Isaiah 48

²and if you can swear, ‘As surely as the Lord lives,’ in truth, in justice, and in righteousness, then the nations will be blessed by Him, and in Him they will glory.”

²⁶Bless God in the great congregation; bless the Lord from the fountain of Israel.

¹⁰Hear the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom; listen to the instruction of our God, you people of Gomorrah!

¹¹“What good to Me is your multitude of sacrifices?” says the Lord. “I am full from the burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed cattle; I take no delight in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats.

²Although they say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives,’ they are swearing falsely.”

¹⁶Whoever invokes a blessing in the land will do so by the God of truth, and whoever takes an oath in the land will swear by the God of truth. For the former troubles will be forgotten and hidden from My sight.

¹³Fear the Lord your God, serve Him only, and take your oaths in His name.

¹¹Her leaders judge for a bribe, her priests teach for a price, and her prophets practice divination for money. Yet they lean upon the Lord, saying, “Is not the Lord among us? No disaster can come upon us.”

²⁰On that day the remnant of Israel and the survivors of the house of Jacob will no longer depend on him who struck them, but they will truly rely on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel.

¹Awake, awake, clothe yourself with strength, O Zion! Put on your garments of splendor, O Jerusalem, holy city! For the uncircumcised and unclean will no longer enter you.

¹⁷Now you, if you call yourself a Jew; if you rely on the law and boast in God;

²“Please inquire of the Lord on our behalf, since Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon is waging war against us. Perhaps the Lord will perform for us something like all His past wonders, so that Nebuchadnezzar will withdraw from us.”

⁵³After Jesus’ resurrection, when they had come out of the tombs, they entered the holy city and appeared to many people.

⁹Behold, the former things have happened, and now I declare new things. Before they spring forth I proclaim them to you.”

⁴⁵Not one of all the Lord’s good promises to the house of Israel had failed; everything was fulfilled.

²²“Let them come and tell us what will happen. Tell the former things, so that we may reflect on them and know the outcome. Or announce to us what is coming.

²¹Speak up and present your case—yes, let them take counsel together. Who foretold this long ago? Who announced it from ancient times? Was it not I, the Lord? There is no other God but Me, a righteous God and Savior; there is none but Me.

⁷Who then is like Me? Let him say so! Let him declare his case before Me, since I established an ancient people. Let him foretell the things to come, and what is to take place.

⁸Do not tremble or fear. Have I not told you and declared it long ago? You are My witnesses! Is there any God but Me? There is no other Rock; I know not one.”

⁹Remember what happened long ago, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me.

¹⁰I declare the end from the beginning, and from ancient times what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and all My good pleasure I will accomplish.’

⁵¹You stiff-necked people with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit, just as your fathers did.

⁹The Lord also said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and they are indeed a stiff-necked people.

¹¹But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder; they stopped up their ears from hearing.

¹²They made their hearts like flint and would not listen to the law or to the words that the Lord of Hosts had sent by His Spirit through the earlier prophets. Therefore great anger came from the Lord of Hosts.

¹A man who remains stiff-necked after much reproof will suddenly be shattered beyond recovery.

⁴Then He said to me, “Son of man, go now to the house of Israel and speak My words to them.

⁵For you are not being sent to a people of unfamiliar speech or difficult language, but to the house of Israel—

⁵But because of your hard and unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.

³I foretold the former things long ago; they came out of My mouth and I proclaimed them. Suddenly I acted, and they came to pass.

⁷⁰as He spoke through His holy prophets, those of ages past,

¹⁸that have been known for ages.’

¹⁵Then all the men who knew that their wives were burning incense to other gods, and all the women standing by—a great assembly—along with all the people living in the land of Egypt and in Pathros, said to Jeremiah,

¹⁶“As for the word you have spoken to us in the name of the Lord, we will not listen to you!

¹⁰I declare the end from the beginning, and from ancient times what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and all My good pleasure I will accomplish.’

⁷Who then is like Me? Let him say so! Let him declare his case before Me, since I established an ancient people. Let him foretell the things to come, and what is to take place.

¹After this I looked and saw a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had previously heard speak to me like a trumpet was saying, “Come up here, and I will show you what must happen after these things.”

⁹Behold, the former things have happened, and now I declare new things. Before they spring forth I proclaim them to you.”

²⁵Now to Him who is able to strengthen you by my gospel and by the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery concealed for ages past

²⁶but now revealed and made known through the writings of the prophets by the command of the eternal God, in order to lead all nations to the obedience that comes from faith—

¹⁹Behold, I am about to do something new; even now it is coming. Do you not see it? Indeed, I will make a way in the wilderness and streams in the desert.

¹⁵No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not understand what his master is doing. But I have called you friends, because everything I have learned from My Father I have made known to you.

²⁷What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the housetops.

³The wicked are estranged from the womb; the liars go astray from birth.

⁷They have been unfaithful to the Lord; for they have borne illegitimate children. Now the New Moon will devour them along with their land.

³⁹For this reason they were unable to believe. For again, Isaiah says:

⁴⁰“He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, so that they cannot see with their eyes, and understand with their hearts, and turn, and I would heal them.”

¹¹Judah has broken faith; an abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem. For Judah has profaned the Lord’s beloved sanctuary by marrying the daughter of a foreign god.

¹⁰To whom can I give this warning? Who will listen to me? Look, their ears are closed, so they cannot hear. See, the word of the Lord has become offensive to them; they find no pleasure in it.

³and tell her that this is what the Lord God says to Jerusalem: Your origin and your birth were in the land of the Canaanites. Your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite.

⁴On the day of your birth your cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water for cleansing. You were not rubbed with salt or wrapped in cloths.

⁹Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of Your name; deliver us and atone for our sins, for the sake of Your name.

³⁸And yet He was compassionate; He forgave their iniquity and did not destroy them. He often restrained His anger and did not unleash His full wrath.

³⁵‘I will defend this city and save it for My own sake and for the sake of My servant David.’”

¹¹For the sake of Your name, O Lord, revive me. In Your righteousness, bring my soul out of trouble.

⁸Yet He saved them for the sake of His name, to make His power known.

²⁵I, yes I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake and remembers your sins no more.

¹²Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial that has come upon you, as though something strange were happening to you.

³A crucible for silver and a furnace for gold, but the Lord is the tester of hearts.

¹⁰Yet He knows the way I have taken; when He has tested me, I will come forth as gold.

¹⁰Our fathers disciplined us for a short time as they thought best, but God disciplines us for our good, so that we may share in His holiness.

¹¹No discipline seems enjoyable at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it yields a harvest of righteousness and peace to those who have been trained by it.

¹⁰For You, O God, have tested us; You have refined us like silver.

⁷so that the proven character of your faith—more precious than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

⁸I am the Lord; that is My name! I will not yield My glory to another or My praise to idols.

⁹But I acted for the sake of My name, that it should not be profaned in the eyes of the nations among whom they were living, in whose sight I had revealed Myself to Israel by bringing them out of the land of Egypt.

¹⁴But I acted for the sake of My name, so that it would not be profaned in the eyes of the nations in whose sight I had brought them out.

³⁵‘I will defend this city and save it for My own sake and for the sake of My servant David.’”

²²Indeed, for the sake of His great name, the Lord will not abandon His people, because He was pleased to make you His own.

²⁵I, yes I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake and remembers your sins no more.

⁴Who has performed this and carried it out, calling forth the generations from the beginning? I, the Lord—the first and the last—I am He.”

⁸“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, who is and was and is to come—the Almighty.

¹³I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”

¹⁴They will make war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will triumph over them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and He will be accompanied by His called and chosen and faithful ones.”

²⁸And we know that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose.

⁶Thus says the Lord, the King and Redeemer of Israel, the Lord of Hosts: “I am the first and I am the last, and there is no God but Me.

²⁵In the beginning You laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands.

¹⁰And: “In the beginning, O Lord, You laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands.

¹¹They will perish, but You remain; they will all wear out like a garment.

¹¹For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth and the sea and all that is in them, but on the seventh day He rested. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy.

¹⁸For thus says the Lord, who created the heavens—He is God; He formed the earth and fashioned it; He established it; He did not create it to be empty, but formed it to be inhabited: “I am the Lord, and there is no other.

²⁶Lift up your eyes on high: Who created all these? He leads forth the starry host by number; He calls each one by name. Because of His great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.

⁵This is what God the Lord says—He who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and its offspring, who gives breath to the people on it and life to those who walk in it:

⁹All the nations gather together and the peoples assemble. Who among them can declare this, and proclaim to us the former things? Let them present their witnesses to vindicate them, so that others may hear and say, “It is true.”

²¹Go up against the land of Merathaim, and against the residents of Pekod. Kill them and devote them to destruction. Do all that I have commanded you,” declares the Lord.

²²“The noise of battle is in the land—the noise of great destruction.

¹⁷Behold, I will stir up against them the Medes, who have no regard for silver and no desire for gold.

¹⁸Their bows will dash young men to pieces; they will have no mercy on the fruit of the womb; they will not look with pity on the children.

²⁰“You are My war club, My weapon for battle. With you I shatter nations; with you I bring kingdoms to ruin.

²¹With you I shatter the horse and rider; with you I shatter the chariot and driver.

⁴Listen, a tumult on the mountains, like that of a great multitude! Listen, an uproar among the kingdoms, like nations gathered together! The Lord of Hosts is mobilizing an army for war.

⁵They are coming from faraway lands, from the ends of the heavens—the Lord and the weapons of His wrath—to destroy the whole country.

²⁰Come, gather together, and draw near, you fugitives from the nations. Ignorant are those who carry idols of wood and pray to a god that cannot save.

²¹Speak up and present your case—yes, let them take counsel together. Who foretold this long ago? Who announced it from ancient times? Was it not I, the Lord? There is no other God but Me, a righteous God and Savior; there is none but Me.

⁸This Book of the Law must not depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. For then you will prosper and succeed in all you do.

¹This is what the Lord says to Cyrus His anointed, whose right hand I have grasped to subdue nations before him, to disarm kings, to open the doors before him, so that the gates will not be shut:

²“I will go before you and level the mountains; I will break down the gates of bronze and cut through the bars of iron.

⁴In your splendor ride forth in victory on behalf of truth and humility and justice; may your right hand show your awesome deeds.

²On the fifth day of the month—it was the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin—

²⁰“I have spoken openly to the world,” Jesus answered. “I always taught in the synagogues and at the temple, where all the Jews come together. I said nothing in secret.

²¹Again Jesus said to them, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent Me, so also I am sending you.”

²²When He had said this, He breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.

¹The Spirit of the Lord God is on Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and freedom to the prisoners,

²to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of our God’s vengeance, to comfort all who mourn,

¹⁹I have not spoken in secret, from a place in a land of darkness. I did not say to the descendants of Jacob, ‘Seek Me in a wasteland.’ I, the Lord, speak the truth; I say what is right.

³⁴For the One whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit.

¹⁸“The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to release the oppressed,

⁸I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go; I will give you counsel and watch over you.

¹²Who is the man who fears the Lord? He will instruct him in the path chosen for him.

²¹Reconcile now and be at peace with Him; thereby good will come to you.

²²Receive instruction from His mouth, and lay up His words in your heart.

¹⁷You might say in your heart, “The power and strength of my hands have made this wealth for me.”

¹⁸But remember that it is the Lord your God who gives you the power to gain wealth, in order to confirm His covenant that He swore to your fathers even to this day.

²⁰The Lord will give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, but your Teacher will no longer hide Himself—with your own eyes you will see Him.

²⁴You guide me with Your counsel, and later receive me in glory.

²⁹If only they had such a heart to fear Me and keep all My commandments always, so that it might be well with them and with their children forever.

¹²For this is what the Lord says: “I will extend peace to her like a river, and the wealth of nations like a flowing stream; you will nurse and be carried on her arm, and bounced upon her knees.

¹⁶⁵Abundant peace belongs to those who love Your law; nothing can make them stumble.

¹³If only My people would listen to Me, if Israel would follow My ways,

¹⁴how soon I would subdue their enemies and turn My hand against their foes!

²⁹If only they were wise, they would understand it; they would comprehend their fate.

⁴¹As Jesus approached Jerusalem and saw the city, He wept over it

⁴²and said, “If only you had known on this day what would bring you peace! But now it is hidden from your eyes.

²²Though your people, O Israel, be like the sand of the sea, only a remnant will return. Destruction has been decreed, overflowing with righteousness.

¹⁷I will surely bless you, and I will multiply your descendants like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will possess the gates of their enemies.

²²As the hosts of heaven cannot be counted and as the sand on the seashore cannot be measured, so too will I multiply the descendants of My servant David and the Levites who minister before Me.”

¹⁰Yet the number of the Israelites will be like the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or counted. And it will happen that in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not My people,’ they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’

²⁷Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: “Though the number of the Israelites is like the sand of the sea, only the remnant will be saved.

¹³May his descendants be cut off; may their name be blotted out from the next generation.

⁴⁵Come out of her, My people! Save your lives, each of you, from the fierce anger of the Lord.

⁹Break forth in joy, sing together, O ruins of Jerusalem, for the Lord has comforted His people; He has redeemed Jerusalem.

⁸Flee from the midst of Babylon; depart from the land of the Chaldeans; be like the he-goats that lead the flock.

⁴Then I heard another voice from heaven say: “Come out of her, My people, so that you will not share in her sins or contract any of her plagues.

⁶Flee from Babylon! Escape with your lives! Do not be destroyed in her punishment. For this is the time of the Lord’s vengeance; He will pay her what she deserves.

⁶“Get up! Get up! Flee from the land of the north,” declares the Lord, “for I have scattered you like the four winds of heaven,” declares the Lord.

⁷“Get up, O Zion! Escape, you who dwell with the Daughter of Babylon!”

¹⁹Behold, I am about to do something new; even now it is coming. Do you not see it? Indeed, I will make a way in the wilderness and streams in the desert.

²⁰The beasts of the field will honor Me, the jackals and the ostriches, because I provide water in the wilderness and rivers in the desert, to give drink to My chosen people.

⁴¹He opened a rock, and water gushed out; it flowed like a river in the desert.

¹⁷The poor and needy seek water, but there is none; their tongues are parched with thirst. I, the Lord, will answer them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.

¹⁸I will open rivers on the barren heights, and fountains in the middle of the valleys. I will turn the desert into a pool of water, and the dry land into flowing springs.

⁶Behold, I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. And when you strike the rock, water will come out of it for the people to drink.” So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel.

²⁰When He struck the rock, water gushed out and torrents raged. But can He also give bread or supply His people with meat?”

¹¹Then Moses raised his hand and struck the rock twice with his staff, so that a great amount of water gushed out, and the congregation and their livestock were able to drink.

²¹“There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.”

²⁰A wicked man writhes in pain all his days; only a few years are reserved for the ruthless.

²¹Sounds of terror fill his ears; in his prosperity the destroyer attacks him.

⁴²and said, “If only you had known on this day what would bring you peace! But now it is hidden from your eyes.

¹⁷and the way of peace they have not known.”