Stubborn Israel
1“Listen to this, you descendants 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—
2you who call yourselves citizens of the holy city
and claim to rely on the God of Israel—
the Lord Almighty is his name:
3I foretold the former things long ago,
my mouth announced them and I made them known;
then suddenly I acted, and they came to pass.
4For I knew how stubborn you were;
your neck muscles were iron,
your forehead was bronze.
5Therefore I told you these things long ago;
before they happened I announced them to you
so that you could not say,
‘My images brought them about;
my wooden image and metal god ordained them.’
6You 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.
7They are created now, and not long ago;
you have not heard of them before today.
So you cannot say,
‘Yes, I knew of them.’
8You have neither heard nor understood;
from of old your ears have not been open.
Well do I know how treacherous you are;
you were called a rebel from birth.
9For 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 destroy you completely.
10See, I have refined you, though not as silver;
I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.
11For 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.
Israel Freed
12“Listen to me, Jacob,
Israel, whom I have called:
I am he;
I am the first and I am the last.
13My own hand laid the foundations of the earth,
and my right hand spread out the heavens;
when I summon them,
they all stand up together.
14“Come together, all of you, and listen:
Which of the idols has foretold these things?
The Lord’s chosen ally
will carry out his purpose against Babylon;
his arm will be against the Babylonians.48:14 Or Chaldeans; also in verse 20
15I, even I, have spoken;
yes, I have called him.
I will bring him,
and he will succeed in his mission.
16“Come near me and listen to this:
“From the first announcement I have not spoken in secret;
at the time it happens, I am there.”
And now the Sovereign Lord has sent me,
endowed with 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 best for you,
who directs you in the way you should go.
18If only you had paid attention to my commands,
your peace would have been like a river,
your well-being like the waves of the sea.
19Your descendants would have been like the sand,
your children like its numberless grains;
their name would never be blotted out
nor destroyed from before me.”
20Leave Babylon,
flee from the Babylonians!
Announce this with shouts of joy
and proclaim it.
Send it out to the ends of the earth;
say, “The Lord has redeemed his servant Jacob.”
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“There is no peace,” says the Lord, “for the wicked.”
Israeli Mkaidi
148:1 Kum 6:13; Kut 23:13; Dan 8:12; Zek 8:3; Mwa 17:5; 29:35; Isa 19:18“Sikilizeni hili, ee nyumba ya Yakobo,
ninyi mnaoitwa kwa jina la Israeli,
na mnaotoka katika ukoo wa Yuda,
ninyi mnaoapa kwa jina la Bwana,
mnaomwomba Mungu wa Israeli,
lakini si katika kweli au kwa haki;
248:2 Neh 11:1; Rum 2:17; Mik 3:11; Isa 1:26; Mt 4:5; Isa 10:20; 47:4ninyi mnaojiita raiya wa mji mtakatifu,
na kumtegemea Mungu wa Israeli,
Bwana Mwenye Nguvu Zote ndilo jina lake:
348:3 Isa 40:21; 45:21; Yos 21:45; Isa 41:22; 17:14; 30:13Nilitoa unabii mambo ya kwanza tangu zamani,
kinywa changu kiliyatangaza na kuyafanya yajulikane;
kisha ghafula nikayatenda, nayo yakatokea.
448:4 Kum 9:27; 31:27; Mdo 5:21; Isa 9:9; Kut 32:9; Eze 3:9; Mdo 7:51Kwa kuwa nalijua jinsi ulivyokuwa mkaidi;
mishipa ya shingo yako ilikuwa chuma,
kipaji chako cha uso kilikuwa shaba.
548:5 Yer 44:15-18; Isa 42:9; 40:21Kwa hiyo nilikuambia mambo haya tangu zamani,
kabla hayajatokea nilikutangazia
ili usije ukasema,
‘Sanamu zangu zilifanya hayo;
kinyago changu cha mti na mungu wangu wa chuma aliyaamuru.’
648:6 Isa 41:22; Rum 16:25Umesikia mambo haya; yaangalie hayo yote.
Je, hutayakubali?
“Kuanzia sasa na kuendelea nitakueleza mambo mapya,
juu ya mambo yaliyofichika usiyoyajua.
748:7 Isa 65:18; 45:21; Kut 6:7Yameumbwa sasa, wala si tangu zamani;
hukupata kuyasikia kabla ya siku ya leo.
Hivyo huwezi kusema,
‘Naam, niliyajua hayo.’
848:8 Za 58:3; Kum 9:24; Isa 41:24; Mal 2:11-14; Isa 43:27Hujayasikia wala kuyaelewa,
tangu zamani sikio lako halikufunguka.
Ninafahamu vyema jinsi ulivyo mdanganyifu,
uliitwa mwasi tangu kuzaliwa kwako.
948:9 Yos 7:9; Ay 9:13; Za 78:38; 1Sam 12:22; Isa 37:35; 30:18Kwa ajili ya Jina langu mwenyewe
ninaichelewesha ghadhabu yangu,
kwa ajili ya sifa zangu nimeizuia isikupate,
ili nisije nikakukatilia mbali.
1048:10 Za 66:10Tazama, nimekusafisha, ingawa si kama fedha,
nimekujaribu katika tanuru ya mateso.
1148:11 1Sam 12:22; Law 18:21; Isa 42:8; Kum 32:26-27; Eze 20:9; Yer 14:7, 21Kwa ajili yangu mwenyewe,
kwa ajili yangu mwenyewe, nafanya hili.
Jinsi gani niliache Jina langu lichafuliwe?
Sitautoa utukufu wangu kwa mwingine.
Israeli Anawekwa Huru
1248:12 Isa 46:3; 41:4; Ufu 22:13; Isa 43:13; 42:6“Ee Yakobo, nisikilize mimi,
Israeli, ambaye nimekuita:
Mimi ndiye;
mimi ndimi mwanzo na mwisho.
1348:13 Ebr 1:10-12; Ay 9:8; Isa 34:16; 40:26; Kut 20:11; Isa 45:18Mkono wangu mwenyewe uliweka misingi ya dunia,
nao mkono wangu wa kuume umezitanda mbingu;
niziitapo, zote husimama pamoja.
1448:14 Isa 43:9; 46:10-11; 41:2, 22; Yer 50:45; Isa 21:9“Kusanyikeni, ninyi nyote, msikilize:
Ni ipi miongoni mwa hizo sanamu
ambayo imetabiri vitu hivi?
Watu wa Bwana waliochaguliwa na kuungana
watatimiza kusudi lake dhidi ya Babeli;
mkono wa Mungu utakuwa dhidi ya Wakaldayo.
1548:15 Amu 4:10; Isa 45:1Mimi, naam, Mimi, nimenena;
naam, nimemwita yeye.
Nitamleta,
naye atafanikiwa katika lile nililomtuma.
1648:16 Isa 45:19; Zek 2:8-11; Isa 33:13; 50:5-9; 11:2“Nikaribieni na msikilize hili:
“Tangu tangazo la kwanza sikusema kwa siri;
wakati litokeapo, nitakuwako hapo.”
Sasa Bwana Mwenyezi amenituma,
kwa Roho wake.
1748:17 Ay 19:25; Za 32:4; Isa 54:8; 47:4; 28:9; Yer 7:13; Isa 49:10Hili ndilo asemalo Bwana,
Mkombozi wako, yeye Aliye Mtakatifu wa Israeli:
“Mimi ni Bwana, Mungu wako,
nikufundishaye ili upate faida,
nikuongozaye katika njia ikupasayo kuiendea.
1848:18 Kum 5:29; Isa 42:23; Za 147:14; 45:8; Isa 54:13; 33:21; 45:5Laiti ungesikiliza kwa makini maagizo yangu,
amani yako ingekuwa kama mto,
haki yako kama mawimbi ya bahari.
1948:19 Mwa 22:17; Ay 5:25; Yer 35:19; Isa 43:5; 61:9; Mwa 12:2; Isa 56:5Wazao wako wangekuwa kama mchanga,
watoto wako kama chembe zake zisizohesabika;
kamwe jina lao lisingefutiliwa mbali,
wala kuangamizwa kutoka mbele zangu.”
2048:20 Zek 2:6-7; Ufu 18:4; Isa 12:6; Mik 4:10; Isa 52:11; Yer 48:6; 50:8Tokeni huko Babeli,
kimbieni kutoka kwa Wakaldayo!
Tangazeni hili kwa kelele za shangwe
na kulihubiri.
Lipelekeni mpaka miisho ya dunia;
semeni, “Bwana amemkomboa
mtumishi wake Yakobo.”
2148:21 Isa 41:17; 33:16; 30:25; Kut 17:6; Za 105:41; Hes 20:11Hawakuona kiu alipowaongoza kupita jangwani;
alifanya maji yatiririke kutoka kwenye mwamba kwa ajili yao;
akapasua mwamba
na maji yakatoka kwa nguvu.
2248:22 Isa 3:11; 57:21; Ay 3:26“Hakuna amani kwa waovu,” asema Bwana.
