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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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