Isaiah 48:16-18

Contemporary English Version

¹⁶ Come closer and listen!
I have never kept secret
    the things I have said,
and I was here
    before time began.

By the power of his Spirit
the Lord God has sent me
¹⁷     with this message:
People of Israel,
I am the holy Lord God,
    the one who rescues you.
For your own good,
I teach you, and I lead you
    along the right path.
¹⁸ How I wish that you
    had obeyed my commands!
Your success and good fortune
would then have overflowed
    like a flooding river.