Isaiah 1-3

New International Version

1 The vision^(A) concerning Judah and Jerusalem^(B) that Isaiah son of Amoz saw^(C) during the reigns of Uzziah,^(D) Jotham,^(E) Ahaz^(F) and Hezekiah,^(G) kings of Judah.

A Rebellious Nation

²Hear me, you heavens! Listen, earth!^(H)
    For the Lord has spoken:^(I)
“I reared children^(J) and brought them up,
    but they have rebelled^(K) against me.
³The ox knows^(L) its master,
    the donkey its owner’s manger,^(M)
but Israel does not know,^(N)
    my people do not understand.^(O)”

⁴Woe 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.

⁵Why 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)
⁶From 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)

⁷Your 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)
⁸Daughter Zion^(AJ) is left^(AK)
    like a shelter in a vineyard,
like a hut^(AL) in a cucumber field,
    like a city under siege.
⁹Unless the Lord Almighty
    had left us some survivors,^(AM)
we would have become like Sodom,
    we would have been like Gomorrah.^(AN)

¹⁰Hear 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)
¹²When you come to appear before me,
    who has asked this of you,^(AW)
    this trampling of my courts?
¹³Stop 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.
¹⁴Your 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.
¹⁵When 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)

¹⁶Wash^(BM) and make yourselves clean.
    Take your evil deeds out of my sight;^(BN)
    stop doing wrong.^(BO)
¹⁷Learn 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)
¹⁹If you are willing and obedient,^(BX)
    you will eat the good things of the land;^(BY)
²⁰but if you resist and rebel,^(BZ)
    you will be devoured by the sword.”^(CA)
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.^(CB)

²¹See 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)
²²Your silver has become dross,^(CF)
    your choice wine is diluted with water.
²³Your 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)

²⁴Therefore 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)
²⁵I will turn my hand against you;^[b]^(CN)
    I will thoroughly purge^(CO) away your dross^(CP)
    and remove all your impurities.^(CQ)
²⁶I 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)”

²⁷Zion will be delivered with justice,
her penitent^(CV) ones with righteousness.^(CW)
²⁸But 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.
³⁰You will be like an oak with fading leaves,^(DD)
    like a garden without water.
³¹The mighty man will become tinder
    and his work a spark;
both will burn together,
    with no one to quench the fire.^(DE)”

The Mountain of the Lord^(DF)

2 This is what Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem:^(DG)

²In the last days^(DH)

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)

³Many peoples^(DM) will come and say,

“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)
⁴He 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.

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

The Day of the Lord

⁶You, Lord, have abandoned^(DX) your people,
    the descendants of Jacob.^(DY)
They are full of superstitions from the East;
    they practice divination^(DZ) like the Philistines^(EA)
    and embrace^(EB) pagan customs.^(EC)
⁷Their land is full of silver and gold;^(ED)
    there is no end to their treasures.^(EE)
Their land is full of horses;^(EF)
    there is no end to their chariots.^(EG)
⁸Their land is full of idols;^(EH)
    they bow down^(EI) to the work of their hands,^(EJ)
    to what their fingers^(EK) have made.
⁹So people will be brought low^(EL)
    and everyone humbled^(EM)—
    do not forgive them.^[c]^(EN)

¹⁰Go into the rocks, hide^(EO) in the ground
    from the fearful presence of the Lord
    and the splendor of his majesty!^(EP)
¹¹The 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)

¹²The 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)
¹³for all the cedars of Lebanon,^(FB) tall and lofty,^(FC)
    and all the oaks of Bashan,^(FD)
¹⁴for all the towering mountains
    and all the high hills,^(FE)
¹⁵for every lofty tower^(FF)
    and every fortified wall,^(FG)
¹⁶for every trading ship^[d]^(FH)
    and every stately vessel.
¹⁷The 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)

¹⁹People 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)
²⁰In 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)
²¹They 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)

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

Judgment on Jerusalem and Judah

3 See now, the Lord,
    the Lord Almighty,
is about to take from Jerusalem and Judah
    both supply and support:^(GD)
all supplies of food^(GE) and all supplies of water,^(GF)
²    the hero and the warrior,^(GG)
the judge and the prophet,
    the diviner^(GH) and the elder,^(GI)
³the captain of fifty^(GJ) and the man of rank,^(GK)
    the counselor, skilled craftsman^(GL) and clever enchanter.^(GM)

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

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

⁶A 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!”
⁷But 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)

⁸Jerusalem staggers,
    Judah is falling;^(GT)
their words^(GU) and deeds^(GV) are against the Lord,
    defying^(GW) his glorious presence.
⁹The 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.

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

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

¹³The Lord takes his place in court;^(HI)
    he rises to judge^(HJ) the people.
¹⁴The 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.
¹⁵What do you mean by crushing my people^(HN)
    and grinding^(HO) the faces of the poor?”^(HP)
declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty.^(HQ)

¹⁶The 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.
¹⁷Therefore the Lord will bring sores on the heads of the women of Zion;
    the Lord will make their scalps bald.^(HT)”

¹⁸In that day^(HU) the Lord will snatch away their finery: the bangles and headbands and crescent necklaces,^(HV) ¹⁹the earrings and bracelets^(HW) and veils,^(HX) ²⁰the headdresses^(HY) and anklets and sashes, the perfume bottles and charms, ²¹the signet rings and nose rings,^(HZ) ²²the fine robes and the capes and cloaks,^(IA) the purses ²³and mirrors, and the linen garments^(IB) and tiaras^(IC) and shawls.

²⁴Instead 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)
²⁵Your men will fall by the sword,^(IK)
    your warriors in battle.^(IL)
²⁶The gates^(IM) of Zion will lament and mourn;^(IN)
    destitute,^(IO) she will sit on the ground.^(IP)