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 the Lord,
And make mention of the God of Israel,
ButIs. 58:2; Jer. 4:2; 5:2not in truth or in righteousness;
2 For they call themselves Is. 52:1; 64:10after the holy city,
And Is. 10:20; Jer. 7:4; 21:2; Mic. 3:11; Rom. 2:17lean on the God of Israel;
The Lord of hosts is His name:
3 "I have Is. 44:7, 8; 46:10declared the former things from the beginning;
They went forth from My mouth, and I caused them to hear it.
Suddenly I did them,Josh. 21:45; Is. 42:9and they came to pass.
4 Because I knew that you were obstinate,
And Ex. 32:9; Deut. 31:27; Ezek. 2:4; 3:7your neck was an iron sinew,
And your brow bronze,
5 Even from the beginning I have declared it to you;
Before it came to pass I proclaimed it to 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 declare it?
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 called Deut. 9:7, 24; Ps. 58:3; Is. 46:3, 8a transgressor from the womb.
9 "ForPs. 79:9; 106:8; Is. 43:25; Ezek. 20:9, 14, 22, 44 My name’s sake (Neh. 9:30, 31); Ps. 78:38; Is. 30:18; 65:8I will defer My anger,
And for My praise I will restrain it from you,
So that I do not cut you off.
10 Behold, Ps. 66:10; Jer. 9:7I have refined you, but not as silver;
I have tested you in the Deut. 4:20; 1 Kin. 8:51; Jer. 11:4furnace of affliction.
11 For My own sake, for My own sake, I will do it;
For Lev. 22:2, 32; Deut. 32:26, 27; Ezek. 20:9how should Myname be profaned?
And Is. 42:8I will not give My glory to another.
God’s Ancient Plan to Redeem Israel
12 "Listen to Me, O Jacob,
And Israel, My called:
I am He, Deut. 32:39I am the Is. 44:6; (Rev. 22:13)First,
I am also the Last.
13 Indeed Ex. 20:11; Ps. 102:25; Is. 42:5; 45:12, 18; Heb. 1:10–12My hand has laid the foundation of the earth,
And My right hand has stretched out the heavens;
WhenIs. 40:26I call to them,
They stand up together.
14 "All of you, assemble yourselves, and hear!
Who among them has declared these things?
Is. 45:1The Lord loves him;
Is. 44:28; 47:1–15He shall do His pleasure on Babylon,
And His arm shallbeagainst the Chaldeans.
15 I, even I, have spoken;
Yes, Is. 45:1, 2I have called him,
I have brought him, and his way will prosper.
16 "Come near to Me, hear this:
Is. 45:19I have not spoken in secret from the beginning;
From the time that it was, I was there.
And now Is. 61:1; Zech. 2:8, 9, 11the Lord God and His Spirit
Have sent Me."
17 Thus says Is. 43:14the Lord, your Redeemer,
The Holy One of Israel:
"I am the Lord your God,
Who teaches you to profit,
Ps. 32:8; Is. 49:9, 10Who leads you by the way you should go.
18 Deut. 5:29; Ps. 81:13Oh, that you had heeded My commandments!
Deut. 28:1–14; Ps. 119:165; Is. 32:16–18; 66:12Then your peace would have been like a river,
And your righteousness like the waves of the sea.
19 Gen. 22:17; Is. 10:22; 44:3, 4; 54:3; Jer. 33:22; Hos. 1:10Your 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 Jer. 50:8; 51:6, 45; Zech. 2:6, 7; Rev. 18:4Go forth from Babylon!
Flee from the Chaldeans!
With a voice of singing,
Declare, proclaim this,
Utter it to the end of the earth;
Say, "The Lord has (Ex. 19:4–6)redeemed
His servant Jacob!"
21 And they (Is. 41:17, 18)did not thirst
When He led them through the deserts;
He Ex. 17:6; Ps. 105:41caused the waters to flow from the rock for them;
He also split the rock, and the waters gushed out.
22 "There(Is. 57:21) is no peace," says the Lord, "for the wicked."