The Lord Frees Israel
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.
