Isaiah 1
International Standard Version
The Vision of Isaiah
1 This[a] is the vision that Amoz’s son Isaiah[b] had about Judah and Jerusalem during the reigns[c] of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.
Rebellious Judah
2 Listen, you heavens,
and let the[d] earth pay attention,
because the Lord has spoken:
“I reared children
and brought them to adulthood,
but then they rebelled against me.
3 The ox knows its owner,
and the donkey its master’s feeding trough,
but[e] Israel doesn’t know,
and[f] my people don’t understand.
4 “Oh, you sinful nation!
You people burdened down by iniquity!
You offspring of those who keep practicing what is evil!
You corrupt children!
“They’ve abandoned the Lord;
they’ve despised the Holy One of Israel;
in their estrangement, they’ve walked away from me.[g]
5 “Why will you still be struck down?
Why will you continue to rebel?
Your whole head is sick,
and your whole heart is faint.
6 From the sole of your foot to the top of your head,
there’s no soundness evident[h]—
only bruises, sores,
and festering wounds
that haven’t been cleaned out,
bandaged, or treated[i] with oil.”
God’s Diagnosis
7 “Your country lies desolate;
your cities have been incinerated.
Before your very eyes,
foreigners are devouring your land—
they’ve brought devastation on it,[j]
while the land is[k] overthrown by foreigners.
8 “The daughter of Zion is left abandoned,
like a booth in a vineyard,
like a hut in a cucumber field,
or like a city under siege.
9 If the Lord of the Heavenly Armies
hadn’t left us a few survivors,
we would be like Sodom;
we would be like Gomorrah.
10 “Listen to what the Lord says,
you rulers of Sodom,
and[l] pay attention to the teaching of our God,
you people of Gomorrah!
11 “How do your voluminous sacrifices benefit me?”
the Lord is asking.
“I’ve had enough of burnt offerings of rams
and the fat of well-fed beasts.
I don’t enjoy the blood of bulls,
lambs, or goats.
12 “When you come to present yourselves in my presence,[m]
who has required you
to trample on my courts?
13 Stop bringing useless offerings!
Incense is detestable to me,
as are your New Moons, Sabbaths, and calling of convocations.
I cannot stand iniquity within[n] a solemn assembly.
14 As for your New Moons and your appointed festivals,
I abhor[o] them.
They’ve become a burden to me;
I’ve grown weary of carrying that burden.[p]
15 When you spread out your hands in prayer,[q]
I’ll hide my eyes from you.
Even though you pray repeatedly,
I won’t listen.
Your hands are full of blood,
your fingers drenched[r] with iniquity.”[s]
An Invitation to Reconciliation
16 “Wash yourselves,
and[t] make yourselves clean;
remove your evil behavior
from my presence;
stop practicing what is evil.
17 Learn to practice what is good;
seek justice,
alleviate oppression,[u]
defend orphans[v] in court,
and[w] plead the widow’s case.
18 “Please come,
and let’s reason together,” implores the Lord.
“Even though your[x] sins are like scarlet,
they’ll be white like snow.
Though they’re like crimson,[y]
they’ll become like wool.
19 If you’re willing and obedient,
you’ll eat the best that the land produces;
20 but[z] if you refuse and rebel,
you’ll be devoured by the sword,[aa]
because the Lord[ab] has spoken.”
Diagnosis and Judgment
21 “How the faithful city
has become a whore,
she who used to be filled with justice!
Righteousness used to reside within her,
but now only murderers live there.
22 Your silver has[ac] become dross,
your best wine is diluted with water.
23 Your princes are rebels
and companions of thieves.
All of them are lovers of[ad] bribes
and are runners[ae] after gifts.
They don’t bring justice to orphans,[af]
and the widow’s case never comes up for review in their court.”[ag]
Restoration and Redemption
24 Therefore this is what the Lord God of the Heavenly Armies,
the one who is Israel’s Mighty One, declares:
“Now I’ll get relief from his[ah] enemies
and avenge myself on his[ai] foes.
25 When I turn[aj] my attention to you,[ak]
I’ll refine your dross as in a furnace.[al]
I’ll remove[am] all your alloy.
26 Let me restore[an] your judges as at the first,
and your counselors as at the beginning.
Afterward you’ll be called ‘The Righteous City’
and ‘The Faithful City of Zion’.[ao]
27 “Zion[ap] will be redeemed by justice,
and her repentant ones[aq] by righteousness.
28 Rebels and sinners will be broken together,
and those who forsake the Lord will be consumed.
29 They’ll be ashamed of the oak trees
that you desired;
and you’ll blush because of the gardens
that you have chosen.
30 You’ll be like an oak
whose leaf is withering,
like an unwatered garden.
31 Your[ar] strong one[as] will be like tinder,
and your work[at] a spark;
both of them will burn together,
with no one to quench the flames that burn[au] them.”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 1:1 This book has been translated from the Great Isaiah Scroll (1QIsaa) of the DSS. The MT, LXX, Syr, Targ, and other ancient texts are compared in footnotes where they may vary from 1QIsaa and other DSS mss. Some of these ancient readings were incorporated instead of the DSS Isaiah text.
- Isaiah 1:1 The Heb. name Isaiah means The Lord has saved
- Isaiah 1:1 Lit. days
- Isaiah 1:2 So 1QIsaa; the Heb. lacks the
- Isaiah 1:3 So 4QIsaj; 1QIsaa MT lack but
- Isaiah 1:3 So 4QIsaj; 1QIsaa MT lack and
- Isaiah 1:4 Lit. they’ve gone back
- Isaiah 1:6 Lit. soundness in it
- Isaiah 1:6 Or softened
- Isaiah 1:7 So 1QIsaa; MurIsa MT LXX read Devastated
- Isaiah 1:7 DSS MT lack the land is
- Isaiah 1:10 So 1:10 1QIsaa Syr; MT LXX Targ Vulgate lack and
- Isaiah 1:12 Lit. come for my face to appear
- Isaiah 1:13 Lit. and
- Isaiah 1:14 Lit. festivals, my soul abhors
- Isaiah 1:14 Lit. carrying them
- Isaiah 1:15 DSS MT lack in prayer
- Isaiah 1:15 DSS lack drenched
- Isaiah 1:15 MT 4QIsaf lack this line
- Isaiah 1:16 So 1QIsaa; 4QIsaf MT lack and
- Isaiah 1:17 Or rescue the oppressed
- Isaiah 1:17 Or defend the fatherless
- Isaiah 1:17 DSS MT lack and
- Isaiah 1:18 Lit. your (pl.)
- Isaiah 1:18 So 1QIsaa LXX; 4QIsaf MT read they’re red like crimson
- Isaiah 1:20 So 1QIsaa LXX Targ Syr; 4QIsaf lacks but
- Isaiah 1:20 So 1QIsaa Targ Syr; LXX reads the sword will devour you
- Isaiah 1:20 Lit. Lord’s mouth
- Isaiah 1:22 So MT; 1QIsaa reads have
- Isaiah 1:23 So 1QIsaa LXX; MT reads Everyone loves
- Isaiah 1:23 So 1QIsaa LXX; MT reads and run
- Isaiah 1:23 Or to the fatherless
- Isaiah 1:23 Lit. comes before them
- Isaiah 1:24 So 1QIsaa; 4QIsaf MT LXX Vulgate read my
- Isaiah 1:24 So 1QIsaa; LXX MT read my
- Isaiah 1:25 So 1QIsaa; LXX MT read And let me turn
- Isaiah 1:25 Lit. my hand against you
- Isaiah 1:25 1QIsaa lacks as in a furnace; MT reads as lye
- Isaiah 1:25 So 1QIsaa 4QIsaf; MT reads Let me remove
- Isaiah 1:26 1QIsaa MT; 4QIsaf reads I will restore
- Isaiah 1:26 So LXX; the Heb. lacks Zion
- Isaiah 1:27 So MT; 1QIsaa reading unclear
- Isaiah 1:27 So 1QIsaa MT 4QIsaf; LXX reads her captivity
- Isaiah 1:31 Lit. Your (pl.); so 1QIsaa Vulgate. The
- Isaiah 1:31 LXX MT read Their strength
- Isaiah 1:31 So 1QIsaa; MT reads their work; LXX reads their deeds
- Isaiah 1:31 DSS MT lack the flames that burn
Isaiah 1
King James Version
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 hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.
3 The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider.
4 Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the Lord, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.
5 Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint.
6 From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.
7 Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire: your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers.
8 And the daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city.
9 Except the Lord of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah.
10 Hear the word of the Lord, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah.
11 To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the Lord: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats.
12 When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread my courts?
13 Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting.
14 Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them.
15 And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood.
16 Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil;
17 Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.
18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
19 If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land:
20 But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.
21 How is the faithful city become an harlot! it was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but now murderers.
22 Thy silver is become dross, thy wine mixed with water:
23 Thy princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves: every one loveth gifts, and followeth after rewards: they judge not the fatherless, neither doth the cause of the widow come unto them.
24 Therefore saith the Lord, the Lord of hosts, the mighty One of Israel, Ah, I will ease me of mine adversaries, and avenge me of mine enemies:
25 And I will turn my hand upon thee, and purely purge away thy dross, and take away all thy tin:
26 And I will restore thy judges as at the first, and thy counsellors as at the beginning: afterward thou shalt be called, The city of righteousness, the faithful city.
27 Zion shall be redeemed with judgment, and her converts with righteousness.
28 And the destruction of the transgressors and of the sinners shall be together, and they that forsake the Lord shall be consumed.
29 For they shall be ashamed of the oaks which ye have desired, and ye shall be confounded for the gardens that ye have chosen.
30 For ye shall be as an oak whose leaf fadeth, and as a garden that hath no water.
31 And the strong shall be as tow, and the maker of it as a spark, and they shall both burn together, and none shall quench them.
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