Isaiah 48
New English Translation
The Lord Appeals to the Exiles
48 Listen to this, O family of Jacob,[a]
you who are called by the name ‘Israel,’
and are descended from Judah,[b]
who take oaths in the name of the Lord,
and invoke[c] the God of Israel—
but not in an honest and just manner.[d]
2 Indeed, they live in the holy city;[e]
they trust in[f] the God of Israel,
whose name is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
3 “I announced events beforehand,[g]
I issued the decrees and made the predictions;[h]
suddenly I acted and they came to pass.
4 I did this[i] because I know how stubborn you are.
Your neck muscles are like iron
and your forehead like bronze.[j]
5 I announced them to you beforehand;
before they happened, I predicted them for you,
so you could never say,
‘My image did these things,
my idol, my cast image, decreed them.’
6 You have heard; now look at all the evidence![k]
Will you not admit that what I say is true?[l]
From this point on I am announcing to you new events
that are previously unrevealed and you do not know about.[m]
7 Now they come into being,[n] not in the past;
before today you did not hear about them,
so you could not say,
‘Yes,[o] I know about them.’
8 You did not hear,
you do not know,
you were not told beforehand.[p]
For I know that you are very deceitful;[q]
you were labeled[r] a rebel from birth.
9 For the sake of my reputation[s] I hold back my anger;
for the sake of my prestige[t] I restrain myself from destroying you.[u]
10 Look, I have refined you, but not as silver;
I have purified you[v] in the furnace of misery.
11 For my sake alone[w] I will act,
for how can I allow my name to be defiled?[x]
I will not share my glory with anyone else![y]
12 Listen to me, O Jacob,
Israel, whom I summoned.
I am the one;
I am present at the very beginning
and at the very end.[z]
13 Yes, my hand founded the earth;
my right hand spread out the sky.
I summon them;
they stand together.
14 All of you, gather together and listen!
Who among them[aa] announced these things?
The Lord’s ally[ab] will carry out his desire against Babylon;
he will exert his power against the Babylonians.[ac]
15 I, I have spoken—
yes, I have summoned him;
I lead him and he will succeed.[ad]
16 Approach me—listen to this!
From the very first I have not spoken in secret;
when it happens,[ae] I am there.”
So now, the Sovereign Lord has sent me, accompanied by his Spirit.[af]
17 This is what the Lord, your Protector,[ag] says,
the Holy One of Israel:[ah]
“I am the Lord your God,
who teaches you how to succeed,
who leads you in the way you should go.
18 If only you had obeyed my[ai] commandments,
prosperity would have flowed to you like a river,[aj]
deliverance would have come to you like the waves of the sea.[ak]
19 Your descendants would have been as numerous as sand,[al]
and your children[am] like its granules.
Their name would not have been cut off
and eliminated from my presence.[an]
20 Leave Babylon!
Flee from the Babylonians!
Announce it with a shout of joy!
Make this known—
proclaim it throughout the earth![ao]
Say, ‘The Lord protects[ap] his servant Jacob.
21 They do not thirst as he leads them through dry regions;
he makes water flow out of a rock for them;
he splits open a rock and water flows out.’[aq]
22 There will be no prosperity for the wicked,” says the Lord.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 48:1 tn Heb “house of Jacob”; TEV, CEV “people of Israel.”
- Isaiah 48:1 tc The Hebrew text reads literally “and from the waters of Judah came out.” מִמֵּי (mimme) could be a variation from an original מִמְּעֵי (mimmeʿe, “from the inner parts of”). The translation above as well as several other translations treat the text this way or understand that this is what the Hebrew phrase figuratively means (cf. HCSB, NASB, NIV, NLT, NRSV). Some translations (ESV, NKJV) retain the MT reading and render it literally as “waters.” The Qumran scroll 1QIsaa, which corrects a similar form to “from inner parts of” in 39:7, does not do it here.
- Isaiah 48:1 tn Heb “cause to remember”; KJV, ASV “make mention of.”
- Isaiah 48:1 tn Heb “not in truth and not in righteousness.”
- Isaiah 48:2 tn Heb “they call themselves [or “are called”] from the holy city.” The precise meaning of the statement is uncertain. The Niphal of קָרָא (qaraʾ) is combined with the preposition מִן (min) only here. When the Qal of קָרָא is used with מִן, the preposition often indicates the place from which one is summoned (see 46:11). So one could translate, “from the holy city they are summoned,” meaning that they reside there.
- Isaiah 48:2 tn Heb “lean on” (so NASB, NRSV); NAB, NIV “rely on.”
- Isaiah 48:3 tn Heb “the former things beforehand I declared.”
- Isaiah 48:3 tn Heb “and from my mouth they came forth, and I caused them to be heard.”
- Isaiah 48:4 tn The words “I did this” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text v. 4 is subordinated to v. 3.
- Isaiah 48:4 sn The image is that of a person who has tensed the muscles of the face and neck as a sign of resolute refusal.
- Isaiah 48:6 tn Heb “gaze [at] all of it”; KJV “see all this.”
- Isaiah 48:6 tn Heb “[as for] you, will you not declare?”
- Isaiah 48:6 tn Heb “and hidden things, and you do not know them.”
- Isaiah 48:7 tn Heb “are created” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NLT “They are brand new.”
- Isaiah 48:7 tn Heb “look”; KJV, NASB “Behold.”
- Isaiah 48:8 tn Heb “beforehand your ear did not open.”
- Isaiah 48:8 tn Heb “deceiving, you deceive.” The infinitive absolute precedes the finite verb for emphasis.
- Isaiah 48:8 tn Or “called” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
- Isaiah 48:9 tn Heb “for the sake of my name” (so NAB, NASB); NLT “for my own sake.”
- Isaiah 48:9 tn Heb “and my praise.” לְמַעַן (lemaʿan, “for the sake of”) is understood by ellipsis (note the preceding line).
- Isaiah 48:9 tn Heb “I restrain [myself] concerning you not to cut you off.”
- Isaiah 48:10 tc The Hebrew text has בְּחַרְתִּיךָ (bekhartikha, “I have chosen you”), but the Qumran scroll 1QIsaa reads correctly בחנתיכה (“I have tested you”). The metallurgical background of the imagery suggests that purification through testing is the idea.
- Isaiah 48:11 tn The Hebrew text repeats לְמַעֲנִי (lemaʿani, “for my sake”) for emphasis.
- Isaiah 48:11 tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “for how can it be defiled?” The subject of the verb is probably “name” (v. 9).
- Isaiah 48:11 sn See 42:8.
- Isaiah 48:12 tn Heb “I [am] he, I [am the] first, also I [am the] last.”
- Isaiah 48:14 sn This probably refers to the idol gods (see v. 5).
- Isaiah 48:14 tn Or “friend,” or “covenant partner.” sn The Lord’s ally is a reference to Cyrus.
- Isaiah 48:14 tn Heb “and his arm [against] the Babylonians.”
- Isaiah 48:15 tn Heb “and his way will be prosperous.”
- Isaiah 48:16 tn Heb “from the time of its occurring.”
- Isaiah 48:16 sn The speaker here is not identified specifically, but he is probably Cyrus, the Lord’s “ally” mentioned in vv. 14-15.
- Isaiah 48:17 tn Heb “your redeemer.” See the note at 41:14.
- Isaiah 48:17 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
- Isaiah 48:18 tn Heb “paid attention to” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV); TEV “had listened to.”
- Isaiah 48:18 tn Heb “like a river your peace would have been.” שָׁלוֹם (shalom) probably refers here to the peace and prosperity which God promised in return for obedience to the covenant.
- Isaiah 48:18 tn Heb “and your righteousness like the waves of the sea.” צְדָקָה (tsedaqah) probably refers here to divine deliverance from enemies. See v. 19.
- Isaiah 48:19 tn Heb “like sand”; NCV “as many as the grains of sand.”
- Isaiah 48:19 tn Heb “and the issue from your inner parts.”
- Isaiah 48:19 tn Heb “and his name would not be cut off and would not be destroyed from before me.”
- Isaiah 48:20 tn Heb “to the end of the earth” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV).
- Isaiah 48:20 tn Heb “redeems.” See the note at 41:14.
- Isaiah 48:21 sn The translation above (present tense) assumes that this verse describes God’s provision for returning Babylonian exiles (see v. 20; 35:6; 49:10) in terms reminiscent of the Exodus from Egypt (see Exod 17:6).
Isaiah 48
Amplified Bible
Israel’s Obstinacy
48 “Hear this, O house of Jacob, you who are called by the name of Israel
And who come from the [a]seed of Judah,
You who swear [allegiance] by the name of the Lord
And invoke the God of Israel,
But not in truth (sincerity) nor in righteousness [with moral and spiritual integrity].
2
“For they call themselves [citizens of Jerusalem] after the holy city
And depend on the God of Israel;
The Lord of hosts is His name.
3
“I have declared the former things [which happened to Israel] in times past;
They went forth from My mouth and I proclaimed them;
Suddenly I acted, and they came to pass.
4
“Because I know that you are obstinate,
And your neck is an iron tendon
And your brow is bronze [both unyielding],
5
I have declared them to you long ago;
Before they came to pass I announced them to you,
So that you could not say, ‘My idol has done them,
And my carved image and my cast image have commanded them.’
6
“You have heard [these things foretold]; look at all this [that has been fulfilled].
And you, will you not declare it?
I proclaim to you [specific] new things from this time,
Even [b]hidden things which you have not known.
7
“They are created now [called into being by the prophetic word] and not long ago;
And before today you have not heard of them,
So that you will not say, ‘Oh yes! I knew them.’
8
“You have not heard, you have not known;
Even from long ago your ear has not been open.
For I [the Lord] knew that you [Israel] would act very treacherously;
You have been called a transgressor and a rebel from birth.
9
“For the sake of My Name I refrain from My wrath,
And for My praise I restrain Myself from you,
So that I do not cut you off.
10
“Indeed, I have refined you, but not as [c]silver;
I have tested and chosen you in the furnace of affliction.
11
“For My own sake, for My own sake, I will do it [I refrain and do not completely destroy you];
For how can My Name be defiled and profaned [as it would if My chosen people were completely destroyed]?
And I will not give My glory to another [by permitting the worshipers of idols to triumph over you].
End of Captivity Promised
12
“Listen to Me, O Jacob, and Israel, whom I called;
I am He, I am the First, I am the Last.(A)
13
“My hand founded and established the earth,
And My right hand spread out the heavens;
When I call to them, they stand together [in obedience to carry out My decrees].
14
“Assemble, all of you, and listen!
Who among them [the idols and Chaldean astrologers] has declared these things?
The Lord loves him (Cyrus of Persia); he will do His pleasure and purpose against Babylon,
And his arm will be against the Chaldeans [who reign in Babylon].
15
“I, even I, have spoken; indeed, I have called Cyrus;
I have brought him, and will make his way successful.
16
“Come near to Me, listen to this:
From the beginning I have not spoken in secret,
From the time that it happened, I was there.
And now the Lord God has sent Me, and His [Holy] Spirit.”
17 This is what the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel says,
“I am the Lord your God, who teaches you to profit (benefit),
Who leads you in the way that you should go.
18
“Oh, that you had paid attention to My commandments!
Then your peace and prosperity would have been like a [flowing] river,
And your righteousness [the holiness and purity of the nation] like the [abundant] waves of the sea.
19
“Your offspring would have been like the sand,
And your descendants [in number] like the grains of sand;
Their name would never be cut off or destroyed from My presence.”(B)
20
Get out of Babylon! Flee from the Chaldeans [who reign there]!
Declare with a voice of jubilation, proclaim this,
Send it out 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 the waters flow out of the rock for them;
He split the rock and the waters flowed.
22
“There is no peace for the wicked,” says the Lord.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 48:1 Lit waters.
- Isaiah 48:6 Lit protected.
- Isaiah 48:10 The melting of silver requires a relatively low heat.
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