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Isaiah 48
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Isaiah 48 from Scroll 1Q Isaiaha

“Hear this, house of Jacob,

you who are called by the name of Israel,

and have come out of the waters of Judah.

You swear by Yahweh’s name,

and make mention of the God of Israel,

but not in truth, nor in righteousness

(for they call themselves citizens of the holy city,

and rely on the God of Israel;

Yahweh of Armies is his name):

I have declared the former things from of old;

yes, they went out of my mouth, and I revealed them.

I did them suddenly, and they happened.

Because I knew of my knowledge that you are obstinate,

and your neck is an iron sinew,

and your brow bronze;

therefore I have declared it to you from of old;

before it came to pass I showed it to you;

lest you should say, ‘My idol has done them, and my engraved image, and my molten image, has commanded them.’

You have heard it;

see all this.

And you, won’t you declare it?

I have shown you new things from this time,

even hidden things, which you have not known.

They are created now, and not from of old;

and before today you didn’t hear them;

lest you should say, ‘Behold, I knew them.’

And yes, you didn’t hear;

yes, you didn’t know;

yes, from of old your ear was not opened:

for I knew that you dealt very treacherously,

and were called a transgressor from the womb.

For my name’s sake, I will defer my anger,

and for my praise I hold it back for you,

so that I don’t cut you off.

10 Behold, I have refined you,

but not as silver.

I have chosen you in the furnace of affliction.

11 For my own sake,

for my own sake, I will do it;

for how would my name be profaned?

I will not give my glory to another.

 

12 “Listen to me, O Jacob,

and Israel my called:

I am he;

I am the first,

I am also the last.

13 Yes, my hand has laid the foundation of the earth,

and my right hand has spread out the heavens.

when I call to them, then they stand up together.

 

14 Assemble yourselves, all of you, and hear;

who among them has declared these things?

He whom Yahweh loves will do what he likes to Babylon,

and his arm will be against the Chaldeans.

15 I, even I, have spoken;

yes, I have called him.

I have brought him,

and he shall make his way prosperous.

16 Come near to me and hear this:

From the beginning I have not spoken in secret;

from the time that it happened, I was there.”

Now the Lord Yahweh has sent me,

with his Spirit.

 

17 Yahweh,

your Redeemer,

the Holy One of Israel says:

“I am Yahweh your God,

who teaches you to profit,

who leads you by the way that you should go.

18 And oh that you had listened to my commandments!

Then your peace would have been be like a river,

and your righteousness like the waves of the sea.

19 Your offspring also would have been as the sand,

and the descendants of your body like its grains.

His name would not be cut off nor destroyed from before me.”

 

20 Leave Babylon!

Flee from the Chaldeans!

With a voice of singing announce this,

tell it even to the end of the earth:

say, “Yahweh has redeemed his servant Jacob!”

21 They didn’t thirst when he led them him through the deserts.

He caused the waters to flow out of the rock for them.

He split the rock also, and the waters gushed out.

 

22 And there is no peace”, says Yahweh, “for the wicked.”

 

Isaiah 48 from Scroll 1Q Isaiahb

17 Yahweh,

your Redeemer,

the Holy One of Israel says:

“I am Yahweh your God,

who teaches you to profit,

who leads you by the way that you should go.

18 Oh that you had listened to my commandments!

Then your peace would have been like a river,

and your righteousness like the waves of the sea.

19 Your offspring also would have been as the sand,

and the descendants of your body like its grains.

His name would not be cut off nor destroyed from before me.”

 

20 Leave Babylon!

Flee from the Chaldeans!

With a voice of singing announce this,

tell it even to the end of the earth:

say, “Yahweh has redeemed his servant Jacob!”

21 They didn’t thirst when he led them through the deserts.

He caused the waters to flow out of the rock for them.

He split the rock also, and the waters gushed out.

 

22 “There is no peace”, says Yahweh, “for the wicked.”

 

Isaiah 48 from Scroll 4Q56 Isaiahb

6 You have heard it;

see all this.

And you, won’t you declare it?

 

“I have shown you new things from this time,

even hidden things, which you have not known.

[..]

Yes, you didn’t hear;

yes, you didn’t know;

yes, from of old your ear was not opened:

for I knew that you dealt very treacherously,

and were called a transgressor from the womb.

 

Isaiah 48 from Scroll 4Q57 Isaiahc

10 Behold, I have refined you,

but not as silver.

I have chosen you in the furnace of affliction.

11 For my own sake,

for my own sake, I will do it;

for how would my name I be profaned?

I will not give my glory to another.

 

12 “Listen to me, O Jacob,

and Israel my called:

I am he;

I am the first,

I am also the last.

13 Yes, my hand has laid the foundation of the earth,

and my right hand has spread out the heavens.

when I call to them, they stand up together.

 

14 “Assemble yourselves, all of you, and hear;

who among them has declared these things?

He whom Yahweh loves[1] will do what he likes to Babylon,

and his arm will be against the Chaldeans.

15 I, even I, have spoken;

yes, I have called him.

I have brought him,

and he I shall make his way prosperous.

[..]

17 Yahweh,

your Redeemer,

the Holy One of Israel says:

“I am Yahweh your God,

who teaches you to profit,

who leads you by the way that you should go.

18 Oh that you had listened to my commandments!

Then your peace would have been like a river,

and your righteousness like the waves of the sea.

19 Your offspring also would have been as the sand,

and the descendants of your body like its grains.

His name would not be cut off nor destroyed from before me.”

 

Isaiah 48 from Scroll 4Q58 Isaiahd

8 Yes, you didn’t hear;

yes, you didn’t know;

yes, from of old your ear was not opened:

for I knew that you dealt very treacherously,

and were called a transgressor from the womb.

For my name’s sake, I will defer my anger,

and for my praise I hold it back for you,

so that I don’t cut you off.

10 Behold, I have refined you,

but not as silver.

I have chosen you in the furnace of affliction.

11 For my own sake,

for my own sake, I will do it;

for how would my name be profaned?

I will not give my glory to another.

 

12 “Listen to me, O Jacob,

and Israel my called:

I am he;

I am the first,

I am also the last.

13 Yes, my hand has laid the foundation of the earth,

and my right hand has spread out the heavens.

when I call to them, and they stand up together.

 

14 “Assemble yourselves, all of you, and hear;

who among them has declared these things?

He whom Yahweh loves will do what he likes to Babylon,

and his arm will be against the Chaldeans.

15 I, even I, have spoken;

yes, I have called him.

I have brought him,

and he shall make his way prosperous.

16 Come near to me and hear this:

 

“From the beginning I have not spoken in secret;

from the time that it happened, I was there.”

 

Now the Lord Yahweh has sent me,

with his Spirit.

 

17 Yahweh,

your Redeemer,

the Holy One of Israel says:

“I am Yahweh your God,

who teaches you to profit,

who leads you by the way that you should go.

18 Oh that you had listened to my commandments!

Then your peace would have been like a river,

and your righteousness like the waves of the sea.

19 Your offspring also would have been as the sand,

and the descendants of your body like its grains.

His name would not be cut off nor destroyed from before me.”

 

20 Leave Babylon!

Flee from the Chaldeans!

With a voice of singing announce this,

tell it even to the end of the earth:

say, “Yahweh has redeemed his servant Jacob!”

21 They didn’t thirst when he led them through the deserts.

He caused the waters to flow out of the rock for them.

He split the rock also, and the waters gushed out.

 

22 “There is no peace”, says Yahweh, for the wicked.”

 

 



[1] The verb tense of “love” is probably different from the MT, but too much of the verse is missing to be sure.

How to read these pages:

      The translation to the left is based on the World English Bible. Words in regular black font are words in the scrolls matching the traditional text for that passage.

      Words in italics cannot be seen in the scroll, since the scroll is fragmentary. These words are supplied for readability by the World English Bible translation.

      Words present in the scroll but with some letters unreadable or missing are in blue like this: blue. One Hebrew word often is translated into multiple English words, and when this occurs, all the English words are in blue.

      Words present in the scroll but with spelling differences that do not affect the meaning are in green like this: green. This is common in Hebrew.

      If the scroll is different from the traditional text, words in the traditional text that are missing from the text of the scroll are marked through in red like this: strike-through.

      If the scroll is different from the traditional text, words in the scroll that are not in the traditional text are underlined in red like this: new words.