Isaiah 48 - Easy To Read Version

¹ The Lord says,\par “Family of Jacob, listen to me!\par You people call yourself ‘Israel.’\par You are from Judah’s family.\par You use the Lord’s name to make promises.\par You praise the God of Israel.\par But you are not honest and sincere\par when you do these things.”\par

² Yes, they are citizens of the Holy City {\cf2\super [412]} .\par They depend on the God of Israel.\par The Lord All-Powerful is his Name.\par

³ “Long ago I told you about the things\par that would happen.\par I told you about those things.\par And then suddenly,\par I made them happen.\par

⁴ I did that because I knew\par you were stubborn.\par \{You refused to believe anything I said\}.\par You were very stubborn—\par like iron \{that does not bend\}\par and as hard as bronze.\par

⁵ So, a long time ago I told you\par what would happen.\par I told you about those things\par a long time before they happened.\par I did this so that you could not say,\par ‘The gods we made did.’\par I did this so that you could not say,\par ‘Our idols, our statues,\par made these things happen.’”\par

⁶ “You saw and heard what happened.\par So you should tell the news to other people.\par Now I will tell you about new things—\par things that you don’t know yet.\par

⁷ These are not things that happened long ago.\par These are things that are happening now.\par You haven’t heard about these things\par before today.\par So you can’t say,\par ‘We already knew that.’\par

⁸ “But even then,\par you didnt listen to me!\par You didn‘t learn anything!\par You refused to listen to anything\par I told you.\par I have known since the beginning\par that you would be against me.\par You have rebelled against me\par from the time you were born.\par

⁹ But, I will be patient.\par I will do this for myself.\par People will praise me for not getting\par angry and destroying you.\par You will praise me for waiting.\par

¹⁰ “Look, I will make you pure.\par People use a hot fire to make silver pure.\par But I will make you pure\par by giving you troubles.\par

¹¹ I will do this for myself—for me!\par You will not treat me\par like I am not important!\par I will not let some false god\par take my glory and praise!\par

¹² “Jacob, listen to me!\par Israel, I called you to be my people.\par So listen to me!\par I am the Beginning!\par And I am the End!\par

¹³ I made the earth with my own hands.\par My right hand made the sky.\par And if I call them,\par they will come together before me.\par

¹⁴ “All of you, come here\par and listen to me!\par Did any of the false gods\par say these things would happen?\par No!”\par

¹⁵ \{The Lord says,\}\par “I told you I would call him. {\cf2\super [414]} \par And I will bring him!\par I will make him succeed!\par

¹⁶ Come here and listen to me!\par I was there when Babylon began\par as a nation.\par And from the beginning, I spoke clearly,\par so that people could know what I said.”\par

¹⁷ The Lord, the Savior, the Holy One of Israel, says,\par

¹⁸ If you had obeyed me,\par then peace would have come to you\par like a full flowing river.\par Good things would have come to you\par again and again,\par like the waves of the sea.\par

¹⁹ If you had obeyed me,\par then you would have had many children.\par They would have been\par like the many grains of sand.\par If you had obeyed me,\par then you would not have been destroyed.\par You would have continued with me.”\par

²⁰ My people, leave Babylon!\par My people, run from the Chaldeans!\par Tell this news with joy to the people!\par Spread this news to the faraway places\par on earth!\par Tell the people,\par “The Lord rescued his servant Jacob!\par

²¹ The Lord led his people through the desert,\par and they never became thirsty!\par Why? Because he made water\par flow from a rock for his people!\par He split the rock,\par and water flowed out!”\par

²² But the Lord also said,\par “There is no peace for evil people!”\par