Isaiah 1

GOD’S WORD Translation

1 This is the vision which Isaiah, son of Amoz, saw about Judah and Jerusalem at the time of Kings Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah.

The Lord Accuses Israel of Sin

²Listen, heaven, and pay attention, earth!
The Lord has spoken,
“I raised ⌞my⌟ children and helped them grow,
but they have rebelled against me.
³Oxen know their owners,
and donkeys know where their masters feed them.
But Israel doesn’t know ⌞its owner⌟.
My people don’t understand ⌞who feeds them⌟.

⁴“How horrible it will be for a nation that sins.
⌞Its⌟ people are loaded down with guilt.
They are descendants of evildoers
and destructive children.
They have abandoned the Lord.
They have despised the Holy One of Israel.
They have turned their backs on him.

⁵“Why do you still want to be beaten?
Why do you continue to rebel?
Your whole head is infected.
Your whole heart is failing.
⁶From the bottom of your feet to the top of your head
there is no healthy spot left on your ⌞body⌟—
only bruises, sores, and fresh wounds.
They haven’t been cleansed, bandaged,
or soothed with oil.

⁷“Your country is devastated.
Your cities are burned down.
Your fields are destroyed right before your eyes by foreigners.
Your fields are devastated and taken over by foreigners.
⁸My people Zion are left like a hut in a vineyard,
like a shack in a cucumber field,
like a city under attack.”

⁹If the Lord of Armies hadn’t left us a few survivors,
we would have been like Sodom and Gomorrah.

Israel’s Corrupt Religion

¹⁰Listen to the Lord’s word, you rulers of Sodom!
Pay attention to the teachings from our God, you people of Gomorrah!
¹¹The Lord asks, “What do your many animal sacrifices mean to me?
I’ve had enough of your burnt offerings of rams
and enough fat from your fattened calves.
I’m not pleased with the blood of bulls, lambs, or male goats.
¹²When you appear in my presence,
who asked you to trample on my courtyards?
¹³Don’t bring any more worthless grain offerings.
Your incense is disgusting to me,
so are your New Moon Festivals, your days of rest—holy days,
and the assemblies you call.
I can’t stand your evil assemblies.
¹⁴I hate your New Moon Festivals and your appointed festivals.
They’ve become a burden to me,
and I’m tired of putting up with them.
¹⁵So when you stretch out your hands ⌞in prayer⌟,
I will turn my eyes away from you.
Even though you offer many prayers,
I will not listen because your hands are covered with blood.

The Lord Invites Israel to Turn Away from Sin

¹⁶“Wash yourselves! Become clean!
Get your evil deeds out of my sight.
Stop doing evil.
¹⁷Learn to do good.
Seek justice.
Arrest oppressors.
Defend orphans.
Plead the case of widows.”

¹⁸“Come on now, let’s discuss this!” says the Lord.
“Though your sins are bright red,
they will become as white as snow.
Though they are dark red,
they will become as white as wool.
¹⁹If you are willing and obedient,
you will eat the best from the land.
²⁰But if you refuse and rebel,
you will be destroyed by swords.”
The Lord has spoken.

Jerusalem’s Future

²¹How the faithful town has become a prostitute!
She was full of justice,
and righteousness lived in her.
But now murderers live there!
²²Your silver is not pure.
Your wine is watered down.
²³Your rulers are rebels, friends with thieves.
They all love bribes and run after gifts.
They never defend orphans.
They don’t notice the widows’ pleas.

²⁴That’s why the Lord, the Lord of Armies, the Mighty One of Israel, says,

“How horrible it will be when I take revenge on my opponents!
I will avenge myself against my enemies.
²⁵I will turn my power against you.
I will remove your impurities with bleach.
I will get rid of all your impurities.
²⁶I will give you judges like you had long ago,
advisers like you had in the beginning.
After that you will be called the Righteous City,
the Faithful Town.”

²⁷Zion will be pardoned by ⌞the Lord’s⌟ justice,
and those who return will be pardoned
by ⌞the Lord’s⌟ righteousness.
²⁸Rebels and sinners will be crushed at the same time,
and those who abandon the Lord will come to an end.
²⁹You will be ashamed of the oaks that you wanted to worship
and embarrassed by the garden that you have chosen for your gods.
³⁰You will be like an oak whose leaves wither
and like a garden without water.
³¹Strong people will become tinder for a fire,
and their work will be the spark.
Both of them will burn together,
and there will be no one to put out the fire.

Isaiah 1

New King James Version

Judah Called to Repentance

1 The ^(A)vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the ^(B)days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.

The Wickedness of Judah

²^(C)Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth!
For the Lord has spoken:
“I have nourished and brought up children,
And they have rebelled against Me;
³^(D)The ox knows its owner
And the donkey its master’s ^[a]crib;
But Israel ^(E)does not know,
My people do not ^[b]consider.”

⁴Alas, sinful nation,
A people ^[c]laden with iniquity,
^(F)A ^[d]brood of evildoers,
Children who are corrupters!
They have forsaken the Lord,
They have provoked to anger
The Holy One of Israel,
They have turned away backward.

⁵^(G)Why should you be stricken again?
You will revolt more and more.
The whole head is sick,
And the whole heart faints.
⁶From the sole of the foot even to the head,
There is no soundness in it,
But wounds and bruises and putrefying sores;
They have not been closed or bound up,
Or soothed with ointment.

⁷^(H)Your country is desolate,
Your cities are burned with fire;
Strangers devour your land in your presence;
And it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers.
⁸So the daughter of Zion is left ^(I)as a ^[e]booth in a vineyard,
As a hut in a garden of cucumbers,
^(J)As a besieged city.
⁹^(K)Unless the Lord of hosts
Had left to us a very small remnant,
We would have become like ^(L)Sodom,
We would have been made like Gomorrah.

¹⁰Hear the word of the Lord,
You rulers ^(M)of Sodom;
Give ear to the law of our God,
You people of Gomorrah:
¹¹“To what purpose is the multitude of your ^(N)sacrifices to Me?”
Says the Lord.
“I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams
And the fat of fed cattle.
I do not delight in the blood of bulls,
Or of lambs or goats.

¹²“When you come ^(O)to appear before Me,
Who has required this from your hand,
To trample My courts?
¹³Bring no more ^(P)futile^[f] sacrifices;
Incense is an abomination to Me.
The New Moons, the Sabbaths, and ^(Q)the calling of assemblies—
I cannot endure iniquity and the sacred meeting.
¹⁴Your ^(R)New Moons and your ^(S)appointed feasts
My soul hates;
They are a trouble to Me,
I am weary of bearing them.
¹⁵^(T)When you ^[g]spread out your hands,
I will hide My eyes from you;
^(U)Even though you make many prayers,
I will not hear.
Your hands are full of ^[h]blood.

¹⁶“Wash^(V) yourselves, make yourselves clean;
Put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes.
^(W)Cease to do evil,
¹⁷Learn to do good;
Seek justice,
Rebuke ^[i]the oppressor;
^[j]Defend the fatherless,
Plead for the widow.

¹⁸“Come now, and let us ^(X)reason together,”
Says the Lord,
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
^(Y)They shall be as white as snow;
Though they are red like crimson,
They shall be as wool.
¹⁹If you are willing and obedient,
You shall eat the good of the land;
²⁰But if you refuse and rebel,
You shall be devoured by the sword”;
^(Z)For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

The Degenerate City

²¹^(AA)How the faithful city has become a ^[k]harlot!
It was full of justice;
Righteousness lodged in it,
But now ^(AB)murderers.
²²^(AC)Your silver has become dross,
Your wine mixed with water.
²³^(AD)Your princes are rebellious,
And ^(AE)companions of thieves;
^(AF)Everyone loves bribes,
And follows after rewards.
They ^(AG)do not defend the fatherless,
Nor does the cause of the widow come before them.

²⁴Therefore the Lord says,
The Lord of hosts, the Mighty One of Israel,
“Ah, ^(AH)I will ^[l]rid Myself of My adversaries,
And ^[m]take vengeance on My enemies.
²⁵I will turn My hand against you,
And ^(AI)thoroughly^[n] purge away your dross,
And take away all your alloy.
²⁶I will restore your judges ^(AJ)as at the first,
And your counselors as at the beginning.
Afterward ^(AK)you shall be called the city of righteousness, the faithful city.”

²⁷Zion shall be redeemed with justice,
And her ^[o]penitents with righteousness.
²⁸The ^(AL)destruction of transgressors and of sinners shall be together,
And those who forsake the Lord shall be consumed.
²⁹For ^[p]they shall be ashamed of the ^[q]terebinth trees
Which you have desired;
And you shall be embarrassed because of the gardens
Which you have chosen.
³⁰For you shall be as a terebinth whose leaf fades,
And as a garden that has no water.
³¹^(AM)The strong shall be as tinder,
And the work of it as a spark;
Both will burn together,
And no one shall ^(AN)quench them.

Footnotes

Isaiah 1:3 manger or feed trough
Isaiah 1:3 understand
Isaiah 1:4 Lit. heavy, weighed down
Isaiah 1:4 offspring, seed
Isaiah 1:8 shelter
Isaiah 1:13 worthless
Isaiah 1:15 Pray
Isaiah 1:15 bloodshed
Isaiah 1:17 Some ancient vss. the oppressed
Isaiah 1:17 Vindicate
Isaiah 1:21 Unfaithful
Isaiah 1:24 be relieved of
Isaiah 1:24 avenge Myself
Isaiah 1:25 refine with lye
Isaiah 1:27 Lit. returners
Isaiah 1:29 So with MT, LXX, Vg.; some Heb. mss., Tg. you
Isaiah 1:29 Sites of pagan worship

GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

New King James Version (NKJV)

Isaiah 1 GOD’S WORD Translation