Isaiah:48-49

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* Hear ye this , O house of Jacob , which are called by the name of Israel , and are come forth out of the waters of Judah , which swear by the name of the LORD , and make mention of the God of Israel , but not in truth , nor in righteousness . * For they call themselves of the holy city , and stay themselves upon the God of Israel ; The LORD of hosts is his name . * I have declared the former things from the beginning ; and they went forth out of my mouth , and I shewed them ; I did them suddenly , and they came to pass . * Because I knew that thou art obstinate , and thy neck is an iron sinew , and thy brow brass ; * I have even from the beginning declared it to thee ; before it came to pass I shewed it thee : lest thou shouldest say , Mine idol hath done them , and my graven image , and my molten image , hath commanded them . * Thou hast heard , see all this ; and will not ye declare it ? I have shewed thee new things from this time , even hidden things , and thou didst not know them . * They are created now , and not from the beginning ; even before the day when thou heardest them not ; lest thou shouldest say , Behold , I knew them . * Yea , thou heardest not ; yea , thou knewest not ; yea , from that time that thine ear was not opened : for I knew that thou wouldest deal very treacherously , and wast called a transgressor from the womb . * For my name 's sake will I defer mine anger , and for my praise will I refrain for thee , that I cut thee not off . * Behold , I have refined thee , but not with silver ; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction . * For mine own sake , even for mine own sake , will I do it : for how should my name be polluted ? and I will not give my glory unto another . * Hearken unto me , O Jacob and Israel , my called ; I am he ; I am the first , I also am the last . * Mine hand also hath laid the foundation of the earth , and my right hand hath spanned the heavens : when I call unto them , they stand up together . * All ye , assemble yourselves , and hear ; which among them hath declared these things ? The LORD hath loved him : he will do his pleasure on Babylon , and his arm shall be on the Chaldeans . * I , even I , have spoken ; yea , I have called him : I have brought him , and he shall make his way prosperous . * Come ye near unto me , hear ye this ; I have not spoken in secret from the beginning ; from the time that it was , there am I : and now the Lord GOD , and his Spirit , hath sent me . * Thus saith the LORD , thy Redeemer , the Holy One of Israel ; I am the LORD thy God which teacheth thee to profit , which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go . * O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments ! then had thy peace been as a river , and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea : * Thy seed also had been as the sand , and the offspring of thy bowels like the gravel thereof ; his name should not have been cut off nor destroyed from before me . * Go ye forth of Babylon , flee ye from the Chaldeans , with a voice of singing declare ye , tell this , utter it even to the end of the earth ; say ye , The LORD hath redeemed his servant Jacob . * And they thirsted not when he led them through the deserts : he caused the waters to flow out of the rock for them : he clave the rock also , and the waters gushed out . * There is no peace , saith the LORD , unto the wicked . * Listen , O isles , unto me ; and hearken , ye people , from far ; The LORD hath called me from the womb ; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name . * And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword ; in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me , and made me a polished shaft ; in his quiver hath he hid me ; * And said unto me , Thou art my servant , O Israel , in whom I will be glorified . * Then I said , I have laboured in vain , I have spent my strength for nought , and in vain : yet surely my judgment is with the LORD , and my work with my God . * And now , saith the LORD that formed me from the womb to be his servant , to bring Jacob again to him , Though Israel be not gathered , yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the LORD , and my God shall be my strength . * And he said , It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob , and to restore the preserved of Israel : I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles , that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth . * Thus saith the LORD , the Redeemer of Israel , and his Holy One , to him whom man despiseth , to him whom the nation abhorreth , to a servant of rulers , Kings shall see and arise , princes also shall worship , because of the LORD that is faithful , and the Holy One of Israel , and he shall choose thee . * Thus saith the LORD , In an acceptable time have I heard thee , and in a day of salvation have I helped thee : and I will preserve thee , and give thee for a covenant of the people , to establish the earth , to cause to inherit the desolate heritages ; * That thou mayest say to the prisoners , Go forth ; to them that are in darkness , Shew yourselves . They shall feed in the ways , and their pastures shall be in all high places . * They shall not hunger nor thirst ; neither shall the heat nor sun smite them : for he that hath mercy on them shall lead them , even by the springs of water shall he guide them . * And I will make all my mountains a way , and my highways shall be exalted . * Behold , these shall come from far : and , lo , these from the north and from the west ; and these from the land of Sinim . * Sing , O heavens ; and be joyful , O earth ; and break forth into singing , O mountains : for the LORD hath comforted his people , and will have mercy upon his afflicted . * But Zion said , The LORD hath forsaken me , and my Lord hath forgotten me . * Can a woman forget her sucking child , that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb ? yea , they may forget , yet will I not forget thee . * Behold , I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands ; thy walls are continually before me . * Thy children shall make haste ; thy destroyers and they that made thee waste shall go forth of thee . * Lift up thine eyes round about , and behold : all these gather themselves together , and come to thee . As I live , saith the LORD , thou shalt surely clothe thee with them all , as with an ornament , and bind them on thee , as a bride doeth . * For thy waste and thy desolate places , and the land of thy destruction , shall even now be too narrow by reason of the inhabitants , and they that swallowed thee up shall be far away . * The children which thou shalt have , after thou hast lost the other , shall say again in thine ears , The place is too strait for me : give place to me that I may dwell . * Then shalt thou say in thine heart , Who hath begotten me these , seeing I have lost my children , and am desolate , a captive , and removing to and fro ? and who hath brought up these ? Behold , I was left alone ; these , where had they been ? * Thus saith the Lord GOD , Behold , I will lift up mine hand to the Gentiles , and set up my standard to the people : and they shall bring thy sons in their arms , and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders . * And kings shall be thy nursing fathers , and their queens thy nursing mothers : they shall bow down to thee with their face toward the earth , and lick up the dust of thy feet ; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD : for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me . * Shall the prey be taken from the mighty , or the lawful captive delivered ? * But thus saith the LORD , Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away , and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered : for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee , and I will save thy children . * And I will feed them that oppress thee with their own flesh ; and they shall be drunken with their own blood , as with sweet wine : and all flesh shall know that I the LORD am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer , the mighty One of Jacob . * Thus saith the LORD , Where is the bill of your mother 's divorcement , whom I have put away ? or which of my creditors is it to whom I have sold you ? Behold , for your iniquities have ye sold yourselves , and for your transgressions is your mother put away .

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