Isaiah 1:1-31
1 The vision that Isaiah*+ the son of Aʹmoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uz·ziʹah,+ Joʹtham,+ Aʹhaz,+ and Hez·e·kiʹah,+ kings of Judah:+
2 Hear, O heavens, and pay attention, O earth,+For Jehovah has spoken:
“Sons I have brought up and raised,+But they have revolted against me.+
3 A bull well knows its buyer,And a donkey the manger of its owner;But Israel does not know me,*+My own people do not behave with understanding.”
4 Woe to the sinful nation,+The people weighed down with error,A brood of wicked men, corrupt children!
They have abandoned Jehovah;+They have treated the Holy One of Israel with disrespect;They have turned their backs on him.
5 Where will you be struck next as you add to your rebellion?+
The whole head is sick,And the whole heart is diseased.+
6 From the sole of the foot to the head, nothing is healthy.
There are wounds and bruises and open sores—They have not been treated* or bound up or softened with oil.+
7 Your land is desolate.
Your cities are burned with fire.
Foreigners devour your land right in front of you.+
It is like a wasteland overthrown by foreigners.+
8 The daughter of Zion has been left like a shelter* in a vineyard,Like a hut in a cucumber field,Like a city under siege.+
9 Unless Jehovah of armies had left us a few survivors,We should have become just like Sodʹom,And we should have resembled Go·morʹrah.+
10 Hear the word of Jehovah, you dictators* of Sodʹom.+
Pay attention to the law* of our God, you people of Go·morʹrah.+
11 “Of what benefit to me are your many sacrifices?”+ says Jehovah.
“I have had enough of your burnt offerings of rams+ and the fat of well-fed animals,+And I have no delight in the blood+ of young bulls+ and lambs and goats.+
12 When you come to appear before me,+Who has required this from you,This trampling of my courtyards?+
13 Stop bringing in any more worthless grain offerings.
Your incense is detestable to me.+
New moons,+ sabbaths,+ the calling of conventions+—I cannot put up with the use of magical power+ along with your solemn assembly.
14 I have* hated your new moons and your festivals.
They have become a burden to me;I am tired of bearing them.
15 And when you spread out your palms,I hide my eyes from you.+
Although you offer many prayers,+I am not listening;+Your hands are filled with blood.+
16 Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean;+Remove your evil deeds from my sight;Stop doing bad.+
17 Learn to do good, seek justice,+Correct the oppressor,Defend the rights of the fatherless child,*And plead the cause of the widow.”+
18 “Come, now, and let us set matters straight between us,” says Jehovah.+
“Though your sins are like scarlet,They will be made as white as snow;+Though they are as red as crimson cloth,They will become like wool.
19 If you show willingness and listen,You will eat the good things of the land.+
20 But if you refuse and rebel,You will be devoured by the sword,+For the mouth of Jehovah has spoken it.”
21 How the faithful city+ has become a prostitute!+
She was full of justice;+Righteousness used to lodge in her,+But now murderers.+
22 Your silver has become dross,+And your beer* is diluted with water.
23 Your princes are stubborn and partners with thieves.+
Every one of them loves a bribe and chases after gifts.+
They do not grant justice to the fatherless,*And the legal case of the widow never reaches them.+
24 Therefore the true Lord, Jehovah of armies,The Powerful One of Israel, declares:
“Ah! I will rid myself of my adversaries,And I will take revenge on my enemies.+
25 I will turn my hand against you,I will smelt away your dross as with lye,And I will remove all your impurities.+
26 I will restore your judges as in the beginningAnd your advisers as at the start.+
After this you will be called City of Righteousness, Faithful Town.+
27 With justice Zion will be redeemed,+And her people who return, with righteousness.
28 The rebels and the sinners will be broken together,+And those leaving Jehovah will come to their finish.+
29 For they will be ashamed of the mighty trees that you desired,+And you will be disgraced because of the gardens* that you chose.+
30 For you will become like a big tree with withering leaves,+And like a garden without water.
31 The strong man will become tow,*And his work a spark;Both of them will go up in flames together,With no one to extinguish them.”
Footnotes
^ Meaning “Salvation of Jehovah.”
^ Or “its master.”
^ Lit., “pressed out.”
^ Or “booth.”
^ Or “rulers.”
^ Or “instruction.”
^ Or “My soul has.”
^ Or “the orphan.”
^ Or “wheat beer.”
^ Or “the orphans.”
^ Apparently trees and gardens connected with idolatrous worship.
^ A flammable ropelike fiber.