Isaiah 48
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 48
A Plea to the Captives
1 Hear this, O house of Jacob,
you who are called by the name of Israel,
and who came forth from the stock of Judah,
who swear by the name of the Lord
and invoke the God of Israel
but not with righteousness or good faith,
2 even though you call yourselves citizens of the holy city
and rely on the God of Israel
whose name is the Lord of hosts.
3 Things that happened in the past
I foretold long before they occurred.
These predictions issued forth from my mouth,
and I made them known to you;
then suddenly I acted and they came to pass.
4 Because I know full well that you are obstinate,
with your neck an iron sinew
and your forehead firm as bronze,
5 I foretold these events to you long ago
and declared them to you before they happened
so that you could not assert, “My idols did them;
my carved statue and my molten image ordained them.”
6 You have heard what I said; now consider it
and admit the truth of what I have stated.
From now on I will reveal new things,
hidden things of which you have not been aware.
7 They have just been brought into existence, and not long ago;
before today you have never heard of them,
so that you cannot claim to have already known them.
8 You neither heard nor knew;
knowledge of them never reached your ears before now.
For I knew how treacherous you are
and that from your birth you were rebellious.
9 For the sake of my name I will restrain my anger;
for the sake of my honor I will be patient with you
lest I should be tempted to destroy you.
10 See, I have tested you,
but not in the manner that silver is tested;
I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.
11 For my sake, for my own sake, I do this,
for why should my name be profaned?
I will not yield my glory to another.
12 Listen to me, O Jacob,
and Israel, whom I have called.
I am he; I am the first
and I am the last.
13 My hand laid the foundations of the earth,
and my right hand spread out the heavens;
when I summon them,
they all present themselves immediately.
14 Assemble, all of you, and listen!
Who among the idols has revealed what will happen—
that he whom I love[a] will do my will
against Babylon and the Chaldeans?
15 I myself have spoken and summoned him;
I have brought him,
and his mission will succeed.
16 Draw near to me and hear this:
From the very beginning
I have not spoken in secret.
From the time it came to be, I have been there.
Now the Lord God has sent me and his Spirit.
17 Thus says the Lord God,
your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
I am the Lord, your God
who teaches you what is for your own good
and who leads you in the way you should go.
18 If only you had listened to my commandments,
your prosperity would have been like a river
and your success like the waves of the sea.
19 Your descendants would have been as numerous as the sand
and your offspring like its countless grains.
Their name would never be erased
or blotted out from my sight.
20 Go forth from Babylon! Flee from Chaldea!
Proclaim this with shouts of joy
and make it known.
Send the message to the ends of the earth and say,
“The Lord has redeemed his servant Jacob.”
21 Those whom he led through desert lands
never endured thirst.
He caused water to flow from the rock for them;
he split open the rock and waters streamed forth.
22 Thus says the Lord:
There is no peace for the wicked.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 48:14 He whom I love: Cyrus. The false gods have not been able to prevail.
以賽亞書 48
Chinese Contemporary Bible (Traditional)
頑梗的以色列
48 「雅各家啊,聽我說!
你們被稱為以色列人,是猶大的子孫,
憑耶和華的名起誓、
呼求以色列的上帝,
卻不真心誠意。
2 你們還自稱為聖城的人,
聲稱倚靠名為萬軍之耶和華的以色列的上帝。
3 「過去所發生的事,
我很久以前就預言過、
親口宣告過,
然後使它們瞬間發生。
4 我知道你頑梗,
有鐵一般的頸項,
銅一般的額頭。
5 所以,在很久以前,
事情還沒有發生時就向你預言這些事,
免得你說這些是你的偶像做的,
是你雕刻和鑄造的偶像命定的。
6 「你已經聽見了,看看這一切,
難道你還不承認嗎?
現在我要把新事,把你不知道的隱秘事告訴你。
7 這些事過去沒有,現在才有,
在今天以前你從未聽過,
免得你說,『這些事我早就知道了。』
8 你不知道這些事,
甚至聞所未聞。
我知道你生性詭詐,
你自出母胎就被稱為悖逆之徒。
9 「我為了我的名,暫時忍怒;
我為了我的榮耀,壓住怒氣,
不消滅你。
10 看啊,我熬煉你,但不像在火爐中煉銀子,
我是在苦難的爐中熬煉你。
11 我這樣做是為了自己,
我豈能讓自己的名受褻瀆,
把自己的榮耀給別人?
12 雅各,我所揀選的以色列啊,
聽我說!
我是上帝,我是首先的,
也是末後的。
13 我親手奠立大地的根基,
我的右手鋪展穹蒼。
我一呼喚,它們都侍立一旁。
14 「你們一起來聽吧。
假神中有誰曾預言過這些事?
耶和華所揀選的人必成就祂的旨意,
他的臂膀必攻擊迦勒底人。
15 唯有我說過這些事;
我召了他,領他出來;
他必一路亨通。
16 你們到我跟前來聽吧。
我一開始就沒有暗地裡說話,
事情發生的時候,我就在場。」
現在主耶和華差遣我和祂的靈來。
17 你的救贖主耶和華——以色列的聖者說:
「我是你的上帝耶和華,
我為了使你受益而教導你,
我引導你走當行的路。
18 真希望你當時肯聽我的命令!
那樣,你的平安必像滾滾河水,
你的公義必如滔滔海浪;
19 你的後裔必多如海沙,
你的子孫必像細沙一樣不可勝數,
他們的名號絕不會從我面前被剷除、被消滅。」
20 你們要離開巴比倫,
從迦勒底人那裡逃出來。
你們要高聲歡呼,向普天下傳揚、宣告:
「耶和華救贖了祂的僕人雅各!」
21 耶和華帶領他們經過沙漠,
他們也不會口渴。
為了他們,
祂使水從磐石中流出,祂使磐石裂開、湧出水來。
22 耶和華說:「惡人得不到平安。」