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1 (A) I am Isaiah, the son of Amoz.
And this is the message[a] that I was given about Judah and Jerusalem when Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah were the kings of Judah:[b]
A Guilty Nation
2 The Lord has said,
“Listen, heaven and earth!
The children I raised
have turned against me.
3 Oxen and donkeys know
who owns and feeds them,
but my people won't ever learn.”
4 Israel, you are a sinful nation
loaded down with guilt.
You are wicked and corrupt
and have turned from the Lord,
the holy God of Israel.
5 Why be punished more?
Why not give up your sin?
Your head is badly bruised,
and you are weak all over.
6 From your head to your toes
there isn't a healthy spot.
Bruises, cuts, and open sores
go without care
or oil to ease the pain.
A Country in Ruins
7 Your country lies in ruins;
your towns are in ashes.
Foreigners and strangers
take and destroy your land
while you watch.
8 Enemies surround Jerusalem,
alone like a hut
in a vineyard[c]
or in a cucumber field.
9 (B) Zion would have disappeared
like Sodom and Gomorrah,[d]
if the Lord All-Powerful
had not let a few
of its people survive.
Justice, Not Sacrifices
10 You are no better
than the leaders and people
of Sodom and Gomorrah!
So listen to the Lord God:
11 (C) “Your sacrifices
mean nothing to me.
I am sick of your offerings
of rams and choice cattle;
I don't like the blood
of bulls or lambs or goats.
12 “Who asked you to bring all this
when you come to worship me?
Stay out of my temple!
13 Your sacrifices are worthless,
and your incense disgusting.
I can't stand the evil you do
on your New Moon Festivals
or on your Sabbaths
and other times of worship.
14 I hate your New Moon Festivals
and all others as well.
They are a heavy burden
I am tired of carrying.
15 “No matter how much you pray,
I won't listen.
You are too violent.
16 Wash yourselves clean!
I hate your filthy deeds.
Stop doing wrong
17 and learn to live right.
See that justice is done.
Defend widows and orphans
and help the oppressed.”[e]
An Invitation from the Lord
18 I, the Lord, invite you
to come and talk it over.
Your sins are scarlet red,
but they will be whiter
than snow or wool.
19 If you willingly obey me,
the best crops in the land
will be yours.
20 But if you turn against me,
your enemies will kill you.
I, the Lord, have spoken.
The Lord Condemns Jerusalem
21 Jerusalem, you are like
an unfaithful wife.
Once your judges were honest
and your people lived right;
now you are a city
full of murderers.
22 Your silver is fake,
and your wine
is watered down.
23 Your leaders have rejected me
to become friends of crooks;
your rulers are looking
for gifts and bribes.
Widows and orphans
never get a fair trial.
24 I am the Lord All-Powerful,
the mighty ruler of Israel,
and I make you a promise:
You are now my enemy,
and I will show my anger
by taking revenge on you.
25 I will punish you terribly
and burn away everything
that makes you unfit
to worship me.
26 Jerusalem, I will choose
judges and advisors
like those you had before.
Your new name will be
“Justice and Faithfulness.”
The Lord Will Save Jerusalem
27 Jerusalem, you will be saved
by showing justice;[f]
Zion's people who turn to me
will be saved
by doing right.
28 But those rebellious sinners
who turn against me, the Lord,
will all disappear.
29 You will be made ashamed
of those groves of trees
where you worshiped idols.
30 You will be like a grove of trees
dying in a drought.
31 Your strongest leaders
will be like dry wood
set on fire by their idols.[g]
No one will be able to help,
as they all go up in flames.
Peace That Lasts Forever
2 This is the message[h] I was given about Judah and Jerusalem:
2 In the future, the mountain
with the Lord's temple
will be the highest of all.
It will reach above the hills;
every nation will rush to it.
3 Many people will come and say,
“Let's go to the mountain
of the Lord God of Jacob
and worship in his temple.”
The Lord will teach us his Law
from Jerusalem,
and we will obey him.
4 (D) He will settle arguments
between nations.
They will pound their swords
and their spears
into rakes and shovels;
they will never make war
or attack one another.
5 People of Israel, let's live
by the light of the Lord.
Following Sinful Customs
6 Our Lord, you have deserted
your people, Israel,
because they follow customs
of nations from the east.
They worship Philistine gods
and are close friends
of foreigners.[i]
7 They have endless treasures
of silver and gold;
they have countless horses
and war chariots.
8 Everywhere in the country
they worship the idols
they have made.
9 And so, all of them
will be ashamed and disgraced.
Don't forgive them!
A Day of Judgment
10 (E) Every one of you,
go hide among the rocks
and in the ground,
because the Lord is fearsome,
marvelous, and glorious.
11 When the Lord comes,
everyone who is proud
will be made humble,
and the Lord alone
will be honored.
12 The Lord All-Powerful
has chosen a day
when those who are proud
and conceited
will be put down.
13 The tall and towering
cedars of Lebanon
will be destroyed.
So will the oak trees of Bashan,
14 all high mountains and hills,
15 every strong fortress,
16 all the seagoing ships,[j]
and every beautiful boat.
17 When that day comes,
everyone who is proud
will be put down.
Only the Lord will be honored.
18 Idols will be gone for good.
19 You had better hide
in caves and holes—
the Lord will be fearsome,
marvelous, and glorious
when he comes to terrify
people on earth.
20 On that day everyone will throw
to the moles and bats
their idols of silver and gold
they made to worship.
21 The Lord will be fearsome,
marvelous, and glorious
when he comes to terrify
people on earth—
they will hide in caves
and in the hills.
22 Stop trusting the power
of humans.
They are all going to die,
so how can they help?
Paul Defends His Work for Christ
10 Do you think I am a coward when I am with you and brave when I am far away? Well, I ask you to listen, because Christ himself was humble and gentle. 2 Some people have said we act like the people of this world. So when I arrive, I expect I will have to be firm and forceful in what I say to them. Please don't make me treat you that way. 3 We live in this world, but we don't act like its people 4 or fight our battles with the weapons of this world. Instead, we use God's power that can destroy fortresses. We destroy arguments 5 and every bit of pride that keeps anyone from knowing God. We capture people's thoughts and make them obey Christ. 6 And when you completely obey him, we will punish anyone who refuses to obey.
7 You judge by appearances.[a] If any of you think you are the only ones who belong to Christ, then think again. We belong to Christ as much as you do. 8 Maybe I brag a little too much about the authority that the Lord gave me to help you and not to hurt you. Yet I am not embarrassed to brag. 9 And I am not trying to scare you with my letters. 10 Some of you are saying, “Paul's letters are harsh and powerful. But in person, he is a weakling and has nothing worth saying.” 11 Those people had better understand that when I am with you, I will do exactly what I say in my letters.
12 We won't dare compare ourselves with those who think so much of themselves. But they are foolish to compare themselves with themselves. 13 We won't brag about something we don't have a right to brag about. We will only brag about the work God has sent us to do, and you are part of that work. 14 We are not bragging more than we should. After all, we did bring the message about Christ to you.
15 We don't brag about what others have done, as if we had done those things ourselves. But I hope as you become stronger in your faith, we will be able to reach many more of the people around you.[b] That has always been our goal. 16 Then we will be able to preach the good news in other lands where we cannot take credit for work someone else has already done. 17 (A) The Scriptures say, “If you want to brag, then brag about the Lord.” 18 You may brag about yourself, but the only approval that counts is the Lord's approval.
(A special psalm by David for the music leader. He wrote this when Doeg from Edom went to Saul and said, “David has gone to Ahimelech's house.”)
God Is in Control
1 (A) You people may be strong
and brag about your sins,
but God can be trusted
day after day.
2 You plan brutal crimes,
and your lying words cut
like a sharp razor.
3 You would rather do evil
than good, and tell lies
than speak the truth.
4 You love to say cruel things,
and your words are a trap.
5 God will destroy you forever!
He will grab you and drag you
from your homes.
You will be uprooted
and left to die.
6 When good people see
this fearsome sight,
they will laugh and say,
7 “Just look at them now!
Instead of trusting God,
they trusted their wealth
and their cruelty.”
8 But I am like an olive tree
growing in God's house,
and I can count on his love
forever and ever.
9 I will always thank God
for what he has done;
I will praise his good name
when his people meet.
–3–
26 Don't guarantee to pay
someone else's debt.
27 If you don't have the money,
you might lose your bed.
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