Isaiah 1–5

1The vision^a concerning Judah and Jerusalem^b that Isaiah son of Amoz saw^c during the reigns of Uzziah,^d Jotham,^e Ahaz^f and Hezekiah,^g kings of Judah.

A Rebellious Nation

²Hear me, you heavens! Listen, earth!^h

For the Lord has spoken:ⁱ

“I reared children^j and brought them up,

but they have rebelled^k against me.

³The ox knows^l its master,

the donkey its owner’s manger,^m

but Israel does not know,ⁿ

my people do not understand.^o”

⁴Woe to the sinful nation,

a people whose guilt is great,^p

a brood of evildoers,^q

children given to corruption!^r

They have forsaken^s the Lord;

they have spurned the Holy One^t of Israel

and turned their backs^u on him.

⁵Why should you be beaten^v anymore?

Why do you persist^w in rebellion?^x

Your whole head is injured,

your whole heart^y afflicted.^z

⁶From the sole of your foot to the top of your head^a

there is no soundness^b—

only wounds and welts^c

and open sores,

not cleansed or bandaged^d

or soothed with olive oil.^e

⁷Your country is desolate,^f

your cities burned with fire;^g

your fields are being stripped by foreigners^h

right before you,

laid waste as when overthrown by strangers.ⁱ

⁸Daughter Zion^j is left^k

like a shelter in a vineyard,

like a hut^l in a cucumber field,

like a city under siege.

⁹Unless the Lord Almighty

had left us some survivors,^m

we would have become like Sodom,

we would have been like Gomorrah.ⁿ

¹⁰Hear the word of the Lord,^o

you rulers of Sodom;^p

listen to the instruction^q of our God,

you people of Gomorrah!^r

¹¹“The multitude of your sacrifices—

what are they to me?” says the Lord.

“I have more than enough of burnt offerings,

of rams and the fat of fattened animals;^s

I have no pleasure^t

in the blood of bulls^u and lambs and goats.^v

¹²When you come to appear before me,

who has asked this of you,^w

this trampling of my courts?

¹³Stop bringing meaningless offerings!^x

Your incense^y is detestable^z to me.

New Moons,^a Sabbaths and convocations^b—

I cannot bear your worthless assemblies.

¹⁴Your New Moon^c feasts and your appointed festivals^d

I hate with all my being.^e

They have become a burden to me;^f

I am weary^g of bearing them.

¹⁵When you spread out your hands^h in prayer,

I hideⁱ my eyes from you;

even when you offer many prayers,

I am not listening.^j

Your hands^k are full of blood!^l

¹⁶Wash^m and make yourselves clean.

Take your evil deeds out of my sight;ⁿ

stop doing wrong.^o

¹⁷Learn to do right;^p seek justice.^q

Defend the oppressed.^ar

Take up the cause of the fatherless;^s

plead the case of the widow.^t

¹⁸“Come now, let us settle the matter,”^u

says the Lord.

“Though your sins are like scarlet,

they shall be as white as snow;^v

though they are red as crimson,

they shall be like wool.^w

¹⁹If you are willing and obedient,^x

you will eat the good things of the land;^y

²⁰but if you resist and rebel,^z

you will be devoured by the sword.”^a

For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.^b

²¹See how the faithful city

has become a prostitute!^c

She once was full of justice;

righteousness^d used to dwell in her—

but now murderers!^e

²²Your silver has become dross,^f

your choice wine is diluted with water.

²³Your rulers are rebels,^g

partners with thieves;^h

they all love bribesⁱ

and chase after gifts.

They do not defend the cause of the fatherless;

the widow’s case does not come before them.^j

²⁴Therefore the Lord, the Lord Almighty,

the Mighty One^k of Israel, declares:

“Ah! I will vent my wrath on my foes

and avenge^l myself on my enemies.^m

²⁵I will turn my hand against you;^bn

I will thoroughly purge^o away your dross^p

and remove all your impurities.^q

²⁶I will restore your leaders as in days of old,^r

your rulers as at the beginning.

Afterward you will be called^s

the City of Righteousness,^t

the Faithful City.^u”

²⁷Zion will be delivered with justice,

her penitent^v ones with righteousness.^w

²⁸But rebels and sinners^x will both be broken,

and those who forsake^y the Lord will perish.^z

²⁹“You will be ashamed^a because of the sacred oaks^b

in which you have delighted;

you will be disgraced because of the gardens^c

that you have chosen.

³⁰You will be like an oak with fading leaves,^d

like a garden without water.

³¹The mighty man will become tinder

and his work a spark;

both will burn together,

with no one to quench the fire.^e”

The Mountain of the Lord

2:1–4pp—Mic 4:1–3

2This is what Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem:^f

²In the last days^g

the mountain^h of the Lord’s temple will be established

as the highest of the mountains;ⁱ

it will be exalted^j above the hills,

and all nations will stream to it.^k

³Many peoples^l will come and say,

“Come, let us go^m up to the mountainⁿ of the Lord,

to the temple of the God of Jacob.

He will teach us his ways,

so that we may walk in his paths.”

The law^o will go out from Zion,

the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.^p

⁴He will judge^q between the nations

and will settle disputes^r for many peoples.

They will beat their swords into plowshares

and their spears into pruning hooks.^s

Nation will not take up sword against nation,^t

nor will they train for war anymore.

⁵Come, descendants of Jacob,^u

let us walk in the light^v of the Lord.

The Day of the Lord

⁶You, Lord, have abandoned^w your people,

the descendants of Jacob.^x

They are full of superstitions from the East;

they practice divination^y like the Philistines^z

and embrace^a pagan customs.^b

⁷Their land is full of silver and gold;^c

there is no end to their treasures.^d

Their land is full of horses;^e

there is no end to their chariots.^f

⁸Their land is full of idols;^g

they bow down^h to the work of their hands,ⁱ

to what their fingers^j have made.

⁹So people will be brought low^k

and everyone humbled^l—

do not forgive them.^am

¹⁰Go into the rocks, hideⁿ in the ground

from the fearful presence of the Lord

and the splendor of his majesty!^o

¹¹The eyes of the arrogant^p will be humbled^q

and human pride^r brought low;^s

the Lord alone will be exalted^t in that day.^u

¹²The Lord Almighty has a day^v in store

for all the proud^w and lofty,^x

for all that is exalted^y

(and they will be humbled),^z

¹³for all the cedars of Lebanon,^a tall and lofty,^b

and all the oaks of Bashan,^c

¹⁴for all the towering mountains

and all the high hills,^d

¹⁵for every lofty tower^e

and every fortified wall,^f

¹⁶for every trading ship^bg

and every stately vessel.

¹⁷The arrogance of man will be brought low^h

and human pride humbled;ⁱ

the Lord alone will be exalted in that day,^j

¹⁸and the idols^k will totally disappear.^l

¹⁹People will flee to caves^m in the rocks

and to holes in the groundⁿ

from the fearful presence^o of the Lord

and the splendor of his majesty,^p

when he rises to shake the earth.^q

²⁰In that day^r people will throw away

to the moles and bats^s

their idols of silver and idols of gold,^t

which they made to worship.^u

²¹They will flee to caverns in the rocks^v

and to the overhanging crags

from the fearful presence of the Lord

and the splendor of his majesty,^w

when he rises^x to shake the earth.^y

²²Stop trusting in mere humans,^z

who have but a breath^a in their nostrils.

Why hold them in esteem?^b

Judgment on Jerusalem and Judah

3See now, the Lord,

the Lord Almighty,

is about to take from Jerusalem and Judah

both supply and support:^c

all supplies of food^d and all supplies of water,^e

²the hero and the warrior,^f

the judge and the prophet,

the diviner^g and the elder,^h

³the captain of fiftyⁱ and the man of rank,^j

the counselor, skilled craftsman^k and clever enchanter.^l

⁴“I will make mere youths their officials;

children will rule over them.”^m

⁵People will oppress each other—

man against man, neighbor against neighbor.ⁿ

The young will rise up against the old,

the nobody against the honored.

⁶A man will seize one of his brothers

in his father’s house, and say,

“You have a cloak, you be our leader;

take charge of this heap of ruins!”

⁷But in that day^o he will cry out,

“I have no remedy.^p

I have no food^q or clothing in my house;

do not make me the leader of the people.”^r

⁸Jerusalem staggers,

Judah is falling;^s

their words^t and deeds^u are against the Lord,

defying^v his glorious presence.

⁹The look on their faces testifies^w against them;

they parade their sin like Sodom;^x

they do not hide it.

Woe to them!

They have brought disaster^y upon themselves.

¹⁰Tell the righteous it will be well^z with them,

for they will enjoy the fruit of their deeds.^a

¹¹Woe to the wicked!^b

Disaster^c is upon them!

They will be paid back^d

for what their hands have done.^e

¹²Youths^f oppress my people,

women rule over them.

My people, your guides lead you astray;^g

they turn you from the path.

¹³The Lord takes his place in court;^h

he rises to judgeⁱ the people.

¹⁴The Lord enters into judgment^j

against the elders and leaders of his people:

“It is you who have ruined my vineyard;

the plunder^k from the poor^l is in your houses.

¹⁵What do you mean by crushing my people^m

and grindingⁿ the faces of the poor?”^o

declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty.^p

¹⁶The Lord says,

“The women of Zion^q are haughty,

walking along with outstretched necks,^r

flirting with their eyes,

strutting along with swaying hips,

with ornaments jingling on their ankles.

¹⁷Therefore the Lord will bring sores on the heads of the women of Zion;

the Lord will make their scalps bald.^s”

¹⁸In that day^t the Lord will snatch away their finery: the bangles and headbands and crescent necklaces,^{u 19}the earrings and bracelets^v and veils,^{w 20}the headdresses^x and anklets and sashes, the perfume bottles and charms, ²¹the signet rings and nose rings,^{y 22}the fine robes and the capes and cloaks,^z the purses ²³and mirrors, and the linen garments^a and tiaras^b and shawls.

²⁴Instead of fragrance^c there will be a stench;^d

instead of a sash,^e a rope;

instead of well-dressed hair, baldness;^f

instead of fine clothing, sackcloth;^g

instead of beauty,^h branding.ⁱ

²⁵Your men will fall by the sword,^j

your warriors in battle.^k

²⁶The gates^l of Zion will lament and mourn;^m

destitute,ⁿ she will sit on the ground.^o

4In that day^p seven women

will take hold of one man^q

and say, “We will eat our own food^r

and provide our own clothes;

only let us be called…