Isaiah 48

Israel Refined for God's Glory

1 Hear this, O house of Jacob,
d who are called by the name of Israel,
and e who came from the waters of Judah,
f who swear by the name of the Lord
and confess the God of Israel,
but not in truth or right.
 2 For they call themselves after the holy city,
g and stay themselves on the God of Israel;
the Lord of hosts is his name.

3 "The former things h I declared of old;
they went out from my mouth, and I announced them;
then suddenly I did them, and they came to pass.
 4 Because I know that i you are obstinate,
and your neck is an iron sinew
and your forehead brass,
 5 h I declared them to you from of old,
before they came to pass I announced them to you,
lest you should say, j 'My idol did them,
my carved image and my metal image commanded them.'

6 "You have heard; now see all this;
and will you not declare it?
From this time forth k I announce to you new things,
hidden things that you have not known.
 7 They are created now, not long ago;
before today you have never heard of them,
lest you should say, 'Behold, I knew them.'
 8 You have never heard, you have never known,
from of old your ear has not been opened.
For I knew that you would surely deal treacherously,
and that l from before birth you were called a rebel.

9 m "For my name's sake I defer my anger,
for the sake of my praise I restrain it for you,
that I may not cut you off.
 10 Behold, I have refined you, n but not as silver;
o I have tried 1 you in the furnace of affliction.
 11 p For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it,
for how should my name 2 be profaned?
q My glory I will not give to another.

The Lord's Call to Israel

12 "Listen to me, O Jacob,
and Israel, whom I called!
I am he; r I am the first,
and I am the last.
 13 My hand s laid the foundation of the earth,
and my right hand s spread out the heavens;
t when I call to them,
they stand forth together.

14 "Assemble, all of you, and listen!
u Who among them has declared these things?
The Lord loves him;
v he shall perform his purpose on Babylon,
and his arm shall be against w the Chaldeans.
 15 x I, even I, have spoken and called him;
I have brought him, and he will prosper in his way.
 16 y Draw near to me, hear this:
from the beginning I have not spoken in secret,
from the time it came to be I have been there."
And now z the Lord God has sent me, and his Spirit.

17 Thus says the Lord,
your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
"I am the Lord your God,
who teaches you to profit,
who leads you in the way you should go.
 18 a Oh that you had paid attention to my commandments!
b Then your peace would have been like a river,
and your righteousness like the waves of the sea;
 19 c your offspring would have been like the sand,
and your descendants like its grains;
their name would never be cut off
or destroyed from before me."

20 d Go out from Babylon, flee from e Chaldea,
declare this f with a shout of joy, proclaim it,
send it out to the end of the earth;
say, g "The Lord has redeemed his servant Jacob!"
 21 h They did not thirst when he led them through the deserts;
i he made water flow for them from the rock;
he split the rock and the water gushed out.

22 j "There is no peace," says the Lord, "for the wicked."

  1. Cross References
    Isaiah 43:1
    But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.
  2. Cross References
    Psalms 68:26
    "Bless God in the great congregation, the Lord, O you who are of Israel's fountain!"
  3. Cross References
    Jeremiah 7:9
    Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, make offerings to Baal, and go after other gods that you have not known.
  4. Cross References
    Micah 3:11
    Its heads give judgment for a bribe; its priests teach for a price; its prophets practice divination for money; yet they lean on the Lord and say, "Is not the Lord in the midst of us? No disaster shall come upon us.
  5. Cross References
    Isaiah 41:26
    Who declared it from the beginning, that we might know, and beforehand, that we might say, "He is right"? There was none who declared it, none who proclaimed, none who heard your words.
  6. Cross References
    Exodus 32:9
    And the Lord said to Moses, "I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people.
  7. Cross References
    Isaiah 48:3
    The former things I declared of old; they went out from my mouth, and I announced them; then suddenly I did them, and they came to pass.
  8. Cross References
    Jeremiah 44:15 - 17
    Then all the men who knew that their wives had made offerings to other gods, and all the women who stood by, a great assembly, all the people who lived in Pathros in the land of Egypt, answered Jeremiah:
  9. Cross References
    Isaiah 43:19
    Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.
  10. Cross References
    Isaiah 46:8
    Remember this and stand firm, recall it to mind, you transgressors.
  11. Cross References
    Malachi 3:6
    For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.
  12. Cross References
    1 Peter 1:7
    So that the tested genuineness of your faith - more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire - may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
  13. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 4:20
    But the Lord has taken you and brought you out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to be a people of his own inheritance, as you are this day.
    Ezekiel 22:18
    Son of man, the house of Israel has become dross to me; all of them are bronze and tin and iron and lead in the furnace; they are dross of silver.
    Ezekiel 22:20
    As one gathers silver and bronze and iron and lead and tin into a furnace, to blow the fire on it in order to melt it, so I will gather you in my anger and in my wrath, and I will put you in and melt you.
    Ezekiel 22:22
    As silver is melted in a furnace, so you shall be melted in the midst of it, and you shall know that I am the Lord ; I have poured out my wrath upon you.
  14. Cross References
    Isaiah 43:25
    I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins.
    Ezekiel 20:9
    But I acted for the sake of my name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations among whom they lived, in whose sight I made myself known to them in bringing them out of the land of Egypt.
  15. Cross References
    Isaiah 42:8
    I am the Lord ; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols.
  16. Cross References
    Isaiah 41:4
    Who has performed and done this, calling the generations from the beginning? I, the Lord, the first, and with the last; I am he.
  17. Cross References
    Isaiah 51:13
    And have forgotten the Lord, your Maker, who stretched out the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth, and you fear continually all the day because of the wrath of the oppressor, when he sets himself to destroy? And where is the wrath of the oppressor?
    Psalms 102:25
    Of old you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands.
    Hebrews 1:10
    And, "You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of your hands.
  18. Cross References
    Isaiah 51:13
    And have forgotten the Lord, your Maker, who stretched out the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth, and you fear continually all the day because of the wrath of the oppressor, when he sets himself to destroy? And where is the wrath of the oppressor?
    Psalms 102:25
    Of old you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands.
    Hebrews 1:10
    And, "You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of your hands.
  19. Cross References
    Isaiah 40:26
    Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these? He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name, by the greatness of his might, and because he is strong in power not one is missing.
  20. Cross References
    Isaiah 41:26
    Who declared it from the beginning, that we might know, and beforehand, that we might say, "He is right"? There was none who declared it, none who proclaimed, none who heard your words.
  21. Cross References
    Isaiah 46:10 - 11
    Declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, 'My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose.
  22. Cross References
    Isaiah 23:13
    Behold the land of the Chaldeans! This is the people that was not; Assyria destined it for wild beasts. They erected their siege towers, they stripped her palaces bare, they made her a ruin.
    Isaiah 47:1
    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.
  23. Cross References
    Isaiah 45:1 - 3
    Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped, to subdue nations before him and to loose the belts of kings, to open doors before him that gates may not be closed:
  24. Cross References
    Isaiah 45:19
    I did not speak in secret, in a land of darkness; I did not say to the offspring of Jacob, 'Seek me in vain.' I the Lord speak the truth; I declare what is right.
  25. Cross References
    Isaiah 61:1
    The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound.
  26. Cross References
    Psalms 81:13
    Oh, that my people would listen to me, that Israel would walk in my ways!
    Luke 19:42
    Saying, "Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.
    Deuteronomy 32:29
    If they were wise, they would understand this; they would discern their latter end!
  27. Cross References
    Isaiah 66:12
    For thus says the Lord : "Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream; and you shall nurse, you shall be carried upon her hip, and bounced upon her knees.
  28. Cross References
    Isaiah 10:22
    For though your people Israel be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will return. Destruction is decreed, overflowing with righteousness.
    Genesis 22:17
    I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies.
    Hosea 1:10
    Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be like the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or numbered. And in the place where it was said to them, "You are not my people," it shall be said to them, "Children of the living God.
  29. Cross References
    Isaiah 52:11
    Depart, depart, go out from there; touch no unclean thing; go out from the midst of her; purify yourselves, you who bear the vessels of the Lord.
    Jeremiah 50:8
    Flee from the midst of Babylon, and go out of the land of the Chaldeans, and be as male goats before the flock.
    Jeremiah 51:6
    Flee from the midst of Babylon; let every one save his life! Be not cut off in her punishment, for this is the time of the Lord 's vengeance, the repayment he is rendering her.
    Jeremiah 51:45
    Go out of the midst of her, my people! Let every one save his life from the fierce anger of the Lord!
    Zechariah 2:6 - 7
    Up! Up! Flee from the land of the north, declares the Lord. For I have spread you abroad as the four winds of the heavens, declares the Lord.
  30. Cross References
    Isaiah 23:13
    Behold the land of the Chaldeans! This is the people that was not; Assyria destined it for wild beasts. They erected their siege towers, they stripped her palaces bare, they made her a ruin.
    Isaiah 47:1
    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.
  31. Cross References
    Isaiah 35:10
    And the ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
    Isaiah 52:9
    Break forth together into singing, you waste places of Jerusalem, for the Lord has comforted his people; he has redeemed Jerusalem.
  32. Cross References
    Isaiah 44:23
    Sing, O heavens, for the Lord has done it; shout, O depths of the earth; break forth into singing, O mountains, O forest, and every tree in it! For the Lord has redeemed Jacob, and will be glorified in Israel.
    Exodus 19:4 - 6
    You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself.
  33. Cross References
    Isaiah 35:6
    Then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy. For waters break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert.
    Isaiah 44:3
    For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants.
    Deuteronomy 8:15
    Who led you through the great and terrifying wilderness, with its fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty ground where there was no water, who brought you water out of the flinty rock.
  34. Cross References
    Isaiah 43:19
    Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.
    Exodus 17:6
    Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it, and the people will drink." And Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel.
    Numbers 20:11
    And Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock with his staff twice, and water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their livestock.
  35. Cross References
    Isaiah 57:21
    There is no peace," says my God, "for the wicked.
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.
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