Israel Refined for God’s Glory
1 Hear this, O house of Jacob,
ch. 43:1who are called by the name of Israel,
and Ps. 68:26who came from the waters of Judah,
Jer. 7:9who swear by the name of the Lord
and confess the God of Israel,
but not in truth or right.
2 For they call themselves after the holy city,
[Mic. 3:11]and stay themselves on the God of Israel;
the Lord of hosts is his name.
3 "The former things ch. 41:26I declared of old;
they went out from my mouth, and I announced them;
then suddenly I did them, and they came to pass.
4 Because I know that [Ex. 32:9]you are obstinate,
and your neck is an iron sinew
and your forehead brass,
5 [See ver. 3above] I declared them to you from of old,
before they came to pass I announced them to you,
lest you should say, See Jer. 44:15-17‘My idol did them,
my carved image and my metal image commanded them.’
6 "You have heard; now see all this;
and will you not declare it?
From this time forth See ch. 43:19I announce to you new things,
hidden things that you have not known.
7 They are created now, not long ago;
before today you have never heard of them,
lest you should say, ‘Behold, I knew them.’
8 You have never heard, you have never known,
from of old your ear has not been opened.
For I knew that you would surely deal treacherously,
and that ch. 46:8from before birth you were called a rebel.
9 [Mal. 3:6]"For my name’s sake I defer my anger;
for the sake of my praise I restrain it for you,
that I may not cut you off.
10 Behold, I have refined you, [1 Pet. 1:7] but not as silver;
[Deut. 4:20;Ezek. 22:18,20,22]I have tried48:10 Or I have chosen you in the furnace of affliction.
11 ch. 43:25;Ezek. 20:9For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it,
for how should my name48:11 Hebrew lacks my name be profaned?
ch. 42:8My glory I will not give to another.
The Lord’s Call to Israel
12 "Listen to me, O Jacob,
and Israel, whom I called!
I am he; See ch. 41:4I am the first,
and I am the last.
13 My hand ch. 51:13;[Ps. 102:25;Heb. 1:10] laid the foundation of the earth,
and my right hand ch. 51:13;[Ps. 102:25;Heb. 1:10] spread out the heavens;
[ch. 40:26]when I call to them,
they stand forth together.
14 "Assemble, all of you, and listen!
[ch. 41:26] Who among them has declared these things?
The Lord loves him;
ch. 46:10,11he shall perform his purpose on Babylon,
and his arm shall be against ch. 23:13;47:1the Chaldeans.
15 See ch. 45:1-3I, even I, have spoken and called him;
I have brought him, and he will prosper in his way.
16 ch. 45:19Draw near to me, hear this:
from the beginning I have not spoken in secret,
from the time it came to be I have been there."
And now ch. 61:1the Lord God has sent me, and his Spirit.
17 Thus says the Lord,
your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
"I am the Lord your God,
who teaches you to profit,
who leads you in the way you should go.
18 Ps. 81:13;Luke 19:42;[Deut. 32:29] Oh that you had paid attention to my commandments!
ch. 66:12Then your peace would have been like a river,
and your righteousness like the waves of the sea;
19 ch. 10:22;Gen. 22:17;Hos. 1:10your offspring would have been like the sand,
and your descendants like its grains;
their name would never be cut off
or destroyed from before me."
20 ch. 52:11;Jer. 50:8;51:6,45;Zech. 2:6,7Go out from Babylon, flee from ch. 23:13;47:1Chaldea,
declare this [ch. 35:10;52:9] with a shout of joy, proclaim it,
send it out to the end of the earth;
say, ch. 44:23;[Ex. 19:4-6]"The Lord has redeemed his servant Jacob!"
21 [ch. 35:6;44:3;Deut. 8:15] They did not thirst when he led them through the deserts;
ch. 43:19;Ex. 17:6;Num. 20:11he made water flow for them from the rock;
he split the rock and the water gushed out.
22 ch. 57:21"There is no peace," says the Lord, "for the wicked."