Isaiah 48

Isaiah 48, verse 1. ¹“Hear this, O house of Jacob, who are called by the name of Israel and have come forth from Judah, who swear by the name of the Lord God of Israel, mentioning it, but not with truth nor with righteousness, Isaiah 48, verse 2. ²and who are devoted to the name of the holy city, and lean on the God of Israel for support—the Lord of hosts is His name. Isaiah 48, verse 3. ³I still declare the former things that went forth from My mouth, and they became well known. Suddenly I did them, and they came to pass. Isaiah 48, verse 4. ⁴I know you are stubborn, and your neck is an iron nerve; and your forehead is made of bronze. Isaiah 48, verse 5. ⁵Yet I told you long ago, before it came to pass. I made it well known to you, lest you should say, ‘My idols did them’; and lest you should say, ‘My carved images and my molten images commanded them for me.’ Isaiah 48, verse 6. ⁶You heard all this, yet you knew not what you heard. But I also made new things known to you, things about to happen from that present time; yet you said not so. Isaiah 48, verse 7. ⁷Now they come to pass, and not long ago, but you did not listen to these things in former days. You do not say, ‘Yes, I know this.’ Isaiah 48, verse 8. ⁸You neither know nor understand, nor have I opened your ears from the beginning. For I knew you would deal treacherously and reject them, and would be called lawless from the womb. Isaiah 48, verse 9. ⁹For My name's sake, I will show you My anger, and I will bring before you my glorious acts, so as not to utterly destroy you. Isaiah 48, verse 10. ¹⁰Behold, I sold you, but not for silver; and I delivered you from the furnace of poverty. Isaiah 48, verse 11. ¹¹For My own sake, I will do this for you, because My name is profaned; and I will not give My glory to another. Isaiah 48, verse 12. ¹²Listen to Me, O Jacob and Israel, whom I call: I am the first, and I am forever. Isaiah 48, verse 13. ¹³My hand also laid the foundation of the earth, and My right hand established heaven. I shall call them, and they will stand together. Isaiah 48, verse 14. ¹⁴All shall be gathered and hear; Who declared these things to them? Because I love you, I did your will against Babylon, to slay the seed of the Chaldeans. Isaiah 48, verse 15. ¹⁵I have spoken, I have called him, I have brought him, and made his way prosper. Isaiah 48, verse 16. ¹⁶Come near to Me, hear this: I have not spoken in secret from the beginning, nor did I speak in a dark place of the earth. When it took place, I was there, and now the Lord and His Spirit have sent Me.” Isaiah 48, verse 17. ¹⁷Thus says the Lord who delivers you, the Holy One of Israel: “I am your God, who showed you how to find the way wherein you should walk. Isaiah 48, verse 18. ¹⁸If only you had heeded My commandments, then your peace would be like a river, and your righteousness as a wave of the sea. Isaiah 48, verse 19. ¹⁹Your seed would also be like the sand, and the offspring of your womb like the dust of the ground. Neither would you be utterly destroyed now, nor would your name perish before Me.” Isaiah 48, verse 20. ²⁰Go forth from Babylon, you who are fleeing from the Chaldeans. Proclaim a voice of gladness and let it become well known. Proclaim it to the end of the earth, and say, “The Lord delivered His servant Jacob.” Isaiah 48, verse 21. ²¹If they shall thirst, He will lead them through the desert, and water shall flow from the rock for them. He will split the rock, the water shall flow, and My people will drink. Isaiah 48, verse 22. ²²“There is no rejoicing,” says the Lord, “for the ungodly.”