Isaiah 48:3

3 The former things I declared long ago, they went out from my mouth and I made them known; then suddenly I did them and they came to pass.

Isaiah 48:3 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 48:3

I have declared the former things from the beginning
From the time of their first ancestors, from the time of Abraham their father, to whom was declared what should befall his posterity; that they should sojourn in Egypt, be afflicted there, and come out from thence with great substance; that they be brought into the land of Canaan, and the inhabitants of it being driven out before them, ( Genesis 15:13-18 ) . And they went forth out of my mouth, and I showed them;
they were told to Abraham by word of mouth; they were shown to him in prophecy: I did them suddenly, and they came to pass;
for very quickly these things began to take place, even in Abraham's time; for his seed being a stranger in a land not theirs, and afflicted near four hundred years, must be reckoned from the birth of Isaac; and all which exactly came to pass as was foretold; not one thing which the Lord had spoken of failed; all was punctually fulfilled, ( Joshua 21:45 ) .

Isaiah 48:3 In-Context

1 Hear this, O house of Jacob, who are called by the name of Israel, and who came forth from the loins of Judah; who swear by the name of the Lord, and invoke the God of Israel, but not in truth or right.
2 For they call themselves after the holy city, and lean on the God of Israel; the Lord of hosts is his name.
3 The former things I declared long ago, they went out from my mouth and I made them known; then suddenly I did them and they came to pass.
4 Because I know that you are obstinate, and your neck is an iron sinew and your forehead brass,
5 I declared them to you from long ago, before they came to pass I announced them to you, so that you would not say, "My idol did them, my carved image and my cast image commanded them."
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.