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.”