Discovery BoxIsaiah 48:16-18 
Context48:16 Approach me! Listen to this!
From the very first I have not spoken in secret;
when it happens, 1 I am there.”
So now, the sovereign Lord has sent me, accompanied by his spirit. 2
48:17 This is what the Lord, your protector, 3 says,
the Holy One of Israel: 4
“I am the Lord your God,
who teaches you how to succeed,
who leads you in the way you should go.
48:18 If only you had obeyed my 5 commandments,
prosperity would have flowed to you like a river, 6
deliverance would have come to you like the waves of the sea. 7
1 tn Heb “from the time of its occurring.”
2 sn The speaker here is not identified specifically, but he is probably Cyrus, the Lord’s “ally” mentioned in vv. 14-15.
3 tn Heb “your redeemer.” See the note at 41:14.
4 sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.
5 tn Heb “paid attention to” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV); TEV “had listened to.”
6 tn Heb “like a river your peace would have been.” שָׁלוֹם (shalom) probably refers here to the peace and prosperity which God promised in return for obedience to the covenant.
7 tn Heb “and your righteousness like the waves of the sea.” צְדָקָה (tsÿdaqah) probably refers here to divine deliverance from enemies. See v. 19.
