“1 Hear ye this, O house of Jacob, which are called by the name of
Israel, and are come forth out of the waters of Judah, which 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 of the holy
city, and stay themselves upon the God of Israel; The LORD of hosts [is]
his name. 3 I have declared the former things from the beginning; and
they went forth out of my mouth, and I shewed them; I did [them]
suddenly, and they came to pass. 4 Because I knew that thou [art]
obstinate, and thy neck [is] an iron sinew, and thy brow brass; 5 I have
even from the beginning declared [it] to thee; before it came to pass I
shewed [it] thee: lest thou shouldest say, Mine idol hath done them, and
my graven image, and my molten image, hath commanded them. 6 Thou hast
heard, see all this; and will not ye declare [it]? I have shewed thee
new things from this time, even hidden things, and thou didst not know
them. 7 They are created now, and not from the beginning; even before
the day when thou heardest them not; lest thou shouldest say, Behold, I
knew them. 8 Yea, thou heardest not; yea, thou knewest not; yea, from
that time [that] thine ear was not opened: for I knew that thou wouldest
deal very treacherously, and wast called a transgressor from the womb.”
“9 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 Behold, I have refined
thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of
affliction. 11 For mine own sake, [even] for mine own sake, will I do
[it]: for how should [my name] be polluted? and I will not give my glory
unto another. 12 Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I [am]
he; I [am] the first, I also [am] the last. 13 Mine hand also hath laid
the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spanned the heavens:
[when] I call unto them, they stand up together. 14 All ye, assemble
yourselves, and hear; which among them hath declared these [things]? The
LORD hath loved him: he will do his pleasure on Babylon, and his arm
[shall be on] the Chaldeans. 15 I, [even] I, have spoken; yea, I have
called him: I have brought him, and he shall make his way prosperous.”
“16 Come ye near unto me, hear ye this; I have not spoken in secret
from the beginning; from the time that it was, there [am] I: and now the
Lord GOD, and his Spirit, hath sent me. 17 Thus saith the LORD, thy
Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I [am] the LORD thy God which teacheth
thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way [that] thou shouldest go.
18 O 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 Thy
seed also had been as the sand, and the offspring of thy bowels like the
gravel thereof; his name should not have been cut off nor destroyed from
before me. 20 Go ye forth of 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, The LORD hath redeemed his servant Jacob. 21 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 [There is] no peace, saith the LORD, unto the
wicked.” (Isaiah 48:1-22 AV)