< Isaiah 1 >
1 The visions of Isaiah son of Amoz, that he has seen concerning Judah and Jerusalem, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, kings of Judah.
The vision of Isaiah, the son of Amoz, which he saw about Judah and Jerusalem, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.
2 Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth, For YHWH has spoken: “I have nourished and brought up sons, And they transgressed against Me.
Give ear, O heavens, and you, O earth, to the word which the Lord has said: I have taken care of my children till they became men, but their hearts have been turned away from me.
3 An ox has known its owner, And a donkey the crib of its master, Israel has not known, My people have not understood.”
Even the ox has knowledge of its owner, and the ass of the place where its master puts its food: but Israel has no knowledge, my people give no thought to me.
4 Oh, sinning nation, a people heavy [with] iniquity, A seed of evildoers, sons—corrupters! They have forsaken YHWH, They have despised the Holy One of Israel, They have gone away backward.
O nation full of sin, a people weighted down with crime, a generation of evil-doers, false-hearted children: they have gone away from the Lord, they have no respect for the Holy One of Israel, their hearts are turned back from him.
5 Why are you struck anymore? You add apostasy! Every head has become diseased, and every heart [is] sick.
Why will you have more and more punishment? why keep on in your evil ways? Every head is tired and every heart is feeble.
6 From the sole of the foot—to the head, There is no soundness in it, Wound, and bruise, and fresh striking! They have not been closed nor bound, Nor have they softened with ointment.
The body, from head to foot, is all diseased; it is a mass of open wounds, marks of blows, and broken flesh: the flow of blood has not been stopped, and no oil has been put on the wounds.
7 Your land [is] a desolation, your cities burned with fire, Your ground—strangers are consuming it before you, And a desolation as overthrown by strangers!
Your country has become waste; your towns are burned with fire; as for your land, it is overturned before your eyes, made waste and overcome by men from strange lands.
8 And the daughter of Zion has been left, As a shelter in a vineyard, As a lodge in a place of cucumbers—as a city besieged.
And the daughter of Zion has become like a tent in a vine-garden, like a watchman's house in a field of fruit, like a town shut in by armies.
9 Unless YHWH of Hosts had left a remnant to us, Shortly—we had been as Sodom, We had been like to Gomorrah!
If the Lord of armies had not kept some at least of us safe, we would have been like Sodom, and the fate of Gomorrah would have been ours.
10 Hear the word of YHWH, you rulers of Sodom, Give ear to the Law of our God, you people of Gomorrah,
Give ear to the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom; let your hearts be turned to the law of our God, you people of Gomorrah.
11 “Why the abundance of your sacrifices to Me?” says YHWH, “I have been satiated [with] burnt-offerings of rams, And fat of fatlings; And blood of bullocks, and lambs, And I have not desired male goats.
What use to me is the number of the offerings which you give me? says the Lord; your burned offerings of sheep, and the best parts of fat cattle, are a weariness to me; I take no pleasure in the blood of oxen, or of lambs, or of he-goats.
12 When you come to appear before Me, Who has required this of your hand, To trample My courts?
At whose request do you come before me, making my house unclean with your feet?
13 Do not add to bring in a vain present, Incense—it [is] an abomination to Me, New moon, and Sabbath, calling of convocation! Do not render iniquity—and a restraint!
Give me no more false offerings; the smoke of burning flesh is disgusting to me, so are your new moons and Sabbaths and your holy meetings.
14 My soul has hated your new moons and your set seasons, They have been on Me for a burden, I have been weary of bearing.
Your new moons and your regular feasts are a grief to my soul: they are a weight in my spirit; I am crushed under them.
15 And in your spreading forth your hands, I hide My eyes from you, Also when you increase prayer, I do not hear, Your hands have been full of blood.
And when your hands are stretched out to me, my eyes will be turned away from you: even though you go on making prayers, I will not give ear: your hands are full of blood.
16 Wash yourselves, make yourselves pure, Turn aside the evil of your doings, from before My eyes, Cease to do evil, learn to do good.
Be washed, make yourselves clean; put away the evil of your doings from before my eyes; let there be an end of sinning;
17 Seek judgment, make the oppressed blessed, Judge the fatherless, strive [for] the widow.
Take pleasure in well-doing; let your ways be upright, keep down the cruel, give a right decision for the child who has no father, see to the cause of the widow.
18 Now come, and we settle this,” says YHWH, “If your sins are as scarlet, they will be white as snow, If they are red as crimson, they will be as wool!
Come now, and let us have an argument together, says the Lord: how may your sins which are red like blood be white as snow? how may their dark purple seem like wool?
19 If you are willing, and have listened, The good of the land you consume,
If you will give ear to my word and do it, the good things of the land will be yours;
20 And if you refuse, and have rebelled, You are consumed [by] the sword,” For the mouth of YHWH has spoken.
But if your hearts are turned against me, I will send destruction on you by the sword; so the Lord has said.
21 How has a faithful city become a harlot? I have filled it [with] judgment, Righteousness lodges in it—now murderers.
The upright town has become untrue; there was a time when her judges gave right decisions, when righteousness had a resting-place in her, but now she is full of those who take men's lives.
22 Your silver has become dross, Your drink defiled with water.
Your silver is no longer true metal, your wine is mixed with water.
23 Your princes [are] apostates, and companions of thieves, Everyone loving a bribe, and pursuing rewards, They do not judge the fatherless, And the plea of the widow does not come to them.
Your chiefs have gone against the Lord, they have become friends of thieves; every one of them is looking for profit and going after rewards; they do not give right decisions for the child who has no father, and they do not let the cause of the widow come before them.
24 Therefore—a declaration of the Lord—YHWH of Hosts, the Mighty One of Israel: “Oh, I relieve Myself from My adversaries, And avenge Myself against My enemies,
For this reason the Lord, the Lord of armies, the Strong One of Israel, has said, I will put an end to my haters, and send punishment on those who are against me;
25 And I turn back My hand on you, And I refine your dross as purity, And I turn aside all your tin,
And my hand will again be on you, washing away what is unclean as with soap, and taking away all your false metal;
26 And I give back your judges as at the first, And your counselors as in the beginning, After this you are called, A city of righteousness—a faithful city.”
And I will give you judges again as at the first, and wise guides as in the past; then you will be named, The Town of Righteousness, the true town.
27 Zion is redeemed in judgment, And her captivity in righteousness.
Upright acts will be the price of Zion's forgiveness, and by righteousness will men be living there.
28 And the destruction of transgressors and sinners [is] together, And those forsaking YHWH are consumed.
But a common destruction will overtake sinners and evil-doers together, and those who have gone away from the Lord will be cut off.
29 For [men] are ashamed because of the oaks That you have desired, And you are confounded because of the gardens That you have chosen.
For you will be put to shame because of the trees of your desire, and because of the gardens of your pleasure.
30 For you are as an oak whose leaf is fading, And as a garden that has no water.
For you will be like a tree whose leaves have become dry, and like a garden without water.
31 And the strong has been for tow, And his work for a spark, And both of them have burned together, And there is none quenching!
And the strong will be as food for the fire, and his work as a flame; and they will be burned together, with no one to put out the fire.