Isaiah 1

1 The a vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem b in the days of c Uzziah, d Jotham, e Ahaz, and f Hezekiah, kings of Judah.

The Wickedness of Judah

2  g Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O h earth;
for the  Lord has spoken:
“Children ▼
▼ Or Sons; also verse 4
 j have I reared and brought up,
but they have rebelled against me.
 3 The ox k knows its owner,
and the donkey its master’s crib,
but Israel does l not know,
my people do not understand.”
 4  Ah, sinful nation,
a people laden with iniquity,
m offspring of evildoers,
children who deal corruptly!
They have forsaken the  Lord,
they have n despised o the Holy One of Israel,
they are utterly p estranged.
 5  Why will you still be q struck down?
Why will you r continue to rebel?
The whole head is sick,
and the whole heart faint.
 6  s From the sole of the foot even to the head,
there is no soundness in it,
but bruises and sores
and raw wounds;
they are t not pressed out or bound up
or softened with oil.
 7  u Your country lies desolate;
your cities are burned with fire;
in your very presence
foreigners devour your land;
it is desolate, as overthrown by foreigners.
 8 And v the daughter of Zion is left
like a w booth in a vineyard,
like a lodge in a cucumber field,
like a besieged city.
 9  x If the  Lord of hosts
had not left us y a few survivors,
we should have been like z Sodom,
and become like aa Gomorrah.
 10  Hear the word of the  Lord,
you rulers of ab, , ac Sodom!
Give ear to the teaching ▼
▼ Or law
 of our God,
you people of ae Gomorrah!
 11  af “What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices?
says the  Lord;
I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams
and the fat of well-fed beasts;
I do not delight in the blood of bulls,
or of lambs, or of goats.
 12  “When you come to ag appear before me,
who has required of you
this trampling of my courts?
 13 Bring no more vain offerings;
incense is an abomination to me.
ah New moon and Sabbath and the ai calling of convocations—
I cannot endure aj iniquity and ak solemn assembly.
 14 Your al new moons and your appointed feasts
my soul hates;
they have become a burden to me;
I am weary of bearing them.
 15 When you am spread out your hands,
I will hide my eyes from you;
an even though you make many prayers,
I will not listen;
ao your hands are full of blood.
 16  ap Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean;
remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes;
aq cease to do evil,
 17 learn to do good;
ar seek justice,
correct oppression;
as bring justice to the fatherless,
plead the widow’s cause.
 18  “Come now, at let us reason ▼
▼ Or dispute
 together, says the  Lord:
though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as av white as snow;
though they are red like crimson,
they shall become like wool.
 19  aw If you are willing and obedient,
you shall eat the good of the land;
 20 but if you refuse and rebel,
you shall be eaten by the sword;
ax for the mouth of the  Lord has spoken.”

The Unfaithful City

21  How the faithful city
ay has become a whore, ▼
▼ Or  become unchaste

ba she who was full of justice!
Righteousness lodged in her,
but now murderers.
 22  bb Your silver has become dross,
your best wine mixed with water.
 23 Your princes are rebels
and companions of thieves.
Everyone bc loves a bribe
and runs after gifts.
bd They do not bring justice to the fatherless,
and the widow’s cause does not come to them.
 24  Therefore the be Lord declares,
the  Lord of hosts,
the bf Mighty One of Israel:
“Ah, I will get relief from my enemies
bg and avenge myself on my foes.
 25  bh I will turn my hand against you
and will smelt away your bi dross as with lye
and remove all your alloy.
 26 And I will restore your judges bj as at the first,
and your counselors as at the beginning.
Afterward bk you shall be called the city of righteousness,
the faithful city.”
 27  bl Zion shall be redeemed by justice,
and those in her who repent, by righteousness.
 28  bm But rebels and sinners shall be broken together,
and those who forsake the  Lord shall be consumed.
 29  bn For they ▼
▼ Some Hebrew manuscripts you
 shall be ashamed of bp the oaks
that you desired;
and you shall blush for bq the gardens
that you have chosen.
 30 For you shall be br like an oak
whose leaf withers,
and like a garden without water.
 31 And the strong shall become bs tinder,
and his work a spark,
and both of them shall burn together,
with bt none to quench them.
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