New International Version

Isaiah 48:10-17 New International Version (NIV)

10. See, I have refined you, though not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.

11. For my own sake, for my own sake, I do this. How can I let myself be defamed? I will not yield my glory to another.

12. “Listen to me, Jacob, Israel, whom I have called: I am he; I am the first and I am the last.

13. My own hand laid the foundations of the earth, and my right hand spread out the heavens; when I summon them, they all stand up together.

14. “Come together, all of you, and listen: Which of the idols has foretold these things? The Lord’s chosen ally will carry out his purpose against Babylon; his arm will be against the Babylonians.

15. I, even I, have spoken; yes, I have called him. I will bring him, and he will succeed in his mission.

16. “Come near me and listen to this: “From the first announcement I have not spoken in secret; at the time it happens, I am there.” And now the Sovereign Lord has sent me, endowed with his Spirit.

17. This is what the Lord says— your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go.