Isaiah 48:3-6

48:3 “I announced events beforehand,

I issued the decrees and made the predictions;

suddenly I acted and they came to pass.

48:4 I did this because I know how stubborn you are.

Your neck muscles are like iron

and your forehead like bronze.

48:5 I announced them to you beforehand;

before they happened, I predicted them for you,

so you could never say,

‘My image did these things,

my idol, my cast image, decreed them.’

48:6 You have heard; now look at all the evidence!

Will you not admit that what I say is true?

From this point on I am announcing to you new events

that are previously unrevealed and you do not know about.


tn Heb “the former things beforehand I declared.”

tn Heb “and from my mouth they came forth and I caused them to be heard.”

tn The words “I did this” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. In the Hebrew text v. 4 is subordinated to v. 3.

sn The image is that of a person who has tensed the muscles of the face and neck as a sign of resolute refusal.

tn Heb “gaze [at] all of it”; KJV “see all this.”

tn Heb “[as for] you, will you not declare?”

tn Heb “and hidden things, and you do not know them.”