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| 1 Hear ye this, house of Jacob, who are called by the name of Israel, and are come forth out of the waters of Judah, who swear by the name of Jehovah, and make mention of the God of Israel, not in truth, nor in righteousness. |
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| 2 For they are named after the holy city, and stay themselves upon the God of Israel: Jehovah of hosts is his name. |
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| 3 I have declared the former things long ago; and they went forth out of my mouth, and I caused them to be heard: I wrought suddenly, and they came to pass. |
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| 4 Because I knew that thou art obstinate, and thy neck is an iron sinew, and thy brow brass, |
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| 5 so I have long ago declared them to thee; before they came to pass I caused thee to hear them; lest thou shouldest say, Mine idol hath done them, and my graven image, or my molten image hath commanded them. |
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| 6 Thou heardest, see all this; --and ye, will not ye declare it? I have caused thee to hear new things from this time, and things hidden, and that thou knewest not: |
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| 7 they are created now, and not long ago; and before this day thou hast not heard them, lest thou shouldest say, Behold, I knew them.
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| 8 Yea, thou heardest not, yea, thou knewest not, yea, from of old thine ear was not opened; for I knew that thou wouldest ever deal treacherously, and thou wast called a transgressor from the womb. |
Transgressor from the womb – The children of Adam are not in God's image, but love sin. R5286:5
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| 9 For my name's sake I will defer mine anger, and for my praise will I refrain as to thee, that I cut thee not off. |
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| 10 Behold, I have refined thee, but not as silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction. |
Furnace – Figurative and symbolic of affliction, fiery trials, by which we are relined. R2971:2
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| 11 For mine own sake, for mine own sake, will I do it; for how should my name be profaned? and I will not give my glory unto another. |
Not give my glory – Neither to Jews nor Gentiles, but keeps it for himself. R2126:4
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| 12 Hearken unto me, Jacob, and thou Israel, my called. I am HE; I, the first, and I, the last. |
Hearken unto me – Beginning a new subject from that of verses 9 to 11. R2126:4
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| 13 Yea, my hand hath laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spread abroad the heavens: I call unto them, they stand up together. |
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| 14 All ye, gather yourselves together, and hear: which among them hath declared these things? He whom Jehovah hath loved shall execute his pleasure on Babylon, and his arm shall be on the Chaldeans. |
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| 15 I, even I, have spoken; yea, I have called him; I have brought him, and his way shall be prosperous. |
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| 16 Come 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 Jehovah hath sent me, and his Spirit. |
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| 17 Thus saith Jehovah, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am Jehovah thy God, who teacheth thee for thy profit, who leadeth thee in the way that thou shouldest go. |
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| 18 Oh that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments! Then would thy peace have been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea; |
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| 19 and thy seed would have been as the sand, and the offspring of thy bowels like the gravel thereof: their name should not have been cut off nor destroyed from before me. |
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| 20 Go ye forth from Babylon, flee from the Chaldeans, with a voice of singing; declare, cause this to be heard, utter it to the end of the earth; say ye, Jehovah hath redeemed his servant Jacob. |
Go ye forth – The "wheat" will first all be separated from the "tares." R2538:1
Of Babylon – A reference to the restoration of the Jews from literal Babylon. R3643:1, R4893:4
The Lord now calls his people forth from mystic Babylon. R3643:4, R2538:1
Voice of singing – A writer describes it thus: "Forth from the gates of Babylon they rode to the sound of joyous music--a band of horsemen playing on flutes and tabrets, accompanied by their own 200 minstrels and 128 singers of the Temple." (Ezra 2:41-65) R3643:1, R4893:4
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| 21 And they thirsted not when he led them through the deserts; he caused the waters to flow out of the rock for them; yea, he clave the rock, and the waters gushed out. |
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| 22 There is no peace, saith Jehovah, unto the wicked. |
There is no peace – God is not favorable for peace at the present time and under present circumstances. SM457:T
There is no peace to any man out of Christ. R1841:1
The wicked are self-seeking and grasping; filled with anger if they cannot get what they want; with malice if they see someone enjoying what they cannot have. All these things indicate a lack of peace. R4818:2
Unto the wicked – Broadly, the entire human family; only a comparatively small number have ceased to be wicked. SM457:1
"The wicked are like the troubled sea" (Isa. 57:20), continually casting up mire and dirt. R4818:2
Man's true peace can be found only in harmony with his Creator. R1841:1
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