Isaiah 1

English Standard Version

1 The ^(A)vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem ^(B)in the days of ^(C)Uzziah, ^(D)Jotham, ^(E)Ahaz, and ^(F)Hezekiah, kings of Judah.

The Wickedness of Judah

²^(G)Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O ^(H)earth;
    for the Lord has spoken:
“Children^[a] ^(I)have I reared and brought up,
    but they have rebelled against me.
³The ox ^(J)knows its owner,
    and the donkey its master's crib,
but Israel does ^(K)not know,
    my people do not understand.”

⁴Ah, sinful nation,
    a people laden with iniquity,
^(L)offspring of evildoers,
    children who deal corruptly!
They have forsaken the Lord,
    they have ^(M)despised ^(N)the Holy One of Israel,
    they are utterly ^(O)estranged.

⁵Why will you still be ^(P)struck down?
    Why will you ^(Q)continue to rebel?
The whole head is sick,
    and the whole heart faint.
⁶^(R)From the sole of the foot even to the head,
    there is no soundness in it,
but bruises and sores
    and raw wounds;
they are ^(S)not pressed out or bound up
    or softened with oil.

⁷^(T)Your country lies desolate;
    your cities are burned with fire;
in your very presence
    foreigners devour your land;
    it is desolate, as overthrown by foreigners.
⁸And ^(U)the daughter of Zion is left
    like a ^(V)booth in a vineyard,
like a lodge in a cucumber field,
    like a besieged city.

⁹^(W)If the Lord of hosts
had not left us ^(X)a few survivors,
we should have been like ^(Y)Sodom,
and become like ^(Z)Gomorrah.

¹⁰Hear the word of the Lord,
    you rulers of ^(AA)^(AB)Sodom!
Give ear to the teaching^[b] of our God,
    you people of ^(AC)Gomorrah!
¹¹^(AD)“What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices?
    says the Lord;
I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams
    and the fat of well-fed beasts;
I do not delight in the blood of bulls,
    or of lambs, or of goats.

¹²“When you come to ^(AE)appear before me,
    who has required of you
    this trampling of my courts?
¹³Bring no more vain offerings;
    incense is an abomination to me.
^(AF)New moon and Sabbath and the ^(AG)calling of convocations—
    I cannot endure ^(AH)iniquity and ^(AI)solemn assembly.
¹⁴Your ^(AJ)new moons and your appointed feasts
    my soul hates;
they have become a burden to me;
    I am weary of bearing them.
¹⁵When you ^(AK)spread out your hands,
    I will hide my eyes from you;
^(AL)even though you make many prayers,
    I will not listen;
    ^(AM)your hands are full of blood.
¹⁶^(AN)Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean;
    remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes;
^(AO)cease to do evil,
¹⁷    learn to do good;
^(AP)seek justice,
    correct oppression;
^(AQ)bring justice to the fatherless,
    plead the widow's cause.

¹⁸“Come now, ^(AR)let us reason^[c] together, says the Lord:
though your sins are like scarlet,
    they shall be as ^(AS)white as snow;
though they are red like crimson,
    they shall become like wool.
¹⁹^(AT)If you are willing and obedient,
    you shall eat the good of the land;
²⁰but if you refuse and rebel,
    you shall be eaten by the sword;
    ^(AU)for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

The Unfaithful City

²¹How the faithful city
    ^(AV)has become a whore,^[d]
    ^(AW)she who was full of justice!
Righteousness lodged in her,
    but now murderers.
²²^(AX)Your silver has become dross,
    your best wine mixed with water.
²³Your princes are rebels
    and companions of thieves.
Everyone ^(AY)loves a bribe
    and runs after gifts.
^(AZ)They do not bring justice to the fatherless,
    and the widow's cause does not come to them.

²⁴Therefore the ^(BA)Lord declares,
    the Lord of hosts,
    the ^(BB)Mighty One of Israel:
“Ah, I will get relief from my enemies
    ^(BC)and avenge myself on my foes.
²⁵^(BD)I will turn my hand against you
    and will smelt away your ^(BE)dross as with lye
    and remove all your alloy.
²⁶And I will restore your judges ^(BF)as at the first,
    and your counselors as at the beginning.
Afterward ^(BG)you shall be called the city of righteousness,
    the faithful city.”

²⁷^(BH)Zion shall be redeemed by justice,
    and those in her who repent, by righteousness.
²⁸^(BI)But rebels and sinners shall be broken together,
    and those who forsake the Lord shall be consumed.
²⁹^(BJ)For they^[e] shall be ashamed of ^(BK)the oaks
    that you desired;
and you shall blush for ^(BL)the gardens
    that you have chosen.
³⁰For you shall be ^(BM)like an oak
    whose leaf withers,
    and like a garden without water.
³¹And the strong shall become ^(BN)tinder,
    and his work a spark,
and both of them shall burn together,
    with ^(BO)none to quench them.