Isaiah 48:5
New International Version
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.’

New Living Translation
That is why I told you what would happen; I told you beforehand what I was going to do. Then you could never say, ‘My idols did it. My wooden image and metal god commanded it to happen!’

English Standard Version
I declared them to you from of old, before they came to pass I announced them to you, lest you should say, ‘My idol did them, my carved image and my metal image commanded them.’

Berean Standard Bible
Therefore I declared it to you long ago; I announced it before it came to pass, so that you could not claim, ‘My idol has done this; my carved image and molten god has ordained it.’

King James Bible
I have even from the beginning declared it to thee; before it came to pass I shewed it thee: lest thou shouldest say, Mine idol hath done them, and my graven image, and my molten image, hath commanded them.

New King James Version
Even from the beginning I have declared it to you; Before it came to pass I proclaimed it to you, Lest you should say, ‘My idol has done them, And my carved image and my molded image Have commanded them.’

New American Standard Bible
Therefore I declared them to you long ago, Before they took place I proclaimed them to you, So that you would not say, ‘My idol has done them, And my carved image and my cast metal image have commanded them.’

NASB 1995
Therefore I declared them to you long ago, Before they took place I proclaimed them to you, So that you would not say, ‘My idol has done them, And my graven image and my molten image have commanded them.’

NASB 1977
Therefore I declared them to you long ago, Before they took place I proclaimed them to you, Lest you should say, ‘My idol has done them, And my graven image and my molten image have commanded them.’

Legacy Standard Bible
Therefore I declared them to you long ago, Before they happened I caused them to be heard by you, Lest you say, ‘My idol has done them, And my graven image and my molten image have commanded them.’

Amplified Bible
I have declared them to you long ago; Before they came to pass I announced them to you, So that you could not say, ‘My idol has done them, And my carved image and my cast image have commanded them.’

Christian Standard Bible
therefore I declared to you long ago. I announced it to you before it occurred, so you could not claim, ‘My idol caused them; my carved image and cast idol control them.’

Holman Christian Standard Bible
therefore I declared to you long ago. I announced it to you before it occurred, so you could not claim, ‘My idol caused them; my carved image and cast idol control them.’

American Standard Version
therefore I have declared it to thee from of old; before it came to pass I showed it thee; lest thou shouldest say, Mine idol hath done them, and my graven image, and my molten image, hath commanded them.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
I have shown you from former time, and before they would come I made you hear, lest you would say, “My idols have done it, and my carvings and my molten things have saved me!”

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And I told thee of old what should be before it came upon thee; I made it known to thee, lest thou shouldest say, My idols have done it for me; and shouldest say, My graven and molten images have commanded me.

Contemporary English Version
And I told you these things, so that when they happened you would not say, "The idols we worship did this."

Douay-Rheims Bible
I foretold thee of old, before they came to pass I told thee, lest thou shouldst say: My idols have done these things, and my graven and molten things have commanded them.

English Revised Version
therefore I have declared it to thee from of old; before it came to pass I shewed it thee: lest thou shouldest say, Mine idol hath done them, and my graven image, and my molten image, hath commanded them.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
That is why I revealed to you what would happen long ago. I told you about them before they happened. [I did this] so you couldn't say, "My gods have done these things. My carved idols and my metal idols have commanded them to happen."

Good News Translation
And so I predicted your future long ago, announcing events before they took place, to keep you from claiming that your idols and images made them happen.

International Standard Version
I told you these things long ago; I announced them to you before they happened so that you couldn't say, 'My idol did them; my carved image or metal idol ordained them.'

JPS Tanakh 1917
Therefore I have declared it to thee from of old; Before it came to pass I announced it to thee; Lest thou shouldest say: 'Mine idol hath done them, And my graven image, and my molten image, hath commanded them.'

Literal Standard Version
And from that time I declare [it] to you, | Before it comes I have caused you to hear, | Lest you say, My idol has done them, | And my carved image, | And my molten image commanded them.

Majority Standard Bible
Therefore I declared it to you long ago; I announced it before it came to pass, so that you could not claim, ‘My idol has done this; my carved image and molten god has ordained it.’

New American Bible
I declared them to you of old; before they took place I informed you, That you might not say, “My idol did them, my statue, my molten image commanded them.”

NET Bible
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.'

New Revised Standard Version
I declared them to you from long ago, before they came to pass I announced them to you, so that you would not say, “My idol did them, my carved image and my cast image commanded them.”

New Heart English Bible
therefore I have declared it to you from of old; before it came to pass I showed it to you; lest you should say, 'My idol has done them, and my engraved image, and my molten image, has commanded them.'

Webster's Bible Translation
I have even from the beginning declared it to thee; before it came to pass I showed it thee: lest thou shouldst say, My idol hath done them, and my graven image, and my molten image, hath commanded them.

World English Bible
therefore I have declared it to you from of old; before it came to pass I showed it to you; lest you should say, ‘My idol has done them. My engraved image and my molten image has commanded them.’

Young's Literal Translation
And I declare to thee from that time, Before it cometh I have caused thee to hear, Lest thou say, 'Mine idol hath done them, And my graven image, And my molten image did command them.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Israel's Stubbornness
4For I knew that you are stubborn; your neck is iron and your forehead is bronze. 5Therefore I declared it to you long ago; I announced it before it came to pass, so that you could not claim, ‘My idol has done this; my carved image and molten god has ordained it.’ 6You have heard these things; look at them all. Will you not acknowledge them? From now on I will tell you of new things, hidden things unknown to you.…

Cross References
Isaiah 44:8
Do not tremble or fear. Have I not told you and declared it long ago? You are My witnesses! Is there any God but Me? There is no other Rock; I know not one."

Isaiah 45:20
Come, gather together, and draw near, you fugitives from the nations. Ignorant are those who carry idols of wood and pray to a god that cannot save.

Jeremiah 44:15
Then all the men who knew that their wives were burning incense to other gods, and all the women standing by--a great assembly--along with all the people living in the land of Egypt and in Pathros, said to Jeremiah,


Treasury of Scripture

I have even from the beginning declared it to you; before it came to pass I showed it you: lest you should say, My idol has done them, and my graven image, and my molten image, has commanded them.

even

Isaiah 48:3
I have declared the former things from the beginning; and they went forth out of my mouth, and I shewed them; I did them suddenly, and they came to pass.

Isaiah 44:7
And who, as I, shall call, and shall declare it, and set it in order for me, since I appointed the ancient people? and the things that are coming, and shall come, let them shew unto them.

Isaiah 46:10
Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:

mine idol

Isaiah 42:8,9
I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images…

Jeremiah 44:17,18
But we will certainly do whatsoever thing goeth forth out of our own mouth, to burn incense unto the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, as we have done, we, and our fathers, our kings, and our princes, in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem: for then had we plenty of victuals, and were well, and saw no evil…

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Isaiah 48
1. God, to convince the people of their foreknown obstinance, revealed his prophecies
9. He saves them for his own sake
12. He exhorts them to obedience, because of his power and providence
16. He laments their backwardness
20. He powerfully delivers his people out of Babylon














Verse 5. - I have even from the beginning declared it (comp. ver. 3). The declaration here made is that God rendered his prophecies more than ordinarily marvellous on account of Israel's obstinacy, not punishing them for it, lint seeking graciously and lovingly to overcome it by adding to the weight of the evidence to which he would fain have had it yield. Had his prophecies been less astonishing, had they in a less degree transcended ordinary human experience, Israel might conceivably have ascribed them and the accomplishment of them to the false gods. As it was, this was barely possible. Mine idol... my molten image. It has been already observed (see the comment on Isaiah 40:18) that there was a strong tendency to idolatry among the Jews, not only before, but during the Captivity. Ezekiel says that those among whom he lived were "polluted after the manner of their fathers, and committed whoredom after their abominations; made their sons pass through the fire, and polluted themselves with all their idols" (Ezekiel 20:30, 31); nay, went so far as to declare boldly, "We will be as the heathen, as the inhabitants of the countries, to serve wood and stone" (Ezekiel 20:32). The "prevailing tendency," as Delitzsch remarks, was "to combine the worship of Jehovah with heathenism, or else to exchange the former altogether for the latter." We cannot conclude anything concerning the mass of the community from the character of those who returned. Those who returned were the sincere worshippers of Jehovah - the irreligious did not care to return. It is always to be borne in mind that it was "the great mass even of Judah," no less than of Israel, that "remained behind" (Delitzsch); and these "became absorbed into the heathen, to whom they became more and more assimilated" (ibid.). Hath commanded them; i.e. "hath caused them (the events) to take place" (comp. Psalm 33:9).

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Therefore I declared it
וָאַגִּ֤יד (wā·’ag·gîḏ)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Consecutive imperfect - first person common singular
Strong's 5046: To be conspicuous

to you
לְךָ֙ (lə·ḵā)
Preposition | second person masculine singular
Strong's Hebrew

long ago;
מֵאָ֔ז (mê·’āz)
Preposition-m | Adverb
Strong's 227: At that time, place, therefore

I announced it
הִשְׁמַעְתִּ֑יךָ (hiš·ma‘·tî·ḵā)
Verb - Hifil - Perfect - first person common singular | second person masculine singular
Strong's 8085: To hear intelligently

before
בְּטֶ֥רֶם (bə·ṭe·rem)
Preposition-b | Adverb
Strong's 2962: Non-occurrence, not yet, before

it came to pass,
תָּב֖וֹא (tā·ḇō·w)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person feminine singular
Strong's 935: To come in, come, go in, go

so you could not
פֶּן־ (pen-)
Conjunction
Strong's 6435: Removal, lest

claim,
תֹּאמַר֙ (tō·mar)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - second person masculine singular
Strong's 559: To utter, say

‘My idol
עָצְבִּ֣י (‘ā·ṣə·bî)
Noun - masculine singular construct | first person common singular
Strong's 6091: An, image

has done this;
עָשָׂ֔ם (‘ā·śām)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular | third person masculine plural
Strong's 6213: To do, make

my carved image
וּפִסְלִ֥י (ū·p̄is·lî)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular construct | first person common singular
Strong's 6459: An idol, image

and molten god
וְנִסְכִּ֖י (wə·nis·kî)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular construct | first person common singular
Strong's 5262: A libation, a cast idol

has ordained it.’
צִוָּֽם׃ (ṣiw·wām)
Verb - Piel - Perfect - third person masculine singular | third person masculine plural
Strong's 6680: To lay charge (upon), give charge (to), command, order


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OT Prophets: Isaiah 48:5 Therefore I have declared it to you (Isa Isi Is)
Isaiah 48:4
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