2. Indeed, they live in the holy city;they trust in the God of Israel,whose name is the Lord who commands armies.
3. “I announced events beforehand,I issued the decrees and made the predictions;suddenly I acted and they came to pass.
4. I did this because I know how stubborn you are.Your neck muscles are like ironand your forehead like bronze.
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.’
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 eventsthat are previously unrevealed and you do not know about.
7. Now they come into being, not in the past;before today you did not hear about them,so you could not say,‘Yes, I know about them.’
8. You did not hear,you do not know,you were not told beforehand.For I know that you are very deceitful;you were labeled a rebel from birth.
9. For the sake of my reputation I hold back my anger;for the sake of my prestige I restrain myself from destroying you.
10. Look, I have refined you, but not as silver;I have purified you in the furnace of misery.
11. For my sake alone I will act,for how can I allow my name to be defiled?I will not share my glory with anyone else!
12. Listen to me, O Jacob,Israel, whom I summoned!I am the one;I am present at the very beginningand at the very end.
13. Yes, my hand founded the earth;my right hand spread out the sky.I summon them;they stand together.
14. All of you, gather together and listen!Who among them announced these things?The Lord’s ally will carry out his desire against Babylon;he will exert his power against the Babylonians.