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Judah, a Sinful Nation

The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz concerning (A)Judah and Jerusalem, which he beheld in the days of (B)Uzziah, (C)Jotham, (D)Ahaz, and (E)Hezekiah, kings of Judah.

(F)Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O (G)earth;
For [a]Yahweh speaks,
(H)Sons I have reared and raised up,
But they have (I)transgressed against Me.
An ox knows its owner,
And a donkey its master’s manger,
But Israel (J)does not know;
My people (K)do not perceive.”

Alas, sinful nation,
People heavy with iniquity,
(L)Seed of evildoers,
Sons who (M)act corruptly!
They have (N)forsaken Yahweh;
They have (O)spurned the Holy One of Israel;
They have [b]become estranged [c]from Him.

Where will you be stricken again,
As you (P)continue in your rebellion?
The whole head is (Q)sick,
And the whole heart is faint.
(R)From the sole of the foot even to the head
There is (S)nothing sound in it,
Only bruises, wounds, and raw wounds,
(T)Not pressed out, not bandaged,
Not softened with oil.

Your (U)land is desolate;
Your cities are burned with fire;
Your fields—strangers are devouring them in your presence;
It is desolate, as overthrown by strangers.
The daughter of Zion is left like a shelter in a vineyard,
Like a watchman’s hut in a cucumber field, like a besieged city.
(V)Unless Yahweh of hosts
Had left us a few (W)survivors,
We would be like (X)Sodom,
We would be like Gomorrah.

10 Hear (Y)the word of Yahweh,
You rulers of (Z)Sodom;
Give ear to the law of our God,
You people of Gomorrah.
11 (AA)What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me?”
Says Yahweh.
“I [d]have had enough of burnt offerings of rams
And the fat of fed cattle;
And in the blood of bulls, lambs, or goats [e]I take no pleasure.
12 When you come (AB)to appear before Me,
Who requires [f]of you this trampling of My courts?
13 Bring your worthless offerings no longer,
(AC)Incense is an abomination to Me.
(AD)New moon and sabbath, the (AE)calling of convocation—
I cannot (AF)endure wickedness and the solemn assembly.
14 My soul hates your new moon festivals and your (AG)appointed times,
They have become a burden to Me;
I am (AH)weary of bearing them.
15 So when you (AI)spread out your hands in prayer,
(AJ)I will hide My eyes from you;
Indeed, even though you (AK)multiply prayers,
I will not listen.
(AL)Your hands are full of blood.

16 (AM)Wash yourselves, (AN)purify yourselves;
(AO)Remove the evil of your deeds from before My eyes.
(AP)Cease to do evil,
17 Learn to do good;
(AQ)Seek justice,
Reprove the ruthless,
(AR)Execute justice for the [g]orphan,
Plead for the widow.

18 “Come now, and (AS)let us reason together,”
Says Yahweh,
(AT)Though your sins are as scarlet,
They will be as white as snow;
Though they are red like crimson,
They will be like wool.
19 (AU)If you are willing and obey,
You will (AV)eat the best of the land;
20 But if you refuse and rebel,
You will be (AW)eaten by the sword.”
For (AX)the mouth of Yahweh has spoken.

Zion Will Be Redeemed with Justice

21 How the faithful city has become a (AY)harlot,
She who was full of justice!
Righteousness once lodged in her,
But now murderers.
22 Your silver has become dross,
Your drink diluted with water.
23 Your (AZ)rulers are rebels
And companions of thieves;
Everyone (BA)loves a bribe
And pursues rewards.
They (BB)do not execute justice for the [h]orphan,
Nor does the widow’s plea come before them.

24 Therefore the Lord, Yahweh of hosts,
The (BC)Mighty One of Israel, declares,
“Ah, I will be comforted concerning My adversaries,
And I will (BD)avenge Myself on My enemies.
25 I will also turn My hand against you,
And will (BE)smelt away your dross as with lye
And will remove all your alloy.
26 Then I will have your (BF)judges return as at the first,
And your counselors as at the beginning;
Afterwards you will be called the (BG)city of righteousness,
A faithful town.”

27 Zion will be (BH)redeemed with justice
And her [i]repentant ones with righteousness.
28 But [j]transgressors and sinners will be (BI)broken together,
And those who forsake Yahweh will come to an end.
29 For [k]you will be ashamed of the [l](BJ)oaks which you have desired,
And you will be humiliated because of the (BK)gardens which you have chosen.
30 For you will be like [m]an oak whose (BL)leaf withers away
Or as a garden that has no water.
31 And the strong man will become tinder,
His work also a spark.
Thus they shall both (BM)burn together,
And there will be (BN)none to quench them.

Yahweh Will Judge the Nations

The word which (BO)Isaiah the son of Amoz beheld concerning Judah and Jerusalem.

Now it will be that
(BP)In the last days
The (BQ)mountain of the house of Yahweh
Will be established [n]as the head of the mountains,
And will be lifted up above the hills;
And (BR)all the nations will stream to it.
And many peoples will come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of Yahweh,
To the house of the God of Jacob,
That He may instruct us [o]from His ways
And that we may walk in His paths.”
For (BS)from Zion the [p]law will go forth
And the word of Yahweh from Jerusalem.
And He will judge between the nations,
And will [q]render decisions for many peoples;
And (BT)they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.
(BU)Nation will not lift up sword against nation,
And never again will they learn war.

Yahweh Will Have a Day of Reckoning

Come, (BV)house of Jacob, and let us walk in the (BW)light of Yahweh.
For You have (BX)abandoned Your people, the house of Jacob,
Because they are filled with influences from the east,
And they are soothsayers (BY)like the Philistines,
And they (BZ)strike bargains with the children of foreigners.
Their land has also been filled with silver and gold,
And there is no end to their treasures;
Their land has also been filled with (CA)horses,
And there is no end to their chariots.
Their land has also been (CB)filled with idols;
They worship the (CC)work of their hands,
That which their fingers have made.
So (CD)the common man has been bowed down,
And the man of importance has been made low,
But (CE)do not forgive them.
10 (CF)Enter the rock and hide in the dust
(CG)From the dread of Yahweh and from the splendor of His majesty.
11 The [r](CH)lofty look of [s]man will be made low,
And the [t](CI)men made high will be bowed down,
And Yahweh alone will be exalted in that day.

12 For Yahweh of hosts will have a day of reckoning
Against (CJ)everyone who is proud and high
And against everyone who is lifted up,
That he may be made low.
13 And it will be against all the cedars of Lebanon that are high and lifted up,
Against all the (CK)oaks of Bashan,
14 Against all the (CL)high mountains,
Against all the hills that are lifted up,
15 Against every (CM)lofty tower,
Against every fortified wall,
16 Against all the (CN)ships of Tarshish
And against all the desirable craft.
17 The loftiness of [u]man will be bowed down,
And the [v]men who are high will be made low;
And Yahweh alone will be exalted in that day,
18 But the (CO)idols will completely vanish.
19 Men will (CP)go into caves of the rocks
And into holes of the [w]ground
Before the dread of Yahweh
And the splendor of His majesty,
When He arises (CQ)to make the earth tremble.
20 In that day men will (CR)cast away to the moles and the (CS)bats
Their idols of silver and their idols of gold,
Which they made for themselves to worship,
21 In order to (CT)go into the caverns of the rocks and the clefts of the cliffs
Before the dread of Yahweh and the splendor of His majesty,
When He arises to make the earth tremble.
22 [x](CU)Stop regarding [y]man, whose breath of life is in his nostrils;
For [z](CV)why should he be esteemed?

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 1:2 The personal covenant name of God, a form of I AM WHO I AM, cf. Ex 3:14-15
  2. Isaiah 1:4 Or turned away
  3. Isaiah 1:4 Lit backward
  4. Isaiah 1:11 Or am sated with
  5. Isaiah 1:11 Or I do not desire, cf. Ps 40:6
  6. Isaiah 1:12 Lit of your hand
  7. Isaiah 1:17 Or fatherless
  8. Isaiah 1:23 Or fatherless
  9. Isaiah 1:27 Or returnees
  10. Isaiah 1:28 Lit breaking of transgressors and sinners shall be together
  11. Isaiah 1:29 As in some mss; M.T. they
  12. Isaiah 1:29 Or terebinths
  13. Isaiah 1:30 Or a terebinth
  14. Isaiah 2:2 Lit on
  15. Isaiah 2:3 Or some of
  16. Isaiah 2:3 Or instruction
  17. Isaiah 2:4 Or reprove many
  18. Isaiah 2:11 Lit eyes of the loftiness of man
  19. Isaiah 2:11 Or common man, cf. 2:9
  20. Isaiah 2:11 Or men of importance, cf. 2:9
  21. Isaiah 2:17 Or common man, cf. 2:9
  22. Isaiah 2:17 Or men of importance, cf. 2:9
  23. Isaiah 2:19 Lit dust
  24. Isaiah 2:22 Lit Cease from man
  25. Isaiah 2:22 Or common man, cf. 2:9
  26. Isaiah 2:22 Lit in what