Isaiah 48:5 kjv
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.
Isaiah 48:5 nkjv
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.'
Isaiah 48:5 niv
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.'
Isaiah 48:5 esv
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.'
Isaiah 48:5 nlt
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!'
Isaiah 48 5 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Isaiah 48:5 | "Yea, I have known also that thou art obstinate, and thy neck is an iron sinew, and thy brow brass;" | Isaiah 48:5 (Own Verse) |
| Deuteronomy 31:27 | "For I know thy rebellion and thy stiff neck: behold, while I am yet alive with you this day, ye have been rebellious against the LORD;" | Deuteronomy 31:27 (Stiff neck) |
| Jeremiah 3:3 | "Therefore thou hast forborne thy whoredoms, and played the harlot with stones and with stocks." | Jeremiah 3:3 (Idolatrous acts) |
| Ezekiel 20:8 | "But they rebelled against me, and would not hearken unto me: they did not every man put away the abominations of their eyes, neither did they forsake the idols of Egypt: but I said, I will pour out my fury upon them to accomplish my anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt." | Ezekiel 20:8 (Rebellion/Abominations) |
| Romans 1:21 | "Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened." | Romans 1:21 (Rejection of God) |
| 1 Corinthians 10:14 | "Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry." | 1 Corinthians 10:14 (Flee idolatry) |
| Galatians 5:19-21 | "Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God." | Galatians 5:19-21 (Idolatry as fleshly work) |
| 1 John 5:21 | "Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen." | 1 John 5:21 (Warning against idols) |
| Psalm 115:8 | "They that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them." | Psalm 115:8 (Similarity to idols) |
| Isaiah 2:8 | "Their land also is full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made." | Isaiah 2:8 (Land full of idols) |
| Jeremiah 7:9 | "Will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom ye know not;" | Jeremiah 7:9 (Practices akin to idolatry) |
| Hosea 4:17 | "Ephraim is joined to idols: let him alone." | Hosea 4:17 (Enmeshment with idols) |
| Acts 7:51 | "Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye." | Acts 7:51 (Resistance to Spirit) |
| Romans 12:2 | "And be not conformed to this world: but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." | Romans 12:2 (Against worldly conformity) |
| 2 Corinthians 6:14 | "Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?" | 2 Corinthians 6:14 (Separation from wrong associations) |
| Colossians 3:5 | "Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:" | Colossians 3:5 (Covetousness as idolatry) |
| Exodus 32:9 | "And the LORD said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people:" | Exodus 32:9 (Stiffnecked people) |
| Deuteronomy 9:13 | "Also the LORD spake unto me, saying, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people:" | Deuteronomy 9:13 (Stiffnecked people) |
| Nehemiah 9:16 | "And our fathers dealt proudly, and hardened their necks, and hearkened not unto thy commandments," | Nehemiah 9:16 (Hardened necks) |
| Isaiah 5:13 | "Therefore is my people gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge: and their nobles shall hunger, and their multitude shall be purposed with thirst." | Isaiah 5:13 (Lack of knowledge) |
Isaiah 48 verses
Isaiah 48 5 Meaning
This verse states that God, through the prophet Isaiah, asserts that Israel acted in ways that, had they been capable of forming idols, would have led them to worship them. The core message is Israel's spiritual infidelity and their propensity for idolatry, even though they claimed to worship the one true God. It highlights God's awareness of their inner disposition and their actions, which were effectively like those of idolaters.
Isaiah 48 5 Context
This verse appears in Isaiah chapter 48, a powerful prophetic message directed to the "house of Jacob" and "Judah," referring to the people of Israel. The overarching theme of the chapter is God's faithfulness and sovereignty, contrasting it with Israel's history of rebellion, disobedience, and reliance on self. God is emphasizing that He, the LORD, is the sole Creator and Redeemer, who has foreknown and foretold all things to prevent the people from attributing salvation to idols. The preceding verses highlight God's declarative pronouncements about His actions and His people’s innate stubbornness, setting the stage for this verse's assertion of their ingrained propensity towards spiritual infidelity. Historically, Israel had a pervasive tendency towards idolatry, evident from the Exodus period onwards, despite repeated warnings and chastisements.
Isaiah 48 5 Word analysis
- "Yea": An emphatic affirmation, reinforcing the preceding statement and introducing a further, more specific, indictment.
- "I": The divine pronoun, asserting God's personal knowledge and witness.
- "have known": Hebrew: "yadaʿti" (יָדַעְתִּי). This signifies not just intellectual knowledge but intimate acquaintance and experiential understanding. God knows their true character.
- "also": Indicates this is an additional, related observation about their nature.
- "that": Introduces a subordinate clause detailing what God knows.
- "thou": Refers to the nation of Israel collectively.
- "art obstinate": Hebrew: "kashah" (קָשָׁה). Literally means "hard." It describes a stubborn, stiff, unyielding disposition, resistant to God's will and word.
- "and thy neck": The neck is a symbol of bearing burdens, of submission, or of defiance (stiff-necked).
- "is": Copular verb, indicating equivalence or characteristic.
- "an iron sinew": Hebrew: "sirivim shel’barzel" (שְׂרִיקִים שֶׁלְבַּרְזֶל). "Sirivim" can refer to tendons or sinews. An iron sinew signifies extreme rigidity and inflexibility, an unbreakable resistance. It highlights their willful determination not to yield to God.
- "and thy brow": The brow or forehead is often associated with one's expression and brazenness.
- "brass": Hebrew: "nechosheth" (נְחֹשֶׁת). Brass is a hard metal, signifying boldness, shamelessness, and impudence in sin and defiance against God. It suggests they were unashamed in their sinfulness.
- "Indeed" / "Rather" / "Had they formed idols": While not directly present in the English translation, the Hebrew often implies a cause-and-effect or comparative relationship, suggesting that their actions mirrored those who would worship idols. The essence is that their actions were such that they would have worshiped idols if given the opportunity or capacity. Their internal disposition and outward actions were so aligned with idolatry that the distinction was minimal.
Group Analysis:
The entire verse paints a vivid picture of a people deeply entrenched in spiritual rebellion. The combination of "obstinate," "iron sinew," and "brass brow" emphasizes an ingrained, hardened defiance that refused to be corrected. This describes a core characteristic of Israel's spiritual condition in God's eyes, a readiness to turn to anything other than Him, mimicking the behaviors of idolaters.
Isaiah 48 5 Bonus section
This verse's theme of spiritual idolatry as a deep-seated obstinacy resonates throughout Scripture. Even New Testament teachings warn against inner desires and affections that can become idols, such as covetousness (Colossians 3:5), which is explicitly equated with idolatry. The "stiff neck" imagery is frequently used in the Old Testament to describe Israel's refusal to obey God (Deuteronomy 9:13, Nehemiah 9:16), linking back to God's own statement in Exodus 32:9 concerning their rebellion at the golden calf. The hardness described here is not merely a temporary lapse but a deeply ingrained characteristic that prevented them from truly hearing and obeying God's word, leading to spiritual blindness as seen in passages like Isaiah 6:10. God's detailed knowledge ("I have known") emphasizes His omniscience and His awareness of the true state of His people's hearts.
Isaiah 48 5 Commentary
Isaiah 48:5 is a stark indictment of Israel's spiritual disposition. God, who sees all, declares that their unyielding and shameless nature was such that they practically functioned as idolaters. Despite God's attempts to guide them, their stubbornness and boldness in sin mirrored the actions of those who would bow down to idols. This verse is crucial for understanding God's frustration with His people and the reasons behind the repeated cycles of judgment and deliverance described in Isaiah. It speaks to the human tendency towards spiritual infidelity, a redirection of devotion from the Creator to created things or self. The prophecy underlines that outward professions are meaningless if the heart remains hardened and inwardly oriented towards defiance and what God calls abominations.