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Isaiah 1-4
Common English Bible
Isaiah 1-4
Common English Bible
1 The vision about Judah and Jerusalem that Isaiah, Amoz’s son, saw in the days of Judah’s kings Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah.
Rebels condemned
2 Hear you heavens, and listen earth,
for the Lord has spoken:
I reared children; I raised them,
and they turned against me!
3 An ox knows its owner,
and a donkey its master’s feeding trough.
But Israel doesn’t know;
my people don’t behave intelligently.
4 Doom! Sinful nation, people weighed down with crimes,
evildoing offspring, corrupt children!
They have abandoned the Lord,
despised the holy one of Israel;
they turned their backs on God.
5 Why do you invite further beatings?
Why continue to rebel?
Everyone’s head throbs,
and everyone’s heart fails.
6 From head to toe, none are well—
only bruises, cuts, and raw wounds,
not treated, not bandaged,
not soothed with oil.
7 Your country is deserted,
your cities burned with fire;
your land—strangers are devouring it in plain sight.
It’s a wasteland, as when foreigners raid.
8 Daughter Zion is left like a small shelter in a vineyard,
like a hut in a cucumber field,
like a city besieged.[a]
9 If the Lord of heavenly forces had not spared a few of us,
we would be like Sodom; we would resemble Gomorrah.
Hands filled with bloodshed
10 Hear the Lord’s word, you leaders of Sodom.
Listen to our God’s teaching,
people of Gomorrah!
11 What should I think about all your sacrifices?
says the Lord.
I’m fed up with entirely burned offerings of rams
and the fat of well-fed beasts.
I don’t want the blood of bulls, lambs, and goats.
12 When you come to appear before me,
who asked this from you,
this trampling of my temple’s courts?
13 Stop bringing worthless offerings.
Your incense repulses me.
New moon, sabbath, and the calling of an assembly—
I can’t stand wickedness with celebration!
14 I hate your new moons and your festivals.
They’ve become a burden that I’m tired of bearing.
15 When you extend your hands,
I’ll hide my eyes from you.
Even when you pray for a long time,
I won’t listen.
Your hands are stained with blood.
16 Wash! Be clean!
Remove your ugly deeds from my sight.
Put an end to such evil;
17 learn to do good.
Seek justice:
help the oppressed;[b]
defend the orphan;
plead for the widow.
18 Come now, and let’s settle this,
says the Lord.
Though your sins are like scarlet,
they will be white as snow.
If they are red as crimson,
they will become like wool.
19 If you agree and obey,
you will eat the best food of the land.
20 But if you refuse and rebel,
you will be devoured by the sword.
The Lord has said this.
Zion will be redeemed
21 This faithful town has become a prostitute!
She was full of justice;
righteousness lived in her—
but now murderers.
22 Your silver has become impure;
your beer is diluted with water.
23 Your princes are rebels,
companions of thieves.
Everyone loves a bribe and pursues gifts.
They don’t defend the orphan,
and the widow’s cause never reaches them.
24 Therefore, says the Lord God of heavenly forces,
the mighty one of Israel:
Doom! I will vent my anger against my foes;
I will take it out on my enemies,
25 and I will turn my hand against you.
I will refine your impurities as with lye,
and remove all your cinders.
26 Then I will restore your judges as in earlier times,
and your counselors as at the beginning.
After this you will be called Righteous City, Faithful Town.
27 Zion will be redeemed by justice,
and those who change their lives by righteousness.
28 But God will shatter rebels and sinners alike;
those who abandon the Lord will be finished.
29 You will be ashamed of the oaks you once desired,
and embarrassed by the gardens you once chose.
30 You will be like an oak with withering leaves,
like a garden without water.
31 The strong will be like dry twigs,
their deeds like sparks;
the two will burn together,
with no one to extinguish them.
The Lord’s mountain
2 This is what Isaiah, Amoz’s son, saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
2 In the days to come
the mountain of the Lord’s house
will be the highest of the mountains.
It will be lifted above the hills;
peoples will stream to it.
3 Many nations will go and say,
“Come, let’s go up to the Lord’s mountain,
to the house of Jacob’s God
so that he may teach us his ways
and we may walk in God’s paths.”
Instruction will come from Zion;
the Lord’s word from Jerusalem.
4 God will judge between the nations,
and settle disputes of mighty nations.
Then they will beat their swords into iron plows
and their spears into pruning tools.
Nation will not take up sword against nation;
they will no longer learn how to make war.
5 Come, house of Jacob,
let’s walk by the Lord’s light.
Everyone is brought low
6 You have abandoned your people,
house of Jacob.
They are full of sorcerers from the east and fortune-tellers like the Philistines;
they hold hands with foreigners’ children.[c]
7 Their land is full of silver and gold;
they have countless treasures.
Their land is filled with horses;
they have countless chariots.
8 Their land is filled with idols;
they worship their handiwork,
what their own fingers have made.
9 Humanity will be brought down;
each person laid low—don’t lift them up![d]
10 Go into the rocks,
and hide yourself in the dust from the terror of the Lord,
from the splendor of God’s majesty!
11 People’s proud gazing will be stopped
and humanity’s arrogance brought down;
the Lord alone will be exalted on that day.
12 The Lord of heavenly forces has planned a day:
against all that is prideful and haughty;
against all that is lofty, and it will be laid low;[e]
13 against all the cedars of Lebanon, high and lofty;
against all the oaks of Bashan;
14 against all the high mountains;
against all the lofty hills;
15 against every tall tower;
against every fortified wall;
16 against all the ships of Tarshish;
against all the wonderful boats.[f]
17 People’s pride will be brought down
and human arrogance humiliated.
The Lord alone will be exalted on that day;
18 the idols will completely pass away.
19 Go into caves in the rocks
and holes in the dust
before the terror of the Lord
and the splendor of God’s majesty,
when he arises to terrify the earth.
20 On that day, people will toss
to the rodents[g] and to the bats
their idols of silver and idols of gold,
which they made for themselves to worship.
21 They will hide in fissures of rocks and in crevices of cliffs
before the terror of the Lord
and the splendor of God’s majesty
when he arises to terrify the earth.
22 Quit admiring the human race,
who breathe through their nostrils.
Why should they be admired?
Your leaders mislead you
3 Now the Lord God of heavenly forces is removing from Jerusalem and from Judah every form of support:
all rations of food and water;
2 soldier and warrior;
judge and prophet;
fortune-teller and elder;
3 commander and celebrity;
counselor, clever craftsman, and cunning charmer.
4 I will make youths their commanders;
mischief makers will rule over them.
5 The people will oppress each other,
each one against the other, neighbor against neighbor.
The young will bully the old,
the rogue, and the respectable.
6 Someone will seize a family member, saying, “You have clothing! You be our leader!
This mess will be your responsibility!”
7 Someone else will cry out on that day,
“I’m no healer!
I have neither food nor clothing in my house!
Don’t make me the leader of the people!”
8 Yes, Jerusalem has stumbled
and Judah has fallen,
because the way they talk and act in word and deed insults the Lord,
defying his brilliant glory.
9 Their bias in judgment gives them away;
like Sodom, they display their sins in public.
Doom to them, for they have done themselves in!
10 Tell the righteous how blessed they are;
they will eat the fruit of their labors.
11 Doom to the wicked; they are evil.
What they have done will be done to them.
12 As for my people—oppressors strip them
and swindlers[h] rule them.
My people—your leaders mislead you and confuse your paths.
13 The Lord arises to accuse;
he stands to judge the peoples.
14 The Lord will enter into judgment
with the elders and princes of his people:
You yourselves have devoured the vineyard;
the goods stolen from the poor are in your houses.
15 How dare you crush my people
and grind the faces of the poor?
says the Lord God of heavenly forces.
16 The Lord says:
Because Zion’s daughters applaud themselves,
walking with their chins in the air,
flirting with their eyes,
tiptoeing as they walk, feet jingling—
17 the Lord will shave the heads of Zion’s daughters,
and will expose their scalps.
18 On that day, the Lord will remove:
the splendid ankle chains; headbands and moon-shaped pendants;
19 the earrings, bracelets, and veils;
20 the hats, bangles, and sashes;
the amulets and charms;
21 the signet rings and nose rings;
22 the robes and capes;
the shawls and handbags;
23 the mirrors and linen garments;
the turbans and the veils.
24 Instead of perfume there will be a disgusting odor;
instead of a sash, a rope;
instead of styled hair, shaved heads;
instead of expensive clothes, rags as mourning clothes;
instead of beauty, shame.[i]
25 Your men will fall by the sword,
your warriors in battle!
26 Her gates will lament and mourn;
desolate, she will sit on the ground.
4 Seven women will grab one man on that day, saying, “We will eat our own bread and wear our own clothes—only let us take your name; take away our disgrace.”
Zion’s glorious future
2 On that day, the Lord’s branch will become beautiful and glorious. The earth’s fruit will be the pride and splendor of Israel’s survivors. 3 Whoever remains in Zion and is left in Jerusalem will be called holy, everyone who is on the list of those living in Jerusalem. 4 When the Lord washes the filth from Zion’s daughters, and cleanses Jerusalem’s bloodguilt from within it by means of a wind of judgment and a searing wind, 5 then the Lord will create over the whole site of Mount Zion and over its assembly a cloud by day and smoke and the light of a blazing fire by night. Over all the glory there will be a canopy, 6 which will be a booth by day for shade from the heat and a hiding place and shelter from a stormy downpour.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 1:8 LXX, Vulg; MT spared
- Isaiah 1:17 LXX, Vulg; MT lead the oppressor
- Isaiah 2:6 Heb uncertain
- Isaiah 2:9 Or don’t forgive them
- Isaiah 2:12 LXX and high
- Isaiah 2:16 Heb uncertain
- Isaiah 2:20 Heb uncertain
- Isaiah 3:12 LXX; MT women
- Isaiah 3:24 DSS (1QIsaa); MT lacks shame.
Isaiah 1-4
New International Version
Isaiah 1-4
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
2 Hear 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.
3 The ox knows(L) its master,
the donkey its owner’s manger,(M)
but Israel does not know,(N)
my people do not understand.(O)”
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)
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 of the Lord(DF)
2 This is what Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem:(DG)
2 In 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)
3 Many 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)
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.
The Day of the Lord
6 You, 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)
7 Their 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)
8 Their land is full of idols;(EH)
they bow down(EI) to the work of their hands,(EJ)
to what their fingers(EK) have made.
9 So people will be brought low(EL)
and everyone humbled(EM)—
do not forgive them.[c](EN)
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)
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)
3 the 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)
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)”
18 In that day(HU) the Lord will snatch away their finery: the bangles and headbands and crescent necklaces,(HV) 19 the earrings and bracelets(HW) and veils,(HX) 20 the headdresses(HY) and anklets and sashes, the perfume bottles and charms, 21 the signet rings and nose rings,(HZ) 22 the fine robes and the capes and cloaks,(IA) the purses 23 and mirrors, and the linen garments(IB) and tiaras(IC) and shawls.
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)
4 1 In that day(IQ) seven women
will take hold of one man(IR)
and say, “We will eat our own food(IS)
and provide our own clothes;
only let us be called by your name.
Take away our disgrace!”(IT)
The Branch of the Lord
2 In that day(IU) the Branch of the Lord(IV) will be beautiful(IW) and glorious, and the fruit(IX) of the land will be the pride and glory(IY) of the survivors(IZ) in Israel. 3 Those who are left in Zion,(JA) who remain(JB) in Jerusalem, will be called holy,(JC) all who are recorded(JD) among the living in Jerusalem. 4 The Lord will wash away the filth(JE) of the women of Zion;(JF) he will cleanse(JG) the bloodstains(JH) from Jerusalem by a spirit[e] of judgment(JI) and a spirit[f] of fire.(JJ) 5 Then the Lord will create(JK) over all of Mount Zion(JL) and over those who assemble there a cloud of smoke by day and a glow of flaming fire by night;(JM) over everything the glory[g](JN) will be a canopy.(JO) 6 It will be a shelter(JP) and shade from the heat of the day, and a refuge(JQ) and hiding place from the storm(JR) and rain.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 1:17 Or justice. / Correct the oppressor
- Isaiah 1:25 That is, against Jerusalem
- Isaiah 2:9 Or not raise them up
- Isaiah 2:16 Hebrew every ship of Tarshish
- Isaiah 4:4 Or the Spirit
- Isaiah 4:4 Or the Spirit
- Isaiah 4:5 Or over all the glory there
Common English Bible (CEB)
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible
New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.