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Isaiah 1-2
Easy-to-Read Version
Isaiah 1-2
Easy-to-Read Version
1 This is the vision of Isaiah son of Amoz. God showed Isaiah what would happen to Judah and Jerusalem. Isaiah saw this during the time when Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah were kings of Judah.
God’s Case Against Israel
2 Heaven and earth, listen! This is what the Lord says:
“I raised my children and helped them grow up,
but they have turned against me.
3 A bull knows its master,
and a donkey knows where its owner feeds it.
But Israel does not know me.
My people do not understand.”
4 Oh, what a sinful nation! Their guilt is like a heavy weight that they must carry. They are evil, destructive children.[a] They left the Lord and insulted the Holy One of Israel. They turned away and treated him like a stranger.
5 What good will it do to keep punishing you? You will continue to rebel. Your whole head and heart are already sick and aching.[b] 6 From the bottom of your feet to the top of your head, every part of your body has wounds, cuts, and open sores. You have not taken care of them. Your wounds have not been cleaned and bandaged.
7 Your land is in ruins, and your cities are in flames. Your enemies have taken your land, and foreigners are taking what it produces. It looks like some foreigners destroyed it.[c]
Warnings for Jerusalem
8 The city of Jerusalem[d] is now like an empty shed left in a vineyard. It is like an old straw hut abandoned in a field of cucumbers or like a city surrounded by enemies. 9 If the Lord All-Powerful had not allowed a few people to live, we would have been destroyed completely like the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. And that almost happened!
10 You officers of Sodom, listen to the Lord’s message. You people of Gomorrah,[e] listen to God’s teaching. 11 The Lord says, “Why do you continue giving me all these sacrifices? I have had enough of your sacrifices of rams and the fat from well-fed animals. I don’t want the blood of those bulls, sheep, and goats. 12 When you people come to meet with me, you trample everything in my yard. Who told you to do this?
13 “Don’t keep bringing me those worthless sacrifices. I hate the incense you give me. I cannot stand your festivals for the New Moon, the Sabbath, and other special meeting days. I hate the evil you do during those holy times together. 14 I hate your monthly meetings and councils. They have become like heavy weights to me, and I am tired of carrying them.
15 “When you raise your arms to pray to me, I will refuse to look at you. You will say more and more prayers, but I will refuse to listen because your hands are covered with blood.
16 “Wash yourselves and make yourselves clean. Stop doing the evil things I see you do. Stop doing wrong. 17 Learn to do good. Treat people fairly. Punish those who hurt others. Speak up for the widows and orphans. Argue their cases for them in court.
18 “I, the Lord, am the one speaking to you. Come, let’s discuss this. Even if your sins are as dark as red dye, that stain can be removed and you will be as pure as wool that is as white as snow.
19 “If you listen to what I say, you will get the good things from this land. 20 But if you refuse to listen and rebel against me, your enemies will destroy you.”
The Lord himself said this.
Unfaithful Jerusalem
21 Look at Jerusalem. She was a faithful city. What made her become like a prostitute? In the past, Jerusalem was filled with justice, and goodness should live there now. Instead, there are murderers.
22 Once you were like pure silver, but now you are like the impurities that people throw away when the silver is purified. You are like good wine that has been weakened with water. 23 Your rulers are rebels and friends of thieves. They demand bribes and accept money for doing wrong. They take money to cheat people, and they don’t speak up for widows and orphans. They will not even listen to their cries for help.
24 Because of this, the Lord God All-Powerful, the Mighty One of Israel, says, “Look, I will get relief from my enemies. You will not cause me any more trouble. 25 People use lye to clean silver. In the same way, I will clean away all your wrongs. I will remove all the impurities from you. 26 I will bring back the kind of judges you had in the beginning. Your counselors will be like those you had long ago. Then you will be called ‘The Good and Faithful City.’”
27 God is good and does what is right, so he will rescue Zion and the people who come back to him. 28 But all the criminals and sinners will be destroyed. Those who stopped following the Lord will be removed.
29 In the future, you will be ashamed of the oak trees and special gardens[f] you chose to worship, 30 because you will be like an oak tree whose leaves are dying. You will be like a garden dying without water. 31 Powerful people will be like small, dry pieces of wood, and what they did will be like the sparks that start a fire. These people and their works will both burn up, and no one will be able to put out that fire.
God’s Message to Judah and Jerusalem
2 Isaiah son of Amoz received this message about Judah and Jerusalem.
2 In the last days the mountain of the Lord’s Temple
will be the highest of all mountains.
It will be raised higher than the hills.
There will be a steady stream of people from all nations going there.
3 People from many places will go there and say,
“Come, let’s go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the Temple of the God of Jacob.
Then God will teach us his way of living,
and we will follow him.”
His teaching, the Lord’s message, will begin in Jerusalem on Mount Zion
and will go out to all the world.
4 Then God will act as judge to end arguments between nations.
He will decide what is right for people from many lands.
They will stop using their weapons for war.
They will hammer their swords into plows
and use their spears to make tools for harvesting.
All fighting between nations will end.
They will never again train for war.
5 Family of Jacob, let us follow the Lord.
6 Family of Jacob, you have abandoned your people. This is clear because they have been filled with bad influences from the East,[g] and now your people try to tell the future like the Philistines. They have completely accepted those strange ideas. 7 Jacob’s land has been filled with silver and gold from other places. There are many treasures there. His land has been filled with horses and many chariots. 8 His land is full of gods that the people bow down to worship. They made those idols themselves. 9 The people have become worse and worse. They have become very low, and you leaders did nothing to lift them up![h]
10 You should be afraid of the Lord! Go hide in the dirt and behind the rocks. Hide from his glorious power!
11 Proud people will stop being proud. They will bow down to the ground with shame, and only the Lord will still stand high.
12 The Lord All-Powerful has a special day planned when he will punish the proud and boastful people. They will be brought down. 13 They might be like the tall cedar trees from Lebanon or the great oak trees from Bashan, but they will be cut down. 14 They might be like the tall mountains and high hills 15 or like the tall towers and high walls, but they will be brought down. 16 They might be like great ships from Tarshish,[i] filled with such wonderful cargo, but they will be brought down.
17 At that time those proud people will fall. They will bow low to the ground, and only the Lord will stand high. 18 All the idols will be gone. 19 People will go into the holes in the ground and the cracks in the rocks because they fear the Lord and his great power as he stands to shake the earth.
20 At that time people will throw away their idols they made from gold and silver. They made these statues to worship, but they will throw them into holes in the ground where bats and moles live. 21 They will go down into cracks in the rocks and boulders because they are afraid of the Lord and his glorious power as he stands to shake the earth.
22 Stop trusting other people to save you. Do not think too highly of them; they are only humans who have not stopped breathing yet.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 1:4 They … children Or “They are destructive children of evil parents.”
- Isaiah 1:5 Your whole … aching Or “Every head and heart is already sick and aching.”
- Isaiah 1:7 It looks … destroyed it Or “It looks like the land of the foreigners that was destroyed.” This might refer to civil war in Israel or to some time when God destroyed foreign nations, such as Sodom and Gomorrah.
- Isaiah 1:8 city of Jerusalem Literally, “daughter Zion.” See “Zion” in the Word List.
- Isaiah 1:10 officers of Sodom … Gomorrah Here, this refers to leaders and people from Judah.
- Isaiah 1:29 special gardens Gardens where people worshiped false gods.
- Isaiah 2:6 East This usually refers to the area around Babylon.
- Isaiah 2:9 They … up Or “The people have become very low. Surely you will not forgive them!”
- Isaiah 2:16 ships from Tarshish This is probably a special type of cargo ship.
Isaiah 1-2
New International Version
Isaiah 1-2
New International Version
1 The vision(A) concerning Judah and Jerusalem(B) that Isaiah son of Amoz saw(C) during the reigns of Uzziah,(D) Jotham,(E) Ahaz(F) and Hezekiah,(G) kings of Judah.
A Rebellious Nation
2 Hear me, you heavens! Listen, earth!(H)
For the Lord has spoken:(I)
“I reared children(J) and brought them up,
but they have rebelled(K) against me.
3 The ox knows(L) its master,
the donkey its owner’s manger,(M)
but Israel does not know,(N)
my people do not understand.(O)”
4 Woe to the sinful nation,
a people whose guilt is great,(P)
a brood of evildoers,(Q)
children given to corruption!(R)
They have forsaken(S) the Lord;
they have spurned the Holy One(T) of Israel
and turned their backs(U) on him.
5 Why should you be beaten(V) anymore?
Why do you persist(W) in rebellion?(X)
Your whole head is injured,
your whole heart(Y) afflicted.(Z)
6 From the sole of your foot to the top of your head(AA)
there is no soundness(AB)—
only wounds and welts(AC)
and open sores,
not cleansed or bandaged(AD)
or soothed with olive oil.(AE)
7 Your country is desolate,(AF)
your cities burned with fire;(AG)
your fields are being stripped by foreigners(AH)
right before you,
laid waste as when overthrown by strangers.(AI)
8 Daughter Zion(AJ) is left(AK)
like a shelter in a vineyard,
like a hut(AL) in a cucumber field,
like a city under siege.
9 Unless the Lord Almighty
had left us some survivors,(AM)
we would have become like Sodom,
we would have been like Gomorrah.(AN)
10 Hear the word of the Lord,(AO)
you rulers of Sodom;(AP)
listen to the instruction(AQ) of our God,
you people of Gomorrah!(AR)
11 “The multitude of your sacrifices—
what are they to me?” says the Lord.
“I have more than enough of burnt offerings,
of rams and the fat of fattened animals;(AS)
I have no pleasure(AT)
in the blood of bulls(AU) and lambs and goats.(AV)
12 When you come to appear before me,
who has asked this of you,(AW)
this trampling of my courts?
13 Stop bringing meaningless offerings!(AX)
Your incense(AY) is detestable(AZ) to me.
New Moons,(BA) Sabbaths and convocations(BB)—
I cannot bear your worthless assemblies.
14 Your New Moon(BC) feasts and your appointed festivals(BD)
I hate with all my being.(BE)
They have become a burden to me;(BF)
I am weary(BG) of bearing them.
15 When you spread out your hands(BH) in prayer,
I hide(BI) my eyes from you;
even when you offer many prayers,
I am not listening.(BJ)
16 Wash(BM) and make yourselves clean.
Take your evil deeds out of my sight;(BN)
stop doing wrong.(BO)
17 Learn to do right;(BP) seek justice.(BQ)
Defend the oppressed.[a](BR)
Take up the cause of the fatherless;(BS)
plead the case of the widow.(BT)
18 “Come now, let us settle the matter,”(BU)
says the Lord.
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;(BV)
though they are red as crimson,
they shall be like wool.(BW)
19 If you are willing and obedient,(BX)
you will eat the good things of the land;(BY)
20 but if you resist and rebel,(BZ)
you will be devoured by the sword.”(CA)
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.(CB)
21 See how the faithful city
has become a prostitute!(CC)
She once was full of justice;
righteousness(CD) used to dwell in her—
but now murderers!(CE)
22 Your silver has become dross,(CF)
your choice wine is diluted with water.
23 Your rulers are rebels,(CG)
partners with thieves;(CH)
they all love bribes(CI)
and chase after gifts.
They do not defend the cause of the fatherless;
the widow’s case does not come before them.(CJ)
24 Therefore the Lord, the Lord Almighty,
the Mighty One(CK) of Israel, declares:
“Ah! I will vent my wrath on my foes
and avenge(CL) myself on my enemies.(CM)
25 I will turn my hand against you;[b](CN)
I will thoroughly purge(CO) away your dross(CP)
and remove all your impurities.(CQ)
26 I will restore your leaders as in days of old,(CR)
your rulers as at the beginning.
Afterward you will be called(CS)
the City of Righteousness,(CT)
the Faithful City.(CU)”
27 Zion will be delivered with justice,
her penitent(CV) ones with righteousness.(CW)
28 But rebels and sinners(CX) will both be broken,
and those who forsake(CY) the Lord will perish.(CZ)
29 “You will be ashamed(DA) because of the sacred oaks(DB)
in which you have delighted;
you will be disgraced because of the gardens(DC)
that you have chosen.
30 You will be like an oak with fading leaves,(DD)
like a garden without water.
31 The mighty man will become tinder
and his work a spark;
both will burn together,
with no one to quench the fire.(DE)”
The Mountain of the Lord(DF)
2 This is what Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem:(DG)
2 In the last days(DH)
the mountain(DI) of the Lord’s temple will be established
as the highest of the mountains;(DJ)
it will be exalted(DK) above the hills,
and all nations will stream to it.(DL)
3 Many peoples(DM) will come and say,
“Come, let us go(DN) up to the mountain(DO) of the Lord,
to the temple of the God of Jacob.
He will teach us his ways,
so that we may walk in his paths.”
The law(DP) will go out from Zion,
the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.(DQ)
4 He will judge(DR) between the nations
and will settle disputes(DS) for many peoples.
They will beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks.(DT)
Nation will not take up sword against nation,(DU)
nor will they train for war anymore.
The Day of the Lord
6 You, Lord, have abandoned(DX) your people,
the descendants of Jacob.(DY)
They are full of superstitions from the East;
they practice divination(DZ) like the Philistines(EA)
and embrace(EB) pagan customs.(EC)
7 Their land is full of silver and gold;(ED)
there is no end to their treasures.(EE)
Their land is full of horses;(EF)
there is no end to their chariots.(EG)
8 Their land is full of idols;(EH)
they bow down(EI) to the work of their hands,(EJ)
to what their fingers(EK) have made.
9 So people will be brought low(EL)
and everyone humbled(EM)—
do not forgive them.[c](EN)
10 Go into the rocks, hide(EO) in the ground
from the fearful presence of the Lord
and the splendor of his majesty!(EP)
11 The eyes of the arrogant(EQ) will be humbled(ER)
and human pride(ES) brought low;(ET)
the Lord alone will be exalted(EU) in that day.(EV)
12 The Lord Almighty has a day(EW) in store
for all the proud(EX) and lofty,(EY)
for all that is exalted(EZ)
(and they will be humbled),(FA)
13 for all the cedars of Lebanon,(FB) tall and lofty,(FC)
and all the oaks of Bashan,(FD)
14 for all the towering mountains
and all the high hills,(FE)
15 for every lofty tower(FF)
and every fortified wall,(FG)
16 for every trading ship[d](FH)
and every stately vessel.
17 The arrogance of man will be brought low(FI)
and human pride humbled;(FJ)
the Lord alone will be exalted in that day,(FK)
18 and the idols(FL) will totally disappear.(FM)
19 People will flee to caves(FN) in the rocks
and to holes in the ground(FO)
from the fearful presence(FP) of the Lord
and the splendor of his majesty,(FQ)
when he rises to shake the earth.(FR)
20 In that day(FS) people will throw away
to the moles and bats(FT)
their idols of silver and idols of gold,(FU)
which they made to worship.(FV)
21 They will flee to caverns in the rocks(FW)
and to the overhanging crags
from the fearful presence of the Lord
and the splendor of his majesty,(FX)
when he rises(FY) to shake the earth.(FZ)
Footnotes
- Isaiah 1:17 Or justice. / Correct the oppressor
- Isaiah 1:25 That is, against Jerusalem
- Isaiah 2:9 Or not raise them up
- Isaiah 2:16 Hebrew every ship of Tarshish
Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International
New International Version (NIV) 
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