| New Living Translation | Berean Study Bible |
| 1“Listen to me, O family of Jacob, you who are called by the name of Israel and born into the family of Judah. Listen, you who take oaths in the name of the LORD and call on the God of Israel. You don’t keep your promises, | 1“Listen to this, O house of Jacob, you who are called by the name of Israel, who have descended from the line of Judah, who swear by the name of the LORD, who invoke the God of Israel—but not in truth or righteousness— |
| 2even though you call yourself the holy city and talk about depending on the God of Israel, whose name is the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. | 2who indeed call yourselves after the holy city and lean on the God of Israel; the LORD of Hosts is His name. |
| 3Long ago I told you what was going to happen. Then suddenly I took action, and all my predictions came true. | 3I foretold the former things long ago; they came out of My mouth and I proclaimed them. Suddenly I acted, and they came to pass. |
| 4For I know how stubborn and obstinate you are. Your necks are as unbending as iron. Your heads are as hard as bronze. | 4For I knew that you are stubborn; your neck is iron and your forehead is bronze. |
| 5That is why I told you what would happen; I told you beforehand what I was going to do. Then you could never say, ‘My idols did it. My wooden image and metal god commanded it to happen!’ | 5Therefore I declared it to you long ago; I announced it before it came to pass, so that you could not claim, ‘My idol has done this; my carved image and molten god has ordained it.’ |
| 6You have heard my predictions and seen them fulfilled, but you refuse to admit it. Now I will tell you new things, secrets you have not yet heard. | 6You have heard these things; look at them all. Will you not acknowledge them? From now on I will tell you of new things, hidden things unknown to you. |
| 7They are brand new, not things from the past. So you cannot say, ‘We knew that all the time!’ | 7They are created now, and not long ago; you have not heard of them before today. So you cannot claim, ‘I already knew them!’ |
| 8“Yes, I will tell you of things that are entirely new, things you never heard of before. For I know so well what traitors you are. You have been rebels from birth. | 8You have never heard; you have never understood; for a long time your ears have not been open. For I knew how deceitful you are; you have been called a rebel from birth. |
| 9Yet for my own sake and for the honor of my name, I will hold back my anger and not wipe you out. | 9For the sake of My name I will delay My wrath; for the sake of My praise I will restrain it, so that you will not be cut off. |
| 10I have refined you, but not as silver is refined. Rather, I have refined you in the furnace of suffering. | 10See, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction. |
| 11I will rescue you for my sake— yes, for my own sake! I will not let my reputation be tarnished, and I will not share my glory with idols! Freedom from Babylon | 11For My own sake, My very own sake, I will act; for how can I let Myself be defamed? I will not yield My glory to another. |
| 12“Listen to me, O family of Jacob, Israel my chosen one! I alone am God, the First and the Last. | 12Listen to Me, O Jacob, and Israel, whom I have called: I am He; I am the first, and I am the last. |
| 13It was my hand that laid the foundations of the earth, my right hand that spread out the heavens above. When I call out the stars, they all appear in order.” | 13Surely My own hand founded the earth, and My right hand spread out the heavens; when I summon them, they stand up together. |
| 14Have any of your idols ever told you this? Come, all of you, and listen: The LORD has chosen Cyrus as his ally. He will use him to put an end to the empire of Babylon and to destroy the Babylonian armies. | 14Come together, all of you, and listen: Which of the idols has foretold these things? The LORD’s chosen ally will carry out His desire against Babylon, and His arm will be against the Chaldeans. |
| 15“I have said it: I am calling Cyrus! I will send him on this errand and will help him succeed. | 15I, even I, have spoken; yes, I have called him. I have brought him, and he will succeed in his mission. |
| 16Come closer, and listen to this. From the beginning I have told you plainly what would happen.” And now the Sovereign LORD and his Spirit have sent me with this message. | 16Come near to Me and listen to this: From the beginning I have not spoken in secret; from the time it happened, I was there.” And now the Lord GOD has sent me, accompanied by His Spirit. |
| 17This is what the LORD says— your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the LORD your God, who teaches you what is good for you and leads you along the paths you should follow. | 17Thus says the LORD your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the LORD your God, who teaches you for your benefit, who directs you in the way you should go. |
| 18Oh, that you had listened to my commands! Then you would have had peace flowing like a gentle river and righteousness rolling over you like waves in the sea. | 18If only you had paid attention to My commandments, your peace would have been like a river, and your righteousness like waves of the sea. |
| 19Your descendants would have been like the sands along the seashore— too many to count! There would have been no need for your destruction, or for cutting off your family name.” | 19Your descendants would have been as countless as the sand, and your offspring as numerous as its grains; their name would never be cut off or eliminated from My presence.” |
| 20Yet even now, be free from your captivity! Leave Babylon and the Babylonians. Sing out this message! Shout it to the ends of the earth! The LORD has redeemed his servants, the people of Israel. | 20Leave Babylon! Flee from the Chaldeans! Declare it with a shout of joy, proclaim it, let it go out to the ends of the earth, saying, “The LORD has redeemed His servant Jacob!” |
| 21They were not thirsty when he led them through the desert. He divided the rock, and water gushed out for them to drink. | 21They did not thirst when He led them through the deserts; He made water flow for them from the rock; He split the rock, and water gushed out. |
| 22“But there is no peace for the wicked,” says the LORD. | 22“There is no peace,” says the LORD, “for the wicked.” |
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