Isaiah 48

Israel Refined for God's Glory

1 "Hear this, O house of Jacob,
Who are called by the name of Israel,
And have come forth from the wellsprings of Judah;
Who swear by the name of the LORD,
And make mention of the God of Israel,
But a not in truth or in righteousness;
2 For they call themselves b after the holy city,
And c lean on the God of Israel;
The LORD of hosts is His name:

3 "I have d declared the former things from the beginning;
They went forth from My mouth, and I caused them to hear it.
Suddenly I did them, e and they came to pass.
4 Because I knew that you were 1 obstinate,
And f your neck was an iron sinew,
And your brow bronze,
5 Even from the beginning I have declared it to you;
Before it came to pass I proclaimed it to you,
Lest you should say, 'My idol has done them,
And my carved image and my molded image
Have commanded them.'

6 "You have heard;
See all this.
And will you not declare it?
I have made you hear new things from this time,
Even hidden things, and you did not know them.
7 They are created now and not from the beginning;
And before this day you have not heard them,
Lest you should say, 'Of course I knew them.'
8 Surely you did not hear,
Surely you did not know;
Surely from long ago your ear was not opened.
For I knew that you would deal very treacherously,
And were called g a transgressor from the womb.

9 "For h My name's sake i I will 2 defer My anger,
And for My praise I will restrain it from you,
So that I do not cut you off.
10 Behold, j I have refined you, but not as silver;
I have tested you in the k furnace of affliction.
11 For My own sake, for My own sake, I will do it;
For l how should My name be profaned?
And m I will not give My glory to another.

The Lord's Call to Israel

12 "Listen to Me, O Jacob,
And Israel, My called:
I am He, n I am the o First,
I am also the Last.
13 Indeed p My hand has laid the foundation of the earth,
And My right hand has stretched out the heavens;
When q I call to them,
They stand up together.

14 "All of you, assemble yourselves, and hear!
Who among them has declared these things?
r The LORD loves him;
s He shall do His pleasure on Babylon,
And His arm shall be against the Chaldeans.
15 I, even I, have spoken;
Yes, t I have called him,
I have brought him, and his way will prosper.
16 "Come near to Me, hear this:
u I have not spoken in secret from the beginning;
From the time that it was, I was there.
And now v the Lord GOD and His Spirit
3 Have 4 sent Me."

17 Thus says w the LORD, your Redeemer,
The Holy One of Israel:
"I am the LORD your God,
Who teaches you to profit,
x Who leads you by the way you should go.
18 y Oh, that you had heeded My commandments!
z Then your peace would have been like a river,
And your righteousness like the waves of the sea.
19 a Your descendants also would have been like the sand,
And the offspring of your body like the grains of sand;
His name would not have been cut off
Nor destroyed from before Me."

20 b Go forth from Babylon!
Flee from the Chaldeans!
With a voice of singing,
Declare, proclaim this,
Utter it to the end of the earth;
Say, "The LORD has c redeemed
His servant Jacob!"
21 And they d did not thirst
When He led them through the deserts;
He e caused the waters to flow from the rock for them;
He also split the rock, and the waters gushed out.

22 "There f is no peace," says the LORD, "for the wicked."

  1. Cross References
    Isaiah 58:2
    Yet they seek Me daily, And delight to know My ways, As a nation that did righteousness, And did not forsake the ordinance of their God. They ask of Me the ordinances of justice; They take delight in approaching God.
    Jeremiah 4:2
    And you shall swear, 'The LORD lives,' In truth, in judgment, and in righteousness; The nations shall bless themselves in Him, And in Him they shall glory.
    Jeremiah 5:2
    Though they say, ' As the LORD lives,' Surely they swear falsely.
  2. Cross References
    Isaiah 52:1
    Awake, awake! Put on your strength, O Zion; Put on your beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city! For the uncircumcised and the unclean Shall no longer come to you.
    Isaiah 64:10
    Your holy cities are a wilderness, Zion is a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation.
  3. Cross References
    Isaiah 10:20
    And it shall come to pass in that day That the remnant of Israel, And such as have escaped of the house of Jacob, Will never again depend on him who defeated them, But will depend on the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth.
    Jeremiah 7:4
    "Do not trust in these lying words, saying, 'The temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD are these.'
    Jeremiah 21:2
    "Please inquire of the LORD for us, for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon makes war against us. Perhaps the LORD will deal with us according to all His wonderful works, that the king may go away from us."
    Micah 3:11
    Her heads judge for a bribe, Her priests teach for pay, And her prophets divine for money. Yet they lean on the LORD, and say, "Is not the LORD among us? No harm can come upon us.
    Romans 2:17
    Indeed you are called a Jew, and rest on the law, and make your boast in God.
  4. Cross References
    Isaiah 44:7
    And who can proclaim as I do? Then let him declare it and set it in order for Me, Since I appointed the ancient people. And the things that are coming and shall come, Let them show these to them.
    Isaiah 44:8
    Do not fear, nor be afraid; Have I not told you from that time, and declared it? You are My witnesses. Is there a God besides Me? Indeed there is no other Rock; I know not one.'
    Isaiah 46:10
    Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things that are not yet done, Saying, 'My counsel shall stand, And I will do all My pleasure.
  5. Cross References
    Joshua 21:45
    Not a word failed of any good thing which the LORD had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to pass.
    Isaiah 42:9
    Behold, the former things have come to pass, And new things I declare; Before they spring forth I tell you of them.
  6. Cross References
    Exodus 32:9
    And the LORD said to Moses, "I have seen this people, and indeed it is a stiff-necked people!
    Deuteronomy 31:27
    For I know your rebellion and your stiff neck. If today, while I am yet alive with you, you have been rebellious against the LORD, then how much more after my death?
    Ezekiel 2:4
    "For they are impudent and stubborn children. I am sending you to them, and you shall say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD.'
    Ezekiel 3:7
    But the house of Israel will not listen to you, because they will not listen to Me; for all the house of Israel are impudent and hard-hearted.
  7. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 9:7
    Remember! Do not forget how you provoked the LORD your God to wrath in the wilderness. From the day that you departed from the land of Egypt until you came to this place, you have been rebellious against the LORD.
    Deuteronomy 9:24
    You have been rebellious against the LORD from the day that I knew you.
    Psalms 58:3
    The wicked are estranged from the womb; They go astray as soon as they are born, speaking lies.
    Isaiah 46:3
    Listen to Me, O house of Jacob, And all the remnant of the house of Israel, Who have been upheld by Me from birth, Who have been carried from the womb:
    Isaiah 46:8
    Remember this, and show yourselves men; Recall to mind, O you transgressors.
  8. Cross References
    Psalms 79:9
    Help us, O God of our salvation, For the glory ...
    Psalms 106:8
    Nevertheless He saved them for His name's sake,...
    Isaiah 43:25
    I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressi...
    Ezekiel 20:9
    But I acted for My name's sake, that it should ...
    Ezekiel 20:14
    But I acted for My name's sake, that it should ...
    Ezekiel 20:22
    Nevertheless I withdrew My hand and acted for M...
    Ezekiel 20:44
    "Then you shall know that I am the LORD, when I...
  9. Cross References
    Nehemiah 9:30
    Yet for many years You had patience with them, And testified against them by Your Spirit in Your prophets. Yet they would not listen; Therefore You gave them into the hand of the peoples of the lands.
    Nehemiah 9:31
    Nevertheless in Your great mercy You did not utterly consume them nor forsake them; For You are God, gracious and merciful.
    Psalms 78:38
    But He, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, And did not destroy them. Yes, many a time He turned His anger away, And did not stir up all His wrath.
    Isaiah 30:18
    Therefore the LORD will wait, that He may be gracious to you; And therefore He will be exalted, that He may have mercy on you. For the LORD is a God of justice; Blessed are all those who wait for Him.
    Isaiah 65:8
    Thus says the LORD: "As the new wine is found in the cluster, And one says, 'Do not destroy it, For a blessing is in it,' So will I do for My servants' sake, That I may not destroy them all.
  10. Cross References
    Psalms 66:10
    For You, O God, have tested us; You have refined us as silver is refined.
    Jeremiah 9:7
    Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts: "Behold, I will refine them and try them; For how shall I deal with the daughter of My people?
  11. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 4:20
    But the LORD has taken you and brought you out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to be His people, an inheritance, as you are this day.
    1 Kings 8:51
    (for they are Your people and Your inheritance, whom You brought out of Egypt, out of the iron furnace).
    Jeremiah 11:4
    "which I commanded your fathers in the day I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, 'Obey My voice, and do according to all that I command you; so shall you be My people, and I will be your God,'
  12. Cross References
    Leviticus 22:2
    Speak to Aaron and his sons, that they separate themselves from the holy things of the children of Israel, and that they do not profane My holy name by what they dedicate to Me: I am the LORD.
    Leviticus 22:32
    You shall not profane My holy name, but I will be hallowed among the children of Israel. I am the LORD who sanctifies you.
    Deuteronomy 32:26
    I would have said, "I will dash them in pieces, I will make the memory of them to cease from among men.
    Deuteronomy 32:27
    Had I not feared the wrath of the enemy, Lest their adversaries should misunderstand, Lest they should say, "Our hand is high; And it is not the LORD who has done all this."
    Ezekiel 20:9
    But I acted for My name's sake, that it should not be profaned before the Gentiles among whom they were, in whose sight I had made Myself known to them, to bring them out of the land of Egypt.
  13. Cross References
    Isaiah 42:8
    I am the LORD, that is My name; And My glory I will not give to another, Nor My praise to carved images.
  14. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 32:39
    Now see that I, even I, am He, And there is no God besides Me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; Nor is there any who can deliver from My hand.
  15. Cross References
    Isaiah 44:6
    Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel, And his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: 'I am the First and I am the Last; Besides Me there is no God.
    Revelation 22:13
    "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last."
  16. Cross References
    Exodus 20:11
    For in six days the LORD made the heavens and t...
    Psalms 102:25
    Of old You laid the foundation of the earth, An...
    Isaiah 42:5
    Thus says God the LORD, Who created the heavens...
    Isaiah 45:12
    I have made the earth, And created man on it. I...
    Isaiah 45:18
    For thus says the LORD, Who created the heavens...
    Hebrews 1:10 - 12
    And: "You, LORD, in the beginning laid the foun...
  17. Cross References
    Isaiah 40:26
    Lift up your eyes on high, And see who has created these things, Who brings out their host by number; He calls them all by name, By the greatness of His might And the strength of His power; Not one is missing.
  18. Cross References
    Isaiah 45:1
    Thus says the LORD to His anointed, To Cyrus, whose right hand I have held - To subdue nations before him And loose the armor of kings, To open before him the double doors, So that the gates will not be shut:
  19. Cross References
    Isaiah 44:28
    Who says of Cyrus, ' He is My shepherd, And he shall perform all My pleasure, Saying to Jerusalem, "You shall be built," And to the temple, "Your foundation shall be laid."
    Isaiah 47:1 - 15
    Come down and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon; Sit on the ground without a throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans! For you shall no more be called Tender and delicate.
  20. Cross References
    Isaiah 45:1
    Thus says the LORD to His anointed, To Cyrus, whose right hand I have held - To subdue nations before him And loose the armor of kings, To open before him the double doors, So that the gates will not be shut:
    Isaiah 45:2
    I will go before you And make the crooked places straight; I will break in pieces the gates of bronze And cut the bars of iron.
  21. Cross References
    Isaiah 45:19
    I have not spoken in secret, In a dark place of the earth; I did not say to the seed of Jacob, 'Seek Me in vain'; I, the LORD, speak righteousness, I declare things that are right.
  22. Cross References
    Isaiah 61:1
    The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, Because the LORD has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound.
    Zechariah 2:8
    For thus says the LORD of hosts: "He sent Me after glory, to the nations which plunder you; for he who touches you touches the apple of His eye.
    Zechariah 2:9
    For surely I will shake My hand against them, and they shall become spoil for their servants. Then you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent Me.
    Zechariah 2:11
    Many nations shall be joined to the LORD in that day, and they shall become My people. And I will dwell in your midst. Then you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent Me to you.
  23. Cross References
    Isaiah 43:14
    Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, The Holy One of Israel: "For your sake I will send to Babylon, And bring them all down as fugitives - The Chaldeans, who rejoice in their ships.
  24. Cross References
    Psalms 32:8
    I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye.
    Isaiah 49:9
    That You may say to the prisoners, 'Go forth,' To those who are in darkness, 'Show yourselves.' "They shall feed along the roads, And their pastures shall be on all desolate heights.
    Isaiah 49:10
    They shall neither hunger nor thirst, Neither heat nor sun shall strike them; For He who has mercy on them will lead them, Even by the springs of water He will guide them.
  25. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 5:29
    Oh, that they had such a heart in them that they would fear Me and always keep all My commandments, that it might be well with them and with their children forever!
    Psalms 81:13
    Oh, that My people would listen to Me, That Israel would walk in My ways!
  26. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 28:1 - 14
    Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the LORD your God will set you high above all nations of the earth.
    Psalms 119:165
    Great peace have those who love Your law, And nothing causes them to stumble.
    Isaiah 32:16 - 18
    Then justice will dwell in the wilderness, And righteousness remain in the fruitful field.
    Isaiah 66:12
    For thus says the LORD: "Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, And the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream. Then you shall feed; On her sides shall you be carried, And be dandled on her knees.
  27. Cross References
    Genesis 22:17
    Blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I wi...
    Isaiah 10:22
    For though your people, O Israel, be as the san...
    Isaiah 44:3
    For I will pour water on him who is thirsty, An...
    Isaiah 44:4
    They will spring up among the grass Like willow...
    Isaiah 54:3
    For you shall expand to the right and to the le...
    Jeremiah 33:22
    'As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, nor ...
    Hosea 1:10
    "Yet the number of the children of Israel Shall...
  28. Cross References
    Jeremiah 50:8
    Move from the midst of Babylon, Go out of the l...
    Jeremiah 51:6
    Flee from the midst of Babylon, And every one s...
    Jeremiah 51:45
    My people, go out of the midst of her! And let ...
    Zechariah 2:6
    Up, up! Flee from the land of the north," says ...
    Zechariah 2:7
    "Up, Zion! Escape, you who dwell with the daugh...
    Revelation 18:4
    And I heard another voice from heaven saying, "...
  29. Cross References
    Exodus 19:4 - 6
    You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to Myself.
  30. Cross References
    Isaiah 41:17
    The poor and needy seek water, but there is none, Their tongues fail for thirst. I, the LORD, will hear them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.
    Isaiah 41:18
    I will open rivers in desolate heights, And fountains in the midst of the valleys; I will make the wilderness a pool of water, And the dry land springs of water.
  31. Cross References
    Exodus 17:6
    Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock in Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink." And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.
    Psalms 105:41
    He opened the rock, and water gushed out; It ran in the dry places like a river.
  32. Cross References
    Isaiah 57:21
    "There is no peace," Says my God, "for the wicked."
New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
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