Old/New Testament
Heading
1 Here is the message about Judah and Jerusalem that was revealed to Isaiah son of Amoz during the time when Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah reigned over Judah.[a]
Obedience, not Sacrifice
2 Listen, O heavens,
pay attention, O earth![b]
For the Lord speaks:
“I raised children,[c] I brought them up,[d]
but[e] they have rebelled[f] against me!
3 An ox recognizes its owner,
a donkey recognizes where its owner puts its food;[g]
but Israel does not recognize me,[h]
my people do not understand.”
4 [i] Beware sinful nation,
the people weighed down by evil deeds.
They are offspring who do wrong,
children[j] who do wicked things.
They have abandoned the Lord,
and rejected the Holy One of Israel.[k]
They are alienated from him.[l]
5 [m] Why do you insist on being battered?
Why do you continue to rebel?[n]
Your head has a massive wound,[o]
your whole heart is sick.
6 From the soles of your feet to your head,
there is no spot that is unharmed.[p]
There are only bruises, cuts,
and open wounds.
They have not been cleansed[q] or bandaged,
nor have they been treated[r] with olive oil.[s]
7 Your land is devastated,
your cities burned with fire.
Right before your eyes your crops
are being destroyed by foreign invaders.[t]
They leave behind devastation and destruction.[u]
8 Daughter Zion[v] is left isolated,
like a hut in a vineyard,
or a shelter in a cucumber field;
she is a besieged city.[w]
9 If the Lord of Heaven’s Armies[x] had not left us a few survivors,
we would have quickly been like Sodom,[y]
we would have become like Gomorrah.
10 Listen to the Lord’s message,
you leaders of Sodom![z]
Pay attention to our God’s rebuke,[aa]
people of Gomorrah!
11 “Of what importance to me are your many sacrifices?”[ab]
says the Lord.
“I have had my fill[ac] of burnt sacrifices,
of rams and the fat from steers.
The blood of bulls, lambs, and goats
I do not want.[ad]
12 When you enter my presence,
do you actually think I want this—
animals trampling on my courtyards?[ae]
13 Do not bring any more meaningless[af] offerings;
I consider your incense detestable![ag]
You observe new moon festivals, Sabbaths, and convocations,
but I cannot tolerate sin-stained celebrations![ah]
14 I hate your new moon festivals and assemblies;
they are a burden
that I am tired of carrying.
15 When you spread out your hands in prayer,
I look the other way;[ai]
when you offer your many prayers,
I do not listen,
because your hands are covered with blood.[aj]
16 [ak] Wash! Cleanse yourselves!
Remove your sinful deeds[al]
from my sight.
Stop sinning.
17 Learn to do what is right.
Promote justice.
Give the oppressed reason to celebrate.[am]
Take up the cause of the orphan.
Defend the rights of the widow.[an]
18 [ao] Come, let’s consider your options,”[ap] says the Lord.
“Though your sins have stained you like the color red,
you can become white[aq] like snow;
though they are as easy to see as the color scarlet,
you can become[ar] white like wool.[as]
19 If you have a willing attitude and obey,[at]
then you will again eat the good crops of the land.
20 But if you refuse and rebel,
you will be devoured[au] by the sword.”
Know for certain that the Lord has spoken.[av]
Purifying Judgment
21 How tragic that the once-faithful city
has become a prostitute![aw]
She was once a center of[ax] justice;
fairness resided in her—
but now only murderers![ay]
22 Your[az] silver has become scum,[ba]
your beer is diluted with water.[bb]
23 Your officials are rebels,[bc]
they associate with[bd] thieves.
All of them love bribery,
and look for[be] payoffs.[bf]
They do not take up the cause of the orphan,[bg]
or defend the rights of the widow.[bh]
24 Therefore, the Sovereign Lord of Heaven’s Armies,[bi]
the Powerful One of Israel,[bj] says this:
“Ah, I will seek vengeance[bk] against my adversaries,
I will take revenge against my enemies.[bl]
25 I will attack you;[bm]
I will purify your metal with flux.[bn]
I will remove all your slag.[bo]
26 I will reestablish honest judges as in former times,
wise advisers as in earlier days.[bp]
Then you will be called, ‘The Just City,
Faithful Town.’”
27 [bq] Zion will be freed by justice,[br]
and her returnees by righteousness.[bs]
28 All rebellious sinners will be shattered,[bt]
those who abandon the Lord will perish.
29 Indeed, they[bu] will be ashamed of the sacred trees
you[bv] find so desirable;
you will be embarrassed because of the sacred orchards[bw]
where you choose to worship.
30 For you will be like a tree whose leaves wither,
like an orchard[bx] that is unwatered.
31 The powerful will be like[by] a thread of yarn,
their deeds like a spark;
both will burn together,
and no one will put out the fire.
The Future Glory of Jerusalem
2 Here is the message about Judah and Jerusalem that was revealed to Isaiah son of Amoz.[bz]
2 In future days[ca]
the mountain of the Lord’s temple will endure[cb]
as the most important of mountains,
and will be the most prominent of hills.[cc]
All the nations will stream to it;
3 many peoples will come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the Lord’s mountain,
to the temple of the God of Jacob,
so[cd] he can teach us his requirements,[ce]
and[cf] we can follow his standards.”[cg]
For Zion will be the center for moral instruction;[ch]
the Lord’s message will issue from Jerusalem.
4 He will judge disputes between nations;
he will settle cases for many peoples.
They will beat their swords into plowshares,[ci]
and their spears into pruning hooks.[cj]
Nations will not take up the sword against other nations,
and they will no longer train for war.
5 O descendants[ck] of Jacob,
come, let us walk in the Lord’s guiding light.[cl]
The Lord’s Day of Judgment
6 Indeed, O Lord,[cm] you have abandoned your people,
the descendants of Jacob.
For diviners from the east are everywhere;[cn]
they consult omen readers like the Philistines do.[co]
Plenty of foreigners are around.[cp]
7 Their land is full of gold and silver;
there is no end to their wealth.[cq]
Their land is full of horses;
there is no end to their chariots.[cr]
8 Their land is full of worthless idols;
they worship[cs] the product of their own hands,
what their own fingers have fashioned.
9 Men bow down to them in homage,
they lie flat on the ground in worship.[ct]
Don’t spare them![cu]
10 Go up into the rocky cliffs,
hide in the ground.
Get away from the dreadful judgment of the Lord,[cv]
from his royal splendor!
11 Proud men will be brought low,
arrogant men will be humiliated;[cw]
the Lord alone will be exalted[cx]
in that day.
12 Indeed, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has planned a day of judgment,[cy]
for[cz] all the high and mighty,
for all who are proud—they will be humiliated;
13 for all the cedars of Lebanon,
that are so high and mighty,
for all the oaks of Bashan;[da]
14 for all the tall mountains,
for all the high hills,[db]
15 for every high tower,
for every fortified wall,
16 for all the large ships,[dc]
for all the impressive[dd] ships.[de]
17 Proud men will be humiliated,
arrogant men will be brought low;[df]
the Lord alone will be exalted[dg]
in that day.
18 The worthless idols will be completely eliminated.[dh]
19 They[di] will go into caves in the rocky cliffs
and into holes in the ground,[dj]
trying to escape the dreadful judgment of the Lord[dk]
and his royal splendor,
when he rises up to terrify the earth.[dl]
20 At that time[dm] men will throw
their silver and gold idols,
which they made for themselves to worship,[dn]
into the caves where rodents and bats live,[do]
21 so they themselves can go into the crevices of the rocky cliffs
and the openings under the rocky overhangs,[dp]
trying to escape the dreadful judgment of the Lord[dq]
and his royal splendor,
when he rises up to terrify the earth.[dr]
22 Stop trusting in human beings,
whose life’s breath is in their nostrils.
For why should they be given special consideration?
Freedom of the Believer
5 For freedom[a] Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not be subject again to the yoke[b] of slavery. 2 Listen! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no benefit to you at all! 3 And I testify again to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey[c] the whole law. 4 You who are trying to be declared righteous[d] by the law have been alienated[e] from Christ; you have fallen away from grace! 5 For through the Spirit, by faith, we wait expectantly for the hope of righteousness. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision carries any weight—the only thing that matters is faith working through love.[f]
7 You were running well; who prevented you from obeying[g] the truth? 8 This persuasion[h] does not come from the one who calls you! 9 A little yeast makes the whole batch of dough rise![i] 10 I am confident[j] in the Lord that you will accept no other view.[k] But the one who is confusing[l] you will pay the penalty,[m] whoever he may be. 11 Now, brothers and sisters,[n] if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted?[o] In that case the offense of the cross[p] has been removed.[q] 12 I wish those agitators[r] would go so far as to[s] castrate themselves![t]
Practice Love
13 For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters;[u] only do not use your freedom as an opportunity to indulge your flesh,[v] but through love serve one another.[w] 14 For the whole law can be summed up in a single commandment,[x] namely, “You must love your neighbor as yourself.”[y] 15 However, if you continually bite and devour one another,[z] beware that you are not consumed[aa] by one another. 16 But I say, live[ab] by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh.[ac] 17 For the flesh has desires that are opposed to the Spirit, and the Spirit has desires[ad] that are opposed to the flesh, for these are in opposition to[ae] each other, so that you cannot do what you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh[af] are obvious:[ag] sexual immorality, impurity, depravity, 20 idolatry, sorcery,[ah] hostilities,[ai] strife,[aj] jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish rivalries, dissensions,[ak] factions, 21 envying,[al] murder,[am] drunkenness, carousing,[an] and similar things. I am warning you, as I had warned you before: Those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God!
22 But the fruit of the Spirit[ao] is love,[ap] joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,[aq] 23 gentleness, and[ar] self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Now those who belong to Christ[as] have crucified the flesh[at] with its passions[au] and desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also behave in accordance with[av] the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited,[aw] provoking[ax] one another, being jealous[ay] of one another.
NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.