Israel Refined for God’s Glory
1 “Hear this, O house of Jacob,
Who are called by the name of Israel,
And have come forth from the wellsprings of Judah;
Who swear by the name of theLord,
And make mention of the God of Israel,
# Butnot in truth or in righteousness;
2 For they call themselvesafter the holy city,
# Andlean on the God of Israel;
TheLordof hostsisHis name:
3 “I havedeclared the former things from the beginning;
They went forth from My mouth, and I caused them to hear it.
# Suddenly I didthem,and they came to pass.
4 Because I knew that youwereobstinate,
# Andyour neckwasan iron sinew,
And your brow bronze,
5 Even from the beginning I have declareditto you;
Before it came to pass I proclaimeditto you,
Lest you should say, ‘My idol has done them,
And my carved image and my molded image
Have commanded them.’
6 “You have heard;
See all this.
And will you not declareit?
I have made you hear new things from this time,
Even hidden things, and you did not know them.
7 They are created now and not from the beginning;
And before this day you have not heard them,
Lest you should say, ‘Of course I knew them.’
8 Surely you did not hear,
Surely you did not know;
Surely from long ago your ear was not opened.
For I knew that you would deal very treacherously,
# And were calleda transgressor from the womb.
9 “ForMy name’s sakeI will defer My anger,
AndforMy praise I will restrain it from you,
So that I do not cut you off.
10 Behold,I have refined you, but not as silver;
# I have tested you in thefurnace of affliction.
11 For My own sake, for My own sake, I will doit;
# Forhow shouldMynamebe profaned?
# AndI will not give My glory to another.
God’s Ancient Plan to Redeem Israel
12 “Listen to Me, O Jacob,
And Israel, My called:
# IamHe,IamtheFirst,
Iamalso the Last.
13 IndeedMy hand has laid the foundation of the earth,
And My right hand has stretched out the heavens;
# WhenI call to them,
They stand up together.
14 “All of you, assemble yourselves, and hear!
Who among them has declared thesethings?
# TheLordloves him;
# He shall do His pleasure on Babylon,
And His armshallbeagainstthe Chaldeans.
15 I,evenI, have spoken;
# Yes,I have called him,
I have brought him, and his way will prosper.
16 “Come near to Me, hear this:
# I have not spoken in secret from the beginning;
From the time that it was, Iwasthere.
# And nowthe LordGodand His Spirit
Have sent Me.”
17 Thus saystheLord, your Redeemer,
The Holy One of Israel:
“IamtheLordyour God,
Who teaches you to profit,
# Who leads you by the way you should go.
18 Oh, that you had heeded My commandments!
# Then your peace would have been like a river,
And your righteousness like the waves of the sea.
19 Your descendants also would have been like the sand,
And the offspring of your body like the grains of sand;
His name would not have been cut off
Nor destroyed from before Me.”
20 Go forth from Babylon!
Flee from the Chaldeans!
With a voice of singing,
Declare, proclaim this,
Utter it to the end of the earth;
# Say, “TheLordhasredeemed
His servant Jacob!”
21 And theydid not thirst
When He led them through the deserts;
# Hecaused the waters to flow from the rock for them;
He also split the rock, and the waters gushed out.
22 “Thereis no peace,” says theLord, “for the wicked.”