Isaiah 48-49

New American Standard Bible 1995

48 “^(A)Hear this, O house of Jacob, who are named Israel
And who came forth from the ^[a](B)loins 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 call themselves after the ^(E)holy city
And ^(F)lean on the God of Israel;
The Lord of hosts is His name.
³ “I ^(G)declared the former things long ago
And they went forth from My mouth, and I proclaimed them.
^(H)Suddenly I acted, and they ^(I)came to pass.
⁴ “Because I know that you are ^[b](J)obstinate,
And your ^(K)neck is an iron sinew
And your ^(L)forehead bronze,
⁵ Therefore I declared them to you long ago,
Before ^[c]they took place I proclaimed them to you,
So that you would not say, ‘My ^(M)idol has done them,
And my graven image and my molten 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,
Even 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 ^[d](P)rebel from ^[e]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 My ^(V)glory I will not give to another.

¹² “Listen to Me, O Jacob, even Israel ^[f]whom I called;
^(W)I am He, ^(X)I am the first, I am also the last.
¹³ “Surely 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 on ^(AD)Babylon,
And His arm will be against the Chaldeans.
¹⁵ “I, even 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 first I have ^(AG)not spoken in secret,
^(AH)From the time it took place, I was there.
And now ^(AI)the Lord ^[g]God has sent Me, and His Spirit.”

“I am the Lord your God, who teaches you to profit,
Who ^(AK)leads you in the way you should go.
¹⁸ “If only you had ^(AL)paid attention to My commandments!
Then your ^[h](AM)well-being would have been like a river,
And your ^(AN)righteousness like the waves of the sea.
¹⁹ “Your ^[i](AO)descendants would have been like the sand,
And ^[j]your offspring like its grains;
^(AP)Their name would never be cut off or destroyed from My presence.”

49 Listen to Me, O ^(AY)islands,
And pay attention, you peoples from afar.
^(AZ)The Lord called Me from the womb;
From the ^[k]body of My mother He named Me.
² He has made My ^(BA)mouth like a sharp sword,
In the ^(BB)shadow of His hand He has concealed Me;
And He has also made Me a ^[l]select ^(BC)arrow,
He has hidden Me in His quiver.
³ He said to Me, “^(BD)You are My Servant, Israel,
^(BE)In Whom I will ^[m]show My glory.”
⁴ But I said, “I have ^(BF)toiled in vain,
I have spent My strength for nothing and vanity;
Yet surely the justice due to Me is with the Lord,
And My ^(BG)reward with My God.”

¹⁴ But Zion said, “The Lord has forsaken me,
And the Lord has forgotten me.”
¹⁵ “Can a woman forget her nursing child
And have no compassion on the son of her womb?
Even these may forget, but ^(CK)I will not forget you.
¹⁶ “Behold, I have ^(CL)inscribed you on the palms of My hands;
Your ^(CM)walls are continually before Me.
¹⁷ “Your ^[r]builders hurry;
Your ^(CN)destroyers and devastators
Will depart from you.
¹⁸ “^(CO)Lift up your eyes and look around;
^(CP)All of them gather together, ^(CQ)they come to you.
^(CR)As I live,” declares the Lord,
“You will surely ^(CS)put on all of them as ^[s]jewels and bind them on as a bride.
¹⁹ “For ^(CT)your waste and desolate places and your destroyed land—
Surely now you will be ^(CU)too cramped for the inhabitants,
And those who ^(CV)swallowed you will be far away.
²⁰ “The ^(CW)children of ^[t]whom you were bereaved will yet say in your ears,
‘The place is too cramped for me;
Make room for me that I may live here.’
²¹ “Then you will ^(CX)say in your heart,
‘Who has begotten these for me,
Since I have been bereaved of my children
And am ^(CY)barren, an ^(CZ)exile and a wanderer?
And who has reared these?
Behold, I was ^(DA)left alone;
^[u](DB)From where did these come?’”

“Behold, I will lift up My hand to the nations
And set up My ^(DC)standard to the peoples;
And they will ^(DD)bring your sons in their bosom,
And your daughters will be carried on their shoulders.
²³ “^(DE)Kings will be your guardians,
And their princesses your nurses.
They will ^(DF)bow down to you with their faces to the earth
And ^(DG)lick the dust of your feet;
And you will ^(DH)know that I am the Lord;
Those who hopefully ^(DI)wait for Me will ^(DJ)not be put to shame.

“Even the ^(DL)captives of the mighty man will be taken away,
And the prey of the tyrant will be rescued;
For I will contend with the one who contends with you,
And I will ^(DM)save your sons.
²⁶ “I will feed your ^(DN)oppressors with their ^(DO)own flesh,
And they will become drunk with their own blood as with sweet wine;
And ^(DP)all flesh will know that I, the Lord, am your ^(DQ)Savior
And your ^(DR)Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”