Isaiah 1
- The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.
- Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth! For the LORD has spoken: “I have nourished and brought up children, And they have rebelled against Me;
- The ox knows its owner And the donkey its master’s crib; But Israel does not know, My people do not consider.”
- Alas, sinful nation, A people laden with iniquity, A brood of evildoers, Children who are corrupters! They have forsaken the LORD, They have provoked to anger The Holy One of Israel, They have turned away backward.
- Why should you be stricken again? You will revolt more and more. The whole head is sick, And the whole heart faints.
- From the sole of the foot even to the head, There is no soundness in it, But wounds and bruises and putrefying sores; They have not been closed or bound up, Or soothed with ointment.
- Your country is desolate, Your cities are burned with fire; Strangers devour your land in your presence; And it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers.
- So the daughter of Zion is left as a booth in a vineyard, As a hut in a garden of cucumbers, As a besieged city.
- Unless the LORD of hosts Had left to us a very small remnant, We would have become like Sodom, We would have been made like Gomorrah.
- Hear the word of the LORD, You rulers of Sodom; Give ear to the law of our God, You people of Gomorrah:
- “To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices to Me?” Says the LORD. “I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams And the fat of fed cattle. I do not delight in the blood of bulls, Or of lambs or goats.
- “When you come to appear before Me, Who has required this from your hand, To trample My courts?
- Bring no more futile sacrifices; Incense is an abomination to Me. The New Moons, the Sabbaths, and the calling of assemblies––I cannot endure iniquity and the sacred meeting.
- Your New Moons and your appointed feasts My soul hates; They are a trouble to Me, I am weary of bearing them.
- When you spread out your hands, I will hide My eyes from you; Even though you make many prayers, I will not hear. Your hands are full of blood.
- “Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes. Cease to do evil,
- Learn to do good; Seek justice, Rebuke the oppressor; Defend the fatherless, Plead for the widow.
- “Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the LORD, “Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool.
- If you are willing and obedient, You shall eat the good of the land;
- But if you refuse and rebel, You shall be devoured by the sword”; For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.
- How the faithful city has become a harlot! It was full of justice; Righteousness lodged in it, But now murderers.
- Your silver has become dross, Your wine mixed with water.
- Your princes are rebellious, And companions of thieves; Everyone loves bribes, And follows after rewards. They do not defend the fatherless, Nor does the cause of the widow come before them.
- Therefore the Lord says, The LORD of hosts, the Mighty One of Israel, “Ah, I will rid Myself of My adversaries, And take vengeance on My enemies.
- I will turn My hand against you, And thoroughly purge away your dross, And take away all your alloy.
- I will restore your judges as at the first, And your counselors as at the beginning. Afterward you shall be called the city of righteousness, the faithful city.”
- Zion shall be redeemed with justice, And her penitents with righteousness.
- The destruction of transgressors and of sinners shall be together, And those who forsake the LORD shall be consumed.
- For they shall be ashamed of the terebinth trees Which you have desired; And you shall be embarrassed because of the gardens Which you have chosen.
- For you shall be as a terebinth whose leaf fades, And as a garden that has no water.
- The strong shall be as tinder, And the work of it as a spark; Both will burn together, And no one shall quench them.