Isaiah 1

1 The vision concerning Judah and Jerusalem that Isaiah son of Amoz saw during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.

A Rebellious Nation

2 Hear, O heavens! Listen, O earth!
For the Lord has spoken:
“I reared children and brought them up,
but they have rebelled against me.

3 The ox knows his master,
the donkey his owner's manger,
but Israel does not know,
my people do not understand.”

4 Ah, sinful nation,
a people loaded with guilt,
a brood of evildoers,
children given to corruption!
They have forsaken the Lord;
they have spurned the Holy One of Israel
and turned their backs on him.

5 Why should you be beaten anymore?
Why do you persist in rebellion?
Your whole head is injured,
your whole heart afflicted.

6 From the sole of your foot to the top of your head
there is no soundness—
only wounds and welts
and open sores,
not cleansed or bandaged
or soothed with oil.

7 Your country is desolate,
your cities burned with fire;
your fields are being stripped by foreigners
right before you,
laid waste as when overthrown by strangers.

8 The Daughter of Zion is left
like a shelter in a vineyard,
like a hut in a field of melons,
like a city under siege.

9 Unless the Lord Almighty
had left us some survivors,
we would have become like Sodom,
we would have been like Gomorrah.

10 Hear the word of the Lord,
you rulers of Sodom;
listen to the law of our God,
you people of Gomorrah!

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;
I have no pleasure
in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats.

12 When you come to appear before me,
who has asked this of you,
this trampling of my courts?

13 Stop bringing meaningless offerings!
Your incense is detestable to me.
New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations—
I cannot bear your evil assemblies.

14 Your New Moon festivals and your appointed feasts
my soul hates.
They have become a burden to me;
I am weary of bearing them.

15 When you spread out your hands in prayer,
I will hide my eyes from you;
even if you offer many prayers,
I will not listen.
Your hands are full of blood;

16 wash and make yourselves clean.
Take your evil deeds
out of my sight!
Stop doing wrong,

17 learn to do right!
Seek justice,
encourage the oppressed.
Defend the cause of the fatherless,
plead the case of the widow.

18 “Come now, let us reason together,”
says the Lord.
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red as crimson,
they shall be like wool.

19 If you are willing and obedient,
you will eat the best from the land;

20 but if you resist and rebel,
you will be devoured by the sword.”
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

21 See how the faithful city
has become a harlot!
She once was full of justice;
righteousness used to dwell in her—
but now murderers!

22 Your silver has become dross,
your choice wine is diluted with water.

23 Your rulers are rebels,
companions of thieves;
they all love bribes
and chase after gifts.
They do not defend the cause of the fatherless;
the widow's case does not come before them.

24 Therefore the Lord, the Lord Almighty,
the Mighty One of Israel, declares:
“Ah, I will get relief from my foes
and avenge myself on my enemies.

25 I will turn my hand against you;
I will thoroughly purge away your dross
and remove all your impurities.

26 I will restore your judges as in days of old,
your counselors as at the beginning.
Afterward you will be called
the City of Righteousness,
the Faithful City.”

27 Zion will be redeemed with justice,
her penitent ones with righteousness.

28 But rebels and sinners will both be broken,
and those who forsake the Lord will perish.

29 “You will be ashamed because of the sacred oaks
in which you have delighted;
you will be disgraced because of the gardens
that you have chosen.

30 You will be like an oak with fading leaves,
like a garden without water.

31 The mighty man will become tinder
and his work a spark;
both will burn together,
with no one to quench the fire.”

ISAIAH 1

1  t I am Isaiah, the son of Amoz.
And this is the messaget that I was given about Judah and Jerusalem when Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah were the kings of Judah:t

A Guilty Nation

2 The [Lord] has said,
“Listen, heaven and earth!
The children I raised
have turned against me.

3 Oxen and donkeys know
who owns and feeds them,
but my people won't ever learn.”

4 Israel, you are a sinful nation
loaded down with guilt.
You are wicked and corrupt
and have turned from the [Lord],
the holy God of Israel.

5 Why be punished more?
Why not give up your sin?
Your head is badly bruised,
and you are weak all over.

6 From your head to your toes
there isn't a healthy spot.
Bruises, cuts, and open sores
go without care
or oil to ease the pain.

A Country in Ruins

7 Your country lies in ruins;
your towns are in ashes.
Foreigners and strangers
take and destroy your land
while you watch.

8 Enemies surround Jerusalem,
alone like a hut
in a vineyardt
or in a cucumber field.

9  t Zion would have disappeared
like Sodom and Gomorrah, t
if the [Lord] All-Powerful
had not let a few
of its people survive.

Justice, Not Sacrifices

10 You are no better
than the leaders and people
of Sodom and Gomorrah!
So listen to the [Lord] God:

11  t “Your sacrifices
mean nothing to me.
I am sick of your offerings
of rams and choice cattle;
I don't like the blood
of bulls or lambs or goats.

12 “Who asked you to bring all this
when you come to worship me?
Stay out of my temple!

13 Your sacrifices are worthless,
and your incense disgusting.
I can't stand the evil you do
on your New Moon Festivals
or on your Sabbaths
and other times of worship.

14 I hate your New Moon Festivals
and all others as well.
They are a heavy burden
I am tired of carrying.

15 “No matter how much you pray,
I won't listen.
You are too violent.

16 Wash yourselves clean!
I hate your filthy deeds.
Stop doing wrong

17 and learn to live right.
See that justice is done.
Defend widows and orphans
and help the oppressed.”t

An Invitation //from the [Lord]

18 I, the [Lord], invite you
to come and talk it over.
Your sins are scarlet red,
but they will be whiter
than snow or wool.

19 If you willingly obey me,
the best crops in the land
will be yours.

20 But if you turn against me,
your enemies will kill you.
I, the [Lord], have spoken.

The [Lord] //Condemns Jerusalem

21 Jerusalem, you are like
an unfaithful wife.
Once your judges were honest
and your people lived right;
now you are a city
full of murderers.

22 Your silver is fake,
and your wine
is watered down.

23 Your leaders have rejected me
to become friends of crooks;
your rulers are looking
for gifts and bribes.
Widows and orphans
never get a fair trial.

24 I am the [Lord] All-Powerful,
the mighty ruler of Israel,
and I make you a promise:
You are now my enemy,
and I will show my anger
by taking revenge on you.

25 I will punish you terribly
and burn away everything
that makes you unfit
to worship me.

26 Jerusalem, I will choose
judges and advisors
like those you had before.
Your new name will be
“Justice and Faithfulness.”

The [Lord] //Will Save Jerusalem

27 Jerusalem, you will be saved
by showing justice;t
Zion's people who turn to me
will be saved
by doing right.

28 But those rebellious sinners
who turn against me, the [Lord],
will all disappear.

29 You will be made ashamed
of those groves of trees
where you worshiped idols.

30 You will be like a grove of trees
dying in a drought.

31 Your strongest leaders
will be like dry wood
set on fire by their idols.t
No one will be able to help,
as they all go up in flames.