Matigas ang Ulo ng mga Israelita
1“Makinig kayo, mga lahi ni Jacob, kayong tinatawag na Israel, at nagmula sa lahi ni Juda. Sumusumpa kayo sa pangalan ng Panginoon at tumatawag sa Dios ng Israel. Pero pakunwari lang pala, dahil hindi naman matuwid ang inyong pamumuhay. 2Sinasabi pa ninyong kayoʼy mga mamamayan ng banal na lungsod, at nagtitiwala kayo sa Dios ng Israel, na ang pangalan ay Panginoong Makapangyarihan.” 3Sinabi niya sa inyo, “Sinabi ko na noon pa kung ano ang mga mangyayari sa hinaharap. At itoʼy aking isinakatuparan. 4Alam ko kung gaano katigas ang inyong ulo. Ang inyong leeg ay kasintigas ng bakal at ang inyong noo ay kasintigas ng tanso. 5Kaya sinabi ko na agad sa inyo ang aking gagawin. Noong hindi pa ito nangyayari, sinabi ko na ito sa inyo para hindi ninyo masabing ang inyong mga rebultong dios-diosan na gawa sa kahoy at bakal ang siyang humula at nagsagawa nito. 6Narinig ninyo ang aking mga propesiya at nakita ninyo ang katuparan ng mga ito, pero ayaw ninyong tanggapin na ako ang gumawa nito. Mula ngayon, sasabihin ko sa inyo ang mga bagong bagay na hindi ko pa ipinahayag sa inyo. Hindi pa ninyo ito alam. 7Ngayon ko pa lamang ito gagawin para hindi ninyo masabing itoʼy alam na ninyo. 8Hindi ninyo napakinggan o naunawaan ang mga bagay na ito dahil mula pa noon nagbibingi-bingihan na kayo. Alam ko ang inyong kataksilan dahil mula pa noong kayoʼy isinilang mga rebelde na kayo. 9Alang-alang sa karangalan ko, pinigilan ko ang aking galit sa inyo para hindi kayo malipol. 10Lilinisin ko kayo pero hindi katulad ng paglilinis sa pilak, dahil lilinisin ko kayo sa pamamagitan ng paghihirap. 11Gagawin ko ito para sa aking karangalan. Hindi ako papayag na ako ay mapahiya at ang mga dios-diosan ay maparangalan.
12“Makinig kayo sa akin, kayong mga taga-Israel na aking pinili. Ako ang Dios; ako ang pasimula at ang wakas ng lahat. 13Ako ang naglagay ng pundasyon ng mundo at ako rin ang nagladlad ng langit. Kapag nag-utos ako sa mga ito, itoʼy sumusunod.
14“Magtipon kayong lahat at makinig: Sino sa mga dios-diosan ang humulang lulusubin ng aking kaibigan48:14 kaibigan: Maaaring si Haring Cyrus. ang Babilonia para sundin ang ipinapagawa ko laban sa bansang iyon? Wala! 15Ako ang nagsabi sa kanya at ako rin ang tumawag sa kanya. Sinugo ko siya at pinagtagumpay sa kanyang ginawa. 16Lumapit kayo sa akin at pakinggan ito: Mula pa ng pasimula hindi ako nagsalita nang lihim. Sa panahon na nangyari ang sinabi ko, naroon ako.”
At ngayon sinugo ako ng Panginoong Dios at ng kanyang Espiritu na sabihin ito: 17“Sinasabi ng Panginoon na inyong Tagapagligtas, ang Banal na Dios ng Israel: Ako ang Panginoon na inyong Dios na nagturo sa inyo kung ano ang mabuti para sa inyo at ako ang pumatnubay sa inyo sa tamang daan. 18Kung kayo lamang ay sumunod sa aking mga utos, dumaloy sana na parang ilog ang mga pagpapala sa inyo, at ang inyong tagumpay48:18 tagumpay: o, katuwiran. ay sunud-sunod sana na parang alon na dumarating sa dalampasigan. 19Ang inyo sanang mga lahi ay naging kasindami ng buhangin na hindi mabilang, at tinitiyak kong hindi sila mapapahamak.”
20Umalis kayo sa Babilonia! Buong galak ninyong ihayag sa buong mundo48:20 buong mundo: sa literal, sa pinakadulo ng mundo. na iniligtas ng Panginoon ang kanyang lingkod, ang mga mamamayan ng Israel.48:20 ang mga mamamayan ng Israel: sa Hebreo, na si Jacob. 21Hindi sila nauhaw nang patnubayan sila ng Dios sa ilang, dahil pinaagos niya ang tubig mula sa bato para sa kanila. Biniyak niya ang bato at umagos ang tubig. 22Pero ang masasama ay hindi magkakaroon ng kapayapaan, sabi ng Panginoon.
Israel Is Stubborn
1People of Jacob, listen to me.
You are called by the name of Israel.
You come from the family line of Judah.
You make promises in the name of the Lord.
You pray to Israel’s God.
But you aren’t honest.
You don’t mean what you say.
2You call yourselves citizens of the holy city of Jerusalem.
You say you depend on Israel’s God.
His name is the Lord Who Rules Over All. He says,
3“Long ago I told you ahead of time what would happen.
I announced it and made it known.
Then all of a sudden I acted.
And those things took place.
4I knew how stubborn you were.
Your neck muscles were as unbending as iron.
Your forehead was as hard as bronze.
5So I told you those things long ago.
Before they happened I announced them to you.
I did it so you would not be able to say,
‘My statues of gods did them.
My wooden and metal gods made them happen.’
6You have heard me tell you these things.
Think about all of them.
Won’t you admit they have taken place?
“From now on I will tell you about new things that will happen.
I have not made them known to you before.
7These things are taking place right now.
They did not happen long ago.
You have not heard of them before today.
So you can’t say,
‘Oh, yes. I already knew about them.’
8You have not heard or understood what I said.
Your ears have been plugged up for a long time.
I knew very well that you would turn against me.
From the day you were born, you have refused to obey me.
9For the honor of my own name I wait to show my anger.
I hold it back from you so people will continue to praise me.
I do not want to destroy you completely.
10I have tested you in the furnace of suffering.
I have tried to make you pure.
But I did not use as much heat as it takes to make silver pure.
11I tried to purify you for my own honor.
I did it for the honor of my name.
How can I let myself be dishonored?
I will not give up my glory to any other god.
Israel Is Set Free
12“Family of Jacob, listen to me.
People of Israel, pay attention.
I have chosen you.
I am the first and the last.
I am the Lord.
13With my own hand I laid the foundations of the earth.
With my right hand I spread out the heavens.
When I send for them,
they come and stand ready to obey me.
14“People of Israel, come together and listen to me.
What other god has said ahead of time that certain things would happen?
I have chosen Cyrus.
He will carry out my plans against Babylon.
He will use his power against the Babylonians.
15I myself have spoken.
I have chosen him to carry out my purpose.
I will bring him to Babylon.
He will succeed in what I tell him to do.
16“Come close and listen to me.
“From the first time I said Cyrus was coming,
I did not do it in secret.
When he comes, I will be there.”
The Lord and King has filled me with his Spirit.
People of Israel, he has sent me to you.
17The Lord is the Holy One of Israel.
He sets his people free. He says to them,
“I am the Lord your God.
I teach you what is best for you.
I direct you in the way you should go.
18I wish you would pay attention to my commands.
If you did, peace would flow over you like a river.
Godliness would sweep over you like the waves of the ocean.
19Your family would be like the sand.
Your children after you would be as many as the grains of sand by the sea.
It would be impossible to count them.
I would always accept the members of your family line.
They would never disappear or be destroyed.”
20People of Israel, leave Babylon!
Hurry up and get away from the Babylonians!
Here is what I want you to announce.
Make it known with shouts of joy.
Send the news out from one end of the earth to the other.
Say, “The Lord has set free his servant Jacob.”
21They didn’t get thirsty when he led them through the deserts.
He made water flow out of the rock for them.
He broke the rock open,
and water came out of it.
22“There is no peace for those who are evil,” says the Lord.
