1These are the visions that Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. He saw these visions during the years when Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah were kings of Judah.H2377H3470H1121H531H2372H3063H3389H3117H5818H3147H271H3169H4428H3063
A Message for Rebellious Judah
2Listen, O heavens! Pay attention, earth! This is what the Lord says. “The children I raised and cared for have rebelled against me.H8085H8064H238H776H3068H1696H1431H7311H1121H65863Even an ox knows its owner, and a donkey recognizes its master’s care—but Israel doesn’t know its master. My people don’t recognize my care for them.”H7794H3045H7069H2543H1167H18H3478H3045H5971H9954Oh, what a sinful nation they are—loaded down with a burden of guilt. They are evil people, corrupt children who have rejected the Lord. They have despised the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on him.H1945H2398H1471H5971H3515H5771H2233H7489H1121H7843H5800H853H3068H5006H853H6918H3478H5006H2114H2685Why do you continue to invite punishment? Must you rebel forever? Your head is injured, and your heart is sick.H5221H5627H3254H7218H2483H3824H17426You are battered from head to foot—covered with bruises, welts, and infected wounds—without any soothing ointments or bandages.H3709H7272H7218H4974H6482H2250H2961H4347H2115H2280H7401H80817Your country lies in ruins, and your towns are burned. Foreigners plunder your fields before your eyes and destroy everything they see.H776H8077H5892H8313H784H127H2114H398H8077H4114H21148Beautiful Jerusalem stands abandoned like a watchman’s shelter in a vineyard, like a lean-to in a cucumber field after the harvest, like a helpless city under siege.H1323H6726H3498H5521H3754H4412H4750H5341H58929If the Lord of Heaven’s Armies had not spared a few of us, we would have been wiped out like Sodom, destroyed like Gomorrah.H3884H3068H6635H3498H4592H8300H1961H5467H1819H601710Listen to the Lord, you leaders of “Sodom.” Listen to the law of our God, people of “Gomorrah.”H8085H1697H3068H7101H5467H238H8451H430H5971H601711“What makes you think I want all your sacrifices?” says the Lord. “I am sick of your burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fattened cattle. I get no pleasure from the blood of bulls and lambs and goats.H4100H7230H2077H559H3068H7646H5930H352H2459H4806H2654H1818H6499H3532H626012When you come to worship me, who asked you to parade through my courts with all your ceremony?H935H7200H6440H1245H3027H7429H269113Stop bringing me your meaningless gifts; the incense of your offerings disgusts me! As for your celebrations of the new moon and the Sabbath and your special days for fasting—they are all sinful and false. I want no more of your pious meetings.H935H3254H7723H4503H7004H8441H2320H7676H7121H4744H3201H205H611614I hate your new moon celebrations and your annual festivals. They are a burden to me. I cannot stand them!H2320H4150H5315H8130H2960H3811H537515When you lift up your hands in prayer, I will not look. Though you offer many prayers, I will not listen, for your hands are covered with the blood of innocent victims.H6566H3709H5956H5869H7235H8605H8085H3027H4390H181816Wash yourselves and be clean! Get your sins out of my sight. Give up your evil ways.H7364H2135H5493H7455H4611H5048H5869H2308H748917Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed. Defend the cause of orphans. Fight for the rights of widows.H3925H3190H1875H4941H833H2541H8199H3490H7378H49018“Come now, let’s settle this,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them as white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, I will make them as white as wool.H3212H3198H559H3068H2399H8144H3835H7950H119H8438H678519If you will only obey me, you will have plenty to eat.H14H8085H398H2898H77620But if you turn away and refuse to listen, you will be devoured by the sword of your enemies. I, the Lord, have spoken!”H3985H4784H398H2719H6310H3068H1696
Unfaithful Jerusalem
21See how Jerusalem, once so faithful, has become a prostitute. Once the home of justice and righteousness, she is now filled with murderers.H539H7151H2181H4392H4941H6664H3885H752322Once like pure silver, you have become like worthless slag. Once so pure, you are now like watered-down wine.H3701H5509H5435H4107H432523Your leaders are rebels, the companions of thieves. All of them love bribes and demand payoffs, but they refuse to defend the cause of orphans or fight for the rights of widows.H8269H5637H2270H1590H157H7810H7291H8021H8199H3490H7379H490H93524Therefore, the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the Mighty One of Israel, says, “I will take revenge on my enemies and pay back my foes!H5002H113H3068H6635H46H3478H1945H5162H6862H5358H34125I will raise my fist against you. I will melt you down and skim off your slag. I will remove all your impurities.H7725H3027H1253H6884H5509H5493H91326Then I will give you good judges again and wise counselors like you used to have. Then Jerusalem will again be called the Home of Justice and the Faithful City.”H7725H8199H7223H3289H8462H310H7121H5892H6664H539H715127Zion will be restored by justice; those who repent will be revived by righteousness.H6726H6299H4941H7725H666628But rebels and sinners will be completely destroyed, and those who desert the Lord will be consumed.H7667H6586H2400H3162H5800H3068H361529You will be ashamed of your idol worship in groves of sacred oaks. You will blush because you worshiped in gardens dedicated to idols.H954H352H2530H2659H1593H97730You will be like a great tree with withered leaves, like a garden without water.H424H5929H5034H1593H432531The strongest among you will disappear like straw; their evil deeds will be the spark that sets it on fire. They and their evil works will burn up together, and no one will be able to put out the fire.H2634H5296H6467H5213H8147H1197H3162H3518
Isaiah 2
The Lord’s Future Reign
2This is a vision that Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.H1697H3470H1121H531H2372H3063H33892In the last days, the mountain of the Lord’s house will be the highest of all—the most important place on earth. It will be raised above the other hills, and people from all over the world will stream there to worship.H319H3117H2022H3068H1004H3559H7218H2022H5375H1389H1471H51023People from many nations will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of Jacob’s God. There he will teach us his ways, and we will walk in his paths.” For the Lord’s teaching will go out from Zion; his word will go out from Jerusalem.H7227H5971H1980H559H3212H5927H2022H3068H1004H430H3290H3384H1870H3212H734H6726H3318H8451H1697H3068H33894The Lord will mediate between nations and will settle international disputes. They will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will no longer fight against nation, nor train for war anymore.H8199H1471H3198H7227H5971H3807H2719H855H2595H4211H1471H5375H2719H1471H3925H4421
A Warning of Judgment
5Come, descendants of Jacob, let us walk in the light of the Lord!H1004H3290H3212H3212H216H30686For the Lord has rejected his people, the descendants of Jacob, because they have filled their land with practices from the East and with sorcerers, as the Philistines do. They have made alliances with pagans.H5203H5971H1004H3290H4390H6924H6049H6430H5606H3206H52377Israel is full of silver and gold; there is no end to its treasures. Their land is full of warhorses; there is no end to its chariots.H776H4390H3701H2091H7097H214H776H4390H5483H7097H48188Their land is full of idols; the people worship things they have made with their own hands.H776H4390H457H7812H4639H3027H676H62139So now they will be humbled, and all will be brought low—do not forgive them.H120H7817H376H8213H537510Crawl into caves in the rocks. Hide in the dust from the terror of the Lord and the glory of his majesty.H935H6697H2934H6083H6440H6343H3068H1926H134711Human pride will be brought down, and human arrogance will be humbled. Only the Lord will be exalted on that day of judgment.H1365H5869H120H8213H7312H582H7817H3068H7682H311712For the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has a day of reckoning. He will punish the proud and mighty and bring down everything that is exalted.H3117H3068H6635H1343H7311H5375H821313He will cut down the tall cedars of Lebanon and all the mighty oaks of Bashan.H730H3844H7311H5375H437H131614He will level all the high mountains and all the lofty hills.H7311H2022H1389H537515He will break down every high tower and every fortified wall.H1364H4026H1219H234616He will destroy all the great trading ships and every magnificent vessel.H591H8659H2532H791417Human pride will be humbled, and human arrogance will be brought down. Only the Lord will be exalted on that day of judgment.H1365H120H7817H7312H582H8213H3068H7682H311718Idols will completely disappear.H457H3632H249819When the Lord rises to shake the earth, his enemies will crawl into holes in the ground. They will hide in caves in the rocks from the terror of the Lord and the glory of his majesty.H935H4631H6697H4247H6083H6440H6343H3068H1926H1347H6965H6206H77620On that day of judgment they will abandon the gold and silver idols they made for themselves to worship. They will leave their gods to the rodents and bats,H3117H120H7993H457H3701H457H2091H6213H7812H2661H6512H584721while they crawl away into caverns and hide among the jagged rocks in the cliffs. They will try to escape the terror of the Lord and the glory of his majesty as he rises to shake the earth.H935H5366H6697H5585H5553H6440H6343H3068H1926H1347H6965H6206H77622Don’t put your trust in mere humans. They are as frail as breath. What good are they?H2308H120H5397H639H2803
Isaiah 3
Judgment against Judah
3The Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, will take away from Jerusalem and Judah everything they depend on. every bit of bread and every drop of water,H113H3068H6635H5493H3389H3063H4937H4938H4937H3899H3605H4937H43252all their heroes and soldiers, judges and prophets, fortune-tellers and elders,H1368H376H4421H8199H5030H7080H22053army officers and high officials, advisers, skilled craftsmen, and astrologers.H8269H2572H5375H6440H3289H2450H2791H995H39084I will make boys their leaders, and toddlers their rulers.H5414H5288H8269H8586H49105People will oppress each other—man against man, neighbor against neighbor. Young people will insult their elders, and vulgar people will sneer at the honorable.H5971H5065H376H376H376H7453H5288H7292H2205H7034H35136In those days a man will say to his brother, “Since you have a coat, you be our leader! Take charge of this heap of ruins!”H376H8610H251H1004H1H8071H7101H4384H30277But he will reply, “No! I can’t help. I don’t have any extra food or clothes. Don’t put me in charge!”H3117H5375H559H2280H1004H3899H8071H7760H7101H59718For Jerusalem will stumble, and Judah will fall, because they speak out against the Lord and refuse to obey him. They provoke him to his face.H3389H3782H3063H5307H3956H4611H3068H4784H5869H35199The very look on their faces gives them away. They display their sin like the people of Sodom and don’t even try to hide it. They are doomed! They have brought destruction upon themselves.H1971H6440H6030H5046H2403H5467H3582H188H5315H1580H745110Tell the godly that all will be well for them. They will enjoy the rich reward they have earned!H559H6662H2896H398H6529H461111But the wicked are doomed, for they will get exactly what they deserve.H188H7563H7451H1576H3027H621312Childish leaders oppress my people, and women rule over them. O my people, your leaders mislead you; they send you down the wrong road.H5971H5953H5065H802H4910H5971H833H8582H1104H1870H73413The Lord takes his place in court and presents his case against his people!H3068H5324H7378H5975H1777H597114The Lord comes forward to pronounce judgment on the elders and rulers of his people. “You have ruined Israel, my vineyard. Your houses are filled with things stolen from the poor.H3068H935H4941H2205H5971H8269H1197H3754H1500H6041H100415How dare you crush my people, grinding the faces of the poor into the dust?” demands the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.H1792H5971H1792H2912H6440H6041H5002H136H3069H6635
A Warning to Jerusalem
16The Lord says, “Beautiful Zion is haughty. craning her elegant neck, flirting with her eyes, walking with dainty steps, tinkling her ankle bracelets.H3068H559H3282H1323H6726H1361H3212H5186H1627H8265H5869H1980H2952H3212H5913H727217So the Lord will send scabs on her head; the Lord will make beautiful Zion bald.”H136H5596H6936H1323H6726H3068H6168H659618On that day of judgment the Lord will strip away everything that makes her beautiful. ornaments, headbands, crescent necklaces,H3117H136H5493H8597H5914H7636H772019earrings, bracelets, and veils;H5188H8285H747920scarves, ankle bracelets, sashes, perfumes, and charms;H6287H6807H7196H5315H1004H390821rings, jewels,H2885H639H514122party clothes, gowns, capes, and purses;H4254H4595H4304H275423mirrors, fine linen garments, head ornaments, and shawls.H1549H5466H6797H728924Instead of smelling of sweet perfume, she will stink. She will wear a rope for a sash, and her elegant hair will fall out. She will wear rough burlap instead of rich robes. Shame will replace her beauty.H1314H4716H2290H5364H4639H4748H7144H6614H4228H8242H3587H330825The men of the city will be killed with the sword, and her warriors will die in battle.H4962H5307H2719H1369H442126The gates of Zion will weep and mourn. The city will be like a ravaged woman, huddled on the ground.H6607H578H56H5352H3427H776
Isaiah 4
4In that day so few men will be left that seven women will fight for each man, saying, “Let us all marry you! We will provide our own food and clothing. Only let us take your name so we won’t be mocked as old maids.”H3117H7651H802H2388H259H376H559H398H3899H3847H8071H7121H8034H622H2781
A Promise of Restoration
2But in that day, the branch of the Lord will be beautiful and glorious; the fruit of the land will be the pride and glory of all who survive in Israel.H3117H6780H3068H6643H3519H6529H776H1347H8597H6413H34783All who remain in Zion will be a holy people—those who survive the destruction of Jerusalem and are recorded among the living.H7604H6726H3498H3389H559H6918H3789H2416H33894The Lord will wash the filth from beautiful Zion and cleanse Jerusalem of its bloodstains with the hot breath of fiery judgment.H136H7364H6675H1323H6726H1740H1818H3389H7130H7307H4941H7307H11975Then the Lord will provide shade for Mount Zion and all who assemble there. He will provide a canopy of cloud during the day and smoke and flaming fire at night, covering the glorious land.H3068H1254H4349H2022H6726H4744H6051H6227H3119H5051H3852H784H3915H3519H26466It will be a shelter from daytime heat and a hiding place from storms and rain.H5521H6738H3119H2721H4268H4563H2230H4306
Psalms 109
109[For the choir director: A psalm of David.] O God, whom I praise, don’t stand silent and aloofH5329H4210H1732H2790H430H84162while the wicked slander me and tell lies about me.H6310H7563H6310H4820H6605H1696H8267H39563They surround me with hateful words and fight against me for no reason.H5437H1697H8135H3898H26004I love them, but they try to destroy me with accusations even as I am praying for them!H160H7853H86055They repay evil for good, and hatred for my love.H7760H7451H2896H8135H1606They say, “Get an evil person to turn against him. Send an accuser to bring him to trial.H6485H7563H7854H5975H32257When his case comes up for judgment, let him be pronounced guilty. Count his prayers as sins.H8199H3318H7563H8605H24018Let his years be few; let someone else take his position.H3117H4592H312H3947H64869May his children become fatherless, and his wife a widow.H1121H3490H802H49010May his children wander as beggars and be driven from their ruined homes.H1121H5128H5128H7592H1875H272311May creditors seize his entire estate, and strangers take all he has earned.H5383H5367H2114H962H301812Let no one be kind to him; let no one pity his fatherless children.H4900H2617H2603H349013May all his offspring die. May his family name be blotted out in a single generation.H319H3772H1755H312H8034H422914May the Lord never forget the sins of his fathers; may his mother’s sins never be erased from the record.H5771H1H2142H3068H2403H517H422915May the Lord always remember these sins, and may his name disappear from human memory.H3068H8548H3772H2143H77616For he refused all kindness to others; he persecuted the poor and needy, and he hounded the brokenhearted to death.H2142H6213H2617H7291H6041H34H376H4191H3512H382417He loved to curse others; now you curse him. He never blessed others; now don’t you bless him.H157H7045H935H2654H1293H736818Cursing is as natural to him as his clothing, or the water he drinks, or the rich food he eats.H3847H7045H4055H935H7130H4325H8081H610619Now may his curses return and cling to him like clothing; may they be tied around him like a belt.”H899H5844H4206H2296H854820May those curses become the Lord’s punishment for my accusers who speak evil of me.H6468H7853H3068H1696H7451H531521But deal well with me, O Sovereign Lord, for the sake of your own reputation! Rescue me because you are so faithful and good.H6213H3069H136H8034H2617H2896H533722For I am poor and needy, and my heart is full of pain.H6041H34H3820H2490H713023I am fading like a shadow at dusk; I am brushed off like a locust.H1980H6738H5186H5287H69724My knees are weak from fasting, and I am skin and bones.H1290H3782H6685H1320H3584H808125I am a joke to people everywhere; when they see me, they shake their heads in scorn.H2781H7200H5128H721826Help me, O Lord my God! Save me because of your unfailing love.H5826H3068H430H3467H261727Let them see that this is your doing, that you yourself have done it, Lord.H3045H3027H3068H621328Then let them curse me if they like, but you will bless me! When they attack me, they will be disgraced! But I, your servant, will go right on rejoicing!H7043H1288H6965H954H5650H805529May my accusers be clothed with disgrace; may their humiliation cover them like a cloak.H7853H3847H3639H5844H1322H459830But I will give repeated thanks to the Lord, praising him to everyone.H3966H3034H3068H6310H1984H8432H722731For he stands beside the needy, ready to save them from those who condemn them.H5975H3225H34H3467H8199H5315
Dublin, OH
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