Old/New Testament
I. Isaiah 1—39
A. Indictment of Israel and Judah
Chapter 1
1 [a]The vision which Isaiah, son of Amoz, saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.
Accusation and Appeal
2 [b]Hear, O heavens, and listen, O earth,
for the Lord speaks:
Sons have I raised and reared,
but they have rebelled against me!(A)
3 An ox knows its owner,
and an ass,[c] its master’s manger;
But Israel does not know,
my people has not understood.(B)
4 Ah![d] Sinful nation, people laden with wickedness,
evil offspring, corrupt children!
They have forsaken the Lord,
spurned the Holy One of Israel,
apostatized,(C)
5 Why[e] would you yet be struck,
that you continue to rebel?
The whole head is sick,
the whole heart faint.
6 From the sole of the foot to the head
there is no sound spot in it;
Just bruise and welt and oozing wound,
not drained, or bandaged,
or eased with salve.
7 Your country is waste,
your cities burnt with fire;
Your land—before your eyes
strangers devour it,
a waste, like the devastation of Sodom.[f](D)
8 And daughter Zion[g] is left
like a hut in a vineyard,
Like a shed in a melon patch,
like a city blockaded.
9 If the Lord of hosts[h] had not
left us a small remnant,
We would have become as Sodom,
would have resembled Gomorrah.(E)
10 [i]Hear the word of the Lord,
princes of Sodom!
Listen to the instruction of our God,
people of Gomorrah!
11 What do I care for the multitude of your sacrifices?
says the Lord.
I have had enough of whole-burnt rams
and fat of fatlings;
In the blood of calves, lambs, and goats
I find no pleasure.(F)
12 When you come to appear before me,
who asks these things of you?
13 Trample my courts no more!
To bring offerings is useless;
incense is an abomination to me.
New moon and sabbath, calling assemblies—
festive convocations with wickedness—
these I cannot bear.(G)
14 Your new moons and festivals I detest;(H)
they weigh me down, I tire of the load.
15 When you spread out your hands,
I will close my eyes to you;
Though you pray the more,
I will not listen.
Your hands are full of blood
16 Wash yourselves clean!
Put away your misdeeds from before my eyes;
cease doing evil;
17 learn to do good.
Make justice your aim: redress the wronged,
hear the orphan’s plea, defend the widow.(J)
18 Come now, let us set things right,[k]
says the Lord:
Though your sins be like scarlet,
they may become white as snow;
Though they be red like crimson,
they may become white as wool.(K)
19 If you are willing, and obey,
you shall eat the good things of the land;
20 But if you refuse and resist,
you shall be eaten by the sword:
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken!
The Purification of Jerusalem
21 How she has become a prostitute,
the faithful city,[l] so upright!
Justice used to lodge within her,
but now, murderers.(L)
22 Your silver is turned to dross,
your wine is mixed with water.
23 Your princes are rebels
and comrades of thieves;
Each one of them loves a bribe
and looks for gifts.
The fatherless they do not defend,
the widow’s plea does not reach them.(M)
24 Now, therefore, says the Lord,
the Lord of hosts, the Mighty One of Israel:
Ah! I will take vengeance on my foes
and fully repay my enemies!(N)
25 I will turn my hand against you,
and refine your dross in the furnace,
removing all your alloy.
26 I will restore your judges[m] as at first,
and your counselors as in the beginning;
After that you shall be called
city of justice, faithful city.(O)
27 [n]Zion shall be redeemed by justice,
and her repentant ones by righteousness.
28 Rebels and sinners together shall be crushed,
those who desert the Lord shall be consumed.
Judgment on the Sacred Groves
29 [o]You shall be ashamed of the terebinths which you desired,
and blush on account of the gardens which you chose.
30 You shall become like a terebinth whose leaves wither,
like a garden that has no water.
31 The strong tree shall turn to tinder,
and the one who tends it shall become a spark;
Both of them shall burn together,
and there shall be none to quench them.
Chapter 2
1 [p]This is what Isaiah, son of Amoz, saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
Zion, the Royal City of God
2 [q]In days to come,
The mountain of the Lord’s house
shall be established as the highest mountain
and raised above the hills.
All nations shall stream toward it.(P)
3 Many peoples shall come and say:
“Come, let us go up to the Lord’s mountain,
to the house of the God of Jacob,
That he may instruct us in his ways,
and we may walk in his paths.”(Q)
For from Zion shall go forth instruction,
and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
4 [r]He shall judge between the nations,
and set terms for many peoples.
They shall beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks;(R)
One nation shall not raise the sword against another,
nor shall they train for war again.(S)
5 [s]House of Jacob, come,
let us walk in the light of the Lord!
The Lord’s Day of Judgment on Pride
6 You have abandoned your people,
the house of Jacob!
Because they are filled with diviners,
and soothsayers, like the Philistines;
with foreigners they clasp hands.(T)
7 Their land is full of silver and gold,
there is no end to their treasures;
Their land is full of horses,
there is no end to their chariots.
8 Their land is full of idols;
they bow down to the works of their hands,
what their fingers have made.(U)
9 So all shall be abased,
each one brought low.[t]
Do not pardon them!
10 Get behind the rocks,
hide in the dust,
From the terror of the Lord
and the splendor of his majesty!
11 The eyes of human pride shall be lowered,
the arrogance of mortals shall be abased,
and the Lord alone will be exalted, on that day.[u]
12 For the Lord of hosts will have his day
against all that is proud and arrogant,
against all that is high, and it will be brought low;
13 Yes, against all the cedars of Lebanon[v]
and against all the oaks of Bashan,
14 Against all the lofty mountains
and all the high hills,
15 Against every lofty tower
and every fortified wall,
16 Against all the ships of Tarshish
and all stately vessels.
17 Then human pride shall be abased,
the arrogance of mortals brought low,
And the Lord alone will be exalted on that day.
18 The idols will vanish completely.
19 People will go into caves in the rocks
and into holes in the earth,
At the terror of the Lord
and the splendor of his majesty,
as he rises to overawe the earth.
20 On that day people shall throw to moles and bats
their idols of silver and their idols of gold
which they made for themselves to worship.
21 And they shall go into caverns in the rocks
and into crevices in the cliffs,
At the terror of the Lord
and the splendor of his majesty,
as he rises to overawe the earth.
22 [w]As for you, stop worrying about mortals,
in whose nostrils is but a breath;
for of what worth are they?
V. Exhortation to Christian Living
Chapter 5
The Importance of Faith.[a] 1 For freedom[b] Christ set us free; so stand firm and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery.(A)
2 It is I, Paul, who am telling you that if you have yourselves circumcised, Christ will be of no benefit to you.(B) 3 Once again I declare to every man who has himself circumcised(C) that he is bound to observe the entire law.[c] 4 You are separated from Christ, you who are trying to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace. 5 (D)For through the Spirit, by faith, we await the hope of righteousness. 6 (E)For in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.[d]
Be Not Misled.[e] 7 You were running well;[f] who hindered you from following [the] truth? 8 (F)That enticement does not come from the one who called you.[g] 9 A little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough.(G) 10 I am confident of you in the Lord that you will not take a different view, and that the one who is troubling you will bear the condemnation, whoever he may be.(H) 11 As for me, brothers, if I am still preaching circumcision,[h] why am I still being persecuted? In that case, the stumbling block of the cross has been abolished.(I) 12 Would that those who are upsetting you might also castrate themselves![i]
Freedom for Service.[j] 13 For you were called for freedom, brothers.(J) But do not use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh; rather, serve[k] one another through love. 14 For the whole law(K) is fulfilled in one statement, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”[l] 15 But if you go on biting and devouring one another, beware that you are not consumed by one another.
16 (L)I say, then: live by the Spirit and you will certainly not gratify the desire of the flesh.[m] 17 For the flesh has desires against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; these are opposed to each other, so that you may not do what you want.(M) 18 But if you are guided by the Spirit, you are not under the law.(N) 19 [n]Now the works of the flesh are obvious: immorality, impurity, licentiousness,(O) 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, rivalry, jealousy, outbursts of fury, acts of selfishness, dissensions, factions,(P) 21 occasions of envy,[o] drinking bouts, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 In contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness,(Q) 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.(R) 24 Now those who belong to Christ [Jesus] have crucified their flesh with its passions and desires.(S) 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also follow the Spirit.(T) 26 Let us not be conceited, provoking one another, envious of one another.(U)
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.