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1“Hear this, house of Jacob,

you who are called by the name of Israel,

and have come out of the waters of Judah.

You swear by Yahweh’s name,

and make mention of the God of Israel,

but not in truth, nor in righteousness—

2for they call themselves citizens of the holy city,

and rely on the God of Israel;

Yahweh of Armies is his name.

3I have declared the former things from of old.

Yes, they went out of my mouth, and I revealed them.

I did them suddenly, and they happened.

4Because I knew that you are obstinate,

and your neck is an iron sinew,

and your brow bronze;

5therefore 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.’

6You have heard it.

Now see all this.

And you, won’t you declare it?

“I have shown you new things from this time,

even hidden things, which you have not known.

7They are created now, and not from of old.

Before today, you didn’t hear them,

lest you should say, ‘Behold, I knew them.’

8Yes, you didn’t hear.

Yes, you didn’t know.

Yes, from of old your ear was not opened,

for I knew that you dealt very treacherously,

and were called a transgressor from the womb.

9For my name’s sake, I will defer my anger,

and for my praise, I hold it back for you

so that I don’t cut you off.

10Behold, I have refined you,

but not as silver.

I have chosen you in the furnace of affliction.

11For my own sake,

for my own sake, I will do it;

for how would my name be profaned?

I will not give my glory to another.

12“Listen to me, O Jacob,

and Israel my called:

I am he.

I am the first.

I am also the last.

13Yes, my hand has laid the foundation of the earth,

and my right hand has spread out the heavens.

when I call to them, they stand up together.

14“Assemble yourselves, all of you, and hear!

Who among them has declared these things?

He whom Yahweh loves will do what he likes to Babylon,

and his arm will be against the Chaldeans.

15I, even I, have spoken.

Yes, I have called him.

I have brought him

and he shall make his way prosperous.

16“Come near to me and hear this:

“From the beginning I have not spoken in secret;

from the time that it happened, I was there.”

Now the Lord Yahweh has sent me

with his Spirit.

17Yahweh,

your Redeemer,

the Holy One of Israel, says:

“I am Yahweh your God,

who teaches you to profit,

who leads you by the way that you should go.

18Oh that you had listened to my commandments!

Then your peace would have been like a river

and your righteousness like the waves of the sea.

19Your offspring also would have been as the sand

and the descendants of your body like its grains.

His name would not be cut off nor destroyed from before me.”

20Leave Babylon!

Flee from the Chaldeans!

With a voice of singing announce this,

tell it even to the end of the earth;

say, “Yahweh has redeemed his servant Jacob!”

21They didn’t thirst when he led them through the deserts.

He caused the waters to flow out of the rock for them.

He also split the rock and the waters gushed out.

22“There is no peace”, says Yahweh, “for the wicked.”

Biography of Jacob

Biography of Jacob

Biography | Isa 48:12 | Hershel Wayne House

Jacob was the son of Isaac and Rebekah, born immediately after Esau, and Abraham was his grandfather. He achieved the right of the firstborn by trickery, in offering his older brother, Esau, food in exchange for the birthright, who cared little for this position. He also received the blessing of firstborn from his father Jacob before his death by cunning, and with the assistance of his mother Rebekah.

After his deception of Esau, receiving the blessing from his father, Jacob escaped to his uncle Laban, who in turn deceived Jacob into working for fourteen years for the marriage of Jacob to Leah, and then his beloved Rachel. Laban also sought to deceive Jacob of wages, but God intervened to ensure he would prosper. In a time of trial, when he feared the wrath of Esau, upon returning to the land of Canaan, Jacob had an encounter with God, and his name was changed to Israel, the one who wrestles with God. Even though his early life was characterized by deception, God worked through the situation to ensure that Jacob would be the one in the line of the patriarchs, to create a great nation and ultimately fulfill His purposes in the earth, especially through the future Messiah. The Messiah would guarantee the promise of the land to Abram and a person who would rule over Abraham's descendants, but also He would bring blessings to all the people of the earth (Gen 12:1-3).

In spite of Jacob's early failure by deception, God worked through him, and finally, Jacob became a different type of man after his struggle with God. As one has said,

"Despite Jacob’s faults, God chose him to be the leader of a great nation that still bears his name today. But for this, it is unlikely that we would know much about Jacob, who appears to be in the middle of events while the key players are those around him. There is no great wisdom or bravery in Jacob to speak of, and we are tempted to see him as little more than God’s passive instrument. If we are tempted to think that, because we aren’t in the spotlight performing great acts for God, we are unimportant to Him, then we should consider the life of Jacob and know that, in spite of our failings, God can and will still use us in His plan."

For more on Jacob, see "Who was Jacob in the Bible?", https://www.gotquestions.org/life-Jacob.html