Isaiah Condemns Social Injustice

You are in for trouble! You take over house after house and field after field, until there is no room left for anyone else in all the land.

Four hectares of grapevines will produce only 27 liters of juice, and 180 liters of seed will produce merely 18 liters of grain.

You are in for trouble! You get up early to start drinking, and you keep it up late into the night.

At your drinking parties you have the music of stringed instruments, tambourines, and flutes. But you never even think about all the Lord has done,

and so his people know nothing about him. That's why many of you will be dragged off to foreign lands. Your leaders will starve to death, and everyone else will suffer from thirst.

Its citizens have been put down, and its proud people have been brought to shame.

But the holy Lord God All-Powerful is praised, because he has shown who he is by bringing justice.

His people will be like sheep grazing in their own pasture, and they will take off what was left by others.

You are in for trouble! The lies you tell are like ropes by which you drag along sin and evil.

And you say, “Let the holy God of Israel hurry up and do what he has promised, so we can see it for ourselves.”

You are headed for trouble! You say wrong is right, darkness is light, and bitter is sweet.

You think you are clever and smart.

You will go up in flames like straw and hay! You have rejected the teaching of the holy Lord God All-Powerful of Israel. Now your roots will rot, and your blossoms will turn to dust.

You are the Lord's people, but you made him terribly angry, and he struck you with his mighty arm. Mountains shook, and dead bodies covered the streets like garbage. The Lord is still angry, and he is ready to strike you again.

Foreign Nations Will Attack

The Lord has signaled for the foreign nations to come and attack you. He has already whistled, and they are coming as fast as they can.

None of them are tired. They don't sleep or get drowsy, and they run without stumbling. Their belts don't come loose; their sandal straps don't break.

Their arrows are sharp, and their bows are ready. The hoofs of their horses are hard as flint; the wheels of their war chariots turn as fast as a whirlwind.

On the day they attack, they will roar like the ocean. And across the land you will see nothing but darkness and trouble, because the light of day will be covered by thick clouds.

Flaming creatures with six wings each were flying over him. They covered their faces with two of their wings and their bodies with two more. They used the other two wings for flying,

as they shouted, “Holy, holy, holy, Lord All-Powerful! The earth is filled with your glory.”

As they shouted, the doorposts of the temple shook, and the temple was filled with smoke.

Then I cried out, “I'm doomed! Everything I say is sinful, and so are the words of everyone around me. Yet I have seen the King, the Lord All-Powerful.”

It touched my lips with the hot coal and said, “This has touched your lips. Your sins are forgiven, and you are no longer guilty.”

After this, I heard the Lord ask, “Is there anyone I can send? Will someone speak for us?” “I'll go,” I answered. “Send me!”

Then the Lord told me to go and speak this message to the people: “You will listen and listen, but never understand. You will look and look, but never see.” The Lord also said,