Isaiah 1
1 The vision of Isaiah son of Amoz, that he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.
The vision of Isaiah, the son of Amoz, which he saw about Judah and Jerusalem, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.
2 Hear, heavens, and give ear, earth; for Yahweh has spoken: “I have nourished and brought up children, but they have rebelled against me.
Give ear, O heavens, and you, O earth, to the word which the Lord has said: I have taken care of my children till they became men, but their hearts have been turned away from me.
3 The ox knows his owner, and the donkey his master's feeding trough, but Israel does not know, Israel does not understand.”
Even the ox has knowledge of its owner, and the ass of the place where its master puts its food: but Israel has no knowledge, my people give no thought to me.
4 Woe! Nation, sinners, a people weighed down with iniquity, offspring of evildoers, sons who act corruptly! They have abandoned Yahweh, they have despised the Holy One of Israel, they have estranged themselves from him.
O nation full of sin, a people weighted down with crime, a generation of evil-doers, false-hearted children: they have gone away from the Lord, they have no respect for the Holy One of Israel, their hearts are turned back from him.
5 Why are you still being beaten? Why do you rebel more and more? The whole head is sick, the whole heart is weak.
Why will you have more and more punishment? why keep on in your evil ways? Every head is tired and every heart is feeble.
6 From the sole of the foot to the head there is no part unharmed; only wounds, and bruises, and fresh open wounds; they have not been closed, cleansed, bandaged, nor treated with oil.
The body, from head to foot, is all diseased; it is a mass of open wounds, marks of blows, and broken flesh: the flow of blood has not been stopped, and no oil has been put on the wounds.
7 Your country is ruined; your cities are burned; your fields—in your presence, strangers are destroying them— abandoned devastation, overthrown by strangers.
Your country has become waste; your towns are burned with fire; as for your land, it is overturned before your eyes, made waste and overcome by men from strange lands.
8 The daughter of Zion is left like a hut in a vineyard, like a shed in a garden of cucumbers, like a besieged city.
And the daughter of Zion has become like a tent in a vine-garden, like a watchman's house in a field of fruit, like a town shut in by armies.
9 If Yahweh of hosts had not left for us a small remnant, we would have been like Sodom, we would have been like Gomorrah.
If the Lord of armies had not kept some at least of us safe, we would have been like Sodom, and the fate of Gomorrah would have been ours.
10 Hear the word of Yahweh, you rulers of Sodom; listen to the law of our God, you people of Gomorrah:
Give ear to the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom; let your hearts be turned to the law of our God, you people of Gomorrah.
11 “What is the multitude of your sacrifices to me?” says Yahweh. “I have had enough of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fatted beasts; and in the blood of bulls, lambs, or goats I do not delight.
What use to me is the number of the offerings which you give me? says the Lord; your burned offerings of sheep, and the best parts of fat cattle, are a weariness to me; I take no pleasure in the blood of oxen, or of lambs, or of he-goats.
12 When you come to appear before me, who has required this of you, to trample my courts?
At whose request do you come before me, making my house unclean with your feet?
13 Bring no more meaningless offerings; incense is an abomination to me; your new moon and Sabbath assemblies—I cannot tolerate these wicked assemblies.
Give me no more false offerings; the smoke of burning flesh is disgusting to me, so are your new moons and Sabbaths and your holy meetings.
14 I hate your new moons and your appointed feasts; they are a burden to me; I am tired of enduring them.
Your new moons and your regular feasts are a grief to my soul: they are a weight in my spirit; I am crushed under them.
15 So when you spread out your hands in prayer, I hide my eyes from you; even though you offer many prayers, I will not listen; your hands are full of blood.
And when your hands are stretched out to me, my eyes will be turned away from you: even though you go on making prayers, I will not give ear: your hands are full of blood.
16 Wash, cleanse yourselves; remove the evil of your deeds from my sight; stop being evil;
Be washed, make yourselves clean; put away the evil of your doings from before my eyes; let there be an end of sinning;
17 learn to do good; seek justice, make straight the oppression, give justice to the fatherless, defend the widow.”
Take pleasure in well-doing; let your ways be upright, keep down the cruel, give a right decision for the child who has no father, see to the cause of the widow.
18 “Come now, and let us reason together,” says Yahweh; “though your sins are like scarlet, they will be white like snow; though they are red like crimson, they will be like wool.
Come now, and let us have an argument together, says the Lord: how may your sins which are red like blood be white as snow? how may their dark purple seem like wool?
19 If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good of the land,
If you will give ear to my word and do it, the good things of the land will be yours;
20 but if you refuse and rebel, the sword will devour you,” for the mouth of Yahweh has spoken it.
But if your hearts are turned against me, I will send destruction on you by the sword; so the Lord has said.
21 How the faithful city has become a prostitute! She who was full of justice—she was full of righteousness, but now she is full of murderers.
The upright town has become untrue; there was a time when her judges gave right decisions, when righteousness had a resting-place in her, but now she is full of those who take men's lives.
22 Your silver has become impure, your wine mixed with water.
Your silver is no longer true metal, your wine is mixed with water.
23 Your princes are rebels and companions of thieves; everyone loves bribes and runs after payoffs. They do not defend the fatherless, nor does the widow's legal plea come before them.
Your chiefs have gone against the Lord, they have become friends of thieves; every one of them is looking for profit and going after rewards; they do not give right decisions for the child who has no father, and they do not let the cause of the widow come before them.
24 Therefore this is the declaration of the Lord Yahweh of hosts, the Mighty One of Israel: “Woe to them! I will take vengeance against my adversaries, and avenge myself against my enemies;
For this reason the Lord, the Lord of armies, the Strong One of Israel, has said, I will put an end to my haters, and send punishment on those who are against me;
25 I will turn my hand against you, refine away your dross as with lye, and take away all your dross.
And my hand will again be on you, washing away what is unclean as with soap, and taking away all your false metal;
26 I will restore your judges as at the first, and your counselors as at the beginning; after that you will be called the city of righteousness, a faithful town.”
And I will give you judges again as at the first, and wise guides as in the past; then you will be named, The Town of Righteousness, the true town.
27 Zion will be redeemed by justice, and her repentant ones by righteousness.
Upright acts will be the price of Zion's forgiveness, and by righteousness will men be living there.
28 Rebels and sinners will be crushed together, and those who abandon Yahweh will be done away with.
But a common destruction will overtake sinners and evil-doers together, and those who have gone away from the Lord will be cut off.
29 “For you will be ashamed of the sacred oak trees that you desired, and you will be embarrassed by the gardens that you have chosen.
For you will be put to shame because of the trees of your desire, and because of the gardens of your pleasure.
30 For you will be like an oak whose leaf fades, and like a garden that has no water.
For you will be like a tree whose leaves have become dry, and like a garden without water.
31 The strong man will be like tinder, and his work like a spark; they will both burn together, and no one will quench them.”
And the strong will be as food for the fire, and his work as a flame; and they will be burned together, with no one to put out the fire.
