Isaiah 48
English Standard Version
Israel Refined for God's Glory
48 Hear this, O house of Jacob,
(A)who are called by the name of Israel,
and (B)who came from the waters of Judah,
(C)who swear by the name of the Lord
and confess the God of Israel,
but not in truth or right.
2 For they call themselves after the holy city,
(D)and stay themselves on the God of Israel;
the Lord of hosts is his name.
3 “The former things (E)I declared of old;
they went out from my mouth, and I announced them;
then suddenly I did them, and they came to pass.
4 Because I know that (F)you are obstinate,
and your neck is an iron sinew
and your forehead brass,
5 (G)I declared them to you from of old,
before they came to pass I announced them to you,
lest you should say, (H)‘My idol did them,
my carved image and my metal image commanded them.’
6 “You have heard; now see all this;
and will you not declare it?
From this time forth (I)I announce to you new things,
hidden things that you have not known.
7 They are created now, not long ago;
before today you have never heard of them,
lest you should say, ‘Behold, I knew them.’
8 You have never heard, you have never known,
from of old your ear has not been opened.
For I knew that you would surely deal treacherously,
and that (J)from before birth you were called a rebel.
9 (K)“For my name's sake I defer my anger;
for the sake of my praise I restrain it for you,
that I may not cut you off.
10 Behold, I have refined you, (L)but not as silver;
(M)I have tried[a] you in the furnace of affliction.
11 (N)For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it,
for how should my name[b] be profaned?
(O)My glory I will not give to another.
The Lord's Call to Israel
12 “Listen to me, O Jacob,
and Israel, whom I called!
I am he; (P)I am the first,
and I am the last.
13 My hand (Q)laid the foundation of the earth,
and my right hand (R)spread out the heavens;
(S)when I call to them,
they stand forth together.
14 “Assemble, all of you, and listen!
(T)Who among them has declared these things?
The Lord loves him;
(U)he shall perform his purpose on Babylon,
and his arm shall be against (V)the Chaldeans.
15 (W)I, even I, have spoken and called him;
I have brought him, and he will prosper in his way.
16 (X)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 (Y)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 to profit,
who leads you in the way you should go.
18 (Z)Oh that you had paid attention to my commandments!
(AA)Then your peace would have been like a river,
and your righteousness like the waves of the sea;
19 (AB)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 (AC)Go out from Babylon, flee from (AD)Chaldea,
declare this (AE)with a shout of joy, proclaim it,
send it out to the end of the earth;
say, (AF)“The Lord has redeemed his servant Jacob!”
21 (AG)They did not thirst when he led them through the deserts;
(AH)he made water flow for them from the rock;
he split the rock and the water gushed out.
22 (AI)“There is no peace,” says the Lord, “for the wicked.”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 48:10 Or I have chosen
- Isaiah 48:11 Hebrew lacks my name
Isaiah 48
New American Standard Bible
Israel’s Obstinacy
48 “(A)Hear this, house of Jacob, who are named Israel
And who came from the (B)waters of Judah,
Who (C)swear by the name of the Lord
And invoke the God of Israel,
But not in truth nor in (D)righteousness.
2 For they name themselves after the (E)holy city,
And (F)lean on the God of Israel;
The Lord of armies is His name.
3 I (G)declared the former things long ago,
And they went out of My mouth, and I proclaimed them.
(H)Suddenly I acted, and they (I)came to pass.
4 Because I know that you are [a](J)obstinate,
And your (K)neck is an iron tendon
And your (L)forehead bronze,
5 Therefore I declared them to you long ago,
Before [b]they took place I proclaimed them to you,
So that you would not say, ‘My (M)idol has done them,
And my carved image and my cast metal image have commanded them.’
6 You have heard; look at all this.
And you, will you not declare it?
I proclaim to you (N)new things from this time,
Hidden things which you have not known.
7 They are created now and not long ago;
And before today you have not heard them,
So that you will not say, ‘Behold, I knew them.’
8 You have not (O)heard, you have not known.
Even from long ago your ear has not been open,
Because I knew that you would deal very treacherously;
And you have been called a [c](P)rebel from [d]birth.
9 (Q)For the sake of My name I (R)delay My wrath,
And for My praise I restrain it for you,
In order not to cut you off.
10 Behold, I have refined you, but (S)not as silver;
I have tested you in the (T)furnace of affliction.
11 (U)For My own sake, for My own sake, I will act;
For how can My name be profaned?
And I will not give My (V)glory to another.
Rescue Promised
12 “Listen to Me, Jacob, Israel [e]whom I called;
(W)I am He, (X)I am the first, I am also the last.
13 Assuredly My hand (Y)founded the earth,
And My right hand spread out the heavens;
When I (Z)call to them, they stand together.
14 (AA)Assemble, all of you, and listen!
(AB)Who among them has declared these things?
The Lord loves him; he will (AC)carry out His good pleasure against (AD)Babylon,
And His arm will be against the Chaldeans.
15 I, yes I, have spoken; indeed I have (AE)called him,
I have brought him, and He will make his ways successful.
16 (AF)Come near to Me, listen to this:
From the beginning I have (AG)not spoken in secret,
(AH)From the time it took place, I was there.
And now (AI)the Lord [f]God has sent Me, and His Spirit.”
17 This is what the Lord says, He who is your (AJ)Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
“I am the Lord your God, who teaches you to benefit,
Who (AK)leads you in the way you should go.
18 If only you had (AL)paid attention to My commandments!
Then your [g](AM)well-being would have been like a river,
And your (AN)righteousness like the waves of the sea.
19 Your [h](AO)descendants would have been like the sand,
And [i]your offspring like its grains;
(AP)Their name would never be eliminated or destroyed from My presence.”
20 (AQ)Go out from Babylon! Flee from the Chaldeans!
Declare with the sound of (AR)joyful shouting, proclaim this,
(AS)Send it out to the end of the earth;
Say, “(AT)The Lord has redeemed His servant Jacob.”
21 They did not (AU)thirst when He led them through the deserts.
He (AV)made the water flow out of the rock for them;
He split the rock and (AW)the water gushed out.
22 “(AX)There is no peace for the wicked,” says the Lord.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 48:4 Or harsh
- Isaiah 48:5 Lit it
- Isaiah 48:8 Or transgressor
- Isaiah 48:8 Lit the belly
- Isaiah 48:12 Lit My called one
- Isaiah 48:16 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
- Isaiah 48:18 Or peace
- Isaiah 48:19 Lit seed
- Isaiah 48:19 Lit the offspring of your inward parts
Isaiah 48
International Children’s Bible
God Controls the Future
48 The Lord says, “Family of Jacob, listen to me.
You are called Israel.
You come from the family of Judah.
You use the Lord’s name to make promises.
You praise the God of Israel,
but you are not honest or sincere.
2 You call yourselves people of the holy city.
You depend on the God of Israel.
He is named the Lord of heaven’s armies.
3 Long ago I told you what would happen.
I said these things and made them known.
Suddenly I acted, and these things happened.
4 I did that because I knew you were stubborn.
Your neck was like an iron muscle.
It was as if your head were made of bronze.
5 So a long time ago I told you about these things.
I told you about them before they happened.
I did this so you couldn’t say, ‘My idols did this.
My wooden and metal statues made these things happen.’
6 “You heard and saw all the things that happened.
So you should tell this news to others.
Now I will tell you about new things.
These are hidden things that you don’t know yet.
7 These things are happening now, not long ago.
You have not heard about them before today.
So you cannot say, ‘We already knew about that.’
8 But you have not heard me. You have not understood.
Even long ago you did not listen to me.
I knew you would surely turn against me.
You have fought against me since you were born.
9 But for my own sake I will be patient.
People will praise me for not becoming angry
and destroying you.
10 I have made you pure, but not by fire, as silver is made pure.
I have purified you by giving you troubles.
11 I do this for myself, for my own sake.
I will not let people speak evil against me.
I will not let some false god take my glory.
Israel Will Be Free
12 “People of Jacob, listen to me.
People of Israel, I have called you to be my people.
I am God.
I am the beginning and the end.
13 I made the earth with my own hands.
With my right hand I spread out the skies.
When I call them,
they come together before me.
14 “All of you, come together and listen.
None of the false gods said these things would happen.
I, the Lord, have chosen someone
to attack the Babylonians.
He will carry out my wishes against Babylon.
15 I have spoken. I have called him.[a]
I have brought him, and I will make him successful.
16 Come to me and listen to this.
From the beginning I have spoken openly.
From the time it began, I was there.”
Now, the Lord God
has sent me with his Spirit.
17 The Lord is your close relative who saves you, the Holy One of Israel.
The Lord says,
“I am the Lord your God.
I teach you to do what is good.
I lead you in the way you should go.
18 If you had obeyed me,
you would have had peace like a full-flowing river.
Good things would have flowed to you like the waves of the sea.
19 You would have had many children.
They would have been as many as the grains of sand.
They would never have died out.
They would not have been destroyed.”
20 My people, leave Babylon!
Run from the Babylonians!
Tell this news with shouts of joy to the people.
Spread it everywhere on earth.
Say, “The Lord has saved
his servants, the people of Jacob.”
21 They did not become thirsty when he led them through the deserts.
He made water flow from a rock for them.
He split the rock,
and water flowed out.
22 “There is no peace for evil people,” says the Lord.
Footnotes
- 48:15 him This probably refers to Cyrus king of Persia.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.
