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God Controls the Future

48 The Lord says, “Family of Jacob, listen to me.
    You are called Israel.
    You come from the family of Judah.
You use the Lord’s name to make promises.
    You praise the God of Israel,
    but you are not honest or sincere.
You call yourselves people of the holy city.
    You depend on the God of Israel.
    He is named the Lord of heaven’s armies.
Long ago I told you what would happen.
    I said these things and made them known.
    Suddenly I acted, and these things happened.
I did that because I knew you were stubborn.
    Your neck was like an iron muscle.
    It was as if your head were made of bronze.
So a long time ago I told you about these things.
    I told you about them before they happened.
I did this so you couldn’t say, ‘My idols did this.
    My wooden and metal statues made these things happen.’

“You heard and saw all the things that happened.
    So you should tell this news to others.
Now I will tell you about new things.
    These are hidden things that you don’t know yet.
These things are happening now, not long ago.
    You have not heard about them before today.
So you cannot say, ‘We already knew about that.’
But you have not heard me. You have not understood.
    Even long ago you did not listen to me.
I knew you would surely turn against me.
    You have fought against me since you were born.
But for my own sake I will be patient.
    People will praise me for not becoming angry
    and destroying you.
10 I have made you pure, but not by fire, as silver is made pure.
    I have purified you by giving you troubles.
11 I do this for myself, for my own sake.
    I will not let people speak evil against me.
    I will not let some false god take my glory.

Israel Will Be Free

12 “People of Jacob, listen to me.
    People of Israel, I have called you to be my people.
I am God.
    I am the beginning and the end.
13 I made the earth with my own hands.
    With my right hand I spread out the skies.
When I call them,
    they come together before me.

14 “All of you, come together and listen.
    None of the false gods said these things would happen.
I, the Lord, have chosen someone
    to attack the Babylonians.
    He will carry out my wishes against Babylon.
15 I have spoken. I have called him.[a]
    I have brought him, and I will make him successful.
16 Come to me and listen to this.
    From the beginning I have spoken openly.
    From the time it began, I was there.”

Now, the Lord God
    has sent me with his Spirit.

17 The Lord is your close relative who saves you, the Holy One of Israel.
    The Lord says,
“I am the Lord your God.
    I teach you to do what is good.
    I lead you in the way you should go.
18 If you had obeyed me,
    you would have had peace like a full-flowing river.
    Good things would have flowed to you like the waves of the sea.
19 You would have had many children.
    They would have been as many as the grains of sand.
They would never have died out.
    They would not have been destroyed.”

20 My people, leave Babylon!
    Run from the Babylonians!
Tell this news with shouts of joy to the people.
    Spread it everywhere on earth.
Say, “The Lord has saved
    his servants, the people of Jacob.”
21 They did not become thirsty when he led them through the deserts.
    He made water flow from a rock for them.
He split the rock,
    and water flowed out.

22 “There is no peace for evil people,” says the Lord.

Footnotes

  1. 48:15 him This probably refers to Cyrus king of Persia.

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—
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)
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.
For I knew how stubborn(M) you were;
    your neck muscles(N) were iron,
    your forehead(O) was bronze.
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.’
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.
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.’
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.
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.”

And now the Sovereign Lord(AZ) has sent(BA) me,
    endowed with his Spirit.(BB)

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)

22 “There is no peace,”(BW) says the Lord, “for the wicked.”(BX)

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 48:14 Or Chaldeans; also in verse 20