📖 Isaiah — Chapter 48 (KJV)
Read the complete King James Version chapter below, then explore the passage sections, check what you remember, and keep your private study notes.
Scripture source: Project Gutenberg KJV, ebook 10.
Isaiah 48:1 Hear ye this, O house of Jacob, Rwhich 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.
Isaiah 48:2 For Rthey call themselves of the holy city, and stay themselves upon the God of Israel; The LORD of hosts is his name.
Isaiah 48:3 I have Rdeclared 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.
Isaiah 48:4 Because RI knew that thou art Tobstinate, and thy neck is an iron sinew, and thy brow brass;
Isaiah 48:5 I have Reven 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.
Isaiah 48:6 Thou Rhast 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.
Isaiah 48:7 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.
Isaiah 48:8 Yea, Rthou 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.
Isaiah 48:9 For my name’s sake will I Rdefer mine anger, and for my praise will I refrain for thee, that I cut thee not off.
Isaiah 48:10 Behold, RI have refined thee, but not Twith silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.
Isaiah 48:11 For mine own sake, even for mine own sake, will I do it: Rfor how should my name be polluted? and I will not give my glory unto another.
Isaiah 48:12 RHearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I am he; I am the first, I also am the last.
Isaiah 48:13 Mine hand also hath laid the foundation of the earth, Rand Tmy right hand hath spanned the heavens: when I call unto them, they stand up together.
Isaiah 48:14 All ye, Rassemble 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.
Isaiah 48:15 I, even I, have spoken; yea, I have called him: I have brought him, and he shall make his way prosperous.
Isaiah 48:16 Come ye near unto me, hear ye this; RI 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.
Isaiah 48:17 Thus saith the LORD, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the LORD thy God Rwhich teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go.
Isaiah 48:18 O Rthat thou hadst hearkened to my commandments! then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea:
Isaiah 48:19 Thy Rseed 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.
Isaiah 48:20 Go Rye 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.
Isaiah 48:21 And Rthey 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.
Isaiah 48:22 RThere is no peace, saith the LORD, unto the wicked.
📚 Study This Chapter
📖 What We’re Reading
Isaiah 48:1–8 — Religious names without truthful obedience
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
Israel invokes the Lord but lacks truth and righteousness. God recalls his announced acts and exposes stubborn refusal to hear rather than crediting idols with the outcome.
Key Truth: Let profession be matched by listening obedience.
Check What You Remember
1. Complete the KJV wording: “… make mention of the God of Israel, but not in ____ , nor in righteousness.” (Isaiah 48:1)
Find it in Isaiah 48:1 (KJV).
2. Complete the KJV wording: “They are created now, and not from the ____ ; even before the day when thou heardest them not; …” (Isaiah 48:7)
Find it in Isaiah 48:7 (KJV).
3. Complete the KJV wording: “Yea, thou ____ not; yea, thou knewest not; yea, from that time that …” (Isaiah 48:8)
Find it in Isaiah 48:8 (KJV).
📖 What We’re Reading
Isaiah 48:9–15 — Mercy, refining, and the first and last
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
The Lord restrains anger for his name’s sake and describes refining in affliction. As Creator and the first and last, he summons Israel to hear his declared work.
Key Truth: Receive correction under God’s mercy.
Check What You Remember
1. Complete the KJV wording: “For my name’s sake will I defer mine ____ , and for my praise will I refrain for thee, …” (Isaiah 48:9)
Find it in Isaiah 48:9 (KJV).
2. Complete the KJV wording: “____ unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I am …” (Isaiah 48:12)
Find it in Isaiah 48:12 (KJV).
3. Complete the KJV wording: “I, even I, have ____ ; yea, I have called him: I have brought him, …” (Isaiah 48:15)
Find it in Isaiah 48:15 (KJV).
📖 What We’re Reading
Isaiah 48:16–22 — Learning the way and leaving captivity
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
The Lord teaches what is profitable and leads in the way to go. Israel is called to leave Babylon with testimony of redemption, while the closing warning denies peace to the wicked.
Key Truth: Respond to guidance with changed direction.
Check What You Remember
1. Complete the KJV wording: “… there am I: and now the Lord GOD, and his ____ , hath sent me.” (Isaiah 48:16)
Find it in Isaiah 48:16 (KJV).
2. Complete the KJV wording: “Thy ____ also had been as the sand, and the offspring of …” (Isaiah 48:19)
Find it in Isaiah 48:19 (KJV).
3. Complete the KJV wording: “There is no ____ , saith the LORD, unto the wicked.” (Isaiah 48:22)
Find it in Isaiah 48:22 (KJV).
Related Scripture (KJV)
Psalms 32:8 — God promises instruction in the way to go.
This related passage is selected for its connection with this chapter. It is separate from the chapter text.
Reflect and Apply
What guidance have you heard but not yet followed?
Advanced Questions and Answers
Study this chapter’s wording, patterns, contrasts, and meaning in greater depth.
1. What do iron neck and brass brow portray?
2. What moral failure accompanies failure to hear?
3. What kind of furnace describes the refining?
4. What lost possibility is associated with hearkening to commandments?
5. How is provision in desert travel remembered?
Notes
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