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.”
4 Alas, 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.
6 From 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.
8 So 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.
10 Hear 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?
13 Bring 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.
14 Your (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,
17 Learn 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.
19 If you are willing and obedient,
You shall eat the good of the land;
20 But 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.
24 Therefore 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.
25 I will turn My hand against you,
And (AI)thoroughly[n] purge away your dross,
And take away all your alloy.
26 I 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.”
27 Zion shall be redeemed with justice,
And her [o]penitents with righteousness.
28 The (AL)destruction of transgressors and of sinners shall be together,
And those who forsake the Lord shall be consumed.
29 For [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.
30 For 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
Isaiah 1
Evangelical Heritage Version
The Caption
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.
Warning to a Sinful Nation
2 Hear this, O heavens,
and listen, O earth, for the Lord has spoken.
I have raised children and brought them up,
but they have rebelled against me.
3 The ox knows its owner,
and the donkey knows its owner’s manger,
but Israel does not know.
My people do not understand.
4 How terrible it will be for that sinful nation,
for a people loaded with guilt,
offspring[a] who act wickedly,
children who are corrupt!
They have forsaken the Lord.
They have despised the Holy One of Israel.
They have deserted him and turned back.
5 Why do you keep earning more beatings?
Why do you continue to rebel?
Your whole head is wounded.
Your whole heart is weak.
6 From the sole of your foot to the top of your head
there is nothing healthy,
but only wounds, welts, and open sores.
Your wounds have not been cleaned or bandaged
or soothed with olive oil.
7 Your country is desolate.
Your cities are burned with fire.
Foreigners devour your farmland right in front of your eyes,
and it is desolate, overthrown by foreigners.
8 The daughter of Zion[b] is left
like a shelter in a vineyard,
like a hut in a melon[c] field,
like a besieged city.
9 Unless the Lord of Armies[d] had left us a small surviving remnant,
we would have been like Sodom;
we would have become just like Gomorrah.
The Lord’s Proclamation
10 Hear the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom!
Listen to the law of our God, you people of Gomorrah!
11 What do your many sacrifices mean to me? says the Lord.
I have more than enough rams as burnt offerings
and enough fat from well-fed animals.
I am not pleased with the blood of bulls
or the blood of lambs and male goats.
12 When you come to appear before me,
who has asked for this from your hands:
this trampling on my courts?
13 Stop bringing worthless[e] offerings!
Your incense is an abomination to me.
I cannot stand your sinful assemblies
on the new moons, Sabbaths, and holy days.
14 Deep in my soul I hate your new moons and your appointed feasts.
They have become a burden to me.
I am tired of putting up with them.
15 When you spread out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you.
Indeed, even though you make many prayers, I will not hear.
Your hands are full of blood.
16 Wash yourselves. Purify yourselves.
Remove your evil deeds from my sight.
Stop doing evil. 17 Learn to do good.
Seek justice. Relieve the oppressed.[f]
Seek justice for the fatherless. Plead for the widow.
18 Come now, and let us reason together, says the Lord.
Though your sins are like scarlet, they will be as white as snow.
Though they are as red as crimson, they will be like wool.
19 If you are willing and obedient, you will eat good things
from the land,
20 but if you refuse and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.
Yes, the mouth of the Lord has spoken.
21 Look how the faithful city has become a prostitute!
She was full of justice. Righteousness once lived in her,
but now murderers live there.
22 Your silver has become slag.[g]
Your drinks are mixed with water.
23 Your officials are rebellious.
They are partners with thieves.
Everyone loves bribes and chases payoffs.
They do not obtain justice for the fatherless,
and they do not take up the cause of the widow.
24 Therefore the Lord, the Lord of Armies,
the Mighty One of Israel, says:
I must certainly get relief from my adversaries.
I will avenge myself on my enemies.
25 I will turn my hand against you.
I will smelt away all your slag.
I will take away all your impurities.
26 I will restore your judges as they were at first,
and your advisors as they were in the beginning.
Afterward you will be called a righteous city, a faithful town.
27 Zion will be redeemed with justice,
and those who return to her will be redeemed with righteousness.
28 But the rebels and sinners will be destroyed all together,
and those who forsake the Lord will come to an end.
29 For you[h] will be ashamed of the oaks that you have desired,
and you will be embarrassed by the groves[i] that you have chosen.
30 For you will be like an oak whose leaves wilt,
and like a grove that has no water.
31 The strong will be like tinder,
and their work will be like a spark.
Both will burn together,
and no one will put out the fire.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 1:4 Literally seed
- Isaiah 1:8 Daughter of Zion is a personification of Jerusalem and the people of Judah.
- Isaiah 1:8 Or cucumber
- Isaiah 1:9 Traditionally Lord of Hosts or Lord Sebaoth. The armies that God rules are the stars and the angels.
- Isaiah 1:13 Or meaningless
- Isaiah 1:17 Or rebuke the oppressor. The Hebrew seems to read make happy the oppressor.
- Isaiah 1:22 Or dross. Slag and dross are waste materials that are left after refining metal.
- Isaiah 1:29 Many manuscripts read they.
- Isaiah 1:29 The groves were places for idol worship.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.