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Isaiah 4-6
Contemporary English Version
Isaiah 4-6
Contemporary English Version
4 When this happens, seven women will grab the same man, and each of them will say, “I'll buy my own food and clothes! Just marry me and take away my disgrace.”[a]
The Lord Will Bless His People Who Survive
2 The time is coming when the Lord will make his land fruitful and glorious again, and the people of Israel who survive will take great pride in what the land produces. 3 Everyone who is left alive in Jerusalem will be called special, 4 after the Lord sends a fiery judgment to clean the city and its people of their violent deeds.
5 (A) Then the Lord will cover the whole city and its meeting places with a thick cloud each day and with a flaming fire[b] each night. God's own glory will be like a huge tent that covers everything. 6 It will provide shade from the heat of the sun and a place of shelter and protection from storms and rain.
A Song about a Vineyard
The Lord said:
5 (B) I will sing a song
about my friend's vineyard
that was on the side
of a fertile hill.
2 My friend dug the ground,
removed the stones,
and planted the best vines.
He built a watchtower
and dug a pit in rocky ground
for pressing the grapes.
He hoped they would be sweet,
but bitter grapes
were all it produced.
3 Listen, people of Jerusalem
and of Judah!
You be the judge of me
and my vineyard.
4 What more could I have done
for my vineyard?
I hoped for sweet grapes,
but bitter grapes
were all that grew.
5 Now I will let you know
what I am going to do.
I will cut down the hedge
and tear down the wall.
My vineyard will be trampled
and left in ruins.
6 It will turn into a desert,
neither pruned nor hoed;
it will be covered
with thorns and briars.
I will command the clouds
not to send rain.
7 I am the Lord All-Powerful!
Israel is the vineyard,
and Judah is the garden
I tended with care.
I had hoped for honesty
and for justice,
but dishonesty
and cries for mercy
were all I found.
Isaiah Condemns Social Injustice
8 You are in for trouble! You take over house after house and field after field, until there is no room left for anyone else in all the land. 9 But the Lord All-Powerful has made this promise to me:
Those large and beautiful homes will be left empty, with no one to take care of them. 10 Four hectares of grapevines will produce only 27 liters of juice, and 180 liters of seed will produce merely 18 liters of grain.
11 (C) You are in for trouble! You get up early to start drinking, and you keep it up late into the night. 12 At your drinking parties you have the music of stringed instruments, tambourines, and flutes. But you never even think about all the Lord has done, 13 and so his people know nothing about him. That's why many of you will be dragged off to foreign lands. Your leaders will starve to death, and everyone else will suffer from thirst.
14 The world of the dead has opened its mouth wide and is eagerly waiting for the leaders of Jerusalem and for its noisy crowds, especially for those who take pride in that city. 15 Its citizens have been put down, and its proud people have been brought to shame. 16 But the holy Lord God All-Powerful is praised, because he has shown who he is by bringing justice. 17 His people will be like sheep grazing in their own pasture, and they will take off what was left by others.[c]
18 You are in for trouble! The lies you tell are like ropes by which you drag along sin and evil. 19 And you say, “Let the holy God of Israel hurry up and do what he has promised, so we can see it for ourselves.” 20 You are headed for trouble! You say wrong is right, darkness is light, and bitter is sweet.
21 You think you are clever and smart. 22 And you are great at drinking and mixing drinks. But you are in for trouble. 23 You accept bribes to let the guilty go free, and you cheat the innocent out of a fair trial.
24 You will go up in flames like straw and hay! You have rejected the teaching of the holy Lord God All-Powerful of Israel. Now your roots will rot, and your blossoms will turn to dust.
25 You are the Lord's people, but you made him terribly angry, and he struck you with his mighty arm. Mountains shook, and dead bodies covered the streets like garbage. The Lord is still angry, and he is ready to strike you again.[d]
Foreign Nations Will Attack
26 The Lord has signaled for the foreign nations to come and attack you. He has already whistled, and they are coming as fast as they can. 27 None of them are tired. They don't sleep or get drowsy, and they run without stumbling. Their belts don't come loose; their sandal straps don't break. 28 Their arrows are sharp, and their bows are ready. The hoofs of their horses are hard as flint; the wheels of their war chariots turn as fast as a whirlwind.
29 They roar and growl like fierce young lions as they grab their victims and drag them off where no one can rescue them. 30 On the day they attack, they will roar like the ocean. And across the land you will see nothing but darkness and trouble, because the light of day will be covered by thick clouds.
A Vision of the Lord in the Temple
6 (D) In the year that King Uzziah died,[e] I had a vision of the Lord. He was on his throne high above, and his robe filled the temple. 2 Flaming creatures with six wings each were flying over him. They covered their faces with two of their wings and their bodies with two more. They used the other two wings for flying, 3 (E) as they shouted,
“Holy, holy, holy,
Lord All-Powerful!
The earth is filled
with your glory.”
4 (F) As they shouted, the doorposts of the temple shook, and the temple was filled with smoke. 5 Then I cried out, “I'm doomed! Everything I say is sinful, and so are the words of everyone around me. Yet I have seen the King, the Lord All-Powerful.”
6 One of the flaming creatures flew over to me with a burning coal that it had taken from the altar with a pair of metal tongs. 7 It touched my lips with the hot coal and said, “This has touched your lips. Your sins are forgiven, and you are no longer guilty.”
8 After this, I heard the Lord ask, “Is there anyone I can send? Will someone speak for us?”
“I'll go,” I answered. “Send me!”
9 (G) Then the Lord told me to go and speak this message to the people:
“You will listen and listen,
but never understand.
You will look and look,
but never see.”
The Lord also said,
10 “Make these people stubborn!
Make them stop up
their ears,
cover their eyes,
and fail to understand.
Don't let them turn to me
and be healed.”
11 Then I asked the Lord, “How long will this last?”
The Lord answered:
Until their towns are destroyed and their houses are deserted, until their fields are empty, 12 and I have sent them far away, leaving their land in ruins. 13 If only a tenth of the people are left, even they will be destroyed. But just as stumps remain after trees have been cut down,[f] some of my chosen ones will be left.
Footnotes
- 4.1 take away my disgrace: If a woman did not have a husband or children, it was thought that God was punishing her.
- 4.5 thick … fire: This is how the Lord led the people of Israel during the 40 years they were in the desert (see Exodus 13.20-22; 40.36-38).
- 5.17 and they … others: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 5.25 is ready … again: Or “hasn't given up on you yet.”
- 6.1 the year that King Uzziah died: Probably 742 b.c.
- 6.13 But just … down: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
Isaiah 4-6
New International Version
Isaiah 4-6
New International Version
4 1 In that day(A) seven women
will take hold of one man(B)
and say, “We will eat our own food(C)
and provide our own clothes;
only let us be called by your name.
Take away our disgrace!”(D)
The Branch of the Lord
2 In that day(E) the Branch of the Lord(F) will be beautiful(G) and glorious, and the fruit(H) of the land will be the pride and glory(I) of the survivors(J) in Israel. 3 Those who are left in Zion,(K) who remain(L) in Jerusalem, will be called holy,(M) all who are recorded(N) among the living in Jerusalem. 4 The Lord will wash away the filth(O) of the women of Zion;(P) he will cleanse(Q) the bloodstains(R) from Jerusalem by a spirit[a] of judgment(S) and a spirit[b] of fire.(T) 5 Then the Lord will create(U) over all of Mount Zion(V) and over those who assemble there a cloud of smoke by day and a glow of flaming fire by night;(W) over everything the glory[c](X) will be a canopy.(Y) 6 It will be a shelter(Z) and shade from the heat of the day, and a refuge(AA) and hiding place from the storm(AB) and rain.
The Song of the Vineyard
5 I will sing for the one I love
a song about his vineyard:(AC)
My loved one had a vineyard
on a fertile hillside.
2 He dug it up and cleared it of stones
and planted it with the choicest vines.(AD)
He built a watchtower(AE) in it
and cut out a winepress(AF) as well.
Then he looked for a crop of good grapes,
but it yielded only bad fruit.(AG)
3 “Now you dwellers in Jerusalem and people of Judah,
judge between me and my vineyard.(AH)
4 What more could have been done for my vineyard
than I have done for it?(AI)
When I looked for good grapes,
why did it yield only bad?(AJ)
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;(AK)
I will break down its wall,(AL)
and it will be trampled.(AM)
6 I will make it a wasteland,(AN)
neither pruned nor cultivated,
and briers and thorns(AO) will grow there.
I will command the clouds
not to rain(AP) on it.”
7 The vineyard(AQ) 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,(AR) but saw bloodshed;
for righteousness,(AS) but heard cries of distress.(AT)
Woes and Judgments
8 Woe(AU) to you who add house to house
and join field to field(AV)
till no space is left
and you live alone in the land.
9 The Lord Almighty(AW) has declared in my hearing:(AX)
“Surely the great houses will become desolate,(AY)
the fine mansions left without occupants.
10 A ten-acre vineyard will produce only a bath[d] of wine;
a homer[e] of seed will yield only an ephah[f] of grain.”(AZ)
11 Woe(BA) 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.(BB)
12 They have harps and lyres at their banquets,
pipes(BC) and timbrels(BD) and wine,
but they have no regard(BE) for the deeds of the Lord,
no respect for the work of his hands.(BF)
13 Therefore my people will go into exile(BG)
for lack of understanding;(BH)
those of high rank(BI) will die of hunger
and the common people will be parched with thirst.(BJ)
14 Therefore Death(BK) expands its jaws,
opening wide its mouth;(BL)
into it will descend their nobles and masses
with all their brawlers and revelers.(BM)
15 So people will be brought low(BN)
and everyone humbled,(BO)
the eyes of the arrogant(BP) humbled.
16 But the Lord Almighty will be exalted(BQ) by his justice,(BR)
and the holy God will be proved holy(BS) by his righteous acts.
17 Then sheep will graze as in their own pasture;(BT)
lambs will feed[g] among the ruins of the rich.
18 Woe(BU) to those who draw sin along with cords(BV) of deceit,
and wickedness(BW) as with cart ropes,
19 to those who say, “Let God hurry;
let him hasten(BX) his work
so we may see it.
The plan of the Holy One(BY) of Israel—
let it approach, let it come into view,
so we may know it.”(BZ)
20 Woe(CA) to those who call evil good(CB)
and good evil,(CC)
who put darkness for light
and light for darkness,(CD)
who put bitter for sweet
and sweet for bitter.(CE)
21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes(CF)
and clever in their own sight.
22 Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine(CG)
and champions at mixing drinks,(CH)
23 who acquit the guilty for a bribe,(CI)
but deny justice(CJ) to the innocent.(CK)
24 Therefore, as tongues of fire(CL) lick up straw(CM)
and as dry grass sinks down in the flames,
so their roots will decay(CN)
and their flowers blow away like dust;(CO)
for they have rejected the law of the Lord Almighty
and spurned the word(CP) of the Holy One(CQ) of Israel.
25 Therefore the Lord’s anger(CR) burns against his people;
his hand is raised and he strikes them down.
The mountains shake,(CS)
and the dead bodies(CT) are like refuse(CU) in the streets.(CV)
26 He lifts up a banner(CY) for the distant nations,
he whistles(CZ) for those at the ends of the earth.(DA)
Here they come,
swiftly and speedily!
27 Not one of them grows tired(DB) or stumbles,
not one slumbers or sleeps;
not a belt(DC) is loosened at the waist,(DD)
not a sandal strap is broken.(DE)
28 Their arrows are sharp,(DF)
all their bows(DG) are strung;
their horses’ hooves(DH) seem like flint,
their chariot wheels like a whirlwind.(DI)
29 Their roar is like that of the lion,(DJ)
they roar like young lions;
they growl as they seize(DK) their prey
and carry it off with no one to rescue.(DL)
30 In that day(DM) they will roar over it
like the roaring of the sea.(DN)
And if one looks at the land,
there is only darkness(DO) and distress;(DP)
even the sun will be darkened(DQ) by clouds.
Isaiah’s Commission
6 In the year that King Uzziah(DR) died,(DS) I saw the Lord,(DT) high and exalted,(DU) seated on a throne;(DV) and the train of his robe(DW) filled the temple. 2 Above him were seraphim,(DX) each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet,(DY) and with two they were flying. 3 And they were calling to one another:
4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.(ED)
5 “Woe(EE) to me!” I cried. “I am ruined!(EF) For I am a man of unclean lips,(EG) and I live among a people of unclean lips,(EH) and my eyes have seen(EI) the King,(EJ) the Lord Almighty.”(EK)
6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal(EL) in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips;(EM) your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.(EN)”
8 Then I heard the voice(EO) of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send?(EP) And who will go for us?(EQ)”
And I said, “Here am I.(ER) Send me!”
9 He said, “Go(ES) and tell this people:
“‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding;
be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’(ET)
10 Make the heart of this people calloused;(EU)
make their ears dull
and close their eyes.[h](EV)
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,(EW)
understand with their hearts,
and turn and be healed.”(EX)
11 Then I said, “For how long, Lord?”(EY)
And he answered:
“Until the cities lie ruined(EZ)
and without inhabitant,
until the houses are left deserted(FA)
and the fields ruined and ravaged,(FB)
12 until the Lord has sent everyone far away(FC)
and the land is utterly forsaken.(FD)
13 And though a tenth remains(FE) in the land,
it will again be laid waste.(FF)
But as the terebinth and oak
leave stumps(FG) when they are cut down,
so the holy(FH) seed will be the stump in the land.”(FI)
Footnotes
- Isaiah 4:4 Or the Spirit
- Isaiah 4:4 Or the Spirit
- Isaiah 4:5 Or over all the glory there
- Isaiah 5:10 That is, about 6 gallons or about 22 liters
- Isaiah 5:10 That is, probably about 360 pounds or about 160 kilograms
- Isaiah 5:10 That is, probably about 36 pounds or about 16 kilograms
- Isaiah 5:17 Septuagint; Hebrew / strangers will eat
- Isaiah 6:10 Hebrew; Septuagint ‘You will be ever hearing, but never understanding; / you will be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’ / 10 This people’s heart has become calloused; / they hardly hear with their ears, / and they have closed their eyes
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