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Chapter 48

Exhortations to the Exiles

Hear this, house of Jacob
    called by the name Israel,
    sprung from the stock of Judah,
You who swear by the name of the Lord
    and invoke the God of Israel
    without sincerity, without justice,
Though you are named after the holy city
    and rely on the God of Israel,
    whose name is the Lord of hosts.
Things of the past I declared long ago,
    they went forth from my mouth, I announced them;
    then suddenly I took action and they came to be.
Because I know that you are stubborn
    and that your neck is an iron sinew
    and your forehead bronze,
I declared them to you of old;
    before they took place I informed you,
That you might not say, “My idol did them,
    my statue, my molten image commanded them.”
Now that you have heard, look at all this;
    must you not admit it?(A)
From now on I announce new things to you,
    hidden events you never knew.
Now, not from of old, they are created,
    before today you did not hear of them,
    so that you cannot claim, “I have known them.”
You never heard, you never knew,
    they never reached your ears beforehand.
Yes, I know you are utterly treacherous,
    a rebel you were named from the womb.(B)
For the sake of my name I restrain my anger,
    for the sake of my renown I hold it back from you,
    lest I destroy you.
10 See, I refined you, but not like silver;
    I tested you in the furnace of affliction.(C)
11 For my sake, for my own sake, I do this;
    why should my name be profaned?
    My glory I will not give to another.

12 Listen to me, Jacob,
    Israel, whom I called!
I, it is I who am the first,
    and am I the last.(D)
13 Yes, my hand laid the foundations of the earth;
    my right hand spread out the heavens.
When I summon them,
    they stand forth at once.(E)

14 All of you assemble and listen:
    Who among you declared these things?
The one the Lord loves[a] shall do his will
    against Babylon and the offspring of Chaldea.
15 I myself have spoken, I have summoned him,
    I have brought him, and his way succeeds!
16 Come near to me and hear this!
    From the beginning I did not speak in secret;
At the time it happens, I am there:
    “Now the Lord God has sent me, and his spirit.”[b]

17 Thus says the Lord, your redeemer,
    the Holy One of Israel:
I am the Lord, your God,
    teaching you how to prevail,
    leading you on the way you should go.
18 If only you would attend to my commandments,
    your peace would be like a river,
    your vindication like the waves of the sea,
19 Your descendants like the sand,
    the offspring of your loins like its grains,
Their name never cut off
    or blotted out from my presence.
20 Go forth from Babylon, flee from Chaldea!
    With shouts of joy declare this, announce it;
Make it known to the ends of the earth,
    Say: “The Lord has redeemed his servant Jacob.
21 They did not thirst
    when he led them through dry lands;
Water from the rock he set flowing for them;
    he cleft the rock, and waters welled forth.”(F)

22 There is no peace[c] for the wicked,
    says the Lord.

Footnotes

  1. 48:14 The one the Lord loves: the reference is no doubt to Cyrus, who does the Lord’s will by overcoming Babylon and releasing Israel from captivity.
  2. 48:16 “Now the Lord…spirit”: said by Cyrus; cf. v. 14.
  3. 48:22 No peace: while the good news proclaimed by the prophet is directed to the people as a whole, “peace,” which can represent the fullness of God’s blessings and which would here include deliverance from exile, is not extended to all regardless of disposition.

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