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21 How the faithful city has become a prostitute!
    She was full of justice.
Righteousness lodged in her,
    but now there are murderers.
22 Your silver has become dross,
    your wine mixed with water.
23 Your princes are rebellious and companions of thieves.
    Everyone loves bribes and follows after rewards.
    They don’t defend the fatherless,
    neither does the cause of the widow come to them.

24 Therefore the Lord,[a] Yahweh of Armies,
    the Mighty One of Israel, says:
“Ah, I will get relief from my adversaries,
    and avenge myself on my enemies.
25 I will turn my hand on you,
    thoroughly purge away your dross,
    and will take away all your tin.[b]
26 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,
    a faithful town.’

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Footnotes

  1. 1:24 The word translated “Lord” is “Adonai.”
  2. 1:25 tin is a metal that is separated from silver during the refining and purification process.

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[a] become dross,
    your best wine is diluted with water.
23 Your princes are rebels
    and companions of thieves.
All of them are lovers of[b] bribes
    and are runners[c] after gifts.
They don’t bring justice to orphans,[d]
    and the widow’s case never comes up for review in their court.”[e]

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[f] enemies
    and avenge myself on his[g] foes.
25 When I turn[h] my attention to you,[i]
    I’ll refine your dross as in a furnace.[j]
        I’ll remove[k] all your alloy.
26 Let me restore[l] 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’.[m]

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 1:22 So MT; 1QIsaa reads have
  2. Isaiah 1:23 So 1QIsaa LXX; MT reads Everyone loves
  3. Isaiah 1:23 So 1QIsaa LXX; MT reads and run
  4. Isaiah 1:23 Or to the fatherless
  5. Isaiah 1:23 Lit. comes before them
  6. Isaiah 1:24 So 1QIsaa; 4QIsaf MT LXX Vulgate read my
  7. Isaiah 1:24 So 1QIsaa; LXX MT read my
  8. Isaiah 1:25 So 1QIsaa; LXX MT read And let me turn
  9. Isaiah 1:25 Lit. my hand against you
  10. Isaiah 1:25 1QIsaa lacks as in a furnace; MT reads as lye
  11. Isaiah 1:25 So 1QIsaa 4QIsaf; MT reads Let me remove
  12. Isaiah 1:26 1QIsaa MT; 4QIsaf reads I will restore
  13. Isaiah 1:26 So LXX; the Heb. lacks Zion