Isaiah 1
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
1 The vision of Isaiah son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.(A)
The Wickedness of Judah
2 Hear, O heavens, and listen, O earth,
for the Lord has spoken:
I reared children and brought them up,
but they have rebelled against me.(B)
3 The ox knows its owner
and the donkey its master’s crib,
but Israel does not know;
my people do not understand.(C)
4 Woe, sinful nation,
people laden with iniquity,
offspring who do evil,
children who act corruptly,
who have forsaken the Lord,
who have despised the Holy One of Israel,
[[who are utterly estranged!]][a](D)
5 Why do you seek further beatings?
Why do you continue to rebel?
The whole head is injured,
and the whole heart faint.(E)
6 From the sole of the foot to the head,
there is no soundness in it,
only bruises and sores
and bleeding wounds;
they have not been drained or bound up
or softened with oil.(F)
7 Your country lies desolate;
your cities are burned with fire;
in your very presence
aliens devour your land;
it is desolate, as overthrown by foreigners.(G)
8 And daughter Zion is left
like a booth in a vineyard,
like a shelter in a cucumber field,
like a besieged city.
9 If the Lord of hosts
had not left us a few survivors,
we would have been like Sodom
and become like Gomorrah.(H)
10 Hear the word of the Lord,
you rulers of Sodom!
Listen to the teaching of our God,
you people of Gomorrah!(I)
11 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 fed beasts;
I do not delight in the blood of bulls
or of lambs or of goats.(J)
12 When you come to appear before me,[b]
who asked this from your hand?
Trample my courts no more!(K)
13 Bringing offerings is futile;
incense is an abomination to me.
New moon and Sabbath and calling of convocation—
I cannot endure solemn assemblies with iniquity.(L)
14 Your new moons and your appointed festivals
my soul hates;
they have become a burden to me;
I am weary of bearing them.(M)
15 When you stretch out your hands,
I will hide my eyes from you;
even though you make many prayers,
I will not listen;
your hands are full of blood.(N)
16 Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean;
remove your evil deeds
from before my eyes;
cease to do evil;(O)
17 learn to do good;
seek justice;
rescue the oppressed;
defend the orphan;
plead for the widow.(P)
18 Come now, let us argue it out,
says the Lord:
If your sins are like scarlet,
will they become like snow?
If they are red like crimson,
will they become like wool?(Q)
19 If you are willing and obedient,
you shall eat the good of the land,(R)
20 but if you refuse and rebel,
you shall be devoured by the sword,
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.(S)
The Degenerate City
21 How the faithful city
has become a prostitute!
She that was full of justice,
righteousness lodged in her—
but now murderers!(T)
22 Your silver has become dross;
your wine is mixed with water.(U)
23 Your princes are rebels
and companions of thieves.
Everyone loves a bribe
and runs after gifts.
They do not defend the orphan,
and the widow’s cause does not come before them.(V)
24 Therefore says the Sovereign, the Lord of hosts, the Mighty One of Israel:
Surely I will pour out my wrath on my enemies
and avenge myself on my foes!(W)
25 I will turn my hand against you;
I will smelt away your dross as with lye
and remove all your alloy.(X)
26 And 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.(Y)
27 Zion shall be redeemed by justice,
and those in her who repent, by righteousness.
28 But rebels and sinners shall be destroyed together,
and those who forsake the Lord shall be consumed.(Z)
29 For you shall be ashamed of the oaks
in which you delighted,
and you shall blush for the gardens
that you have chosen.(AA)
30 For you shall be like an oak
whose leaf withers
and like a garden without water.
31 The strong shall become like tinder
and their work like a spark;
they and their work shall burn together,
with no one to quench them.(AB)
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
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