Isaiah 1
1
1 The vision of Isaiah, the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem, in the days of Uzziah, Joatham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.
2 Listen, O heavens, and pay attention, O earth, for the Lord has spoken. I have nurtured and raised children, but they have spurned me.
3 An ox knows his owner, and a donkey knows the manger of his lord, but Israel has not known me, and my people have not understood.
4 Woe to a sinful nation, a people burdened by iniquity, a wicked offspring, accursed children. They have abandoned the Lord. They have blasphemed the Holy One of Israel. They been taken away backwards.
5 For what reason shall I continue to strike you, as you increase transgressions? The entire head is feeble, and the entire heart is grieving.
6 From the sole of the foot, even to the top of the head, there is no soundness within. Wounds and bruises and swelling sores: these are not bandaged, nor treated with medicine, nor soothed with oil.
7 Your land is desolate. Your cities have been set ablaze. Foreigners devour your countryside in your sight, and it will become desolate, as if devastated by enemies.
8 And the daughter of Zion will be left behind, like an arbor in a vineyard, and like a shelter in a cucumber field, and like a city being laid to waste.
9 If the Lord of hosts had not bequeathed us offspring, we would have been like Sodom, and we would have been comparable to Gomorrah.
10 Listen to the Word of the Lord, you leaders of the people of Sodom. Listen closely to the law of our God, O people of Gomorrah.
11 The multitude of your sacrifices, what is that to me, says the Lord? I am full. I do not desire holocausts of rams, nor the fat of fatlings, nor the blood of calves and of lambs and of he-goats.
12 When you approach before my sight, who is it that requires these things from your hands, so that you would walk in my courts?
13 You should no longer offer sacrifice vain. Incense is an abomination to me. The new moons and the Sabbaths and the other feast days, I will not receive. Your gatherings are iniquitous.
14 My soul hates your days of proclamation and your solemnities. They have become bothersome to me. I labor to endure them.
15 And so, when you extend your hands, I will avert my eyes from you. And when you multiply your prayers, I will not heed you. For your hands are full of blood.
16 Wash, become clean, take away the evil of your intentions from my eyes. Cease to act perversely.
17 Learn to do good. Seek judgment, support the oppressed, judge for the orphan, defend the widow.
18 And then approach and accuse me, says the Lord. Then, if your sins are like scarlet, they shall be made white like snow; and if they are red like vermillion, they shall become white like wool.
19 If you are willing, and you listen to me, then you will eat the good things of the land.
20 But if you are not willing, and you provoke me to anger, then the sword will devour you. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.
21 How has the faithful city, full of judgment, become a harlot? Justice lived in her, but now murderers.
22 Your silver has turned into dross. Your wine has been mixed with water.
23 Your leaders are unfaithful, the associates of thieves. They all love gifts; they pursue rewards. They do not judge for orphans, and the widow's case is not brought before them.
24 Because of this, the Lord God of hosts, the Strength of Israel, says: Ah! I will be consoled over my enemies, and I will be vindicated from my adversaries.
25 And I will turn my hand to you. And I will temper your dross unto purity, and I will take away all your tin.
26 And I will restore your judges, so that they will be as before, and your counselors as in times long past. After this, you shall be called the City of the Just, the Faithful City.
27 Zion will be redeemed in judgment, and they will lead her back to justice.
28 And he shall crush the accursed and sinners together. And those who have abandoned the Lord will be consumed.
29 For they shall be confounded because of the idols, to which they have sacrificed. And you shall be ashamed over the gardens that you chose,
30 when you were like an oak with falling leaves, and like a garden without water.
31 And your strength will be like the embers from stubble, and your work will be like a spark, and both will burn together, and there will be no one to extinguish it.
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Isaiah 1
1
1Here is the vision about Judah and Jerusalem that Isaiah saw. It came to him when Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah were ruling. They were kings of Judah. Isaiah was the son of Amoz.
The Nation Refuses to Obey the Lord
2Listen to me, you heavens! Pay attention to me, earth!
The Lord has said,
“I raised children. I brought them up.
But they have refused to obey me.
3The ox knows its master.
The donkey knows where its owner feeds it.
But Israel does not know me.
My people do not understand me.”
4How terrible it will be for this sinful nation!
They are loaded down with guilt.
They are people who do nothing but evil.
They are children who are always sinning.
They have deserted the Lord.
They have turned against the Holy One of Israel.
They have turned their backs on him.
5Israel, why do you want to be beaten all the time?
Why do you always refuse to obey the Lord?
Your head is covered with wounds.
Your whole heart is weak.
6There isn’t a healthy spot on your body.
You are not healthy from the bottom of your feet to the top of your head.
You have nothing but wounds, cuts
and open sores.
They haven’t been cleaned up or bandaged
or treated with olive oil.
7Your country has been deserted.
Your cities have been burned down.
The food from your fields is being eaten up by outsiders.
They are doing it right in front of you.
Your land has been completely destroyed.
It looks as if strangers have taken it over.
8The city of Zion is left like a shed
where someone stands guard in a vineyard.
It is left like a hut in a cucumber field.
It’s like a city being attacked.
9The Lord who rules over all
has let some people live through that time of trouble.
If he hadn’t, we would have become like Sodom.
We would have been like Gomorrah.
10Rulers of Sodom,
hear the Lord’s message.
People of Gomorrah,
listen to the instruction of our God.
11“Do you think I need any more of your sacrifices?”
asks the Lord.
“I have more than enough of your burnt offerings.
I have more than enough of rams
and the fat of your fattest animals.
I do not find any pleasure
in the blood of your bulls, lambs and goats.
12Who asked you to bring all these animals
when you come to worship me?
Who asked you and your animals
to walk all over my courtyards?
13Stop bringing offerings that do not mean anything to me!
I hate your incense.
I can’t stand your worthless gatherings.
I can’t stand the way you celebrate your New Moon feasts,
Sabbath days and special services.
14Your New Moon feasts and your other appointed feasts
I hate with my whole being.
They have become a heavy load to me.
I am tired of carrying it.
15You might spread out your hands toward me when you pray.
But I do not look at you.
You might even offer many prayers.
But I am not listening to them.
Your hands are covered with the blood of the people you have murdered.
16So wash and make yourselves clean.
Get your evil actions out of my sight!
Stop doing what is wrong!
17Learn to do what is right!
Treat people fairly.
Help those who are treated badly.
Stand up in court for children whose fathers have died.
And do the same thing for widows.
18“Come. Let us settle this matter,”
says the Lord.
“Even though your sins are bright red,
they will be as white as snow.
Even though they are deep red,
they will be white like wool.
19But you have to be willing to change and obey me.
If you are, you will eat the good things that grow on the land.
20But if you are not willing to obey me,
you will be killed by swords.”
The Lord has spoken.
21See how the faithful city of Jerusalem
has become like a prostitute!
Once it was full of people who treated others fairly.
Those who did what was right used to live in it.
But now murderers live there!
22Jerusalem, your silver isn’t pure anymore.
Your best wine has been made weak with water.
23Your rulers refuse to obey the Lord.
They join forces with robbers.
All of them love to accept money from those who want special favors.
They are always looking for gifts from other people.
They don’t stand up in court for children whose fathers have died.
They don’t do it for widows either.
24The Lord is the Mighty One of Israel.
The Lord who rules over all announces,
“Israel, you have become my enemies.
I will act against you in my anger.
I will pay you back for what you have done.
25I will turn my power against you.
I will make you completely ‘clean.’
I will remove everything that is not pure.
26I will give you leaders like the ones you had long ago.
I will give you rulers like those you had at the beginning.
Then you will be called
the City That Does What Is Right.
You will also be called the Faithful City.”
27Zion will be saved when justice is done.
Those who are sorry for their sins will be saved
when what is right is done.
28But sinners and those who refuse to obey the Lord will be destroyed.
And those who desert the Lord will die.
29“Israel, you take delight in worshiping among the sacred oak trees.
You will be full of shame for doing that.
You have chosen to worship in the sacred gardens.
You will be dishonored for doing that.
30You will be like an oak tree whose leaves are dying.
You will be like a garden that doesn’t have any water.
31Your strongest men will become like dry pieces of wood.
Their worship of other gods will be the spark that lights the fire.
Everything will be burned up.
No one will be there to put the fire out.”
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