I keep a tight rein on my anger and hold my temper.
I don’t wash my hands of you.
Do you see what I’ve done?
I’ve refined you, but not without fire.
I’ve tested you like silver in the furnace of affliction.
Out of myself, simply because of who I am, I do what I do.
I have my reputation to keep up.
I’m not playing second fiddle to either gods or people.
12-13 “Listen, Jacob. Listen, Israel—
I’m the One who named you!
I’m the One.
I got things started and, yes, I’ll wrap them up.
Earth is my work, handmade.
And the skies—I made them, too, horizon to horizon.
When I speak, they’re on their feet, at attention.
14-16 “Come everybody, gather around, listen:
Who among the gods has delivered the news?
I, God, love this man Cyrus, and I’m using him
to do what I want with Babylon.
I, yes I, have spoken. I’ve called him.
I’ve brought him here. He’ll be successful.
Come close, listen carefully:
I’ve never kept secrets from you.
I’ve always been present with you.”
Your Progeny, Like Grains of Sand
16-19 And now, the Master, God, sends me and his Spirit
with this Message from God
your Redeemer, The Holy of Israel:
“I am God, your God,
who teaches you how to live right and well.
I show you what to do, where to go.
If you had listened all along to what I told you,
your life would have flowed full like a river,
blessings rolling in like waves from the sea.
Children and grandchildren are like sand,
your progeny like grains of sand.
There would be no end of them,
no danger of losing touch with me.”
20 Get out of Babylon! Run from the Babylonians!
Shout the news. Broadcast it.
Let the world know, the whole world.
Tell them, “God redeemed his dear servant Jacob!”
21 They weren’t thirsty when he led them through the deserts.
He made water pour out of the rock;
he split the rock and the water gushed.
22 “There is no peace,” says God, “for the wicked.”
A Light for the Nations
49 1-3 Listen, far-flung islands,
pay attention, faraway people:
God put me to work from the day I was born.
The moment I entered the world he named me.
He gave me speech that would cut and penetrate.
He kept his hand on me to protect me.
He made me his straight arrow
and hid me in his quiver.
He said to me, “You’re my dear servant,
Israel, through whom I’ll shine.”
4 But I said, “I’ve worked for nothing.
I’ve nothing to show for a life of hard work.
Nevertheless, I’ll let God have the last word.
I’ll let him pronounce his verdict.”
5-6 “And now,” God says,
this God who took me in hand
from the moment of birth to be his servant,
To bring Jacob back home to him,
to set a reunion for Israel—
What an honor for me in God’s eyes!
That God should be my strength!
He says, “But that’s not a big enough job for my servant—
just to recover the tribes of Jacob,
merely to round up the strays of Israel.
I’m setting you up as a light for the nations
so that my salvation becomes global!”
7 God, Redeemer of Israel, The Holy of Israel,
says to the despised one, kicked around by the nations,
slave labor to the ruling class:
“Kings will see, get to their feet—the princes, too—
and then fall on their faces in homage
Because of God, who has faithfully kept his word,
The Holy of Israel, who has chosen you.”
8-12 God also says:
“When the time’s ripe, I answer you.
When victory’s due, I help you.
I form you and use you
to reconnect the people with me,
To put the land in order,
to resettle families on the ruined properties.
I tell prisoners, ‘Come on out. You’re free!’
and those huddled in fear, ‘It’s all right. It’s safe now.’
There’ll be foodstands along all the roads,
picnics on all the hills—
Nobody hungry, nobody thirsty,
shade from the sun, shelter from the wind,
For the Compassionate One guides them,
takes them to the best springs.
I’ll make all my mountains into roads,
turn them into a superhighway.
Look: These coming from far countries,
and those, out of the north,
These streaming in from the west,
and those from all the way down the Nile!”
13 Heavens, raise the roof! Earth, wake the dead!
Mountains, send up cheers!
God has comforted his people.
He has tenderly nursed his beaten-up, beaten-down people.
14 But Zion said, “I don’t get it. God has left me.
My Master has forgotten I even exist.”
15-18 “Can a mother forget the infant at her breast,
walk away from the baby she bore?
But even if mothers forget,
I’d never forget you—never.
Look, I’ve written your names on the backs of my hands.
The walls you’re rebuilding are never out of my sight.
Your builders are faster than your wreckers.
The demolition crews are gone for good.
Look up, look around, look well!
See them all gathering, coming to you?
As sure as I am the living God”—God’s Decree—
“you’re going to put them on like so much jewelry,
you’re going to use them to dress up like a bride.
19-21 “And your ruined land?
Your devastated, decimated land?
Filled with more people than you know what to do with!
And your barbarian enemies, a fading memory.
The children born in your exile will be saying,
‘It’s getting too crowded here. I need more room.’
And you’ll say to yourself,
‘Where on earth did these children come from?
I lost everything, had nothing, was exiled and penniless.
So who reared these children?
How did these children get here?’”
Isaiah 48:7-49:21
New International Version
Isaiah 48:7-49:21
New International Version
7 They are created(A) now, and not long ago;(B)
you have not heard of them before today.
So you cannot say,
‘Yes, I knew(C) of them.’
8 You have neither heard nor understood;(D)
from of old your ears(E) have not been open.
Well do I know how treacherous(F) you are;
you were called a rebel(G) from birth.
9 For my own name’s sake(H) I delay my wrath;(I)
for the sake of my praise I hold it back from you,
so as not to destroy you completely.(J)
10 See, I have refined(K) you, though not as silver;
I have tested(L) you in the furnace(M) of affliction.
11 For my own sake,(N) for my own sake, I do this.
How can I let myself be defamed?(O)
I will not yield my glory to another.(P)
Israel Freed
12 “Listen(Q) to me, Jacob,
Israel, whom I have called:(R)
I am he;(S)
I am the first and I am the last.(T)
13 My own hand laid the foundations of the earth,(U)
and my right hand spread out the heavens;(V)
when I summon them,
they all stand up together.(W)
14 “Come together,(X) all of you, and listen:
Which of the idols has foretold(Y) these things?
The Lord’s chosen ally(Z)
will carry out his purpose(AA) against Babylon;(AB)
his arm will be against the Babylonians.[a]
15 I, even I, have spoken;
yes, I have called(AC) him.
I will bring him,
and he will succeed(AD) in his mission.
16 “Come near(AE) me and listen(AF) to this:
“From the first announcement I have not spoken in secret;(AG)
at the time it happens, I am there.”
17 This is what the Lord says—
your Redeemer,(AK) the Holy One(AL) of Israel:
“I am the Lord your God,
who teaches(AM) you what is best for you,
who directs(AN) you in the way(AO) you should go.
18 If only you had paid attention(AP) to my commands,
your peace(AQ) would have been like a river,(AR)
your well-being(AS) like the waves of the sea.
19 Your descendants(AT) would have been like the sand,(AU)
your children like its numberless grains;(AV)
their name would never be blotted out(AW)
nor destroyed from before me.”
20 Leave Babylon,
flee(AX) from the Babylonians!
Announce this with shouts of joy(AY)
and proclaim it.
Send it out to the ends of the earth;(AZ)
say, “The Lord has redeemed(BA) his servant Jacob.”
21 They did not thirst(BB) when he led them through the deserts;
he made water flow(BC) for them from the rock;
he split the rock
and water gushed out.(BD)
The Servant of the Lord
49 Listen(BG) to me, you islands;(BH)
hear this, you distant nations:
Before I was born(BI) the Lord called(BJ) me;
from my mother’s womb he has spoken my name.(BK)
2 He made my mouth(BL) like a sharpened sword,(BM)
in the shadow of his hand(BN) he hid me;
he made me into a polished arrow(BO)
and concealed me in his quiver.
3 He said to me, “You are my servant,(BP)
Israel, in whom I will display my splendor.(BQ)”
4 But I said, “I have labored in vain;(BR)
I have spent my strength for nothing at all.
Yet what is due me is in the Lord’s hand,(BS)
and my reward(BT) is with my God.”(BU)
5 And now the Lord says—
he who formed me in the womb(BV) to be his servant
to bring Jacob back to him
and gather Israel(BW) to himself,
for I am[b] honored(BX) in the eyes of the Lord
and my God has been my strength(BY)—
6 he says:
“It is too small a thing for you to be my servant(BZ)
to restore the tribes of Jacob
and bring back those of Israel I have kept.(CA)
I will also make you a light(CB) for the Gentiles,(CC)
that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”(CD)
7 This is what the Lord says—
the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel(CE)—
to him who was despised(CF) and abhorred by the nation,
to the servant of rulers:
“Kings(CG) will see you and stand up,
princes will see and bow down,(CH)
because of the Lord, who is faithful,(CI)
the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen(CJ) you.”
Restoration of Israel
8 This is what the Lord says:
“In the time of my favor(CK) I will answer you,
and in the day of salvation I will help you;(CL)
I will keep(CM) you and will make you
to be a covenant for the people,(CN)
to restore the land(CO)
and to reassign its desolate inheritances,(CP)
9 to say to the captives,(CQ) ‘Come out,’
and to those in darkness,(CR) ‘Be free!’
“They will feed beside the roads
and find pasture on every barren hill.(CS)
10 They will neither hunger nor thirst,(CT)
nor will the desert heat or the sun beat down on them.(CU)
He who has compassion(CV) on them will guide(CW) them
and lead them beside springs(CX) of water.
11 I will turn all my mountains into roads,
and my highways(CY) will be raised up.(CZ)
12 See, they will come from afar(DA)—
some from the north, some from the west,(DB)
some from the region of Aswan.[c]”
13 Shout for joy,(DC) you heavens;
rejoice, you earth;(DD)
burst into song, you mountains!(DE)
For the Lord comforts(DF) his people
and will have compassion(DG) on his afflicted ones.(DH)
15 “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast
and have no compassion on the child(DK) she has borne?
Though she may forget,
I will not forget you!(DL)
16 See, I have engraved(DM) you on the palms of my hands;
your walls(DN) are ever before me.
17 Your children hasten back,
and those who laid you waste(DO) depart from you.
18 Lift up your eyes and look around;
all your children gather(DP) and come to you.
As surely as I live,(DQ)” declares the Lord,
“you will wear(DR) them all as ornaments;
you will put them on, like a bride.
19 “Though you were ruined and made desolate(DS)
and your land laid waste,(DT)
now you will be too small for your people,(DU)
and those who devoured(DV) you will be far away.
20 The children born during your bereavement
will yet say in your hearing,
‘This place is too small for us;
give us more space to live in.’(DW)
21 Then you will say in your heart,
‘Who bore me these?(DX)
I was bereaved(DY) and barren;
I was exiled and rejected.(DZ)
Who brought these(EA) up?
I was left(EB) all alone,(EC)
but these—where have they come from?’”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 48:14 Or Chaldeans; also in verse 20
- Isaiah 49:5 Or him, / but Israel would not be gathered; / yet I will be
- Isaiah 49:12 Dead Sea Scrolls; Masoretic Text Sinim
The Message (MSG)
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.