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New Century Version

Isaiah 48:5

So a long time ago I told you about these things; I told you about them before they happened so you couldn't say, ‘My idols did this, and my wooden and metal statues made these things happen.'

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - God;   God Continued...;   The Topic Concordance - Resurrection;  

Dictionaries:

- Easton Bible Dictionary - Idol;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Law;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Isaiah;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Election;   Micah, Book of;   Righteousness;   Servant of the Lord;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Alpha and Omega (2);   Prophet;  

Devotionals:

- Every Day Light - Devotion for February 7;  

Parallel Translations

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.’
Hebrew Names Version
therefore I have declared it to you from of old; before it came to pass I shown it you; lest you should say, My idol has done them, and my engraved image, and my molten image, has commanded them.
King James Version
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.
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.'
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.'
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.'
World English Bible
therefore I have declared it to you from of old; before it came to pass I shown it you; lest you should say, My idol has done them, and my engraved image, and my molten image, has commanded them.
Geneva Bible (1587)
Therefore I haue declared it to thee of old: before it came to passe, I shewed it thee, lest thou shouldest say, Mine idole hath done them, and my carued image, and my molten image hath 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.'
Berean Standard Bible
Therefore I declared it to you long ago; I announced it before it came to pass, so you could not claim, 'My idol has done this; my carved image and molten god has ordained it.'
Contemporary English Version
And I told you these things, so that when they happened you would not say, "The idols we worship did this."
Complete Jewish Bible
I announced it to you long ago; before it occurred, I proclaimed it to you; so that you could not say, ‘My idol did it; my carved image, my statue, gave the order for it.'
Darby Translation
so I have long ago declared [them] to thee; before they came to pass I caused thee to hear [them]; lest thou shouldest say, Mine idol hath done them, and my graven image, or my molten image hath commanded them.
Easy-to-Read Version
So long ago I told you what would happen. I told you about those things long before they happened. I did this so that you could not say, ‘The gods we made did this. Our idols, our statues, made this happen.'"
George Lamsa Translation
I have made them known to you from of old; before they came to pass I declared them to you, lest you should say, My idols did them; and my graven images and my molten images have saved me.
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.
Lexham English Bible
And I declared them to you from of old; I announced them to you before they came to pass so that you would not say, ‘My idol did them, and my image and my cast image commanded them.'
Literal Translation
And I declared to you from then; before it came I made you hear, lest you should say, My idol did them; and my image and my casted image commanded them.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Neuertheles I haue euer sence the begynnynge shewed the of thinges for to come, and declared the vnto the, or euer they came to passe: that thou shuldest not saye: myne Idol hath done it, my carued or cast ymage hath shewed it.
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.
Bible in Basic English
For this reason I made it clear to you in the past, before it came I gave you word of it: for fear that you might say, My god did these things, and my pictured and metal images made them come about.
JPS Old Testament (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.'
King James Version (1611)
I haue euen from the beginning declared it to thee; before it came to passe I shewed it thee: lest thou shouldest say, Mine idole hath done them, and my grauen image, and my molten image hath commanded them.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Neuerthelesse, I haue euer since the begynnyng shewed thee of thynges for to come, and declared them vnto thee or euer they came to passe: that thou shouldest not say, myne idoll hath done it, my carued or molten image hath shewed it.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
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.
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.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Y biforseide to thee fro that tyme, bifore that tho thingis camen, Y schewide to thee, lest perauenture thou woldist seie, Myn idols diden these thingis, and my grauun ymagis and my yotun
Update Bible Version
therefore I have declared it to you from of old; before it came to pass I showed it you; or else you will say, My idol has done them, and my graven 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.
New English Translation
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 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 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!'
New Life Bible
So I made them known to you long ago. I told you before they happened, or else you might say, ‘My false god has done them. My objects of worship have made them happen.'
New Revised Standard
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."
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
therefore told I thee - in time past, Ere yet it came, I let thee hear, - Lest thou shouldest say Mine idol wrought them, Yea, my carved image and my molten image, commanded them!
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.
Revised 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 graven image and my molten image 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.
New American Standard Bible (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.'

Contextual Overview

1 The Lord says, "Family of Jacob, listen to me. You are called Israel, and you come from the family of Judah. You swear by the Lord 's name and praise the God of Israel, but you are not honest or sincere. 2 You call yourselves people of the holy city, and you depend on the God of Israel, who is named the Lord All-Powerful. 3 Long ago I told you what would happen. I said these things and made them known; suddenly I acted, and these things happened. 4 I knew you were stubborn; your neck was like an iron muscle, and your head was like bronze. 5 So a long time ago I told you about these things; I told you about them before they happened so you couldn't say, ‘My idols did this, and my wooden and metal statues made these things happen.' 6 "You heard and saw everything that happened, so you should tell this news to others. Now I will tell you about new things, hidden things that you don't know yet. 7 These things are happening now, not long ago; you have not heard about them before today. So you cannot say, ‘We already knew about that.' 8 But you have not heard me; you have not understood. Even long ago you did not listen to me. I knew you would surely turn against me; you have fought against me since you were born.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

even: Isaiah 48:3, Isaiah 44:7, Isaiah 46:10, Luke 1:70, Acts 15:18

Mine idol: Isaiah 42:8, Isaiah 42:9, Jeremiah 44:17, Jeremiah 44:18

Reciprocal: Leviticus 26:1 - Ye shall 1 Kings 13:2 - Josiah by name Job 32:13 - Lest Isaiah 43:9 - who among Isaiah 44:8 - have declared Isaiah 48:11 - I will not Hosea 5:9 - have Matthew 24:25 - General John 13:19 - I tell

Cross-References

Genesis 46:20
In Egypt, Joseph became the father of Manasseh and Ephraim by his wife Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, priest of On.
Genesis 48:1
Some time later Joseph learned that his father was very sick, so he took his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim and went to his father.
Genesis 48:2
When Joseph arrived, someone told Jacob, "Your son Joseph has come to see you." Jacob was weak, so he used all his strength and sat up on his bed.
Genesis 48:6
But if you have other children, they will be your own, and their land will be part of the land given to Ephraim and Manasseh.
Genesis 48:7
When I came from Northwest Mesopotamia, Rachel died in the land of Canaan, as we were traveling toward Ephrath. This made me very sad, and I buried her there beside the road to Ephrath." (Today Ephrath is Bethlehem.)
Genesis 48:10
At this time Israel's eyesight was bad because he was old. So Joseph brought the boys close to him, and Israel kissed the boys and put his arms around them.
Leviticus 20:26
So you must be holy to me because I, the Lord , am holy, and I have set you apart from other people to be my own.
Numbers 1:10
from the tribe of Ephraim son of Joseph—Elishama son of Ammihud; from the tribe of Manasseh son of Joseph—Gamaliel son of Pedahzur;
Joshua 13:7
"Now divide the land among the nine tribes and West Manasseh."
Joshua 14:4
The sons of Joseph had divided into two tribes—Manasseh and Ephraim. The tribe of Levi was not given any land. It was given only some towns in which to live and pastures for its animals.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

I have even from the beginning declared it to thee,.... From the beginning of their being a people, even before they were formed into a body politic; yea, from the original of them, from the time of Abraham their ancestor, as before observed:

before it came to pass I showed it thee; some hundreds of years before; first to Abraham, then to Isaac, then to Jacob, then to Joseph, and then to Moses, and by him to the children of Israel:

lest thou shouldest say, mine idol hath done them, and my graven image, and my molten image, hath commanded them; or my libation or fusion of wine, oil, or blood, by which, as by other things, they made conjectures of what was to come to pass; so Gussetius b interprets the last word; lest they should ascribe their deliverance out of Egypt to the idols they made and worshipped, being a people prone to idolatry; as they did when they made a golden calf, and danced about it, Exodus 32:4. This the Lord knew before hand, and therefore to prevent this stupidity, or convince them of it, he foretold what should come to pass, which their idols were never able to do.

b Ebr. Comment. p. 517.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

I have even from the beginning declared it to thee - He had foretold future events, so that they had abundant demonstration thai he was the true God, and so that they could not be under a mistake in regard to the source of their deliverances from danger.

Mine idol hath done them - The idols and molten images had not foretold these events and when they came to pass, it could not, therefore, be pretended that they had been produced by idols. By predicting them, Yahweh kept up the proof that he was the true God, and demonstrated that he alone was worthy of their confidence and regard.


 
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