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Isaiah 48
Easy-to-Read Version
Isaiah 48
Easy-to-Read Version
God Rules His World
48 “Family of Jacob, listen to me!
You people call yourself ‘Israel,’
but you are from Judah’s family.
When you take an oath, I, the Lord, the God of Israel,
am the one whose name you use,
but you are not honest and sincere.
2 “Yes, you call yourselves citizens of the holy city,[a]
those who depend on the God of Israel.
The Lord All-Powerful is his name.
3 “Long ago I told you what would happen.
I told you about these things.
And suddenly I made them happen.
4 I did that because I knew you were stubborn.
You were like iron that will not bend,
with heads as hard as bronze.
5 So long ago I told you what would happen.
I told you about those things long before they happened.
I did this so that you could not say,
‘The gods we made did this.
Our idols, our statues, made this happen.’”
God Punishes Israel to Make Them Pure
6 “You heard what I said would happen.
And you can see it has all been done.
Shouldn’t you tell this to others?
Now I will tell you about new things,
secrets you have not known before.
7 This is something that is happening now, not long ago.
You have not heard about it before today.
So you cannot say, ‘We already knew that.’
8 But even in the past you didn’t listen.
You didn’t learn anything.
You never listen to what I say.
I have always known that you would turn against me.
You have rebelled against me from the time you were born.
9 “But I will be patient.
I will do this for myself.
People will praise me for not becoming angry and destroying you.
You will praise me for waiting.
10 “Look, I will make you pure,
but not in the way you make silver pure.
I will make you pure by giving you troubles.
11 I will do this for myself—for me!
I will not let you treat me as if I am not important.
I will not let some false god take my glory and praise.
12 “Jacob, listen to me!
Israel, I called you to be my people.
So listen to me!
I am the Beginning,
and I am the End.
13 I made the earth with my own hands.
My right hand made the sky.
And if I call them,
they will come to stand before me.
14 “All of you, come here and listen to me.
Did any of the false gods say these things would happen? No!
The Lord’s friend[b] will do what he wants
to Babylon and the Chaldeans.
15 “I told you that I would call him.
I will lead him,
and I will make him succeed.
16 Come here and listen to me!
I was there when Babylon began as a nation.
And from the beginning, I spoke clearly
so that people could know what I said.”
Now, the Lord God sends me and his Spirit to tell you these things. 17 The Lord, the Savior, the Holy One of Israel, says,
“I am the Lord your God.
I teach you for your own good.
I lead you in the way you should go.
18 If you had obeyed me,
then peace would have come to you
like a full flowing river.
Good things would have come to you again and again,
like the waves of the sea.
19 If you had obeyed me,
you would have had as many children as there are grains of sand.
And they would always have been mine
and would never have been destroyed.”
20 My people, leave Babylon!
My people, run from the Chaldeans!
Tell the news with joy.
Spread the news around the world.
Tell them,
“The Lord rescued his servant Jacob.”
21 They never got thirsty as he led them through the desert,
because he made water flow from a rock.
He split the rock,
and water flowed out.
22 But the Lord also said,
“There is no peace for evil people.”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 48:2 holy city That is, Jerusalem.
- Isaiah 48:14 friend Or “partner.” This probably means Cyrus, king of Persia. He ruled about 550–530 B.C.
Isaiah 48
New International Version
Isaiah 48
New International Version
Stubborn Israel
48 “Listen to this, you descendants of Jacob,
you who are called by the name of Israel(A)
and come from the line of Judah,(B)
you who take oaths(C) in the name of the Lord(D)
and invoke(E) the God of Israel—
but not in truth(F) or righteousness—
2 you who call yourselves citizens of the holy city(G)
and claim to rely(H) on the God of Israel—
the Lord Almighty is his name:(I)
3 I foretold the former things(J) long ago,
my mouth announced(K) them and I made them known;
then suddenly(L) I acted, and they came to pass.
4 For I knew how stubborn(M) you were;
your neck muscles(N) were iron,
your forehead(O) was bronze.
5 Therefore I told you these things long ago;
before they happened I announced(P) them to you
so that you could not say,
‘My images brought them about;(Q)
my wooden image and metal god ordained them.’
6 You have heard these things; look at them all.
Will you not admit them?
“From now on I will tell you of new things,(R)
of hidden things unknown to you.
7 They are created(S) now, and not long ago;(T)
you have not heard of them before today.
So you cannot say,
‘Yes, I knew(U) of them.’
8 You have neither heard nor understood;(V)
from of old your ears(W) have not been open.
Well do I know how treacherous(X) you are;
you were called a rebel(Y) from birth.
9 For my own name’s sake(Z) I delay my wrath;(AA)
for the sake of my praise I hold it back from you,
so as not to destroy you completely.(AB)
10 See, I have refined(AC) you, though not as silver;
I have tested(AD) you in the furnace(AE) of affliction.
11 For my own sake,(AF) for my own sake, I do this.
How can I let myself be defamed?(AG)
I will not yield my glory to another.(AH)
Israel Freed
12 “Listen(AI) to me, Jacob,
Israel, whom I have called:(AJ)
I am he;(AK)
I am the first and I am the last.(AL)
13 My own hand laid the foundations of the earth,(AM)
and my right hand spread out the heavens;(AN)
when I summon them,
they all stand up together.(AO)
14 “Come together,(AP) all of you, and listen:
Which of the idols has foretold(AQ) these things?
The Lord’s chosen ally(AR)
will carry out his purpose(AS) against Babylon;(AT)
his arm will be against the Babylonians.[a]
15 I, even I, have spoken;
yes, I have called(AU) him.
I will bring him,
and he will succeed(AV) in his mission.
16 “Come near(AW) me and listen(AX) to this:
“From the first announcement I have not spoken in secret;(AY)
at the time it happens, I am there.”
17 This is what the Lord says—
your Redeemer,(BC) the Holy One(BD) of Israel:
“I am the Lord your God,
who teaches(BE) you what is best for you,
who directs(BF) you in the way(BG) you should go.
18 If only you had paid attention(BH) to my commands,
your peace(BI) would have been like a river,(BJ)
your well-being(BK) like the waves of the sea.
19 Your descendants(BL) would have been like the sand,(BM)
your children like its numberless grains;(BN)
their name would never be blotted out(BO)
nor destroyed from before me.”
20 Leave Babylon,
flee(BP) from the Babylonians!
Announce this with shouts of joy(BQ)
and proclaim it.
Send it out to the ends of the earth;(BR)
say, “The Lord has redeemed(BS) his servant Jacob.”
21 They did not thirst(BT) when he led them through the deserts;
he made water flow(BU) for them from the rock;
he split the rock
and water gushed out.(BV)
Footnotes
- Isaiah 48:14 Or Chaldeans; also in verse 20
Isaiah 48
King James Version
Isaiah 48
King James Version
48 Hear ye this, O house of Jacob, which are called by the name of Israel, and are come forth out of the waters of Judah, which swear by the name of the Lord, and make mention of the God of Israel, but not in truth, nor in righteousness.
2 For they call themselves of the holy city, and stay themselves upon the God of Israel; The Lord of hosts is his name.
3 I have declared the former things from the beginning; and they went forth out of my mouth, and I shewed them; I did them suddenly, and they came to pass.
4 Because I knew that thou art obstinate, and thy neck is an iron sinew, and thy brow brass;
5 I have even from the beginning declared it to thee; before it came to pass I shewed it thee: lest thou shouldest say, Mine idol hath done them, and my graven image, and my molten image, hath commanded them.
6 Thou hast heard, see all this; and will not ye declare it? I have shewed thee new things from this time, even hidden things, and thou didst not know them.
7 They are created now, and not from the beginning; even before the day when thou heardest them not; lest thou shouldest say, Behold, I knew them.
8 Yea, thou heardest not; yea, thou knewest not; yea, from that time that thine ear was not opened: for I knew that thou wouldest deal very treacherously, and wast called a transgressor from the womb.
9 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.
10 Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.
11 For mine own sake, even for mine own sake, will I do it: for how should my name be polluted? and I will not give my glory unto another.
12 Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I am he; I am the first, I also am the last.
13 Mine hand also hath laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spanned the heavens: when I call unto them, they stand up together.
14 All ye, assemble yourselves, and hear; which among them hath declared these things? The Lord hath loved him: he will do his pleasure on Babylon, and his arm shall be on the Chaldeans.
15 I, even I, have spoken; yea, I have called him: I have brought him, and he shall make his way prosperous.
16 Come ye near unto me, hear ye this; I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; from the time that it was, there am I: and now the Lord God, and his Spirit, hath sent me.
17 Thus saith the Lord, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the Lord thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go.
18 O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments! then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea:
19 Thy seed also had been as the sand, and the offspring of thy bowels like the gravel thereof; his name should not have been cut off nor destroyed from before me.
20 Go ye forth of 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, The Lord hath redeemed his servant Jacob.
21 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.
22 There is no peace, saith the Lord, unto the wicked.
Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International
New International Version (NIV) 
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