Isaiah 48
Christian Standard Bible
Israel Must Leave Babylon
48 “Listen to this, house of Jacob—
those who are called by the name Israel
and have descended from[a] Judah,(A)
who swear by the name of the Lord(B)
and declare the God of Israel,
but not in truth or righteousness.
2 For they are named after the holy city,
and lean on the God of Israel;(C)
his name is the Lord of Armies.
3 I declared the past events long ago;
they came out of my mouth; I proclaimed them.
Suddenly I acted, and they occurred.
4 Because I know that you are stubborn,
and your neck is iron[b]
and your forehead bronze,(D)
5 therefore I declared to you long ago.
I announced it to you before it occurred,
so you could not claim, ‘My idol caused them;
my carved image and cast idol control them.’(E)
6 You have heard it. Observe it all.
Will you not acknowledge it?
From now on I will announce new things to you,
hidden things that you have not known.(F)
7 They have been created now, and not long ago;
you have not heard of them before today,
so you could not claim, ‘I already knew them!’
8 You have never heard; you have never known;
for a long time your ears have not been open.
For I knew that you were very treacherous,
and were known as a rebel from birth.(G)
9 I will delay my anger for the sake of my name,
and I will restrain myself for your benefit and for my praise,
so that you will not be destroyed.
10 Look, I have refined you,(H) but not as silver;
I have tested[c] you in the furnace of affliction.
11 I will act for my own sake, indeed, my own,(I)
for how can I[d] be defiled?
I will not give my glory to another.(J)
12 “Listen to me, Jacob,
and Israel, the one called by me:
I am he; I am the first,
I am also the last.(K)
13 My own hand founded the earth,
and my right hand spread out the heavens;(L)
when I summoned them,
they stood up together.
14 All of you, assemble and listen!
Who among the idols[e] has declared these things?
The Lord loves him;[f]
he will accomplish his will against Babylon,(M)
and his arm will be against the Chaldeans.
15 I—I have spoken;
yes, I have called him;(N)
I have brought him,
and he will succeed in his mission.(O)
16 Approach me and listen to this.
From the beginning I have not spoken in secret;(P)
from the time anything existed, I was there.”
And now the Lord God
has sent me and his Spirit.(Q)
17 This is what the Lord, your Redeemer,(R) the Holy One of Israel(S) says:
I am the Lord your God,
who teaches you for your benefit,
who leads you in the way you should go.
18 If only you had paid attention to my commands.
Then your peace would have been like a river,(T)
and your righteousness like the waves of the sea.(U)
19 Your descendants would have been as countless as the sand,(V)
and the offspring of your body like its grains;
their name would not be cut off
or eliminated from my presence.
20 Leave Babylon,
flee from the Chaldeans!
Declare with a shout of joy,
proclaim this,
let it go out to the end of the earth;
announce,
“The Lord has redeemed his servant(W) Jacob!”
21 They did not thirst
when he led them through the deserts;
he made water flow from the rock for them;(X)
he split the rock, and water gushed out.
22 “There is no peace for the wicked,” says the Lord.(Y)
Isaiah 48
International Standard Version
God the Creator and Redeemer
48 “Listen to this, house of Jacob,
you who are called by the name of Israel,
and who have come forth from Judah’s loins;[a]
you who swear oaths in the name of the Lord
and invoke the God of Israel—
but not in truth, nor in good faith.
2 For they name themselves after the holy city,
and rely on the God of Israel—
the Lord of the Heavenly Armies is his name.
3 I foretold the former things long ago;
it[b] went forth from my mouth,
and I disclosed them;
Suddenly, I acted,
and they came to pass.
4 Because I knew[c] that you are obstinate,
and because your neck is an iron sinew,
and your forehead is bronze,
5 I told you these things long ago;
I announced them to you before they happened
so that you couldn’t say, ‘My idol did them;
my[d] carved image or metal idol ordained them.’
6 “You have heard—now look at them all!
How[e] can you not admit them?
From now on, I’ll make you hear new things,
hidden things that you have not known.
7 They are created now, and not long ago;
you didn’t hear them before today,
so you cannot say, ‘Yes, I knew them.’
8 And[f] neither had you heard, nor did you understand,
nor did you open[g] your ear long ago.[h]
Indeed, I knew that[i] you would act very deceitfully,
and they would call[j] you a rebel from birth.
9 I defer my anger for my name’s sake,
and as my first act[k] I’m restraining it for you,
so as not to cut you off.
10 Look, I have refined you, but not like silver;
I have purified[l] you in the furnace of affliction.
11 For my own sake—Yes, for my own sake!—I’m doing it;
indeed, how can I be profaned?[m]
Furthermore, I won’t give my glory to another.”
The Lord Calls Israel
12 “Listen to these things,[n] Jacob,
and Israel, whom I have called.
I am the One: I am the first,
I am even[o] the last.
13 Moreover, my hands laid[p] the earth’s foundation,
and my right hand spread out the heavens.
I call out to them,
and[q] they stand up together.
14 Let all of them come together and listen:[r]
Who is there among them that could declare[s] these things?
“The Lord loves me,[t]
and he will accomplish[u] my purpose[v] against Babylon;
his arm[w] will be against the Chaldeans.
15 I—Yes, I!—have spoken;
indeed, I’ve called and[x] I’ve brought him,
and he will make his path successful.[y]
16 Draw near to me, and[z] listen to this:
‘From the beginning I haven’t spoken in secret;
at[aa] the time it happened, I was there.’
And now the Lord God, and his Spirit, has sent me.[ab]
17 “This is what the Lord says,
your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
“I am the Lord your God,
who teaches you how to succeed,
who directs you[ac] in the path by which[ad] you should go.
18 Now[ae] if only you had paid attention to my commandments!
Then your peace would have been like a river,
and your success like the waves of the sea.
19 Your descendants would’ve been like the sand,
and your offspring[af] like its numberless grains.
Their name wouldn’t have been cut off
or annihilated out of my reach.
20 “Go out from Babylon, flee from the Chaldeans!
With happy shouts, announce
and[ag] proclaim this[ah] to the ends[ai] of the earth:
Say, ‘The Lord has redeemed his servant Jacob!’
21 They didn’t thirst when he led him[aj] through the desolate places.
He made water gush[ak] from a rock for them;
he split open the rock, and water gushed out.
22 “But[al] there is no peace,” says the Lord, “for the wicked.”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 48:1 Lit. waters; this word is misspelled in both 1QIsaa and MT
- Isaiah 48:3 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read they
- Isaiah 48:4 Lit. Because of my knowledge
- Isaiah 48:5 So 1QIsaa; MT reads and my
- Isaiah 48:6 Lit. And how
- Isaiah 48:8 So 1QIsaa; 4QIsab MT LXX lack And
- Isaiah 48:8 So 1QIsaa Targ; MT reads did your ear open itself; CaiGen Syr Vulg read was your ear uncovered
- Isaiah 48:8 Lit. ear from of old
- Isaiah 48:8 So 1QIsaa LXX; MT lacks that
- Isaiah 48:8 So 1QIsaa; LXX Targ read and you would be called; 4QIsad MT read deceitfully, calling
- Isaiah 48:9 Lit. and for my commencement; or and for my profanation; so 1QIsaa; 4QIsad MT read for my praise; LXX reads for my glorious deeds
- Isaiah 48:10 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read chosen
- Isaiah 48:11 Or can I wait; so 1QIsaa; 4QIsad MT read can it be profaned; 4QIsad MT read can it wait; LXX reads can my name be profaned
- Isaiah 48:12 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read me
- Isaiah 48:12 So 1QIsaa MT; 4QIsad reads also
- Isaiah 48:13 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read hand laid
- Isaiah 48:13 So 1QIsaa 4QIsac 4QIsad LXX; MT lacks and
- Isaiah 48:14 So 1QIsaa LXX; 4QIsad MT read Come together, all of you, and listen!
- Isaiah 48:14 So 1QIsaa; 4QIsad MT LXX read has declared
- Isaiah 48:14 So 1QIsaa; 4QIsad MT read him; LXX reads you
- Isaiah 48:14 So 1QIsaa (misspelling carry out); 4QIsad MT read He will carry out; LXX reads I have carried out
- Isaiah 48:14 So 1QIsaa; 4QIsad MT LXXms read his purpose; LXX reads your purpose
- Isaiah 48:14 I.e. the Messiah; so 1QIsaa; MT reads and his arm; LXX reads to do away with the offspring
- Isaiah 48:15 So 1QIsaa; 4QIsad MT read called him; 4QIsac LXX read brought him
- Isaiah 48:15 Or his path will be successful; so 1QIsaa (feminine) and 4QIsad MT (masculine); 4QIsac LXX read I will make his path successful
- Isaiah 48:16 So 1QIsaa LXX; MT lacks and
- Isaiah 48:16 So 1QIsaa LXX; MT reads from
- Isaiah 48:16 Or has sent me and his Spirit.
- Isaiah 48:17 1QIsaa misspells this word
- Isaiah 48:17 So 1QIsaa LXX; 1QIsab 4QIsac 4QIsad MT lack which
- Isaiah 48:18 So 1QIsaa 1QIsab 4QIsac LXX; MT lacks Now
- Isaiah 48:19 So 1QIsaa; 1QIsab MT LXX read the offspring of your loins
- Isaiah 48:20 So 1QIsaa LXX; 1QIsab MT lack and
- Isaiah 48:20 So 1QIsaa; 1QIsab 4QIsad MT LXX read this. Send it forth
- Isaiah 48:20 So 1QIsaa; 4QIsad MT LXX read end
- Isaiah 48:21 So 1QIsaa LXXmss; 4QIsad MT LXX read them
- Isaiah 48:21 So 1QIsaa Syr; cf. Ps 78:20 and 105:41; 1QIsab 4QIsad MT read flow; LXX reads he will bring forth
- Isaiah 48:22 So 1QIsaa; 1QIsab MT LXX lack But
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