Beginning
The Vision of Isaiah
1 This[a] is the vision that Amoz’s son Isaiah[b] had about Judah and Jerusalem during the reigns[c] of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.
Rebellious Judah
2 Listen, you heavens,
and let the[d] earth pay attention,
because the Lord has spoken:
“I reared children
and brought them to adulthood,
but then they rebelled against me.
3 The ox knows its owner,
and the donkey its master’s feeding trough,
but[e] Israel doesn’t know,
and[f] my people don’t understand.
4 “Oh, you sinful nation!
You people burdened down by iniquity!
You offspring of those who keep practicing what is evil!
You corrupt children!
“They’ve abandoned the Lord;
they’ve despised the Holy One of Israel;
in their estrangement, they’ve walked away from me.[g]
5 “Why will you still be struck down?
Why will you continue to rebel?
Your whole head is sick,
and your whole heart is faint.
6 From the sole of your foot to the top of your head,
there’s no soundness evident[h]—
only bruises, sores,
and festering wounds
that haven’t been cleaned out,
bandaged, or treated[i] with oil.”
God’s Diagnosis
7 “Your country lies desolate;
your cities have been incinerated.
Before your very eyes,
foreigners are devouring your land—
they’ve brought devastation on it,[j]
while the land is[k] overthrown by foreigners.
8 “The daughter of Zion is left abandoned,
like a booth in a vineyard,
like a hut in a cucumber field,
or like a city under siege.
9 If the Lord of the Heavenly Armies
hadn’t left us a few survivors,
we would be like Sodom;
we would be like Gomorrah.
10 “Listen to what the Lord says,
you rulers of Sodom,
and[l] pay attention to the teaching of our God,
you people of Gomorrah!
11 “How do your voluminous sacrifices benefit me?”
the Lord is asking.
“I’ve had enough of burnt offerings of rams
and the fat of well-fed beasts.
I don’t enjoy the blood of bulls,
lambs, or goats.
12 “When you come to present yourselves in my presence,[m]
who has required you
to trample on my courts?
13 Stop bringing useless offerings!
Incense is detestable to me,
as are your New Moons, Sabbaths, and calling of convocations.
I cannot stand iniquity within[n] a solemn assembly.
14 As for your New Moons and your appointed festivals,
I abhor[o] them.
They’ve become a burden to me;
I’ve grown weary of carrying that burden.[p]
15 When you spread out your hands in prayer,[q]
I’ll hide my eyes from you.
Even though you pray repeatedly,
I won’t listen.
Your hands are full of blood,
your fingers drenched[r] with iniquity.”[s]
An Invitation to Reconciliation
16 “Wash yourselves,
and[t] make yourselves clean;
remove your evil behavior
from my presence;
stop practicing what is evil.
17 Learn to practice what is good;
seek justice,
alleviate oppression,[u]
defend orphans[v] in court,
and[w] plead the widow’s case.
18 “Please come,
and let’s reason together,” implores the Lord.
“Even though your[x] sins are like scarlet,
they’ll be white like snow.
Though they’re like crimson,[y]
they’ll become like wool.
19 If you’re willing and obedient,
you’ll eat the best that the land produces;
20 but[z] if you refuse and rebel,
you’ll be devoured by the sword,[aa]
because the Lord[ab] has spoken.”
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[ac] become dross,
your best wine is diluted with water.
23 Your princes are rebels
and companions of thieves.
All of them are lovers of[ad] bribes
and are runners[ae] after gifts.
They don’t bring justice to orphans,[af]
and the widow’s case never comes up for review in their court.”[ag]
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[ah] enemies
and avenge myself on his[ai] foes.
25 When I turn[aj] my attention to you,[ak]
I’ll refine your dross as in a furnace.[al]
I’ll remove[am] all your alloy.
26 Let me restore[an] 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’.[ao]
27 “Zion[ap] will be redeemed by justice,
and her repentant ones[aq] by righteousness.
28 Rebels and sinners will be broken together,
and those who forsake the Lord will be consumed.
29 They’ll be ashamed of the oak trees
that you desired;
and you’ll blush because of the gardens
that you have chosen.
30 You’ll be like an oak
whose leaf is withering,
like an unwatered garden.
31 Your[ar] strong one[as] will be like tinder,
and your work[at] a spark;
both of them will burn together,
with no one to quench the flames that burn[au] them.”
A Message for Judah and Jerusalem
2 The message that Amoz’s son Isaiah received[av] concerning Judah and Jerusalem:
2 “It will come about in the last days
that the mountain that is the Lord’s Temple will be established
as the highest of mountains,[aw]
and will be raised above the hills;
all the nations will stream to[ax] it.
3 Many groups of people[ay] will come, commenting,
“Come! Let’s go up to[az] the Temple of the God of Jacob,
that they[ba] may teach us his ways.
Then let’s walk in his paths.”
The Rule of God from Jerusalem
“Instruction[bb] will proceed from Zion,
and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
4 He will judge between the nations,
and will render verdicts[bc] for the benefit of many.[bd]
“They will beat their swords into plowshares,
and their spears into pruning hooks;
nations will not raise swords against nations,
and they will not learn warfare anymore.
5 “You house of Jacob!
Come! Let’s live[be] in the Lord’s light.
6 For you have rejected your people,
the house of Jacob,
because they are filled with practices learned[bf] from the East
and they are fortune-tellers like the Philistines.
They cut deals[bg] with foreigners.[bh]
7 Their land is filled with silver and gold,
and there is no end to their treasures;
their land is filled with horses,
and there is no end to their chariots.
8 Their land is filled with idols;
they bow down to the work of their hands,
to what their own fingers have made.
The Coming Day of the Lord
10 [bk] “Go into the rocks!
Hide in the dust
to escape[bl] the terror of the Lord
and to escape[bm] the glory of his majesty![bn]
11 The[bo] haughty looks of mankind will be brought low,[bp]
the lofty pride of human beings will be humbled,
and the Lord alone will be exalted at that time.[bq]
12 “For the Lord of the Heavenly Armies has reserved[br] a time[bs]
to oppose[bt] all who are proud and haughty,
and the[bu] self-exalting—
they will be humbled.
13 He will take his stand[bv] against all the cedars[bw] of Lebanon,
against the proud and self-exalting;
and against all the oaks of Bashan;
14 against all the high mountains,
and against all the lofty hills;
15 against every high tower,
and against every fortified wall;
16 against all the ships from Tarshish,
and against all their impressive watercraft.
17 “Humanity’s haughtiness will be humbled,
male arrogance will be brought low,
and the Lord alone will be exalted in that day.
18 Their[bx] idols will utterly vanish.[by]
19 “They will enter caverns in the rocks
and holes in the ground
to escape[bz] the presence of the terror of the Lord,
to escape[ca] the splendor of his majesty
when he arises to terrify the earth.
20 At that time,[cb] mankind will throw
their silver and gold idols[cc]
that their fingers have made[cd] as objects of worship
to the moles and to the bats.
21 They will enter caverns in the rocks
and clefts in the cliffs,
to escape[ce] the terror of the Lord
and to escape[cf] the splendor of his majesty,
when he arises to terrorize the earth.
22 “Stop trusting in human beings,
whose life breath is in their nostrils,
for what are they[cg] really worth?”[ch]
Judgment Comes to Judah’s Leaders
3 “Note this! The Lord God of the Heavenly Armies
is taking away from Jerusalem and Judah
everything that your society needs—[ci]
all food supplies
and all water supplies,
2 the mighty man
and the warrior,
the judge
and the prophet,
the fortune-teller
and the elder,
3 the commander of fifty
and the man of rank,
and the counselor, the expert magician,
and the medium.
4 “I will make youths their princes,
and infants will rule over them.
5 People will oppress one another—
It will be man against man
and neighbor against neighbor.
The young will be disrespectful to the old,
and the worthless to the honorable.
6 “For a man will grab his brother
in his own father’s house,
and say, ‘You have a cloak,
so you be our leader,
and this heap of ruins
will be under your rule!’
7 “But[cj] at that time,[ck] he’ll protest![cl]
He’ll say, ‘I won’t be your healer.
I have neither food nor clothing in my house!
You’re not going to make me a leader of the people!’
8 “For Jerusalem has stumbled,
and Judah has fallen,
because what they say and do opposes[cm] the Lord;
they keep defying him.[cn]
9 “The expressions on their faces give them away.[co]
They parade their sin around like Sodom;
they don’t even try to[cp] hide it.
How horrible it will be for them,
because they have brought disaster on themselves!”
Encouragement to the Righteous
10 “Tell[cq] the righteous that things will go well,
because they will enjoy[cr] the fruit of their actions.”
Warning to the Wicked
11 “How terrible it will be for the wicked!
Disaster is headed their way,
because what they did with their hand[cs] will be repaid[ct] to them.
12 “As for my people, children[cu] are their oppressors,
and women rule over them.
My people, your leaders are misleading you—
they’re giving you confusing directions.”[cv]
When God Goes to Court
13 The Lord is taking his place to argue his case;
he’s standing up to judge the people.
14 The Lord will go to court[cw]
to oppose[cx] the elders and princes of his people:
“You’re the ones who have been devouring the vineyard,
the plunder of the poor is in your own houses!
15 How dare you crush[cy] my people
as you grind down the face of the poor?”
declares the Lord God of the Heavenly Armies.[cz]
Judgment of Jerusalem’s Women
16 The Lord also says:
“Because Zion’s women are so haughty,
and walk with outstretched necks,
flirting with their eyes,
prancing[da] along as they walk,
and making tinkling noises with their ankle bracelets,[db]
17 therefore the Lord[dc] will afflict sores
on the heads of Zion’s women,
and the Lord[dd] will expose their private parts.
18 “At that time,[de] the Lord[df] will take away the finery of the ankle bracelets, headbands, crescents, 19 pendants, bracelets, veils, 20 headdresses, armlets, sashes, perfume boxes, charms, 21 signet rings, nose rings, 22 fine robes, capes,[dg] purses, 23 mirrors, linen garments, tiaras, and veils.
24 “And it will come about that instead of fragrance
there will be[dh] a stench;
instead of a belt, a rope;
instead of well-set hair, baldness;
instead of a fine robe, sackcloth;
and instead of beauty, shame.[di]
25 Your men will die violently,[dj]
while your forces[dk] fall[dl] in battle
26 and her gates lament and mourn.
Ravaged, she will sit on the ground.”
4 “At that time,[dm] seven women will cling tightly to one man and will make him this offer:[dn] ‘We’ll provide[do] our own bread. We’ll provide our own clothes. Just let us marry you[dp] so we won’t be stigmatized anymore.’”[dq]
The Future Glory of Jerusalem
2 “At that time,[dr] the Lord’s branch will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land will be the pride and glory of the survivors of Israel and Judah.[ds] 3 Whoever[dt] survives in Zion and whoever remains in Jerusalem will be called holy—everyone who has been appointed to survive in Jerusalem— 4 when the Lord will have washed away the filth of the women[du] of Zion, cleaning up Jerusalem’s guilt[dv] by a spirit of judgment and a spirit of tempest.[dw] 5 Then the Lord will create over the entire site of Mount Zion—including over those who assemble there—a cloud by day[dx] 6 and also to serve as a refuge and shelter from storms and rain.”
Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.