New things from now on
48 Listen to this, house of Jacob,
who are known by the name of Israel,
descendants of Judah,[a]
who swear by the Lord’s name
and invoke Israel’s God dishonestly and unrighteously.
2 They are known as residents of the holy city,
those who depend upon the God of Israel—
the Lord of heavenly forces is his name.
3 Past things I announced long ago;
from my mouth I proclaimed them.
I acted suddenly, and they came about.
4 Because I know that you are stubborn,
your neck is made of iron,
and your forehead is bronze.
5 I informed you long ago;
before they came about I proclaimed them to you
so you wouldn’t say, “My idol did them;
my wood statue and metal god commanded them.”
6 You’ve heard and seen all this—
won’t you admit it?
From now on I’ll tell you new things,
guarded secrets that you don’t know.
7 They are created now, not long ago;
before today you hadn’t heard of them,
so you won’t say, “I already knew them.”
8 You haven’t heard, nor have you known;
as in ages past your ears are closed,
because I knew what a traitor you were;
you were known as a rebel from birth.
9 For the sake of my reputation I control my anger;
for your sake I restrain my powerful radiance
so as to not destroy you.
10 See, I have refined you, but not like silver;
I have tested you[b] in the furnace of misery.
11 For the sake of my reputation, for my own sake, I will act,
for why will my name be made impure?
I won’t give my glory to another.
12 Listen to me, Jacob;
Israel, whom I called:
I am the one;
I am the first and I am the last.
13 My hand founded the earth;
my strong hand spread out the heavens.
When I call to them, they all stand up.
14 Gather yourselves, all of you, and listen.
Who among you announced these things?
“The Lord loves him.
He will do what God wants with Babylon
and with the descendants[c] of Chaldea.”
15 I, I have spoken and told him
the things that will happen to him;
I will make him succeed.
16 Come close to me; listen to this:
Since the very beginning I haven’t spoken in secret.
Whenever anything happens, I am there.
(And now the Lord God has sent me with his spirit.)
17 The Lord your redeemer,
the holy one of Israel, proclaims:
I am the Lord your God
who teaches you for your own good,
who leads you in the way you should go.
18 If you would pay attention to my commands,
your well-being would be like a river,
and your righteousness like the waves of the sea.
19 Your offspring would be like the sand,
and your descendants like its grains.
Their name would never be eliminated,
never wiped out from before me.
20 Go out from Babylon;
flee from the Chaldeans!
Report this with a loud shout, proclaim it;
broadcast it out to the end of the earth.
Say, “The Lord has redeemed his servant Jacob!”
21 They weren’t thirsty when he led them through the deserts.
God made water flow from the rock for them;
split the rock, and water flowed out.
22 There is no well-being, says the Lord, for the wicked.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 48:1 Or came out from the waters of Judah
- Isaiah 48:10 Or I have chosen
- Isaiah 48:14 LXX; MT his arm