Isaiah 1:1–2:22
1 The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz concerning aJudah and Jerusalem, which he saw during the 1reigns of bUzziah, cJotham, dAhaz and eHezekiah, kings of Judah.
2 aListen, O heavens, and hear, O bearth;
For the Lord speaks,
“cSons I have reared and brought up,
But they have drevolted against Me.
And a donkey its master’s manger,
But Israel adoes not know,
My people bdo not understand.”
People weighed down with iniquity,
Sons who bact corruptly!
They have cabandoned the Lord,
They have ddespised the Holy One of Israel,
They have turned away 2from Him.
5 Where will you be stricken again,
As you acontinue in your rebellion?
The whole head is bsick
And the whole heart is faint.
6 aFrom the sole of the foot even to the head
There is bnothing sound in it,
Only bruises, welts and raw wounds,
cNot pressed out or bandaged,
Nor softened with oil.
7 Your aland is desolate,
Your cities are burned with fire,
Your fields—strangers are devouring them in your presence;
It is desolation, as overthrown by strangers.
8 The daughter of Zion is left like a shelter in a vineyard,
Like a watchman’s hut in a cucumber field, like a besieged city.
9 aUnless the Lord of hosts
Had left us a few bsurvivors,
We would be like cSodom,
We would be like Gomorrah.
10 Hear athe word of the Lord,
You rulers of bSodom;
Give ear to the instruction of our God,
You people of Gomorrah.
11 “aWhat are your multiplied sacrifices to Me?”
Says the Lord.
“I 1have had enough of burnt offerings of rams
And the fat of fed cattle;
And I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, lambs or goats.
12 “When you come ato appear before Me,
Who requires 1of you this trampling of My courts?
13 “Bring your worthless offerings no longer,
aIncense is an abomination to Me.
bNew moon and sabbath, the ccalling of assemblies—
I cannot dendure iniquity and the solemn assembly.
14 “I hate your new moon festivals and your aappointed feasts,
They have become a burden to Me;
I am bweary of bearing them.
15 “So when you aspread out your hands in prayer,
bI will hide My eyes from you;
Yes, even though you cmultiply prayers,
I will not listen.
dYour hands are 1covered with blood.
16 “aWash yourselves, bmake yourselves clean;
cRemove the evil of your deeds from My sight.
dCease to do evil,
aSeek justice,
Reprove the ruthless,
Plead for the widow.
18 “Come now, and alet us reason together,”
Says the Lord,
“bThough your sins are as scarlet,
They will be as white as snow;
Though they are red like crimson,
They will be like wool.
19 “aIf you consent and obey,
You will beat the best of the land;
20 “But if you refuse and rebel,
You will be adevoured by the sword.”
Truly, bthe mouth of the Lord has spoken.
Zion Corrupted, to be Redeemed
21 How the faithful city has become a aharlot,
She who was full of justice!
Righteousness once lodged in her,
But now murderers.
22 Your silver has become dross,
Your drink diluted with water.
23 Your arulers are rebels
And companions of thieves;
Everyone bloves a bribe
And chases after rewards.
They cdo not 1defend the 2orphan,
Nor does the widow’s plea come before them.
24 Therefore the Lord 1God of hosts,
The aMighty One of Israel, declares,
“Ah, I will be relieved of My adversaries
And bavenge Myself on My foes.
25 “I will also turn My hand against you,
And will asmelt away your dross as with lye
And will remove all your alloy.
26 “Then I will restore your ajudges as at the first,
And your counselors as at the beginning;
After that you will be called the bcity of righteousness,
A faithful city.”
27 Zion will be aredeemed with justice
And her 1repentant ones with righteousness.
28 But 1transgressors and sinners will be acrushed together,
And those who forsake the Lord will come to an end.
29 Surely 1you will be ashamed of the 2aoaks which you have desired,
And you will be embarrassed at the bgardens which you have chosen.
30 For you will be like an 1oak whose aleaf fades away
Or as a garden that has no water.
31 The strong man will become tinder,
His work also a spark.
Thus they shall both aburn together
And there will be bnone to quench them.
1 The word which aIsaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
aIn the last days
The bmountain of the house of the Lord
Will be established 1as the chief of the mountains,
And will be raised above the hills;
And call the nations will stream to it.
3 And many peoples will come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
To the house of the God of Jacob;
That He may teach us 1concerning His ways
And that we may walk in His paths.”
For the 2law will go forth afrom Zion
And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
4 And He will judge between the nations,
And will 1render decisions for many peoples;
And athey will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.
bNation will not lift up sword against nation,
And never again will they learn war.
5 Come, ahouse of Jacob, and let us walk in the blight of the Lord.
6 For You have aabandoned Your people, the house of Jacob,
Because they are filled with influences from the east,
And they are soothsayers blike the Philistines,
And they cstrike bargains with the children of foreigners.
7 Their land has also been filled with silver and gold
And there is no end to their treasures;
Their land has also been filled with ahorses
And there is no end to their chariots.
8 Their land has also been afilled with idols;
They worship the bwork of their hands,
That which their fingers have made.
9 So athe common man has been humbled
And the man of importance has been abased,
But bdo not forgive them.
10 aEnter the rock and hide in the dust
bFrom the terror of the Lord and from the splendor of His majesty.
11 The 1aproud look of man will be abased
And the bloftiness of man will be humbled,
And the Lord alone will be exalted in that day.
12 For the Lord of hosts will have a day of reckoning
Against aeveryone who is proud and lofty
And against everyone who is lifted up,
That he may be abased.
13 And it will be against all the cedars of Lebanon that are lofty and lifted up,
Against all the aoaks of Bashan,
14 Against all the alofty mountains,
Against all the hills that are lifted up,
15 Against every ahigh tower,
Against every fortified wall,
16 Against all the aships of Tarshish
And against all the beautiful craft.
17 The pride of man will be humbled
And the loftiness of men will be abased;
And the Lord alone will be exalted in that day,
18 But the aidols will completely vanish.
19 Men will ago into caves of the rocks
And into holes of the 1ground
Before the terror of the Lord
And the splendor of His majesty,
When He arises bto make the earth tremble.
20 In that day men will acast away to the moles and the bbats
Their idols of silver and their idols of gold,
Which they made for themselves to worship,
21 In order to ago into the caverns of the rocks and the clefts of the cliffs
Before the terror of the Lord and the splendor of His majesty,
When He arises to make the earth tremble.
22 1aStop regarding man, whose breath of life is in his nostrils;