Isaiah 48
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Isaiah 48
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Give ear to this, O family of Jacob, you who are named by the name of Israel, and have come out of the body of Judah; who take oaths by the name of the Lord, and make use of the name of the God of Israel, but not truly and not in good faith. | Hear ye this, O house of Jacob, who are called by the name of Israel, and are come forth out of the waters of Judah; who swear by the name of Jehovah, and make mention of the God of Israel, but not in truth, nor in righteousness |
For they say that they are of the holy town, and put their faith in the God of Israel: the Lord of armies is his name. | (for they call themselves of the holy city, and stay themselves upon the God of Israel; Jehovah of hosts is his name): |
I gave word in the past of the things which came about; they came from my mouth, and I made them clear: suddenly I did them, and they came about. | I have declared the former things from of old; yea, they went forth out of my mouth, and I showed them: suddenly I did them, and they came to pass. |
Because I saw that your heart was hard, and that your neck was an iron cord, and your brow brass; | Because I knew that thou art obstinate, and thy neck is an iron sinew, and thy brow brass; |
For this reason I made it clear to you in the past, before it came I gave you word of it: for fear that you might say, My god did these things, and my pictured and metal images made them come about. | therefore I have declared it to thee from of old; before it came to pass I showed it thee; lest thou shouldest say, Mine idol hath done them, and my graven image, and my molten image, hath commanded them. |
All this has come to your ears and you have seen it; will you not give witness to it? I am now making clear new things, even secret things, of which you had no knowledge. | Thou hast heard it; behold all this; and ye, will ye not declare it? I have showed thee new things from this time, even hidden things, which thou hast not known. |
They have only now been effected, and not in the past: and before this day they had not come to your ears; for fear that you might say, I had knowledge of them. | They are created now, and not from of old; and before this day thou heardest them not; lest thou shouldest say, Behold, I knew them. |
Truly you had no word of them, no knowledge of them; no news of them in the past had come to your ears; because I saw how false was your behaviour, and that your heart was turned against me from your earliest days. | Yea, thou heardest not; yea, thou knewest not; yea, from of old thine ear was not opened: for I knew that thou didst deal very treacherously, and wast called a transgressor from the womb. |
Because of my name I will put away my wrath, and for my praise I will keep myself from cutting you off. | For my name's sake will I defer mine anger, and for my praise will I refrain for thee, that I cut thee not off. |
See, I have been testing you for myself like silver; I have put you through the fire of trouble. | Behold, I have refined thee, but not as silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction. |
For myself, even because of my name, I will do it; for I will not let my name be shamed; and my glory I will not give to another. | For mine own sake, for mine own sake, will I do it; for how should [my name] be profaned? and my glory will I not give to another. |
Give ear to me, Jacob, and Israel, my loved one; I am he, I am the first and I am the last. | Hearken unto me, O Jacob, and Israel my called: I am he; I am the first, I also am the last. |
Yes, by my hand was the earth placed on its base, and by my right hand the heavens were stretched out; at my word they take up their places. | Yea, my hand hath laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spread out the heavens: when I call unto them, they stand up together. |
Come together, all of you, and give ear; who among you has given news of these things? the Lord's loved one will do his pleasure with Babylon, and with the seed of the Chaldaeans. | Assemble yourselves, all ye, and hear; who among them hath declared these things? He whom Jehovah loveth shall perform his pleasure on Babylon, and his arm [shall be on] the Chaldeans. |
I, even I, have given the word; I have sent for him: I have made him come, and have given effect to his undertakings. | I, even I, have spoken; yea, I have called him; I have brought him, and he shall make his way prosperous. |
Come near to me, and give ear to this; from the start I did not keep it secret; from the time of its coming into existence I was there: and now the Lord God has sent me, and given me his spirit. | Come ye near unto me, hear ye this; from the beginning I have not spoken in secret; from the time that it was, there am I: and now the Lord Jehovah hath sent me, and his Spirit. |
The Lord who takes up your cause, the Holy One of Israel, says, I am the Lord your God, who is teaching you for your profit, guiding you by the way in which you are to go. | Thus saith Jehovah, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: I am Jehovah thy God, who teacheth thee to profit, who leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go. |
If only you had given ear to my orders, then your peace would have been like a river, and your righteousness as the waves of the sea: | Oh that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments! then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea: |
Your seed would have been like the sand, and your offspring like the dust: your name would not be cut off or come to an end before me. | thy seed also had been as the sand, and the offspring of thy bowels like the grains thereof: his name would not be cut off nor destroyed from before me. |
Go out of Babylon, go in flight from the Chaldaeans; with the sound of song make it clear, give the news, let the word go out even to the end of the earth: say, The Lord has taken up the cause of his servant Jacob. | Go ye forth from Babylon, flee ye from the Chaldeans; with a voice of singing declare ye, tell this, utter it even to the end of the earth: say ye, Jehovah hath redeemed his servant Jacob. |
They had no need of water when he was guiding them through the waste lands: he made water come out of the rock for them: the rock was parted and the waters came flowing out. | And they thirsted not when he led them through the deserts; he caused the waters to flow out of the rock for them; he clave the rock also, and the waters gushed out. |
There is no peace, says the Lord, for the evil-doers. | There is no peace, saith Jehovah, to the wicked. |