Isaiah 48:1-11 ▼

1 |Listen to this, house of Jacob, you who are called by the name of Israel, and who have come forth from Judah's loins; you who swear oaths in the name of the LORD and invoke the God of Israel— but not in truth, nor in good faith.

2 For they name themselves after the holy city, and rely on the God of Israel— the LORD of the Heavenly Armies is his name.

3 I foretold the former things long ago; it went forth from my mouth, and I disclosed them; Suddenly, I acted, and they came to pass.

4 Because I knew that you are obstinate, and because your neck is an iron sinew, and your forehead is bronze,

5 I told you these things long ago; I announced them to you before they happened so that you couldn't say, 'My idol did them; my carved image or metal idol ordained them.'

6 |You have heard—now look at them all! How can you not admit them? From now on, I'll make you hear new things, hidden things that you have not known.

7 They are created now, and not long ago; you didn't hear them before today, so you cannot say, 'Yes, I knew them.'

8 And neither had you heard, nor did you understand, nor did you open your ear long ago. Indeed, I knew that you would act very deceitfully, and they would call you a rebel from birth.

9 I defer my anger for my name's sake, and as my first act I'm restraining it for you, so as not to cut you off.

10 Look, I have refined you, but not like silver; I have purified you in the furnace of affliction.

11 For my own sake—Yes, for my own sake!—I'm doing it; indeed, how can I be profaned? Furthermore, I won't give my glory to another.|