Beginning
The song of the vineyard
5 Now I will sing a song for the person that I love. I will sing to him about his vineyard.
‘The one that I love had a vineyard.
It was on a hill where the soil is good.
2 He dug the ground and he removed the stones.
He planted the best vines in it.
He built a tower in the middle of the vineyard
so that he could watch it.
He built a place to squeeze the grapes
to make wine.
Then he waited for the vines to make sweet grapes.
But the vines made only bitter grapes.’
3 So now, listen to me, you people who live in Jerusalem and in Judah. You must be the judge! Who did what was right? Was it me or my vineyard? You decide!
4 I did everything that I could to help my vineyard. I could have done no more! But when I waited to get sweet grapes from the vines, there were only bitter ones! Why was that?
5 Now I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard. I will break down its walls, so that it becomes an open field. Then wild animals will go in and they will destroy the vines.
6 I will make the land become useless. Nobody will take care of the vines. Nobody will dig the ground. Weeds and thorn bushes will grow there. I will command the clouds, ‘Do not drop any rain on it.’
7 Israel's nation is like the vineyard of the Lord Almighty. Judah's people are his beautiful garden. But when the Lord looked there for justice, he found only murder! When he looked for people who were righteous, he saw that they were cruel.
Bad trouble will come
8 It will be very bad for you people who buy many houses for yourselves. You also buy land to join to the land that you already have. Then there is no more land left for anyone else. You are the only people who remain on the land.
9 I have heard the Lord Almighty promise this: ‘All these great, beautiful houses will certainly become empty. There will be nobody to live in them.
10 Large vineyards will give only a few bottles of wine. If you plant ten bags of seed, you will only get one bag of grain as your harvest.’
11 It will be bad for you people who like to get up early to start drinking. You continue to drink late into the night, until you are very drunk.
12 You have wild parties with plenty of music and wine. You make music with your lyres, harps, tambourines and flutes. But you do not understand the things that the Lord is doing. You do not see the things that he has made.
13 Because of that, my people will go into exile in countries far away. They do not know God. Their leaders will die because they have nothing to eat. All the other people will have nothing to drink.
14 So the deep hole of death will be hungry! It will open wide to eat the people of Jerusalem. The leaders and the people will go down into it. It will eat up those who are happy at their wild parties in Jerusalem.
15 So the Lord will bring its people down low. Its proud people will become ashamed.
16 But the Lord Almighty will be lifted up high by his justice. People will know that he is holy when he comes as judge.
17 Then lambs will find good grass to eat, as they do in their own fields. Fat sheep will find food to eat among the stones of the old houses.
18 It will be very bad for you people who are always deceiving others. You cannot leave your sins behind, like someone who pulls a cart with a rope.
19 People like that laugh at God. They say, ‘The Lord should do something quickly! We want to see what he can do. The holy God of Israel should do what he has decided to do. Then we will really know what that is!’
20 It will be very bad for people who call evil things good. And they call good things evil. They say, ‘It is light’, when it is dark. And they say, ‘It is dark’, when it is light. They say that bitter things are sweet. And they say that sweet things are bitter.
21 It will be very bad for people who think that they are wise. They think that they are very clever.
22 It will be very bad for people who think that they are famous because they can drink a lot of wine. They think that they are very brave to mix strong drinks together.
23 If people like that receive a bribe, they will not say that wicked people are guilty. They also refuse to say that righteous people are not guilty.
24 Because of that, they will come to a bad end. It will be for them like a hot fire that destroys dry grass. Their roots will die and their flowers will blow away like dust. They have refused to obey the laws of the Lord Almighty. They have not listened to the message that the holy God of Israel has taught them.
25 So the Lord has become angry with his people. He is ready to punish them. He has lifted up his hand, so that the mountains shake. Dead bodies of people are lying all over the streets. But that is not enough! The Lord is still angry with them. His hand is ready to punish them even more.
26 The Lord will send a message to foreign nations to come and attack. He calls to nations that are far away, and now they are already coming! Their armies march quickly to Jerusalem.
27 None of their soldiers are tired. They do not fall down. Nobody rests. Nobody sleeps. They have tied their belts strongly. Their shoes do not break in pieces. 28 Their arrows are sharp. Their bows are ready to shoot. Their horses' feet are as hard as stones. The wheels of their chariots go round very fast.
29 As they march to fight, they roar like lions. They are like strong young lions that catch other animals to eat. They carry their prisoners away to places where nobody can rescue them.
30 On the day that they attack, the enemy will roar over the people that they catch. They will make a noise like a rough sea. If anyone looks across the land, it will be completely dark because of all the trouble. Clouds will make the light of day become dark.
God chooses Isaiah to be a prophet
6 In the year when King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord God. He was sitting high up, on a throne. The ends of his long coat filled the temple. 2 Above him there were seraphs. Each one had six wings. Two wings covered the seraphs' faces. Two wings covered their feet. With the other two wings they were flying.
3 The seraphs called out to one another. They said, ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty! The whole earth is full of his great glory.’
4 When the seraphs spoke, the foundation of the temple shook. And the temple became full of smoke.
5 Then I said, ‘It is bad for me! My life is at an end! I have lips that are unclean. I live among people with lips that are unclean. With my own eyes I have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.’
6 Then one of the seraphs flew towards me. In his hand was a piece of burning coal. He had used a tool to take it from the altar. 7 He touched my mouth with the piece of coal. He said to me, ‘Look! This has touched your lips. It has taken away your sin. You are no longer guilty.’
8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord God. He said, ‘Is there anyone that I can send with my message? Who will go on our behalf?’ I said, ‘I am here. Send me!’
9 The Lord said, ‘Go! Tell my message to those people:[a]
“You will continue to listen,
but you will never understand!
You will continue to look,
but you will not see anything!”
10 Make them refuse to understand. Cause their ears to be deaf and their eyes to be blind. If you do not do that, they might use their eyes to see. They might use their ears to listen. They might use their minds to understand. Then they might turn back to me so that I would make them well again.’
11 Then I asked the Lord, ‘For how long will this be, Lord God?’
He replied,
‘It must continue until enemies destroy their cities.
Their houses will become a heap of stones
and nobody will live in them.
Their land will become useless
and nothing will remain there.
12 I will send all the people far away.
The whole land will be empty and useless.
13 Even if only one tenth part of the people remain in the land, enemies will continue to destroy it. It will be like they are cutting down a great oak tree. But the base of the tree with its roots will still be there. From the part that remains, a holy branch will grow.’
God's message for King Ahaz
7 Ahaz became the king of Judah. He was the son of Jotham. Jotham was the son of Uzziah.
While Ahaz was Judah's king, King Rezin of Syria and Remaliah's son, King Pekah of Israel, attacked Jerusalem. But they could not get into the city. 2 People gave this news to Judah's royal family. They said, ‘The armies of Syria and Ephraim have joined together to attack you.’[b] When they heard this, Ahaz and his people were very afraid. They shook with fear, like trees in the forest shake in the wind.
3 Then the Lord said to Isaiah, ‘Go out and meet Ahaz. Take your son, Shear-Jashub, with you.[c] Go to meet Ahaz at the end of the water stream that comes from the higher pool. That is at the field where people wash clothes.
4 Say to Ahaz, “Be careful. Do not be upset or afraid. Do not let King Rezin, his people from Syria and Remaliah's son, King Pekah, make you afraid. They are very angry, but their power will soon be useless, like two bits of wood that remain after a fire. 5 The rulers of Syria and Ephraim, as well as Remaliah's son, have made plans to attack you. 6 They are saying, ‘We must attack Judah. We will frighten the people and we will take their country for ourselves. We will make the son of Tabeel rule there as king.’
7 But I, the Almighty Lord, say this: That will never happen! 8 The capital city of Syria is Damascus. And the king of Damascus is Rezin. 65 years from now Ephraim will not even be a nation. There will be nothing left! 9 The capital city of Ephraim is Samaria. And the king of Samaria is Remaliah's son. If you do not continue to trust me, you will not be strong enough to win.” ’
10 Isaiah also gave this message from the Lord to Ahaz. 11 He said, ‘Ask the Lord your God to do a miracle for you. That will show you that what he has said is true. Ask for anything, deep in the earth or high in the sky.’
12 But Ahaz said, ‘I will never ask the Lord to do that. I do not want to test him.’
13 So Isaiah replied, ‘Now listen, you royal family of David! You cause trouble for people like me. That is bad enough. But now you are trying to cause trouble for God himself. 14 So the Lord God himself will show you that he speaks a true message. Look, the young woman who has never had sex will become pregnant. She will give birth to a son. She will call his name Immanuel. 15 One day he will know how to choose good things and refuse to do evil things. By that time there will be cream and honey for him to eat. 16 Even before that, the two kings that you are now afraid of will have no power. Their land will be empty.
17 But the Lord will bring even greater trouble to you! It will be very bad for you, for the royal family, and for your people. Nothing as bad will have happened since Ephraim became separate from Judah. Yes, the Lord will bring the king of Assyria to attack you!’
18 At that time, the Lord will call the soldiers of Egypt to come and attack you. And they will come like a crowd of flies! He will call for soldiers to come from Assyria. And they will come like a crowd of bees! 19 They will all come in great crowds. They will come into the valleys, the cliffs, the holes in the rocks, the thorn bushes and the pools of water.
20 At that time, the Lord will use the king of Assyria to bring trouble and pain. He will come from beyond the Euphrates river. He will be like a sharp knife that cuts off all your hair, the hair from your head, your legs and your beard.
21 At that time, a farmer will have only one young cow and two goats.[d] 22 They will give him a lot of milk. So he will have butter and cream to eat. Everyone who remains in the land will have milk and honey as their food. 23 On that day, in every place where there had been 1,000 valuable vines, there will now be only weeds and thorn bushes. 24 In the whole land there will be only weeds and thorn bushes. So men will go to shoot wild animals there with their bows and arrows. 25 Nobody will go to the fields in the hills, because only thorn bushes grow there. People will be afraid to go there. They will send their cows there to eat grass. Sheep will run over the fields.
God will use Assyria to destroy Israel and Syria
8 The Lord said to me, ‘Get a large board to write on. Then write clear words on it. Write this name: “Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.”[e] 2 I will call Uriah the priest and Jeberekiah's son, Zechariah, to come to see this. They are honest people who will say what is true.’
3 Then I slept with my wife, the prophetess. She became pregnant and she gave birth to a son. The Lord said to me, ‘Call his name Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz. 4 Before the child knows how to say “my father” or “my mother”, the king of Assyria will attack Damascus and Samaria. His army will carry away the valuable things from those cities. That is why your son's name must be Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.’
5 The Lord spoke to me again. 6 He said, ‘I have blessed my people, like the quiet stream of Shiloah. But they have not accepted my help. Instead, they are happy that King Rezin and Remaliah's son will help them.
7 So I will cause this to happen. I, the Lord God, will bring floods of water from the Euphrates river. That will be the king of Assyria and his powerful armies. They will come like a great river that rises high over its sides. 8 Its water will come as a flood into Judah. It will cover the land and it will rise as high as people's necks! He will make his wings very wide to cover all your land, Immanuel.’[f]
9 You foreign nations must listen to this! Join together to fight. Shout as you go to battle. But you will never win! You people from countries that are far away, get ready for war. But you will be completely destroyed! 10 Decide how you will fight the battle, but your plans will fail! What you decide to do will never happen. God is with us!
The Lord's message to Isaiah
11 Now the Lord spoke to me with great power. He warned me that I must not be like the other people in Judah. He said,
12 ‘Those people are talking about an agreement to turn against the rulers. But do not agree with what they say. Do not be afraid of the things that frighten them. Do not be afraid, as they are. 13 Instead, you should understand that the Lord Almighty has all authority. You should respect him as holy and be afraid of him.
14 He will be a safe place for you. But for both nations in Israel he will become like a stone that causes people to fall to the ground.[g] He will be like a rock that makes them fall down. He will take hold of the people who live in Jerusalem, like a trap that catches a bird. 15 Many people will fall against that rock. They will fall to the ground and it will hurt them. They will become caught in a trap.’
Isaiah's message to his disciples
16 Tie a string round the paper where I have written this. Keep it safe as a true message. Give it to my disciples, to teach them. 17 I will wait for the Lord to do what he says. He has turned away from the descendants of Jacob. But I will trust him to do what is right.
18 Look! Here I am, with the children that the Lord has given to me. We are messages from the Lord Almighty who lives on Mount Zion. We are messages to Israel's people.
19 They will say to you, ‘Go to the people who speak to the spirits of dead people. Go to the magicians who speak magic words. They will tell you what you should do. People should ask their gods and spirits to give them messages. People who are alive should ask the spirits of dead people to help them.’
20 When they say that to you, remember my teaching. Tell them what I have said will happen. People who talk like that are completely in the dark. There is no truth in what they say. 21 Then the people will travel through the land, and they will be sad and hungry. Because of their hunger they will become angry.[h] They will curse their king and their God, as they look up to the sky. 22 They will look down at the earth, but they will only see trouble. Everywhere will be dark and people will have no hope. Then they will fall into complete darkness.
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