Isaiah 1–5

1The vision ^aconcerning Judah and Jerusalem that Isaiah ^bson of Amoz saw during the reigns ^cdof Uzziah, ^eJotham, ^fAhaz, ^gand Hezekiah, ^hkings of Judah. ⁱ

Judah on Trial

²Listen, heavens, and pay attention, earth, ^j

for the Lord has spoken:

“I have raised children ^kand brought them up,

but they have rebelled against Me. ^l

³The ox knows its owner,

and the donkey its master’s feeding trough,

but Israel does not know;

My people do not understand.” ^m

⁴Oh sinful nation,

people weighed down with iniquity, ⁿ

brood of evildoers, ^o

depraved children! ^p

They have abandoned ^qthe Lord;

they have despised ^rthe Holy One of Israel; ^s

they have turned their backs on Him.

⁵Why do you want more beatings?

Why do you keep on rebelling?

The whole head is hurt,

and the whole heart is sick.

⁶From the sole of the foot even to the head, ^t

no spot is uninjured ^u—

wounds, welts, and festering sores

not cleansed, bandaged,

or soothed with oil.

⁷Your land is desolate,

your cities burned with fire; ^v

foreigners devour your fields

before your very eyes—

a desolation demolished by foreigners.

⁸Daughter Zion ^wis abandoned

like a shelter in a vineyard,

like a shack in a cucumber field,

like a besieged city.

⁹If the Lord of Hosts ^x

had not left us a few survivors, ^y

we would be like Sodom,

we would resemble Gomorrah. ^z

¹⁰Hear the word of the Lord, ^a

you rulers of Sodom!

Listen to the instruction of our God,

you people of Gomorrah! ^b

¹¹“What are all your sacrifices to Me?”

asks the Lord.

“I have had enough of burnt offerings and rams

and the fat of well-fed cattle;

I have no desire for the blood of bulls,

lambs, or male goats. ^c

¹²When you come to appear before Me,

who requires this from you—

this trampling of My courts?

¹³Stop bringing useless offerings. ^d

Your incense is detestable to Me.

New Moons and Sabbaths, ^e

and the calling of solemn assemblies ^f—

I cannot stand iniquity ^gwith a festival.

¹⁴I hate your New Moons and prescribed festivals.

They have become a burden to Me;

I am tired of putting up with them.

¹⁵When you lift up your hands in prayer, ^h

I will refuse to look at you;

even if you offer countless prayers,

I will not listen. ⁱ

Your hands are covered with blood. ^j

Purification of Jerusalem

¹⁶“Wash yourselves. Cleanse yourselves. ^k

Remove your evil deeds from My sight.

Stop doing evil. ^l

¹⁷Learn to do what is good.

Seek justice. ^m

Correct the oppressor. ⁿ

Defend the rights of the fatherless.

Plead the widow’s cause.

¹⁸“Come, let us discuss this,” ^o

says the Lord.

“Though your sins are like scarlet,

they will be as white as snow; ^p

though they are as red as crimson,

they will be like wool.

¹⁹If you are willing and obedient,

you will eat the good things of the land. ^q

²⁰But if you refuse and rebel,

you will be devoured by the sword.” ^r

For the mouth of the Lord has spoken. ^s

²¹The faithful city—

what an adulteress ^tshe has become!

She was once full of justice.

Righteousness once dwelt in her—

but now, murderers!

²²Your silver has become dross, ^u

your beer ^vis diluted with water.

²³Your rulers are rebels,

friends of thieves. ^w

They all love graft

and chase after bribes. ^x

They do not defend the rights of the fatherless,

and the widow’s case never comes before them. ^y

²⁴Therefore the Lord God of Hosts,

the Mighty One of Israel, declares:

“Ah, I will gain satisfaction from My foes;

I will take revenge against My enemies. ^z

²⁵I will turn My hand against you ^a

and will burn away your dross ^bcompletely; ^c

I will remove all your impurities. ^d

²⁶I will restore your judges ^eto what they once were, ^f

and your advisers to their former state. ^g

Afterward you will be called the Righteous City, ^h

a Faithful City.”

²⁷Zion will be redeemed by justice,

her repentant ones by righteousness. ⁱ

²⁸But both rebels and sinners will be destroyed,

and those who abandon the Lord will perish.

²⁹Indeed, they ^jwill be ashamed of the sacred trees

you desired, ^k

and you will be embarrassed because of the gardens

you have chosen. ^l

³⁰For you will become like an oak

whose leaves are withered,

and like a garden without water. ^m

³¹The strong one will become tinder,

and his work a spark;

both will burn together, ⁿ

with no one to quench the flames. ^o

The City of Peace

2The vision that Isaiah ^pson of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem:

²In ^qthe last days ^r

the mountain of the Lord’s house ^swill be established

at the top of the mountains

and will be raised above the hills.

All nations will stream to it, ^t

³and 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. ^u

He will teach us about His ways

so that we may walk in His paths.”

For instruction will go out of Zion

and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

⁴He will settle disputes among the nations

and provide arbitration for many peoples.

They will turn their swords into plows

and their spears into pruning knives. ^v

Nations will not take up the sword against other nations,

and they will never again train for war. ^w

The Day of the Lord

⁵House of Jacob,

come and let us walk in the Lord’s light. ^x

⁶For You have abandoned ^yYour people,

the house of Jacob,

because they are full of divination from the East

and of fortune-tellers ^zlike the Philistines. ^a

They are in league ^bwith foreigners.

⁷Their ^cdland is full of silver and gold,

and there is no limit to their treasures;

their land is full of horses,

and there is no limit to their chariots. ^e

⁸Their land is full of idols; ^f

they bow down to the work of their hands,

to what their fingers have made. ^g

⁹So humanity is brought low,

and man is humbled.

Do not forgive them! ^h

¹⁰Go into the rocks ⁱ

and hide in the dust

from the terror of the Lord ^j

and from His majestic splendor. ^k

¹¹Human pride ^lwill be humbled, ^m

and the loftiness of men will be brought low;

the Lord alone will be exalted on that day.

¹²For a day belonging to the Lord of Hosts is coming

against all that is proud and lofty, ⁿ

against all that is lifted up—it will be humbled—

¹³against all the cedars of Lebanon, ^o

lofty and lifted up,

against all the oaks of Bashan, ^p

¹⁴against all the high mountains, ^q

against all the lofty hills,

¹⁵against every high tower, ^r

against every fortified wall,

¹⁶against every ship of Tarshish, ^s

and against every splendid sea vessel.

¹⁷So human pride will be brought low,

and the loftiness of men will be humbled;

the Lord alone will be exalted on that day. ^t

¹⁸The idols will vanish completely.

¹⁹People will go into caves in the rocks ^u

and holes in the ground,

away from the terror of the Lord

and from His majestic splendor,

when He rises to terrify the earth. ^v

²⁰On that day people will throw

their silver and gold idols, ^w

which they made to worship,

to the moles and the bats.

²¹They will go into the caves of the rocks

and the crevices in the cliffs,

away from the terror of the Lord

and from His majestic splendor, ^x

when He rises to terrify the earth.

²²Put no more trust in man,

who has only the breath in his nostrils. ^y

What is he really worth?

Judah’s Leaders Judged

3Observe this: The Lord God of Hosts

is about to remove from Jerusalem and from Judah

every kind of security:

the entire supply of bread and water,

²the hero and warrior, ^z

the judge and prophet,

the fortune-teller and elder,

³the commander of 50 and the dignitary,

the counselor, cunning magician, ^aand necromancer. ^b

⁴“I will make youths their leaders, ^c

and the unstable ^dwill govern them.”

⁵The people will oppress one another, ^e

man against man, neighbor against neighbor;

the youth will act arrogantly toward the elder,

and the worthless toward the honorable.

⁶A man will even seize his brother

in his father’s house, saying:

“You have a cloak—you be our leader!

This heap of rubble will be under your control.”

⁷On that day he will cry out, saying:

“I’m not a healer.

I don’t even have food or clothing in my house.

Don’t make me the leader of the people!”

⁸For Jerusalem has stumbled

and Judah has fallen

because they have spoken and acted against the Lord, ^f

defying His glorious presence. ^g

⁹The look on their faces testifies against them,

and like Sodom, ^hthey flaunt their sin.

They do not conceal it.

Woe to them,

for they have brought evil on themselves. ⁱ

¹⁰Tell the righteous that it will go well for them,

for they will eat the fruit of their labor.

¹¹Woe to the wicked—it will go badly for them,

for what they have done will be done to them.

¹²Youths oppress My people, ^j

and women rule over them.

My people, your leaders mislead you;

they confuse the direction of your paths. ^k

¹³The Lord rises to argue the case

and stands to judge the people. ^l

¹⁴The Lord brings this charge

against the elders and leaders of His people: ^m

“You have devastated the vineyard.

The plunder from the poor is in your houses. ⁿ

¹⁵Why do you crush My people

and grind the faces of the poor?”

This is the declaration

of the Lord God of Hosts.

Jerusalem’s Women Judged

¹⁶The Lord also says:

Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, ^o

walking with heads held high

and seductive eyes,

going along with prancing steps,

jingling their ankle bracelets,

¹⁷the Lord will put scabs on the heads

of the daughters of Zion,

and the Lord will shave their foreheads bare.

¹⁸On that day ^pthe Lord will strip their finery: ankle bracelets, headbands, crescents, ^q19pendants, bracelets, veils, ²⁰headdresses, ankle jewelry, sashes, perfume bottles, amulets, ^r21signet rings, nose rings, ^s22festive robes, capes, cloaks, purses, ²³garments, linen clothes, turbans, and veils.

²⁴Instead of perfume there will be a stench;

instead of a belt, a rope;

instead of beautifully styled hair, ^tbaldness; ^u

instead of fine clothes, sackcloth; ^v

instead of beauty, branding. ^w

²⁵Your men will fall by the sword,

your warriors in battle.

²⁶Then her gates ^xwill lament and mourn;

deserted, she will sit on the ground. ^y

4On that day seven women

will seize one man, ^zsaying,

“We will eat our own bread

and provide our own clothing.

Just let us be called by your name.

Take away our disgrace.” ^a

Zion’s Future Glory

²On that day the Branch of ^bthe Lord will be…