Israel’s Stubbornness
1 “Hear this, house of Jacob,
you who are called by the name of Israel,
and have come out of the waters of Judah.
You swear by the name of the Lord,
and make mention of the God of Israel,
but not in truth, nor in righteousness—
2 for they call themselves citizens of the holy city,
and rely on the God of Israel;
the Lord of Hosts is his name.
3 I foretold things of old.
Yes, they came from my mouth, and I revealed them.
Suddenly I acted, and they came to pass.
4 Because I knew that you are obstinate,
and your neck is an iron sinew,
and your brow bronze.
5 Therefore long ago, before it happened, I declared it to you.
Before it came to pass I revealed it,
lest you should say, ‘My idol has done this.
My engraved image and my molten image has commanded them.’
6 You have heard all this.
And have now seen all this.
Will you not admit it?
“From this time forth, I will reveal new things to you,
hidden things, which you did not know.
7 They are newly created, and not from of old.
Before today, you had not heard of them,
lest you should say, ‘See, I knew them.’
8 Yes, you did not hear of it.
Yes, you did not know of it.
Yes, from of old your ear was not opened,
for I knew that you dealt deceitfully,
and from birth, have been known as a sinner.
9 For my name’s sake, I will defer my anger,
and for my praise, I hold it back for you
so that I do not cut you off.
10 I have refined you,
but not as silver.
I have chosen you in the furnace of affliction.
11 For my own sake,
for my own sake, I will do it,
for how would my name be profaned?
I will not give my glory to another.
Deliverance Promised
12 Listen to me, O Jacob,
and Israel my called:
I am he.
I am the first.
I am also the last.
13 Yes, my hand has laid the foundation of the earth,
and my right hand has spread out the heavens.
when I call to them, they stand up together.
14 Assemble yourselves, all of you, and hear this!
Who among them has declared these things?
He whom the Lord loves will do what he likes to Babylon,
and his arm will be against the Chaldeans.
15 I, yes I, have spoken.
Yes, I have called him.
I have brought him,
and he shall make his way prosperous.
16 Come near to me and hear this:
From the beginning I have not spoken in secret.
From the time that it happened, I was there.”
Now the Lord God has sent me
with his Spirit.
17 The Lord,
your Redeemer,
the Holy One of Israel says:
“I am the Lord your God,
who teaches you to profit,
who leads you by the way that you should go.
18 Oh that you had listened to my commandments!
Then your peace would have been like a river
and your righteousness like the waves of the sea.
19 Your offspring also would have been as the sand
and the descendants of your body like its grains.
His name would not be cut off nor destroyed from before me.”
20 Leave Babylon!
Flee from the Chaldeans!
With a voice of singing announce this,
tell it to the end of the earth.
Say, “The Lord has redeemed his servant Jacob!”
21 They did not thirst when he led them through the deserts.
He caused the waters to flow out of the rock for them.
He also split the rock and the waters gushed out.
22 “There is no peace for the wicked,” says the Lord.