Isaiah 48:12-22

The Lord's Call to Israel

12 "Listen to me, O Jacob, and Israel, whom I called! I am he; ¹I am the first, and I am the last.

13 My hand ²laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand ³spread out the heavens; ⁴when I call to them, they stand forth together.

14 "Assemble, all of you, and listen! ⁵Who among them has declared these things? The LORD loves him; ⁶he shall perform his purpose on Babylon, and his arm shall be against ⁷the Chaldeans.

15 ⁸I, even I, have spoken and called him; I have brought him, and he will prosper in his way.

16 ⁹Draw near to me, hear this: from the beginning I have not spoken in secret, from the time it came to be I have been there." And now ¹⁰the Lord GOD has sent me, and his Spirit.

17 Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: "I am the LORD your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you in the way you should go.

18 ¹¹Oh that you had paid attention to my commandments! ¹²Then your peace would have been like a river, and your righteousness like the waves of the sea;

19 ¹³your offspring would have been like the sand, and your descendants like its grains; their name would never be cut off or destroyed from before me."

20 ¹⁴Go out from Babylon, flee from ¹⁵Chaldea, declare this ¹⁶with a shout of joy, proclaim it, send it out to the end of the earth; say, ¹⁷"The LORD has redeemed his servant Jacob!"

21 ¹⁸They did not thirst when he led them through the deserts; ¹⁹he made water flow for them from the rock; he split the rock and the water gushed out.

22 ²⁰"There is no peace," says the LORD, "for the wicked."

Isaiah 48:12-22 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO ISAIAH 48

The prophecy of this chapter is concerning the deliverance and salvation of the Jews, and is addressed unto them; who are described by their natural descent and lineage, and by their hypocrisy in religious things, Isa 48:1,2. By their obstinacy and impudence, and by their proneness to idolatry, and to ascribe that to idols which belonged to God; which were the reasons why the Lord foretold all former things to them, before they came to pass, Isa 48:3-5. And for the same reasons also he declared unto them what should be hereafter, particularly the destruction of Babylon, and their deliverance by Cyrus, Isa 48:6-8. From which account of them it would clearly appear, that it was not for any merits of theirs, but for his own name's sake, for his own glory, that he chose them, purified, and saved them as gold tried in the fire, Isa 48:9-11. He observes his own perfections, his eternity and immutability, and power displayed in creation, to engage their faith in the promise of deliverance, Isa 48:12,13 and points out the deliverer Cyrus, a type of Christ, whom he loved, called, sent, and made him prosperous, Isa 48:14-16. Then he directs them to walk in his ways, with promises of peace and prosperity, Isa 48:17-19. And the chapter is concluded with an exhortation to go out of Babylon with joy, publishing wherever they came their redemption, and who would be supplied with all necessaries in their return to their own land; only it should be observed, that there was no peace or happiness for the wicked, Isa 48:20-22.

Cross References

• 1. See Isaiah 41:4
• 2. Isaiah 51:13; [Psalms 102:25; Hebrews 1:10]
• 3. Isaiah 51:13; [Psalms 102:25; Hebrews 1:10]
• 4. [Isaiah 40:26]
• 5. [Isaiah 41:26]
• 6. Isaiah 46:10, 11
• 7. Isaiah 23:13; Isaiah 47:1
• 8. See Isaiah 45:1-3
• 9. Isaiah 45:19
• 10. Isaiah 61:1
• 11. Psalms 81:13; Luke 19:42; [Deuteronomy 32:29]
• 12. Isaiah 66:12
• 13. Isaiah 10:22; Genesis 22:17; Hosea 1:10
• 14. Isaiah 52:11; Jeremiah 50:8; Jeremiah 51:6, 45; Zechariah 2:6, 7
• 15. Isaiah 23:13; Isaiah 47:1
• 16. [Isaiah 35:10; Isaiah 52:9]
• 17. Isaiah 44:23; [Exodus 19:4-6]
• 18. [Isaiah 35:6; Isaiah 44:3; Deuteronomy 8:15]
• 19. Isaiah 43:19; Exodus 17:6; Numbers 20:11
• 20. Isaiah 57:21