The Sinful Nation of Judah

1 This is the special dream of Isaiah the son of Amoz, about Judah and Jerusalem, which he saw during the rule of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.

² Listen, O heavens, and hear, O earth, for the Lord has spoken: “I have brought up and have taken care of sons, but they have turned against Me. ³ An ox knows its owner. A donkey knows where to find the food its owner gives it. But Israel does not know. My people do not understand.” ⁴ O sinful nation, people weighed down with sin, children of those who do wrong, sons who act in a sinful way! They have left the Lord. They have hated the Holy One of Israel. They have turned away from Him.

⁵ Where will you be punished again, since you still fight against the Lord? Your whole head is sick, and your whole heart is weak. ⁶ From the bottom of the foot even to the head, there is no good part. There are only sores from beatings and open sores. They are not taken care of or covered or made soft with oil.

⁷ Your land lies waste. Your cities are burned with fire. Strangers are eating the food of your fields in front of you. It lies waste, as destroyed by strangers. ⁸ The people of Zion are left like a tent in a grape-field, like a watchman’s house in a vegetable field, like a city closed in by armies. ⁹ If the Lord of All had not left some people, we would have all been destroyed like those who lived in the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.

¹⁰ Hear the Word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom. Listen to the teaching of our God, you people of Gomorrah. ¹¹ “What are your many gifts given in worship to Me?” says the Lord. “I have had enough burnt gifts of rams and the fat of cattle. And I am not pleased with the blood of bulls, lambs, or goats. ¹² When you come to show yourselves before Me, who says you must walk and walk around My open spaces? ¹³ Do not bring your gifts of no worth any more. Your special perfume is a hated thing to Me. The new moon and Day of Rest, this calling together of the people, I cannot put up with. I cannot put up with your sin and your meetings of worship. ¹⁴ I hate your new moons and your special suppers. They have become heavy upon Me. I am tired of carrying them. ¹⁵ So when you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you. Even if you pray many times, I will not listen. Your hands are full of blood.

¹⁶ “Wash yourselves. Make yourselves clean. Take your sinful actions from My eyes. Stop doing sinful things. ¹⁷ Learn to do good. Look for what is right and fair. Speak strong words to those who make it hard for people. Stand up for the rights of those who have no parents. Help the woman whose husband has died. ¹⁸ “Come now, let us think about this together,” says the Lord. “Even though your sins are bright red, they will be as white as snow. Even though they are dark red, they will be like wool. ¹⁹ If you are willing and obey, you will eat the best of the land. ²⁰ But if you are not willing and turn against Me, you will be destroyed by the sword.” For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

The Sinful City

²¹ The faithful city has become like a woman who sells the use of her body. At one time she was full of what was right and fair! Those who are right and good lived in her, but now those who kill. ²² Your silver has lost its worth. Your wine is mixed with water. ²³ Your rulers have turned against what is right. They are the friends of robbers. Every one loves to get pay in secret for wrong-doing, and they run after gifts. They do not stand for the rights of those who have no parents. And they never hear the cry for help of the woman whose husband has died.

²⁴ So the Lord God of All, the Powerful One of Israel, says, “I will put an end to those who fight against Me. I will punish those who hate Me. ²⁵ I will turn My hand against you and burn what is of no worth in you. And I will take away from you all that is not pure. ²⁶ Then I will give you judges as at the first, and your wise men as at the beginning. After that you will be called the city that is right and good, a faithful city.”

²⁷ Zion will be saved by being fair. Those who are sorry for their sins and turn from them will be saved by being right and good. ²⁸ But wrong-doers and sinners will be crushed together. Those who turn away from the Lord will come to an end. ²⁹ For you will be ashamed of the oaks where you worshiped. You will be ashamed of the gardens you have chosen. ³⁰ For you will be like an oak tree whose leaf dries up, or like a garden that has no water. ³¹ The strong man will become easy to burn, and his work also a fire. They will burn together, and there will be no one to put the fire out.

The Mountain of the House of God

2 This is what Isaiah the son of Amoz saw about Judah and Jerusalem that was coming: ² In the last days, the mountain of the house of the Lord will be the most important of the mountains. It will be raised above the hills. All the nations will come to it. ³ Many people will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. Then He will teach us about His ways, that we may walk in His paths. For the Law will go out from Zion, and the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem.” ⁴ He will judge between the nations, and will decide for many people. And they will beat their swords into plows, and their spears into knives for cutting vines. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, and they will not learn about war anymore.

The Day of the Lord

⁵ Come, people of Jacob. Let us walk in the light of the Lord. ⁶ For You have left Your people, the family of Jacob, because they are filled with the sinful ways of the East. They use secret ways to tell the future like the Philistines. And they make agreements with the children of strangers. ⁷ Their land is filled with silver and gold. There is no end to their riches. Their land is filled with horses also. And there is no end to their war-wagons. ⁸ Their land is filled with false gods. They worship the work of their hands, that which their fingers have made. ⁹ So pride has been taken away from the poor man, and important men have been put to shame. Do not forgive them. ¹⁰ Go into the rock and hide in the dust from the anger of the Lord and from the shining-greatness of His power. ¹¹ The proud look of man will be put to shame. The pride of men will be taken away. And the Lord alone will be honored in that day.

¹² On that day the Lord of All will be against everyone who is proud and feels important, and against all who are honored. They will be put to shame. ¹³ He will be against all the cedar trees of Lebanon that are tall and honored, and against all the oak trees of Bashan. ¹⁴ He will be against all the high mountains, against all the high hills, ¹⁵ against every high tower, and against every strong wall. ¹⁶ He will be against all the ships of Tarshish, and against all the beautiful boats. ¹⁷ The pride of man will be taken away. What men honor will be put to shame. The Lord alone will be honored in that day. ¹⁸ All the false gods will be gone. ¹⁹ Men will go into the caves of the rocks and into holes of the earth because of the anger of the Lord and the shining-greatness of His power when He rises up to shake the earth. ²⁰ In that day men will take their false gods of silver and gold which they made for themselves to worship and will throw them away to the moles and the bats. ²¹ They will go into the caves of the rocks and mountains. They will try to hide from the anger of the Lord and from the shining-greatness of His power, when He rises up to shake the earth. ²² Stop trusting in man. He has only a breath in his nose. Why should he be honored?

God Will Remove the Leaders of Judah

3 See, the Lord, the Lord God of All, is going to take away from Jerusalem and Judah all they have to keep themselves alive and safe, all the bread and all the water. ² He will take away the strong man, the man of war, the man who judges, the man who tells what will happen in the future, the man who uses secret ways, and the leader. ³ He will take away the captain of fifty, the man of honor, the wise man, the able workman, and the one who uses secret powers. ⁴ I will make boys their rulers. Foolish children will rule over them. ⁵ The people will make it hard for each other. Each one will hurt the other, and each one will be hurt by his neighbor. The younger will show anger toward the older. And the man who is not respected will show anger toward the man of honor.

⁶ A man will take hold of his brother in his father’s house, saying, “You have a coat. You will be our ruler. This destroyed city will be under your rule.” ⁷ In that day he will call out, “I can not be of help to you. For in my house there is no bread or coat. You should not choose me to be ruler of the people.” ⁸ For Jerusalem has no strength, and Judah has fallen, because their speaking and their actions are against the Lord. They have turned against His shining-greatness. ⁹ The look on their faces speaks against them. They show their sin like Sodom. They do not even hide it. It is bad for them! For they have brought trouble upon themselves. ¹⁰ Tell those who are right and good that it will go well for them. For they will enjoy the fruit of what they do. ¹¹ It will be bad for the sinful man! It will not go well for him, for what he has done will be done to him. ¹² O My people! Children make it hard for them. And women rule over them. O My people! Your leaders lead you in the wrong way. You do not know which path to take.

The Lord Will Judge His People

¹³ The Lord is ready to say what He thinks and stands to judge the people. ¹⁴ The Lord judges the leaders and rulers of His people: “It is you who have destroyed the grape-field. What had belonged to the poor is in your houses. ¹⁵ What do you mean by crushing My people, and grinding the faces of the poor?” says the Lord God of All.

Women of Jerusalem Will Suffer

¹⁶ The Lord said, “The daughters of Zion are proud. They walk with heads held high and a wrong desire in their eyes. They walk with short steps, making noise with the chains on their ankles. ¹⁷ So the Lord will make sores come upon the heads of the daughters of Zion, and take the hair from their head. ¹⁸ In that day the Lord will take away the beauty of their ankle chains, headbands, moon-like objects, ¹⁹ rings worn on their ears and arms, face-coverings, ²⁰ head-dresses, leg-chains, wide belts, perfume boxes, objects with secret powers, ²¹ finger rings, nose rings, ²² bright clothing, coats, money-bags, ²³ hand mirrors, underclothes, head-coverings, and face-coverings. ²⁴ Instead of sweet perfume there will be a bad smell. Instead of a belt there will be a rope. Instead of well set hair there will be no hair. Instead of fine clothes they will wear cloth made from hair. And there will be burnt marks instead of beauty. ²⁵ Your men will fall by the sword. Your strong ones will fall in battle. ²⁶ Jerusalem’s gates will be filled with sorrow. She will sit on the ground, laid waste and empty.

Jerusalem to Have Its Shining-Greatness Again

4 Seven women will take hold of one man in that day, saying, “We will eat our own bread and wear our own clothes. Only let us be called by your name. Take away our shame!”

² In that day the Branch of the Lord will be beautiful and shining with greatness. The fruit of the earth will be the pride and the beauty of those of Israel who are still alive. ³ He who is left in Zion and stays in Jerusalem will be called holy, everyone who has been written down among the living in Jerusalem. ⁴ The Lord will wash away the sin of the daughters of Zion. He will wash away the blood that was shed in Jerusalem, by the spirit of punishment and the spirit of fire. ⁵ Then the Lord will cover the whole land of Mount Zion and her people with a cloud of smoke during the day, and a bright fire that shines during the night. The Lord’s shining-greatness will cover everything. ⁶ It will be a covering from the heat during the day and it will keep the people safe from the storm and the rain.