1 Listen to this, House of Jacob,
called by the name of Israel
and born out of Judah’s womb,
you who swear by the name of Yahweh
and invoke the God of Israel,
though not in truth or righteousness –
2 calling yourselves after the holy city,
and relying on the God of Israel
whose name is Yahweh Sabaoth.
3 From long ago I revealed things past:
they went forth from my mouth;
I declared them. Then suddenly I acted
and the word came to be.
4 Because I know that you are stubborn,
your head as hard as iron,
your forehead as bronze,
5 So I told you about them;
before they took place
I let you hear of them,
lest you should say: “My idols did these, my graven image, my molten image commanded them.”
6 Now that you have heard and seen, will you not admit it?
From now on I will tell you new things,
even hidden things you have not known before.
7 They are created now and not long ago;
up to this day you have not heard of them
lest you should say, “I already knew.”
8 You have not heard, you didn’t know
nor were your ears opened before,
for I knew how treacherous you were –
you who from birth have been called a rebel.
9 For my name’s sake I delayed my anger,
for my honor’s sake I restrained it,
lest I destroy you.
10 See: I have refined you as silver;
I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.
11 But now for my own sake I will act, yes, for my own sake.
For how could I let my Name be de filed?
Never will I yield my glory to another.
12 Listen to me, O Jacob,
Israel whom I have called,
I am the same, I am the first,
and I am also the last.
13 My hand laid the foundation of the earth,
my right hand spread out the heavens.
When I call on the stars
they all stand forth together.
14 Assemble, all of you, and listen.
Who among them has foretold these things?
The beloved of Yahweh will do what pleases him
with Babylon and the people of Chaldea.
15 I, yes I myself, have spoken;
I myself called him and made him prosper in his way.
If you had obeyed my law
16 Come near me and listen to this: From the beginning I have not spoken in secret; from the time that it happened I have been there. Know then, that Yah weh the Lord, with his Spirit has sent me!
17 Thus says Yahweh, your Re-deemer, the Holy One of Israel: I, Yahweh, your God, teach you what is best for you; I lead you in the way that you must go.
18 Had you paid attention to my commandments, your peace would have been like a river, your righteousness like the waves of the sea.
19 Your descendants would have been like the sand, and those born of your stock like its grains, their names never cut off nor blotted out from my presence.
20 “Go forth from Babylon, flee from Chaldea!” Declare this with shouts of joy, make this known to the ends of the earth. Proclaim: Yahweh has redeemed his servant Jacob!
21 Those he led through the desert were never thirsty. He made water flow for them from the rock; he split the rock and water gushed out.
22 There is no peace for the wicked, Yahweh says.
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Comments Isaiah, Chapter 48
• 48.1 In 48:17-22 the prophet looks at Is rael’s past, reminding us of what we read about the lost Paradise. If they had obeyed, God’s desire to lavish his blessings upon them would have been fulfilled, as well as God’s promises to Abraham.
But God will intervene again as the Re deemer of his people.
In 48:12-15, note that Cyrus is praised again. The beloved of Yahweh will do what pleases him; I myself called him. As we re marked on 42:10, the prophet always goes beyond present reality. The conqueror Cyrus is a savior and thus, his mission and his person are in some way joined with that of the only Savior, Christ.