Israel's Stubbornness and God's Resolute Purpose
Isaiah 48:1-11
Isa.48.1 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- שמעו: VERB,qal,impv,2,m,pl
- זאת: DEM,f,sg
- בית: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יעקב: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- הנקראים: PART,niphal,ptc,m,pl,def
- בשם: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- וממי: CONJ
- יהודה: NOUN,m,sg,prop
- יצאו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- הנשבעים: PART,niphal,ptc,m,pl,def
- בשם: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- ובאלהי: CONJ
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יזכירו: VERB,hiph,impf,3,m,pl
- לא: PART_NEG
- באמת: ADV
- ולא: CONJ
- בצדקה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Jer.5.2 (verbal): Speaks of people swearing by the LORD yet doing so falsely — parallels 'who swear by the name of the LORD' but not in truth/righteousness.
- Isa.29.13 (thematic): Condemns lip-service worship—'they draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips'—echoing Isaiah 48:1's charge of invoking God without true righteousness.
- Amos 5.21-24 (thematic): God rejects formal worship when justice and righteousness are absent, reflecting Isaiah 48:1's contrast between invoking God's name and lacking true righteousness.
- Isa.43.1 (structural): Another divine address to 'Jacob'/'Israel' that frames God's relationship with the named people—parallels Isaiah 48:1's opening apostrophe to the house of Jacob called Israel.
Alternative generated candidates
- Hear this, house of Jacob, you who are called by the name Israel and who came from the line of Judah; you who swear by the name of the LORD and call on the God of Israel—yet not in truth and not in righteousness.
- Hear this, house of Jacob, you who are called by the name of Israel, and who came from the line of Judah, who swear by the name of the LORD and invoke the God of Israel—yet not in truth or in righteousness.
Isa.48.2 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- כי: CONJ
- מעיר: PREP
- הקדש: NOUN,m,sg,def
- נקראו: VERB,niphal,perf,3,m,pl
- ועל: CONJ+PREP
- אלהי: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- נסמכו: VERB,niphal,perf,3,m,pl
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- צבאות: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- שמו: NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Isaiah 48:1 (structural): Immediate context: uses similar language about those 'called by the name of Israel' and mentioning 'the God of Israel'—directly linked wording and audience.
- Isaiah 6:3 (verbal): Shares the divine title 'the LORD of hosts' (YHWH Sabaoth), echoing the same exalted name applied to God in Isaiah 48:2.
- Psalm 46:7 (verbal): Declares 'The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge,' paralleling the combined motifs of the LORD of hosts and the God of Israel/Jacob.
- Isaiah 43:7 (thematic): Speaks of those 'called by my name,' thematically linked to being 'called from the holy city' and belonging to the God of Israel in Isaiah 48:2.
Alternative generated candidates
- For from the holy city you were called out, and you leaned upon the God of Israel—‘LORD of hosts’ is his name.
- For you were called from the holy city and leaned on the God of Israel; the LORD of hosts is his name.
Isa.48.3 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- הראשנות: ADJ,f,pl,def
- מאז: ADV
- הגדתי: VERB,hif,perf,1,_,sg
- ומפי: PREP
- יצאו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- ואשמיעם: VERB,hif,impf,1,_,sg
- פתאם: ADV
- עשיתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,_,sg
- ותבאנה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,pl
Parallels
- Isaiah 48:5 (verbal): Very close repetition within the same discourse: God declares things 'from the beginning' and proclaims them before they come to pass, stressing prior revelation and fulfillment.
- Isaiah 42:9 (verbal): Contrasts 'former things' with 'new things I declare'; shares the motif of divine proclamation of events and the timing of revelation.
- Isaiah 46:10 (thematic): Affirms the same theological claim: God declares the end from the beginning and brings his purposes to pass — divine foreknowledge and fulfillment.
- Amos 3:7 (thematic): States that God reveals his plans to his prophets beforehand — parallels the idea that divine speech precedes divine action.
- Deuteronomy 18:21-22 (structural): Gives the criterion for true prophecy: a prophecy spoken in God's name is validated when it comes to pass, echoing the emphasis on fulfillment as proof of divine origin.
Alternative generated candidates
- I declared the former things long ago; from of old I announced them, and they went out from my mouth. Suddenly I did them, and they came to pass.
- The former things I announced from the first; from my mouth they went forth, and I made them known. Suddenly I did them; they came to pass.
Isa.48.4 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- מדעתי: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs+1s
- כי: CONJ
- קשה: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- אתה: PRON,2,m,sg
- וגיד: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ברזל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ערפך: NOUN,m,sg,abs,2mp
- ומצחך: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs+2m
- נחושה: ADJ,f,sg
Parallels
- Exod.32.9 (verbal): God calls Israel a "stiff‑necked" people — the same stubbornness metaphor echoed by Isaiah’s image of an "iron" neck.
- Deut.9.6 (thematic): Uses the motif of Israel’s obstinacy (stiff‑necked/rebellious) to explain divine dealings, paralleling Isaiah’s emphasis on their hardness of will.
- Ezek.3.8‑9 (verbal): God/prophet imagery of a hard face/forehead ("like an adamant/brazed brow") and a stubborn people — a close verbal parallel to Isaiah’s "brow of bronze."
- Jer.1.18 (allusion): God speaks of making Jeremiah an "iron pillar" and "bronze walls," using metal imagery of strength/hardness comparable to Isaiah’s iron neck and bronze brow.
Alternative generated candidates
- Because I knew that you are stubborn, that your neck is an iron sinew and your brow bronze.
- For I knew that you are obstinate; your neck is iron, your brow is bronze.
Isa.48.5 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- ואגיד: VERB,qal,impf,1,NA,sg
- לך: PRON,2,m,sg
- מאז: ADV
- בטרם: PREP
- תבוא: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- השמעתיך: VERB,hiph,perf,1,_,sg
- פן: CONJ
- תאמר: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- עצבי: NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,1,NA,sg
- עשם: VERB,qal,perf,3,NA,pl
- ופסלי: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,1,NA,sg
- ונסכי: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,1,NA,sg
- צום: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Isaiah 43:12-13 (verbal): Uses very similar language asserting God declared former things and showed them before they came to pass, to demonstrate his unique knowledge and action.
- Isaiah 46:10 (thematic): Speaks of God ‘declaring the end from the beginning,’ the same theme of divine foreknowledge and declaration of future events.
- Isaiah 41:22-24 (thematic): Challenges idols to declare future events or justify themselves — the contrast between the living God who reveals and powerless idols is the same concern as in Isa. 48:5.
- Deuteronomy 18:20-22 (thematic): Provides the rule for testing prophetic claims (if a predicted event does not occur the prophet is false), related to God’s revealing future events so people will not credit idols.
Alternative generated candidates
- Therefore I announced them to you long ago, before they came to pass I proclaimed them, lest you should say, “My images did them, my carved and molten figures commanded them.”
- I told you beforehand—before they came to be I announced them to you—lest you say, ‘My carved images made them, my idols and molten things commanded them.’
Isa.48.6 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- שמעת: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- חזה: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- כלה: ADV
- ואתם: CONJ+PRON,2,pl
- הלוא: PART
- תגידו: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,pl
- השמעתיך: VERB,hiph,perf,1,_,sg
- חדשות: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- מעתה: ADV
- ונצרות: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- ולא: CONJ
- ידעתם: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,pl
Parallels
- Isaiah 42:9 (verbal): Uses the same idea and similar wording about declaring 'new things' after former things have occurred—close verbal and thematic parallel within Isaiah's prophecy.
- Isaiah 43:19 (thematic): God announces that he will do a 'new thing'; both verses emphasize God's revelation of unexpected, fresh actions or revelations.
- Isaiah 46:10 (allusion): Speaks of declaring 'the end from the beginning' and revealing what was hidden—parallels Isaiah 48:6's claim to disclose hidden/new things unknown to the audience.
- Amos 3:7 (thematic): Affirms that God reveals his secrets to his prophets—connects with Isaiah 48:6's theme of divine disclosure of previously hidden matters.
- Jeremiah 33:3 (verbal): Promises that God will 'show' great and hidden things; closely parallels the language and promise in Isaiah 48:6 of revealing things unknown to the people.
Alternative generated candidates
- You have heard—see all of it!—will you not declare it? I announced them to you from of old; before they came I proclaimed them to you, that you might not say, “Behold, they are new to me, I did not know them.”
- You have heard—see all of it; will you not declare it? I have announced to you new and hidden things from this time, which you did not know.
Isa.48.7 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- עתה: ADV
- נבראו: VERB,nip,perf,3,m,pl
- ולא: CONJ
- מאז: ADV
- ולפני: CONJ+PREP
- יום: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ולא: CONJ
- שמעתם: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,pl
- פן: CONJ
- תאמר: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- הנה: PART
- ידעתין: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,pl
Parallels
- Isaiah 42:9 (verbal): Uses similar language about 'former things' and declaring 'new things' before they come, echoing the motif of God announcing what was not previously known.
- Isaiah 43:19 (thematic): God announces a 'new thing' he will do that was not done before, paralleling the theme of unprecedented acts disclosed by God.
- Habakkuk 1:5 (thematic): Declares that God will work in a way people would not believe if told—closely related to the idea that the deeds were not heard of before so no one could claim prior knowledge.
- Isaiah 48:3 (structural): Immediate context: God says he declared former things from the beginning and brings about events—this verse frames 48:7's contrast between past declarations and newly revealed acts.
Alternative generated candidates
- They were created now, not long ago; before today you had not heard of them, so that you could not say, “Behold, I knew them.”
- Now they have been created; not long ago—you did not hear of them before today, lest you say, ‘Behold, I knew them.’
Isa.48.8 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- גם: ADV
- לא: PART_NEG
- שמעת: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- גם: ADV
- לא: PART_NEG
- ידעת: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- גם: ADV
- מאז: ADV
- לא: PART_NEG
- פתחה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- אזנך: NOUN,f,sg,abs,2,m,sg
- כי: CONJ
- ידעתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,?,sg
- בגוד: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- תבגוד: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- ופשע: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מבטן: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- קרא: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- לך: PRON,2,m,sg
Parallels
- Jeremiah 1:5 (thematic): God's knowledge of a person before birth—'Before I formed you in the womb I knew you' parallels 'I knew... from the womb' in Isaiah 48:8.
- Psalm 139:13-16 (thematic): Depicts God's intimate knowledge and formation of the unborn ('woven in my mother's womb'), echoing the motif of foreknowledge/awareness from the womb.
- Isaiah 29:10 (verbal): Speaks of the LORD pouring out a spirit of deep sleep and closing eyes/hearing—parallels Isaiah 48:8's claim that Israel's ear was not opened and they did not hear.
- Romans 11:8 (quotation): Paul cites Isaiah's language about a spirit of stupor and eyes/ears that cannot perceive—New Testament use of the same motif of judicial hardening echoed in Isa. 48:8.
Alternative generated candidates
- You did not hear, you did not know; indeed, from of old your ear was not opened. For I knew that you would act very treacherously, and from the womb you were called a rebel.
- You did not hear or know; from then your ear was not opened. For I knew that you would be obstinate and commit transgression; from the womb you were called a rebel.
Isa.48.9 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- למען: PREP
- שמי: NOUN,m,sg,abs+1cs
- אאריך: VERB,qal,impf,1,m,sg
- אפי: NOUN,m,sg,poss1s
- ותהלתי: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs,1,sg
- אחטם: VERB,qal,impf,1,m,sg
- לך: PRON,2,m,sg
- לבלתי: PART,neg
- הכריתך: VERB,qal,perf,1,m,sg
Parallels
- Ezek.20:9 (verbal): Uses the same rationale—God acts or withholds judgment 'for my name's sake' to prevent profaning his name among the nations; close verbal parallel to Isaiah's phrase.
- Ezek.36:22-23 (verbal): God declares he will act for the sake of his holy name and vindicate it among the nations—theme of divine restraint and action motivated by God's name, echoing Isaiah 48:9.
- Exod.34:6-7 (thematic): Portrait of God as merciful, patient, and forgiving (yet just); provides the theological background for why God delays wrath and withholds destruction in Isaiah 48:9.
- Jer.18:7-10 (structural): Presents the principle that God may relent or withhold predicted judgment when people turn, paralleling Isaiah's idea of God refraining from cutting off Israel.
- Ps.25:11 (verbal): Psalmist petitions forgiveness 'for thy name's sake,' reflecting the motif that God's action (forgiveness/mercy) is connected to the honor of his name as in Isaiah 48:9.
Alternative generated candidates
- For my own name’s sake I will delay my wrath, and for my praise I will restrain it for you—so as not to destroy you.
- For my name’s sake I will lengthen my patience; for my praise I will restrain it, so that I do not cut you off.
Isa.48.10 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- הנה: PART
- צרפתיך: VERB,qal,perf,1,m,sg
- ולא: CONJ
- בכסף: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בחרתיך: VERB,qal,perf,1,c,sg
- בכור: NOUN,m,sg,const
- עני: ADJ,m,sg
Parallels
- Malachi 3:3 (verbal): Uses the same refiner-of-silver image of God purifying his people—'He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver.'
- Zechariah 13:9 (verbal): Speaks of refining/putting through the fire so that a remnant is tested and saved—'I will bring the third through the fire; I will refine them as silver is refined.'
- Psalm 66:10 (verbal): Describes God's testing of his people with the simile of silver being tried in a furnace—'For you, O God, have tested us; you have tried us as silver is tried.'
- Isaiah 1:25 (structural): Within the same book, God promises to smelt away dross and purify Israel—'I will turn my hand against you and will smelt away your dross as with lye.'
Alternative generated candidates
- Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.
- Behold, I have refined you—not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.
Isa.48.11 - Details
Translation
Original Text
Morphology
- למעני: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,suff1
- למעני: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,suff1
- אעשה: VERB,qal,impf,1,_,sg
- כי: CONJ
- איך: ADV
- יחל: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- וכבודי: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs,1,sg
- לאחר: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לא: PART_NEG
- אתן: VERB,qal,impf,1,sg
Parallels
- Isaiah 42:8 (verbal): Same insistence on God's exclusive glory—"I am the LORD; that is my name; I will not give my glory to another."
- Isaiah 48:9 (structural): Immediate context: God acts "for my name's sake/for my praise," closely paralleling "for my own sake... my glory I will not give."
- Ezekiel 36:22-23 (verbal): God declares his actions are for the sake of his holy name—"I act for my holy name's sake... that the nations may know."
- Ezekiel 20:14 (verbal): Similar wording: God states he acted "for my name's sake," to prevent his name from being profaned among the nations.
- Psalm 106:8 (thematic): Speaks of God saving Israel "for his name's sake," reflecting the motif that God's actions serve his reputation and glory.
Alternative generated candidates
- For my sake—yes, for my sake I will act; how could my name be profaned? I will not give my glory to another.
- For my own sake, for my own sake I will act; how should my name be profaned? I will not give my glory to another.
Hear this, house of Jacob, you who are called by the name Israel, and who come from the line of Judah—those who are sworn by the name of the LORD and invoke the God of Israel, yet not in truth and not in righteousness.
For you were called out of the holy city, and relied upon the God of Israel—the LORD of hosts is his name.
The former things I declared from of old; from my mouth they went forth, and I announced them—suddenly I did them, and they came to pass.
For I knew that you are stubborn; your neck is an iron sinew and your brow is bronze.
I told you from of old before they came to pass; I announced them to you, lest you should say, 'My idols made them, my carved images and my molten images commanded them.'
You have heard—behold, all of you!—will you not say, 'You have announced them; they are new to us; we did not know them'? Now they have come into being; not long ago they were formed; before this day you had not heard of them, so that you cannot say, 'Behold, I knew them.'
Nor did you hear, nor did you know; long ago your ear was not open. For I knew that you would be obstinate and act treacherously; from the womb you were called a rebel.
For my name's sake I will hold back my anger, and for my praise I will restrain it toward you, that I may not destroy you.
Behold, I have refined you, not with silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.
For my own sake, for my own sake I will act; for how should my name be profaned? I will not give my glory to another.