Isaiah 48

Bible in Basic English (BBE)

1 Ref Give ear to this, O family of Jacob, you who are named by the name of Israel, and have come out of the body of Judah; who take oaths by the name of the Lord, and make use of the name of the God of Israel, but not truly and not in good faith.

2 Ref For they say that they are of the holy town, and put their faith in the God of Israel: the Lord of armies is his name.

3 Ref I gave word in the past of the things which came about; they came from my mouth, and I made them clear: suddenly I did them, and they came about.

4 Ref Because I saw that your heart was hard, and that your neck was an iron cord, and your brow brass;

5 Ref For this reason I made it clear to you in the past, before it came I gave you word of it: for fear that you might say, My god did these things, and my pictured and metal images made them come about.

6 Ref All this has come to your ears and you have seen it; will you not give witness to it? I am now making clear new things, even secret things, of which you had no knowledge.

7 They have only now been effected, and not in the past: and before this day they had not come to your ears; for fear that you might say, I had knowledge of them.

8 Ref Truly you had no word of them, no knowledge of them; no news of them in the past had come to your ears; because I saw how false was your behaviour, and that your heart was turned against me from your earliest days.

9 Ref Because of my name I will put away my wrath, and for my praise I will keep myself from cutting you off.

10 Ref See, I have been testing you for myself like silver; I have put you through the fire of trouble.

11 Ref For myself, even because of my name, I will do it; for I will not let my name be shamed; and my glory I will not give to another.

12 Ref Give ear to me, Jacob, and Israel, my loved one; I am he, I am the first and I am the last.

13 Ref Yes, by my hand was the earth placed on its base, and by my right hand the heavens were stretched out; at my word they take up their places.

14 Ref Come together, all of you, and give ear; who among you has given news of these things? the Lord's loved one will do his pleasure with Babylon, and with the seed of the Chaldaeans.

15 Ref I, even I, have given the word; I have sent for him: I have made him come, and have given effect to his undertakings.

16 Ref Come near to me, and give ear to this; from the start I did not keep it secret; from the time of its coming into existence I was there: and now the Lord God has sent me, and given me his spirit.

17 Ref The Lord who takes up your cause, the Holy One of Israel, says, I am the Lord your God, who is teaching you for your profit, guiding you by the way in which you are to go.

18 Ref If only you had given ear to my orders, then your peace would have been like a river, and your righteousness as the waves of the sea:

19 Ref Your seed would have been like the sand, and your offspring like the dust: your name would not be cut off or come to an end before me.

20 Ref Go out of Babylon, go in flight from the Chaldaeans; with the sound of song make it clear, give the news, let the word go out even to the end of the earth: say, The Lord has taken up the cause of his servant Jacob.

21 Ref They had no need of water when he was guiding them through the waste lands: he made water come out of the rock for them: the rock was parted and the waters came flowing out.

22 Ref There is no peace, says the Lord, for the evil-doers.

American Standard-ASV1901 (ASV)

1 Ref Hear ye this, O house of Jacob, who are called by the name of Israel, and are come forth out of the waters of Judah; who swear by the name of Jehovah, and make mention of the God of Israel, but not in truth, nor in righteousness.

2 Ref (for they call themselves of the holy city, and stay themselves upon the God of Israel; Jehovah of hosts is his name):

3 Ref I have declared the former things from of old; yea, they went forth out of my mouth, and I showed them: suddenly I did them, and they came to pass.

4 Ref Because I knew that thou art obstinate, and thy neck is an iron sinew, and thy brow brass;

5 Ref therefore I have declared it to thee from of old; before it came to pass I showed it thee; lest thou shouldest say, Mine idol hath done them, and my graven image, and my molten image, hath commanded them.

6 Ref Thou hast heard it; behold all this; and ye, will ye not declare it? I have showed thee new things from this time, even hidden things, which thou hast not known.

7 They are created now, and not from of old; and before this day thou heardest them not; lest thou shouldest say, Behold, I knew them.

8 Ref Yea, thou heardest not; yea, thou knewest not; yea, from of old thine ear was not opened: for I knew that thou didst deal very treacherously, and wast called a transgressor from the womb.

9 Ref For my name's sake will I defer mine anger, and for my praise will I refrain for thee, that I cut thee not off.

10 Ref Behold, I have refined thee, but not as silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.

11 Ref For mine own sake, for mine own sake, will I do it; for how should `my name' be profaned? and my glory will I not give to another.

12 Ref Hearken unto me, O Jacob, and Israel my called: I am he; I am the first, I also am the last.

13 Ref Yea, my hand hath laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spread out the heavens: when I call unto them, they stand up together.

14 Ref Assemble yourselves, all ye, and hear; who among them hath declared these things? He whom Jehovah loveth shall perform his pleasure on Babylon, and his arm `shall be on' the Chaldeans.

15 Ref I, even I, have spoken; yea, I have called him; I have brought him, and he shall make his way prosperous.

16 Ref Come ye near unto me, hear ye this; from the beginning I have not spoken in secret; from the time that it was, there am I: and now the Lord Jehovah hath sent me, and his Spirit.

17 Ref Thus saith Jehovah, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: I am Jehovah thy God, who teacheth thee to profit, who leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go.

18 Ref Oh that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments! then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea:

19 Ref thy seed also had been as the sand, and the offspring of thy bowels like the grains thereof: his name would not be cut off nor destroyed from before me.

20 Ref Go ye forth from Babylon, flee ye from the Chaldeans; with a voice of singing declare ye, tell this, utter it even to the end of the earth: say ye, Jehovah hath redeemed his servant Jacob.

21 Ref And they thirsted not when he led them through the deserts; he caused the waters to flow out of the rock for them; he clave the rock also, and the waters gushed out.

22 Ref There is no peace, saith Jehovah, to the wicked.

World English Bible (WEB)

1 Ref Hear you this, house of Jacob, who are called by the name of Israel, and are come forth out of the waters of Judah; who swear by the name of Yahweh, and make mention of the God of Israel, but not in truth, nor in righteousness

2 Ref (for they call themselves of the holy city, and stay themselves on the God of Israel; Yahweh of Hosts is his name):

3 Ref I have declared the former things from of old; yes, they went forth out of my mouth, and I shown them: suddenly I did them, and they happened.

4 Ref Because I knew that you are obstinate, and your neck is an iron sinew, and your brow brass;

5 Ref therefore I have declared it to you from of old; before it came to pass I shown it you; lest you should say, My idol has done them, and my engraved image, and my molten image, has commanded them.

6 Ref You have heard it; see all this; and you, will you not declare it? I have shown you new things from this time, even hidden things, which you have not known.

7 They are created now, and not from of old; and before this day you didn't hear them; lest you should say, Behold, I knew them.

8 Ref Yes, you didn't hear; yes, you didn't know; yes, from of old your ear was not opened: for I knew that you did deal very treacherously, and was called a transgressor from the womb.

9 Ref For my name's sake will I defer my anger, and for my praise will I refrain for you, that I not cut you off.

10 Ref Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have chosen you in the furnace of affliction.

11 Ref For my own sake, for my own sake, will I do it; for how should [my name] be profaned? and my glory I will not give to another.

12 Ref Listen to me, O Jacob, and Israel my called: I am he; I am the first, I also am the last.

13 Ref 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 Ref Assemble yourselves, all you, and hear; who among them has declared these things? He whom Yahweh loves shall perform his pleasure on Babylon, and his arm [shall be on] the Chaldeans.

15 Ref I, even I, have spoken; yes, I have called him; I have brought him, and he shall make his way prosperous.

16 Ref Come you near to me, hear you this; from the beginning I have not spoken in secret; from the time that it was, there am I: and now the Lord Yahweh has sent me, and his Spirit.

17 Ref Thus says Yahweh, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: I am Yahweh your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you by the way that you should go.

18 Ref Oh that you had listened to my commandments! then had your peace been as a river, and your righteousness as the waves of the sea:

19 Ref your seed also had been as the sand, and the offspring of your loins like the grains of it: his name would not be cut off nor destroyed from before me.

20 Ref Go you forth from Babylon, flee you from the Chaldeans; with a voice of singing declare you, tell this, utter it even to the end of the earth: say you, Yahweh has redeemed his servant Jacob.

21 Ref They didn't thirst when he led them through the deserts; he caused the waters to flow out of the rock for them; he split the rock also, and the waters gushed out.

22 Ref There is no peace, says Yahweh, to the wicked.

Chapter 48 of 66

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