Isaiah 6-12
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
A Vision of God in the Temple
6 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty, and the hem of his robe filled the temple.(A) 2 Seraphs were in attendance above him; each had six wings: with two they covered their faces, and with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew.(B) 3 And one called to another and said,
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory.”(C)
4 The pivots[a] on the thresholds shook at the voices of those who called, and the house filled with smoke. 5 And I said, “Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”(D)
6 Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding a live coal that had been taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. 7 The seraph[b] touched my mouth with it and said, “Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out.”(E) 8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I; send me!”(F) 9 And he said, “Go and say to this people:
‘Keep listening, but do not comprehend;
keep looking, but do not understand.’(G)
10 Make the mind of this people dull,
and stop their ears,
and shut their eyes,
so that they may not look with their eyes
and listen with their ears
and comprehend with their minds
and turn and be healed.”(H)
11 Then I said, “How long, O Lord?” And he said,
“Until cities lie waste
without inhabitant,
and houses without people,
and the land is utterly desolate;(I)
12 until the Lord sends everyone far away,
and vast is the emptiness in the midst of the land.(J)
13 Even if a tenth part remain in it,
it will be burned again,
like a terebinth or an oak
whose stump remains standing
when it is felled.”[c]
(The holy seed is its stump.)(K)
Isaiah Reassures King Ahaz
7 In the days of Ahaz son of Jotham son of Uzziah, king of Judah, King Rezin of Aram and King Pekah son of Remaliah of Israel went up to attack Jerusalem but could not conquer it.(L) 2 When the house of David heard that Aram had allied itself with Ephraim, the heart of Ahaz[d] and the heart of his people shook as the trees of the forest shake before the wind.(M)
3 Then the Lord said to Isaiah, “Go out to meet Ahaz, you and your son Shear-jashub,[e] at the end of the conduit of the upper pool on the highway to the fuller’s field,(N) 4 and say to him: Take heed, be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint because of these two smoldering stumps of firebrands, because of the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram and the son of Remaliah.(O) 5 Because Aram—with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah—has plotted evil against you, saying, 6 ‘Let us go up against Judah and terrify it[f] and conquer it for ourselves and make the son of Tabeel king in it’; 7 therefore thus says the Lord God:
It shall not stand,
and it shall not come to pass.(P)
8 For the head of Aram is Damascus,
and the head of Damascus is Rezin.
(Within sixty-five years Ephraim will be shattered, no longer a people.)(Q)
9 The head of Ephraim is Samaria,
and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah.
If you do not stand firm in faith,
you shall not stand at all.”(R)
Isaiah Gives Ahaz the Sign of Immanuel
10 Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, saying, 11 “Ask a sign of the Lord your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.”(S) 12 But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test.” 13 Then Isaiah[g] said, “Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary mortals that you weary my God also? 14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son and shall name him Immanuel.[h](T) 15 He shall eat curds and honey by the time he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good.(U) 16 For before the child knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land before whose two kings you are in dread will be deserted.(V) 17 The Lord will bring on you and on your people and on your ancestral house such days as have not come since the day that Ephraim departed from Judah—the king of Assyria.”(W)
18 On that day the Lord will whistle for the fly that is at the sources of the streams of Egypt and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria.(X) 19 And they will all come and settle in the steep ravines and in the clefts of the rocks and on all the thornbushes and on all the watering holes.[i](Y)
20 On that day the Lord will shave with a razor hired beyond the River—with the king of Assyria—the head and the hair of the feet, and it will take off the beard as well.(Z)
21 On that day one will keep alive a young cow and two sheep 22 and will eat curds because of the abundance of milk that they give, for everyone left in the land shall eat curds and honey.
23 On that day every place where there used to be a thousand vines, worth a thousand shekels of silver, will become briers and thorns. 24 With bow and arrows one will go there, for all the land will be briers and thorns, 25 and as for all the hills that used to be hoed with a hoe, you will not go there for fear of briers and thorns, but they will become a place where cattle are let loose and where sheep tread.
Isaiah’s Son a Sign of the Assyrian Invasion
8 Then the Lord said to me, “Take a large tablet and write on it in common characters, ‘Belonging to Maher-shalal-hash-baz,’[j](AA) 2 and have it attested[k] for me by reliable witnesses, the priest Uriah and Zechariah son of Jeberechiah.”(AB) 3 And I went to the prophetess, and she conceived and bore a son. Then the Lord said to me, “Name him Maher-shalal-hash-baz, 4 for before the child knows how to call ‘My father’ or ‘My mother,’ the wealth of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria will be carried away by the king of Assyria.”(AC)
5 The Lord spoke to me again: 6 “Because this people has refused the waters of Shiloah that flow gently and melt in fear before[l] Rezin and the son of Remaliah,(AD) 7 therefore the Lord is bringing up against it the mighty flood waters of the River, the king of Assyria and all his glory; it will rise above all its channels and overflow all its banks; 8 it will sweep on into Judah as a flood and, pouring over, will reach up to the neck, and its outspread wings will fill the breadth of your land, O Immanuel.(AE)
9 Take notice,[m] you peoples, and be dismayed;
listen, all you far countries;
gird yourselves and be dismayed![n]
10 Take counsel together, but it shall be brought to naught;
speak a word, but it will not stand,
for God is with us.”(AF)
11 The Lord spoke thus to me while his hand was strong upon me and warned me not to walk in the way of this people, saying:(AG) 12 “Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what it fears or be in dread.(AH) 13 But the Lord of hosts, him you shall regard as holy; let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.(AI) 14 He will become a sanctuary, a stone one strikes against; for both houses of Israel he will become a rock one stumbles over, a trap and a snare for the inhabitants of Jerusalem.(AJ) 15 And many among them shall stumble; they shall fall and be broken; they shall be snared and taken.”(AK)
Disciples of Isaiah
16 Bind up the testimony; seal the teaching among my disciples.(AL) 17 I will wait for the Lord, who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob, and I will hope in him.(AM) 18 See, I and the children whom the Lord has given me are signs and portents in Israel from the Lord of hosts, who dwells on Mount Zion.(AN) 19 Now if people say to you, “Consult the ghosts and the familiar spirits that chirp and mutter; should not a people consult their gods, the dead on behalf of the living,(AO) 20 for teaching and for instruction?” surely those who speak like this will have no dawn!(AP) 21 They will pass through the land,[o] greatly distressed and hungry; when they are hungry, they will be enraged and will curse[p] their king and their gods. They will turn their faces upward,(AQ) 22 or they will look to the earth, but they will see only distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish, and they will be thrust into thick darkness.[q](AR)
The Righteous Reign of the Coming King
9 [r]But there will be no gloom for those who were in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he will make glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.(AS)
2 [s]The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
those who lived in a land of deep darkness—
on them light has shined.(AT)
3 You have multiplied exultation;[t]
you have increased its joy;
they rejoice before you
as with joy at the harvest,
as people exult when dividing plunder.(AU)
4 For the yoke of their burden
and the bar across their shoulders,
the rod of their oppressor,
you have broken as on the day of Midian.(AV)
5 For all the boots of the tramping warriors
and all the garments rolled in blood
shall be burned as fuel for the fire.(AW)
6 For a child has been born for us,
a son given to us;
authority rests upon his shoulders,
and he is named
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.(AX)
7 Great will be his authority,[u]
and there shall be endless peace
for the throne of David and his kingdom.
He will establish and uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
from this time onward and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.(AY)
Judgment on Arrogance and Oppression
8 The Lord sent a word against Jacob,
and it fell on Israel,
9 and all the people knew it—
Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria—
but in pride and arrogance of heart they said:(AZ)
10 “The bricks have fallen,
but we will build with dressed stones;
the sycamores have been cut down,
but we will put cedars in their place.”
11 So the Lord raised adversaries[v] against them
and stirred up their enemies,(BA)
12 the Arameans on the east and the Philistines on the west,
and they devoured Israel with open mouth.
For all this his anger has not turned away;
his hand is stretched out still.(BB)
13 The people did not turn to him who struck them
or seek the Lord of hosts.(BC)
14 So the Lord cut off from Israel head and tail,
palm branch and reed in one day—(BD)
15 elders and dignitaries are the head,
and prophets who teach lies are the tail,(BE)
16 for those who led this people led them astray,
and those who were led by them were left in confusion.(BF)
17 That is why the Lord did not have pity on[w] their young people
or compassion on their orphans and widows,
for everyone was godless and an evildoer,
and every mouth spoke folly.
For all this his anger has not turned away;
his hand is stretched out still.(BG)
18 For wickedness burned like a fire,
consuming briers and thorns;
it kindled the thickets of the forest,
and they swirled upward in a column of smoke.(BH)
19 Through the wrath of the Lord of hosts
the land was burned,
and the people became like fuel for the fire;
no one spared another.(BI)
20 They gorged on the right but still were hungry,
and they devoured on the left but were not satisfied;
they devoured the flesh of their own kindred;[x](BJ)
21 Manasseh devoured Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasseh,
and together they were against Judah.
For all this his anger has not turned away;
his hand is stretched out still.(BK)
10 Woe to those who make iniquitous decrees,
who write oppressive statutes,(BL)
2 to turn aside the needy from justice
and to rob the poor of my people of their right,
to make widows their spoil
and to plunder orphans!(BM)
3 What will you do on the day of punishment,
in the calamity that will come from far away?
To whom will you flee for help,
and where will you leave your wealth,(BN)
4 so as not to crouch among the prisoners
or fall among the slain?
For all this his anger has not turned away;
his hand is stretched out still.(BO)
Arrogant Assyria Also Judged
5 Woe to Assyria, the rod of my anger—
the club in their hands is my fury!(BP)
6 Against a godless nation I send him,
and against the people of my wrath I command him,
to take spoil and seize plunder,
and to tread them down like the mire of the streets.(BQ)
7 But this is not what he intends,
nor does he have this in mind,
but it is in his heart to destroy
and to cut off nations not a few.(BR)
8 For he says:
“Are not my commanders all kings?(BS)
9 Is not Calno like Carchemish?
Is not Hamath like Arpad?
Is not Samaria like Damascus?(BT)
10 As my hand has reached to the kingdoms of the idols
whose images were greater than those of Jerusalem and Samaria,(BU)
11 shall I not do to Jerusalem and her idols
what I have done to Samaria and her images?”
12 When the Lord has finished all his work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, he[y] will punish the arrogant boasting of the king of Assyria and his haughty pride.(BV) 13 For he says:
“By the strength of my hand I have done it,
and by my wisdom, for I have understanding;
I have removed the boundaries of peoples
and have plundered their treasures;
like a bull I have brought down those who sat on thrones.(BW)
14 My hand has found, like a nest,
the wealth of the peoples,
and as one gathers eggs that have been forsaken,
so I have gathered all the earth,
and there was none that moved a wing
or opened its mouth or chirped.”(BX)
15 Shall the ax vaunt itself over the one who wields it
or the saw magnify itself against the one who handles it?
As if a rod should raise the one who lifts it up,
or as if a staff should lift the one who is not wood!(BY)
16 Therefore the Sovereign, the Lord of hosts,
will send wasting sickness among his stout warriors,
and under his glory a burning will be kindled
like the burning of fire.(BZ)
17 The light of Israel will become a fire
and his Holy One a flame,
and it will burn and devour
his thorns and briers in one day.(CA)
18 The glory of his forest and his fruitful land
the Lord will destroy, both soul and body,
and it will be as when an invalid wastes away.(CB)
19 The remnant of the trees of his forest will be so few
that a child can write them down.(CC)
The Repentant Remnant of Israel
20 On that day the remnant of Israel and the survivors of the house of Jacob will no longer lean on the one who struck them but will lean on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, in truth.(CD) 21 A remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, to the mighty God.(CE) 22 For though your people, O Israel, were like the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will return. Destruction is decreed, an overwhelming verdict.(CF) 23 For the Lord God of hosts will make a full end, as decreed, in all the earth.[z](CG)
24 Therefore thus says the Lord God of hosts: “O my people who live in Zion, do not be afraid of the Assyrians when they beat you with a rod and lift up their staff against you as the Egyptians did. 25 For in a very little while my indignation will come to an end, and my anger will be directed to their destruction.”(CH) 26 The Lord of hosts will wield a whip against them, as when he struck Midian at the rock of Oreb; his staff will be over the sea, and he will lift it as he did in Egypt.(CI) 27 On that day his burden will be removed from your shoulder, and his yoke will be destroyed from your neck.
He has gone up from Samaria;[aa](CJ)
28 he has come to Aiath;
he has passed through Migron;
at Michmash he stores his baggage;(CK)
29 they have crossed over the pass;
at Geba they lodge for the night;
Ramah trembles;
Gibeah of Saul has fled.(CL)
30 Cry aloud, O daughter Gallim!
Listen, O Laishah!
Answer her, O Anathoth!(CM)
31 Madmenah is in flight;
the inhabitants of Gebim flee for safety.(CN)
32 This very day he will halt at Nob;
he will shake his fist
at the mount of daughter Zion,
the hill of Jerusalem.(CO)
33 Look, the Sovereign, the Lord of hosts,
will lop the boughs with terrifying power;
the tallest trees will be cut down,
and the lofty will be brought low.(CP)
34 He will hack down the thickets of the forest with an ax,
and Lebanon with its majestic trees[ab] will fall.
The Peaceful Kingdom
11 A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse,
and a branch shall grow[ac] out of his roots.(CQ)
2 The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him,
the spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the spirit of counsel and might,
the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.(CR)
3 His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.
He shall not judge by what his eyes see
or decide by what his ears hear,(CS)
4 but with righteousness he shall judge for the poor
and decide with equity for the oppressed of the earth;
he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth,
and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.(CT)
5 Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist
and faithfulness the belt around his loins.(CU)
6 The wolf shall live with the lamb;
the leopard shall lie down with the kid;
the calf and the lion will feed[ad] together,
and a little child shall lead them.
7 The cow and the bear shall graze;
their young shall lie down together;
and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
8 The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp,
and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den.
9 They will not hurt or destroy
on all my holy mountain,
for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.(CV)
Return of the Remnant of Israel and Judah
10 On that day the root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples; the nations shall inquire of him, and his dwelling shall be glorious.(CW)
11 On that day the Lord will again raise[ae] his hand to recover the remnant that is left of his people, from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Cush, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the coastlands of the sea.(CX)
12 He will raise a signal for the nations
and will assemble the outcasts of Israel
and gather the dispersed of Judah
from the four corners of the earth.(CY)
13 The jealousy of Ephraim shall depart;
the hostility of Judah shall be cut off;
Ephraim shall not be jealous of Judah,
and Judah shall not be hostile toward Ephraim.(CZ)
14 But they shall swoop down on the backs of the Philistines in the west;
together they shall plunder the people of the east.
They shall put forth their hand against Edom and Moab,
and the Ammonites shall obey them.(DA)
15 And the Lord will dry up[af]
the tongue of the sea of Egypt
and will wave his hand over the River
with his scorching wind
and will split it into seven channels
and make a way to cross on foot;(DB)
16 so there shall be a highway from Assyria
for the remnant that is left of his people,
as there was for Israel
when they came up from the land of Egypt.(DC)
Thanksgiving and Praise
12 You will say on that day:
“I will give thanks to you, O Lord,
for though you were angry with me,
your anger turned away,
and you comforted me.(DD)
2 Surely God is my salvation;
I will trust and will not be afraid,
for the Lord[ag] is my strength and my might;
he has become my salvation.”(DE)
3 With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.(DF) 4 And you will say on that day:
“Give thanks to the Lord;
call on his name;
make known his deeds among the nations;
proclaim that his name is exalted.
5 Sing praises to the Lord, for he has done gloriously;
let this be known in all the earth.(DG)
6 Shout aloud and sing for joy, O royal[ah] Zion,
for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.”(DH)
Notas al pie
- 6.4 Meaning of Heb uncertain
- 6.7 Heb He
- 6.13 Meaning of Heb uncertain
- 7.2 Heb his heart
- 7.3 That is, a remnant shall return
- 7.6 Or cut it off
- 7.13 Heb he
- 7.14 That is, God is with us
- 7.19 Meaning of Heb uncertain
- 8.1 That is, the spoil speeds, the prey hastens
- 8.2 Q ms Gk Syr: MT and I caused to be attested
- 8.6 Cn: Heb rejoicing with
- 8.9 Gk: Heb Be shattered
- 8.9 Q mss: MT repeats gird yourselves and be dismayed!
- 8.21 Heb it
- 8.21 Or curse by
- 8.22 Meaning of Heb uncertain
- 9.1 8.23 in Heb
- 9.2 9.1 in Heb
- 9.3 Cn: Heb multiplied the nation not
- 9.7 Gk: Meaning of Heb uncertain
- 9.11 Cn: Heb the adversaries of Rezin
- 9.17 Q ms: MT rejoice over
- 9.20 Or arm
- 10.12 Gk: Heb I
- 10.23 Or land
- 10.27 Cn: Heb and his yoke from your neck, and a yoke will be destroyed because of fatness
- 10.34 Cn Compare Gk Vg: Heb with a majestic one
- 11.1 Cn Compare Syr: Heb bear fruit
- 11.6 Q ms Gk Syr: MT and the fatted calf
- 11.11 Cn Compare Gk: Heb the Lord will again a second time
- 11.15 Gk Syr: Heb destroy
- 12.2 Q ms Heb mss Gk Syr Vg Tg: MT for Yah, the Lord
- 12.6 Or O inhabitant of
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.