Israel Refined for God's Glory

Isaiah 48

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.

  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.
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.
Next Book Next Book