Isaiah 1-6

New International Version

⁴ Woe to the sinful nation,
    a people whose guilt is great,^(P)
a brood of evildoers,^(Q)
    children given to corruption!^(R)
They have forsaken^(S) the Lord;
    they have spurned the Holy One^(T) of Israel
    and turned their backs^(U) on him.

⁵ Why should you be beaten^(V) anymore?
    Why do you persist^(W) in rebellion?^(X)
Your whole head is injured,
    your whole heart^(Y) afflicted.^(Z)
6 From the sole of your foot to the top of your head^(AA)
    there is no soundness^(AB)—
only wounds and welts^(AC)
    and open sores,
not cleansed or bandaged^(AD)
    or soothed with olive oil.^(AE)

⁷ Your country is desolate,^(AF)
    your cities burned with fire;^(AG)
your fields are being stripped by foreigners^(AH)
    right before you,
    laid waste as when overthrown by strangers.^(AI)
8 Daughter Zion^(AJ) is left^(AK)
    like a shelter in a vineyard,
like a hut^(AL) in a cucumber field,
    like a city under siege.
⁹ Unless the Lord Almighty
    had left us some survivors,^(AM)
we would have become like Sodom,
    we would have been like Gomorrah.^(AN)

¹⁰ Hear the word of the Lord,^(AO)
    you rulers of Sodom;^(AP)
listen to the instruction^(AQ) of our God,
    you people of Gomorrah!^(AR)
11 “The multitude of your sacrifices—
    what are they to me?” says the Lord.
“I have more than enough of burnt offerings,
    of rams and the fat of fattened animals;^(AS)
I have no pleasure^(AT)
    in the blood of bulls^(AU) and lambs and goats.^(AV)
12 When you come to appear before me,
    who has asked this of you,^(AW)
    this trampling of my courts?
¹³ Stop bringing meaningless offerings!^(AX)
    Your incense^(AY) is detestable^(AZ) to me.
New Moons,^(BA) Sabbaths and convocations^(BB)—
    I cannot bear your worthless assemblies.
¹⁴ Your New Moon^(BC) feasts and your appointed festivals^(BD)
    I hate with all my being.^(BE)
They have become a burden to me;^(BF)
    I am weary^(BG) of bearing them.
¹⁵ When you spread out your hands^(BH) in prayer,
    I hide^(BI) my eyes from you;
even when you offer many prayers,
    I am not listening.^(BJ)

Your hands^(BK) are full of blood!^(BL)

¹⁶ Wash^(BM) and make yourselves clean.
    Take your evil deeds out of my sight;^(BN)
    stop doing wrong.^(BO)
17 Learn to do right;^(BP) seek justice.^(BQ)
    Defend the oppressed.^[a](BR)
Take up the cause of the fatherless;^(BS)
    plead the case of the widow.^(BT)

¹⁸ “Come now, let us settle the matter,”^(BU)
    says the Lord.
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
    they shall be as white as snow;^(BV)
though they are red as crimson,
    they shall be like wool.^(BW)
19 If you are willing and obedient,^(BX)
    you will eat the good things of the land;^(BY)
20 but if you resist and rebel,^(BZ)
    you will be devoured by the sword.”^(CA)
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.^(CB)

²¹ See how the faithful city
    has become a prostitute!^(CC)
She once was full of justice;
    righteousness^(CD) used to dwell in her—
    but now murderers!^(CE)
22 Your silver has become dross,^(CF)
    your choice wine is diluted with water.
²³ Your rulers are rebels,^(CG)
    partners with thieves;^(CH)
they all love bribes^(CI)
    and chase after gifts.
They do not defend the cause of the fatherless;
    the widow’s case does not come before them.^(CJ)

²⁴ Therefore the Lord, the Lord Almighty,
    the Mighty One^(CK) of Israel, declares:
“Ah! I will vent my wrath on my foes
    and avenge^(CL) myself on my enemies.^(CM)
25 I will turn my hand against you;^[b](CN)
    I will thoroughly purge^(CO) away your dross^(CP)
    and remove all your impurities.^(CQ)
26 I will restore your leaders as in days of old,^(CR)
    your rulers as at the beginning.
Afterward you will be called^(CS)
    the City of Righteousness,^(CT)
    the Faithful City.^(CU)”

²⁷ Zion will be delivered with justice,
    her penitent^(CV) ones with righteousness.^(CW)
28 But rebels and sinners^(CX) will both be broken,
    and those who forsake^(CY) the Lord will perish.^(CZ)

²⁹ “You will be ashamed^(DA) because of the sacred oaks^(DB)
    in which you have delighted;
you will be disgraced because of the gardens^(DC)
    that you have chosen.
³⁰ You will be like an oak with fading leaves,^(DD)
    like a garden without water.
³¹ The mighty man will become tinder
    and his work a spark;
both will burn together,
    with no one to quench the fire.^(DE)”

the mountain^(DI) of the Lord’s temple will be established
    as the highest of the mountains;^(DJ)
it will be exalted^(DK) above the hills,
    and all nations will stream to it.^(DL)

“Come, let us go^(DN) up to the mountain^(DO) of the Lord,
    to the temple of the God of Jacob.
He will teach us his ways,
    so that we may walk in his paths.”
The law^(DP) will go out from Zion,
    the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.^(DQ)
4 He will judge^(DR) between the nations
    and will settle disputes^(DS) for many peoples.
They will beat their swords into plowshares
    and their spears into pruning hooks.^(DT)
Nation will not take up sword against nation,^(DU)
    nor will they train for war anymore.

⁵ Come, descendants of Jacob,^(DV)
    let us walk in the light^(DW) of the Lord.

¹⁰ Go into the rocks, hide^(EO) in the ground
    from the fearful presence of the Lord
    and the splendor of his majesty!^(EP)
11 The eyes of the arrogant^(EQ) will be humbled^(ER)
    and human pride^(ES) brought low;^(ET)
the Lord alone will be exalted^(EU) in that day.^(EV)

¹² The Lord Almighty has a day^(EW) in store
    for all the proud^(EX) and lofty,^(EY)
for all that is exalted^(EZ)
    (and they will be humbled),^(FA)
13 for all the cedars of Lebanon,^(FB) tall and lofty,^(FC)
    and all the oaks of Bashan,^(FD)
14 for all the towering mountains
    and all the high hills,^(FE)
15 for every lofty tower^(FF)
    and every fortified wall,^(FG)
16 for every trading ship^[d](FH)
    and every stately vessel.
¹⁷ The arrogance of man will be brought low^(FI)
    and human pride humbled;^(FJ)
the Lord alone will be exalted in that day,^(FK)
18     and the idols^(FL) will totally disappear.^(FM)

¹⁹ People will flee to caves^(FN) in the rocks
    and to holes in the ground^(FO)
from the fearful presence^(FP) of the Lord
    and the splendor of his majesty,^(FQ)
    when he rises to shake the earth.^(FR)
20 In that day^(FS) people will throw away
    to the moles and bats^(FT)
their idols of silver and idols of gold,^(FU)
    which they made to worship.^(FV)
21 They will flee to caverns in the rocks^(FW)
    and to the overhanging crags
from the fearful presence of the Lord
    and the splendor of his majesty,^(FX)
    when he rises^(FY) to shake the earth.^(FZ)

²² Stop trusting in mere humans,^(GA)
    who have but a breath^(GB) in their nostrils.
    Why hold them in esteem?^(GC)

⁴ “I will make mere youths their officials;
    children will rule over them.”^(GN)

⁵ People will oppress each other—
    man against man, neighbor against neighbor.^(GO)
The young will rise up against the old,
    the nobody against the honored.

⁶ A man will seize one of his brothers
    in his father’s house, and say,
“You have a cloak, you be our leader;
    take charge of this heap of ruins!”
⁷ But in that day^(GP) he will cry out,
    “I have no remedy.^(GQ)
I have no food^(GR) or clothing in my house;
    do not make me the leader of the people.”^(GS)

⁸ Jerusalem staggers,
    Judah is falling;^(GT)
their words^(GU) and deeds^(GV) are against the Lord,
    defying^(GW) his glorious presence.
⁹ The look on their faces testifies^(GX) against them;
    they parade their sin like Sodom;^(GY)
    they do not hide it.
Woe to them!
    They have brought disaster^(GZ) upon themselves.

¹⁰ Tell the righteous it will be well^(HA) with them,
    for they will enjoy the fruit of their deeds.^(HB)
11 Woe to the wicked!^(HC)
    Disaster^(HD) is upon them!
They will be paid back^(HE)
    for what their hands have done.^(HF)

¹² Youths^(HG) oppress my people,
    women rule over them.
My people, your guides lead you astray;^(HH)
    they turn you from the path.

¹³ The Lord takes his place in court;^(HI)
    he rises to judge^(HJ) the people.
¹⁴ The Lord enters into judgment^(HK)
    against the elders and leaders of his people:
“It is you who have ruined my vineyard;
    the plunder^(HL) from the poor^(HM) is in your houses.
¹⁵ What do you mean by crushing my people^(HN)
    and grinding^(HO) the faces of the poor?”^(HP)
declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty.^(HQ)

¹⁶ The Lord says,
    “The women of Zion^(HR) are haughty,
walking along with outstretched necks,^(HS)
    flirting with their eyes,
strutting along with swaying hips,
    with ornaments jingling on their ankles.
¹⁷ Therefore the Lord will bring sores on the heads of the women of Zion;
    the Lord will make their scalps bald.^(HT)”

²⁴ Instead of fragrance^(ID) there will be a stench;^(IE)
    instead of a sash,^(IF) a rope;
instead of well-dressed hair, baldness;^(IG)
    instead of fine clothing, sackcloth;^(IH)
    instead of beauty,^(II) branding.^(IJ)
25 Your men will fall by the sword,^(IK)
    your warriors in battle.^(IL)
26 The gates^(IM) of Zion will lament and mourn;^(IN)
    destitute,^(IO) she will sit on the ground.^(IP)

³ “Now you dwellers in Jerusalem and people of Judah,
    judge between me and my vineyard.^(JX)
4 What more could have been done for my vineyard
    than I have done for it?^(JY)
When I looked for good grapes,
    why did it yield only bad?^(JZ)
5 Now I will tell you
    what I am going to do to my vineyard:
I will take away its hedge,
    and it will be destroyed;^(KA)
I will break down its wall,^(KB)
    and it will be trampled.^(KC)
6 I will make it a wasteland,^(KD)
    neither pruned nor cultivated,
    and briers and thorns^(KE) will grow there.
I will command the clouds
    not to rain^(KF) on it.”

⁷ The vineyard^(KG) of the Lord Almighty
    is the nation of Israel,
and the people of Judah
    are the vines he delighted in.
And he looked for justice,^(KH) but saw bloodshed;
    for righteousness,^(KI) but heard cries of distress.^(KJ)

“Surely the great houses will become desolate,^(KO)
    the fine mansions left without occupants.
¹⁰ A ten-acre vineyard will produce only a bath^[h] of wine;
    a homer^[i] of seed will yield only an ephah^[j] of grain.”^(KP)

¹¹ Woe^(KQ) to those who rise early in the morning
    to run after their drinks,
who stay up late at night
    till they are inflamed with wine.^(KR)
12 They have harps and lyres at their banquets,
    pipes^(KS) and timbrels^(KT) and wine,
but they have no regard^(KU) for the deeds of the Lord,
    no respect for the work of his hands.^(KV)
13 Therefore my people will go into exile^(KW)
    for lack of understanding;^(KX)
those of high rank^(KY) will die of hunger
    and the common people will be parched with thirst.^(KZ)
14 Therefore Death^(LA) expands its jaws,
    opening wide its mouth;^(LB)
into it will descend their nobles and masses
    with all their brawlers and revelers.^(LC)
15 So people will be brought low^(LD)
    and everyone humbled,^(LE)
    the eyes of the arrogant^(LF) humbled.
¹⁶ But the Lord Almighty will be exalted^(LG) by his justice,^(LH)
    and the holy God will be proved holy^(LI) by his righteous acts.
¹⁷ Then sheep will graze as in their own pasture;^(LJ)
    lambs will feed^[k] among the ruins of the rich.

¹⁸ Woe^(LK) to those who draw sin along with cords^(LL) of deceit,
    and wickedness^(LM) as with cart ropes,
¹⁹ to those who say, “Let God hurry;
    let him hasten^(LN) his work
    so we may see it.
The plan of the Holy One^(LO) of Israel—
    let it approach, let it come into view,
    so we may know it.”^(LP)

²⁰ Woe^(LQ) to those who call evil good^(LR)
    and good evil,^(LS)
who put darkness for light
    and light for darkness,^(LT)
who put bitter for sweet
    and sweet for bitter.^(LU)

²¹ Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes^(LV)
    and clever in their own sight.

²² Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine^(LW)
    and champions at mixing drinks,^(LX)
23 who acquit the guilty for a bribe,^(LY)
    but deny justice^(LZ) to the innocent.^(MA)
24 Therefore, as tongues of fire^(MB) lick up straw^(MC)
    and as dry grass sinks down in the flames,
so their roots will decay^(MD)
    and their flowers blow away like dust;^(ME)
for they have rejected the law of the Lord Almighty
    and spurned the word^(MF) of the Holy One^(MG) of Israel.
²⁵ Therefore the Lord’s anger^(MH) burns against his people;
    his hand is raised and he strikes them down.
The mountains shake,^(MI)
    and the dead bodies^(MJ) are like refuse^(MK) in the streets.^(ML)

Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away,^(MM)
    his hand is still upraised.^(MN)

²⁶ He lifts up a banner^(MO) for the distant nations,
    he whistles^(MP) for those at the ends of the earth.^(MQ)
Here they come,
    swiftly and speedily!
²⁷ Not one of them grows tired^(MR) or stumbles,
    not one slumbers or sleeps;
not a belt^(MS) is loosened at the waist,^(MT)
    not a sandal strap is broken.^(MU)
28 Their arrows are sharp,^(MV)
    all their bows^(MW) are strung;
their horses’ hooves^(MX) seem like flint,
    their chariot wheels like a whirlwind.^(MY)
29 Their roar is like that of the lion,^(MZ)
    they roar like young lions;
they growl as they seize^(NA) their prey
    and carry it off with no one to rescue.^(NB)
30 In that day^(NC) they will roar over it
    like the roaring of the sea.^(ND)
And if one looks at the land,
    there is only darkness^(NE) and distress;^(NF)
    even the sun will be darkened^(NG) by clouds.

“Holy, holy^(NP), holy is the Lord Almighty;^(NQ)
    the whole earth^(NR) is full of his glory.”^(NS)

“Until the cities lie ruined^(OP)
    and without inhabitant,
until the houses are left deserted^(OQ)
    and the fields ruined and ravaged,^(OR)
12 until the Lord has sent everyone far away^(OS)
    and the land is utterly forsaken.^(OT)
13 And though a tenth remains^(OU) in the land,
    it will again be laid waste.^(OV)
But as the terebinth and oak
    leave stumps^(OW) when they are cut down,
    so the holy^(OX) seed will be the stump in the land.”^(OY)