The ^avision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the ^bdays of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.

The Wickedness of Judah

2

^aHear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth!

For the Lord has spoken:

“I have nourished and brought up children,

And they have rebelled against Me;

3

^aThe ox knows its owner

And the donkey its master’s ¹crib;

But Israel ^bdoes not know,

My people do not ²consider.”

4

Alas, sinful nation,

A people ¹laden with iniquity,

^aA ²brood of evildoers,

Children who are corrupters!

They have forsaken the Lord,

They have provoked to anger

The Holy One of Israel,

They have turned away backward.

5

^aWhy should you be stricken again?

You will revolt more and more.

The whole head is sick,

And the whole heart faints.

6

From the sole of the foot even to the head,

There is no soundness in it,

But wounds and bruises and putrefying sores;

They have not been closed or bound up,

Or soothed with ointment.

7

^aYour country is desolate,

Your cities are burned with fire;

Strangers devour your land in your presence;

And it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers.

8

So the daughter of Zion is left ^aas a ¹booth in a vineyard,

As a hut in a garden of cucumbers,

^bAs a besieged city.

9

^aUnless the Lord of hosts

Had left to us a very small remnant,

We would have become like ^bSodom,

We would have been made like Gomorrah.

10

Hear the word of the Lord,

You rulers ^aof Sodom;

Give ear to the law of our God,

You people of Gomorrah:

11

“To what purpose is the multitude of your ^asacrifices to Me?”

Says the Lord.

“I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams

And the fat of fed cattle.

I do not delight in the blood of bulls,

Or of lambs or goats.

12

“When you come ^ato appear before Me,

Who has required this from your hand,

To trample My courts?

13

Bring no more ^afutile¹ sacrifices;

Incense is an abomination to Me.

The New Moons, the Sabbaths, and ^bthe calling of assemblies—

I cannot endure iniquity and the sacred meeting.

14

Your ^aNew Moons and your ^bappointed feasts

My soul hates;

They are a trouble to Me,

I am weary of bearing them.

15

^aWhen you ¹spread out your hands,

I will hide My eyes from you;

^bEven though you make many prayers,

I will not hear.

Your hands are full of ²blood.

16

“Wash^a yourselves, make yourselves clean;

Put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes.

^bCease to do evil,

17

Learn to do good;

Seek justice,

Rebuke ¹the oppressor;

²Defend the fatherless,

Plead for the widow.

18

“Come now, and let us ^areason together,”

Says the Lord,

“Though your sins are like scarlet,

^bThey shall be as white as snow;

Though they are red like crimson,

They shall be as wool.

19

If you are willing and obedient,

You shall eat the good of the land;

20

But if you refuse and rebel,

You shall be devoured by the sword”;

^aFor the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

The Degenerate City

21

^aHow the faithful city has become a ¹harlot!

It was full of justice;

Righteousness lodged in it,

But now ^bmurderers.

22

^aYour silver has become dross,

Your wine mixed with water.

23

^aYour princes are rebellious,

And ^bcompanions of thieves;

^cEveryone loves bribes,

And follows after rewards.

They ^ddo not defend the fatherless,

Nor does the cause of the widow come before them.

24

Therefore the Lord says,

The Lord of hosts, the Mighty One of Israel,

“Ah, ^aI will ¹rid Myself of My adversaries,

And ²take vengeance on My enemies.

25

I will turn My hand against you,

And ^athoroughly¹ purge away your dross,

And take away all your alloy.

26

I will restore your judges ^aas at the first,

And your counselors as at the beginning.

Afterward ^byou shall be called the city of righteousness, the faithful city.”

27

Zion shall be redeemed with justice,

And her ¹penitents with righteousness.

28

The ^adestruction of transgressors and of sinners shall be together,

And those who forsake the Lord shall be consumed.

29

For ¹they shall be ashamed of the ²terebinth trees

Which you have desired;

And you shall be embarrassed because of the gardens

Which you have chosen.

30

For you shall be as a terebinth whose leaf fades,

And as a garden that has no water.

31

^aThe strong shall be as tinder,

And the work of it as a spark;

Both will burn together,

And no one shall ^bquench them.