3. I foretold the former things long ago, my mouth announced them and I made them known; then suddenly I acted, and they came to pass.
4. For I knew how stubborn you were; your neck muscles were iron, your forehead was bronze.
5. Therefore I told you these things long ago; before they happened I announced them to you so that you could not say, ‘My images brought them about; my wooden image and metal god ordained them.’
6. You have heard these things; look at them all. Will you not admit them? “From now on I will tell you of new things, of hidden things unknown to you.
7. They are created now, and not long ago; you have not heard of them before today. So you cannot say, ‘Yes, I knew of them.’
8. You have neither heard nor understood; from of old your ears have not been open. Well do I know how treacherous you are; you were called a rebel from birth.
9. For my own name’s sake I delay my wrath; for the sake of my praise I hold it back from you, so as not to destroy you completely.
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.