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Israel's Obstinacy

¹ "^(C1)Hear this, house of Jacob, who are named Israel
And who came from the ^(C2)waters of Judah,
Who ^(C3)swear by the name of the LORD
And invoke the God of Israel,
But not in truth nor in ^(C4)righteousness.

² "For they name themselves after the ^(C1)holy city,
And ^(C2)lean on the God of Israel;
The LORD of armies is His name.

³ "I ^(C1)declared the former things long ago,
And they went out of My mouth, and I proclaimed them.
^(C2)Suddenly I acted, and they ^(C3)came to pass.

⁴ "Because I know that you are ^(F1)(C1)obstinate,
And your ^(C2)neck is an iron tendon
And your ^(C3)forehead bronze,

⁵ Therefore I declared them to you long ago,
Before ^(F1)they took place I proclaimed them to you,
So that you would not say, 'My ^(C1)idol has done them,
And my carved image and my cast metal image have commanded them.'

⁶ "You have heard; look at all this.
And you, will you not declare it?
I proclaim to you ^(C1)new things from this time,
Hidden things which you have not known.

⁷ "They are created now and not long ago;
And before today you have not heard them,
So that you will not say, 'Behold, I knew them.'

⁸ "You have not ^(C1)heard, you have not known.
Even from long ago your ear has not been open,
Because I knew that you would deal very treacherously;
And you have been called a ^(F1)(C2)rebel from ^(F2)birth.

⁹ "^(C1)For the sake of My name I ^(C2)delay My wrath,
And for My praise I restrain it for you,
In order not to cut you off.

¹⁰ "Behold, I have refined you, but ^(C1)not as silver;
I have tested you in the ^(C2)furnace of affliction.

¹¹ "^(C1)For My own sake, for My own sake, I will act;
For how can My name be profaned?
And I will not give My ^(C2)glory to another.

Rescue Promised

¹² "Listen to Me, Jacob, Israel ^(F1)whom I called;
^(C1)I am He, ^(C2)I am the first, I am also the last.

¹³ "Assuredly My hand ^(C1)founded the earth,
And My right hand spread out the heavens;
When I ^(C2)call to them, they stand together.

¹⁴ "^(C1)Assemble, all of you, and listen!
^(C2)Who among them has declared these things?
The LORD loves him; he will ^(C3)carry out His good pleasure against ^(C4)Babylon,
And His arm will be against the Chaldeans.

¹⁵ "I, yes I, have spoken; indeed I have ^(C1)called him,
I have brought him, and He will make his ways successful.

¹⁶ "^(C1)Come near to Me, listen to this:
From the beginning I have ^(C2)not spoken in secret,
^(C3)From the time it took place, I was there.
And now ^(C4)the Lord ^(F1)GOD has sent Me, and His Spirit."

¹⁷ This is what the LORD says, He who is your ^(C1)Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:

"I am the LORD your God, who teaches you to benefit,
Who ^(C2)leads you in the way you should go.

¹⁸ "If only you had ^(C1)paid attention to My commandments!
Then your ^(F1)(C2)well-being would have been like a river,
And your ^(C3)righteousness like the waves of the sea.

¹⁹ "Your ^(F1)(C1)descendants would have been like the sand,
And ^(F2)your offspring like its grains;
^(C2)Their name would never be eliminated or destroyed from My presence."

^20 (C1)Go out from Babylon! Flee from the Chaldeans!
Declare with the sound of ^(C2)joyful shouting, proclaim this,
^(C3)Send it out to the end of the earth;
Say, "^(C4)The LORD has redeemed His servant Jacob."

²¹ They did not ^(C1)thirst when He led them through the deserts.
He ^(C2)made the water flow out of the rock for them;
He split the rock and ^(C3)the water gushed out.

²² "^(C1)There is no peace for the wicked," says the LORD.