Isaiah 46-48

Isaiah 46
1-13 Cyrus, God's Instrument (cont'd)

1-2 Babylonian idols Bel and Nebo bow down and weigh down their people; they cannot save them from captivity.
3-4 Listen to me, O Israel. I am the one who carried you from birth to death, the one who will save you.
5-7 Compare that to idols of gold. You must carry them! They don't take care of you; they can't even hear you.
8-11 Remember, you transgressors, that I am God, and there is no other. I have planned the world from the beginning. Now I will use a man from a far country [Cyrus] to carry out my purposes. What I speak comes to pass.
12-13 You stubborn of heart, my deliverance is not far off. I think he's warning them that if they want to be part of his deliverance, they need to repent.

Isaiah 47
1-15 The Humiliation of Babylon

1-4 Sit in the dust, virgin daughter Babylon – your nakedness is about to be uncovered; you will be humiliated. "I will take vengeance, and I will spare no one."
5-7 You shall lose your place among nations. I gave my people into your hands, and you showed them no mercy. You were arrogant, thinking you were indestructible.
8-9 You who say "I am, and there is no one besides me," you will lose your husbands and your children, in spite of your sorcery and enchantments.
10-11 You thought no one could see your wickedness, that you were invincible. But evil, disaster, and ruin will come upon you completely and suddenly.
12-13 Go ahead! Cling to your magic. Maybe it will work for you. Maybe those who look to the stars for guidance will be able to save you.
14-15 But no, they cannot even save themselves from the fire. Those to whom you have devoted your labor cannot save you.

Isaiah 48
1-22 God the Creator and Redeemer

1-2 Hear, O Israel, you descendants of Judah, who invoke the God of Israel but not in truth or right.
3-5 I declared things long ago because you are stubborn, and I didn't want you to give credit to your idols. "Things long ago" probably refer to his prophecies to Abraham, to their release from bondage in Egypt and to the conquering of Canaan.
6-8 Today I am declaring new things that you have never heard [to show you again that I am LORD], because you've always been rebellious. "New things" - that Cyrus will conquer Babylon.
9-11 I hold back my anger for my own name's sake, so that my name will not be profaned. Not for their sake, but for the sake of his name and reputation as the God of the Israelites. They had to survive so that God's name would be glorified.
12-13 Listen to the one who is first and last. When I speak, even heaven and earth listen.
14-16 Gather and listen. He [Cyrus] will succeed against Babylon, because I have called him. This also has Messianic overtones, particularly verses 15-16: "I have called him...the Lord GOD [Adonai YHWH] has sent me and his spirit."
17-19 Thus says the LORD: I lead you in the way you should go. If you had listened to me, 1) you would be prosperous; 2) your offspring would be like the sands; 3) their name would never be cut off from me.
20-21 Go out from Babylon and proclaim how the LORD has redeemed his people, providing water in the desert.
22 "There is no peace for the wicked."