Isaiah 1:21-31

New American Standard Bible

Zion Corrupted; Will Be Redeemed

²¹How the faithful city has become a ^(A)prostitute,
She who was full of justice!
Righteousness once dwelt in her,
But now murderers.
²²Your silver has become ^[a]waste matter,
Your drink diluted with water.
²³Your ^(B)rulers are rebels
And companions of thieves;
Everyone ^(C)loves a bribe
And chases after gifts.
They ^(D)do not obtain justice for the ^[b]orphan,
Nor does the widow’s case come before them.

²⁴Therefore the Lord ^[c]God of armies,
The ^(E)Mighty One of Israel, declares,
“Ah, I will have satisfaction against My adversaries,
And ^(F)avenge Myself on My enemies.
²⁵I will also turn My hand against you,
And ^(G)smelt away your impurities as with lye;
And I will remove all your slag.
²⁶Then I will restore your ^(H)judges as at first,
And your counselors as at the beginning;
After that you will be called the ^(I)city of righteousness,
A faithful city.”

²⁷Zion will be ^(J)redeemed with justice
And her ^[d]repentant ones with righteousness.
²⁸But ^[e]wrongdoers and sinners together will be ^(K)broken,
And those who abandon the Lord will come to an end.
²⁹^[f]You certainly will be ashamed of the ^[g]^(L)oaks which you have desired,
And you will be embarrassed by the ^(M)gardens which you have chosen.
³⁰For you will be like an ^[h]oak whose ^(N)leaf withers away,
Or like a garden that has no water.
³¹The strong man will become like ^[i]flax fiber,
And his work a spark.
So they shall both ^(O)burn together
And there will be ^(P)no one to extinguish them.