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.
|
2 |
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;
|
3 |
The ox knows its owner And the donkey its master’s crib; But Israel does not know, My people do not consider.”
|
4 |
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.
|
5 |
Why should you be stricken again? You will revolt more and more. The whole head is sick, And the whole heart faints.
|
6 |
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.
|
7 |
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.
|
8 |
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.
|
9 |
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.
|
10 |
Hear the word of the LORD, You rulers of Sodom; Give ear to the law of our God, You people of Gomorrah:
|
11 |
“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.
|
12 |
“When you come to appear before Me, Who has required this from your hand, To trample My courts?
|
13 |
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.
|
14 |
Your New Moons and your appointed feasts My soul hates; They are a trouble to Me, I am weary of bearing them.
|
15 |
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.
|
16 |
“Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes. Cease to do evil,
|
17 |
Learn to do good; Seek justice, Rebuke the oppressor; Defend the fatherless, Plead for the widow.
|
18 |
“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.
|
19 |
If you are willing and obedient, You shall eat the good of the land;
|
20 |
But if you refuse and rebel, You shall be devoured by the sword”; For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.
|
21 |
How the faithful city has become a harlot! It was full of justice; Righteousness lodged in it, But now murderers.
|
22 |
Your silver has become dross, Your wine mixed with water.
|
23 |
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.
|
24 |
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.
|
25 |
I will turn My hand against you, And thoroughly purge away your dross, And take away all your alloy.
|
26 |
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.”
|
27 |
Zion shall be redeemed with justice, And her penitents with righteousness.
|
28 |
The destruction of transgressors and of sinners shall be together, And those who forsake the LORD shall be consumed.
|
29 |
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.
|
30 |
For you shall be as a terebinth whose leaf fades, And as a garden that has no water.
|
31 |
The strong shall be as tinder, And the work of it as a spark; Both will burn together, And no one shall quench them.
|