Isaiah 48
48
Our All-Knowing God
1“Listen carefully, O Jacob’s tribes,
you who are called by the name Israel
and come from the lineage of Judah,
who solemnly swear in the name of Yahweh
and claim to worship the God of Israel. # 48:1 Or “who cause the God of Israel to be remembered.”
But there is no truth or righteousness in your confession!
2Indeed, you name yourselves after the holy city
and say that you depend upon Israel’s God.
Yahweh, the Commander of Angel Armies, is his name.
3“Long ago I prophesied things that would happen.
I issued decrees # 48:3 Or “They came forth from my mouth.” and made them known.
Then suddenly, I acted and made them happen.
4I knew you were stubborn.
Your neck is like a rod of iron,
and you’re as hard-hearted as brass! # 48:4 Or “your forehead is as hard as brass.”
5Long ago I told you these things.
Long before they happened
I proclaimed them
so you would never be able to say,
‘My idols did this;
my wood and metal idols decreed it!’
6You have heard what I foretold and have seen it all unfold,
so admit # 48:6 Or “declare.” that it happened and I was right! # 48:6 Or “You should tell this to others.” The Hebrew of this sentence is uncertain.
From now on I will tell you about new things never seen before,
hidden things, well-guarded secrets you know nothing about.
7They are created now, brand new today, not long ago!
You’ve never heard of them before now,
so you cannot say, ‘Oh, I already knew about that.’
8“You have never heard nor understood;
your ear had not been opened beforehand.
Though I knew that you would fight against me
as a rebel from birth,
9yet, for the sake of my great name and for my glory,
I held back my anger and was patient with you
so I did not whittle you down to nothing.
10See, I have purified you in the furnace of adversity,
but not like silver—I have refined you in the fire. # 48:10 The implication is that if God had left them in the fire to melt down all their dross, they would still be there in the fire with nothing left of them. God limits the intensity and the timing of our every trial and uses the furnace of adversity to make us more like Christ. See 1 Cor. 10:13.
11For my own sake alone I will do it,
so my name will not be dishonored. # 48:11 God promises to deliver, refine, and rescue his people so that his own name and identity as the God of gods will not be defamed. Rescue is as sure as God’s identity.
I will not yield my glory to another.”
Consider God’s Might
12“Listen to me, O Jacob,
Israel, whom I have called:
I am the One and Only,
the First and the Last.
13With my mighty hand I laid the foundation of the earth;
with the span of my right hand I spread out the cosmos.
And when I speak to them, they both stand at attention.
14Now, all of you gather around and listen.
Which of the gods has foretold these things?
I, Yahweh, love this man,
and he # 48:14 Most scholars view this man to be Cyrus. will carry out my purpose against Babylon.
He will be my ‘arm of might’ against the Babylonians!
15I am the one; yes, I am the one
who called him by name before he was born.
I have led him forward on a prosperous, successful path.”
Come Together and Walk with Me
16“Draw near to me and listen:
From the beginning, I have not spoken in secret.
From the beginning of time, # 48:16 Or “From the time of its occurring.” I was there.”
And now Lord Yahweh has sent me, empowered by # 48:16 Or “has sent me and his Spirit.” his Spirit!
17This is what Yahweh, your Kinsman-Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel says:
“I am Yahweh, your God.
I am the One who teaches you how to succeed
and who leads you step by step in the way you should go.
18If only you had listened to my commands,
then peace # 48:18 Or “prosperity [shalom].” would have flowed like a river # 48:18 Or “the river.” See John 7:37–39. for you
and success # 48:18 Or “righteousness.” would wash over you like waves of the sea.
19Your children would have multiplied
to become like the sand of the seashore # 48:19 See Gen. 22:17; 32:12.
and your descendants like grains of sand.
There would be no end of them,
and I would not cut them off.”
20Go! Leave Babylon!
Flee from Chaldea!
Announce it with joyous singing! # 48:20 Or “shouting.” The key to fleeing from the Babylon-like (Babylon means “confusion”) systems of the world is to go out with a joyous song. See Jer. 33:7–11.
Let everyone know!
Proclaim it to the ends of the earth!
Say it loud and clear:
“Yahweh has rescued his servant Jacob!”
21The people weren’t thirsty
when he led them through barren, desolate deserts,
for he broke open the rock for water to flow for them.
The rock was split open, and rivers gushed out! # 48:21 See John 19:34; 1 Cor. 10:1–11.
22“There is never peace,” Yahweh says, “for the wicked.”
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Isaiah 48: TPT
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Learn More About The Passion TranslationIsaiah 48
48
The LORD Will Refine His People Before He Rescues Them from Babylon
1Listen to this, descendants of Jacob!
You are given the name of Israel.
You are descended from Judah.#48:1 Dead Sea Scrolls; Masoretic Text “the fountain of Judah.”
You take oaths by the name of the Lord.
You acknowledge the God of Israel,
but you are not honest or sincere.
2You call yourselves ⌞citizens⌟ of the holy city.
You depend on the God of Israel.
His name is the Lord of Armies.
3From the beginning I revealed to you what would happen.
These words came out of my mouth,
and I made them known.
Suddenly, I acted, and they happened.
4I know that you are stubborn.
Like iron, you are hardheaded.
Like bronze, nothing gets through your thick skull.
5That is why I revealed to you what would happen long ago.
I told you about them before they happened.
⌞I did this⌟ so you couldn’t say,
“My gods have done these things.
My carved idols and my metal idols
have commanded them to happen.”
6You’ve heard these words.
Now look at all this.
Won’t you admit it?
From now on I will reveal to you new things,
hidden things that you do not know.
7They are created now, not in the past.
You haven’t heard about them before today,
so you can’t say that you already knew about them.
8You have never heard about them.
You have never known about them.
Your ears have never been open to hear them before.
I know that you’ve acted very treacherously
and that you have been called a rebel since you were born.
9For my name’s sake I’ll be patient.
For my glory’s sake I’ll hold my anger back from you,
rather than destroy you.
10I have refined you,
but not like silver.
I have tested you in the furnace of suffering.
11I am doing this for myself, only for myself.
Why should my name be dishonored?
I will not give my glory to anyone else.
12Listen to me, Jacob,
Israel, whom I have called.
I am the one.
I am the first and the last.
13My hand laid the foundation of the earth.
My right hand stretched out the heavens.
When I call for them, they both stand.
14Gather together, all of you, and listen.
What idol has revealed such things?
The Lord loves Cyrus.
He will carry out the Lord’s plan against Babylon.
He will use his strength against the Babylonians.
15I alone have spoken.
I have called him.
I will bring him here, and he will succeed.
16Come here. Listen to this:
From the beginning I have spoken nothing in private.
From the time it took place, I was there.
Now the Almighty Lord has sent me and his Spirit.
17This is what the Lord, your Defender, the Holy One of Israel, says:
I am the Lord your God.
I teach you what is best for you.
I lead you where you should go.
18If only you had listened to my commands!
Your peace would be like a river ⌞that never runs dry⌟.
Your righteousness would be like waves on the sea.
19Your descendants would be like sand.
Your children would be like its grains.
Their names would not be cut off or wiped out in my presence.
20Leave Babylon; flee from the Babylonians!
Shout for joy as you tell it and announce it.
Shout it out to the ends of the earth.
Say that the Lord has reclaimed his servant Jacob.
21They weren’t thirsty when he led them through the deserts.
He made water flow from a rock for them.
He split a rock, and water gushed out.
22“There is no peace for the wicked,” says the Lord.
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