| Isaiah
(Yeshayahu) 48
"Listen to this, O house of Jacob, you
who are called by the name of Israel and come
from the line of Judah, you who take oaths in
the name of the LORD and invoke the God of Israel-
but not in truth or righteousness- you who call
yourselves citizens of the holy city
and rely on the God of Israel- the LORD Almighty
is his name: I foretold the former things long
ago, my mouth announced them and I made them
known; then suddenly I acted, and they came
to pass. For I knew how stubborn you were; the
sinews of your neck were iron,
your forehead was bronze. Therefore I told you
these things long ago; before they happened
I announced them to you so that you could not
say, 'My idols did them; my wooden image and
metal god ordained them.' You have heard these
things; look at them all. Will you not admit
them?
"From
now on I will tell you of new things, of hidden
things unknown to you. They are created now,
and not long ago; you have not heard of them
before today. So you cannot say, 'Yes, I knew
of them.' You have neither heard nor understood;
from of old your ear has not been open. Well
do I know how treacherous you are; you were
called a rebel from birth.
For my own name's sake I delay my wrath; for
the sake of my praise I hold it back from you,
so as not to cut you off. See, I have refined
you, though not as silver; I have tested you
in the furnace of affliction. For my own sake,
for my own sake, I do this. How can I let myself
be defamed? I will not yield my glory to another.
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