16 (A)Come near to Me, listen to this:
From the beginning I have (B)not spoken in secret,
(C)From the time it took place, I was there.
And now (D)the Lord [a]God has sent Me, and His Spirit.”

17 This is what the Lord says, He who is your (E)Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:

“I am the Lord your God, who teaches you to benefit,
Who (F)leads you in the way you should go.
18 If only you had (G)paid attention to My commandments!
Then your [b](H)well-being would have been like a river,
And your (I)righteousness like the waves of the sea.
19 Your [c](J)descendants would have been like the sand,
And [d]your offspring like its grains;
(K)Their name would never be eliminated or destroyed from My presence.”

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 48:16 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
  2. Isaiah 48:18 Or peace
  3. Isaiah 48:19 Lit seed
  4. Isaiah 48:19 Lit the offspring of your inward parts

16 Approach me—listen to this!
From the very first I have not spoken in secret;
when it happens,[a] I am there.”
So now, the Sovereign Lord has sent me, accompanied by his Spirit.[b]
17 This is what the Lord, your Protector,[c] says,
the Holy One of Israel:[d]
“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[e] commandments,
prosperity would have flowed to you like a river,[f]
deliverance would have come to you like the waves of the sea.[g]
19 Your descendants would have been as numerous as sand,[h]
and your children[i] like its granules.
Their name would not have been cut off
and eliminated from my presence.[j]

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 48:16 tn Heb “from the time of its occurring.”
  2. 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.
  3. Isaiah 48:17 tn Heb “your redeemer.” See the note at 41:14.
  4. Isaiah 48:17 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
  5. Isaiah 48:18 tn Heb “paid attention to” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV); TEV “had listened to.”
  6. 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.
  7. 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.
  8. Isaiah 48:19 tn Heb “like sand”; NCV “as many as the grains of sand.”
  9. Isaiah 48:19 tn Heb “and the issue from your inner parts.”
  10. Isaiah 48:19 tn Heb “and his name would not be cut off and would not be destroyed from before me.”