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The Song of the Unfruitful Vineyard

I will sing for my beloved
    my love song concerning his vineyard:
My beloved had a vineyard
    on a very fertile hill.(A)
He dug it and cleared it of stones
    and planted it with choice vines;
he built a watchtower in the midst of it
    and hewed out a wine vat in it;
he expected it to yield grapes,
    but it yielded rotten grapes.(B)

And now, inhabitants of Jerusalem
    and people of Judah,
judge between me
    and my vineyard.(C)
What more was there to do for my vineyard
    that I have not done in it?
When I expected it to yield grapes,
    why did it yield rotten grapes?(D)

And now I will tell you
    what I will do to my vineyard.
I will remove its hedge,
    and it shall be devoured;
I will break down its wall,
    and it shall be trampled down.(E)
I will make it a wasteland;
    it shall not be pruned or hoed,
    and it shall be overgrown with briers and thorns;
I will also command the clouds
    that they rain no rain upon it.(F)

For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts
    is the house of Israel,
and the people of Judah
    are his cherished garden;
he expected justice
    but saw bloodshed;
righteousness
    but heard a cry!(G)

Social Injustice Denounced

Woe to those who join house to house,
    who add field to field,
until there is room for no one,
    and you are left to live alone
    in the midst of the land!(H)
The Lord of hosts has sworn in my hearing:
Surely many houses shall be desolate,
    large and beautiful houses, without inhabitant.(I)
10 For ten acres of vineyard shall yield but one bath,
    and a homer of seed shall yield a mere ephah.[a](J)

11 Woe to those who rise early in the morning
    in pursuit of strong drink,
who linger in the evening
    to be inflamed by wine,(K)
12 whose feasts consist of lyre and harp,
    tambourine and flute and wine,
but who do not regard the deeds of the Lord
    or see the work of his hands!(L)
13 Therefore my people go into exile for lack of knowledge;
their nobles are dying of hunger,
    and their multitude is parched with thirst.(M)

14 Therefore Sheol has enlarged its appetite
    and opened its mouth beyond measure;
the nobility of Jerusalem[b] and her multitude go down,
    her throng and all who exult in her.(N)
15 People are bowed down, everyone is brought low,
    and the eyes of the haughty are humbled.(O)
16 But the Lord of hosts is exalted by justice,
    and the Holy God shows himself holy by righteousness.(P)
17 Then the lambs shall graze as in their pasture;
    fatted calves and kids[c] shall feed among the ruins.

18 Woe to those who drag iniquity along with cords of falsehood,
    who drag sin along as with cart ropes,(Q)
19 who say, “Let him make haste;
    let him speed his work
    that we may see it;
let the plan of the Holy One of Israel hasten to fulfillment,
    that we may know it!”(R)
20 Woe to those who call evil good
    and good evil,
who put darkness for light
    and light for darkness,
who put bitter for sweet
    and sweet for bitter!(S)
21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes
    and shrewd in their own sight!(T)
22 Woe to those who are heroes in drinking wine
    and valiant at mixing drink,(U)
23 who acquit the guilty for a bribe
    and deprive the innocent of their rights!(V)

Foreign Invasion Predicted

24 Therefore, as the tongue of fire devours the stubble
    and as dry grass sinks down in the flame,
so their root will become rotten,
    and their blossom go up like dust,
for they have rejected the instruction of the Lord of hosts
    and have despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.(W)

25 Therefore the anger of the Lord was kindled against his people,
    and he stretched out his hand against them and struck them;
    the mountains quaked,
and their corpses were like refuse
    in the streets.
For all this his anger has not turned away,
    and his hand is stretched out still.(X)

26 He will raise a signal for a nation far away
    and whistle for a people at the ends of the earth.
Here they come, swiftly, speedily!(Y)
27 None of them is weary; none stumbles;
    none slumbers or sleeps;
not a loincloth is loose;
    not a sandal strap broken;(Z)
28 their arrows are sharp;
    all their bows strung;
their horses’ hoofs seem like flint,
    and their wheels like the whirlwind.(AA)
29 Their roaring is like a lion;
    like young lions they roar;
they growl and seize their prey;
    they carry it off, and no one can rescue.(AB)
30 They will roar over it on that day,
    like the roaring of the sea.
And if one look to the land—
    only darkness and distress;
and the light grows dark with its clouds.(AC)

A Vision of God in the Temple

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty, and the hem of his robe filled the temple.(AD) Seraphs were in attendance above him; each had six wings: with two they covered their faces, and with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew.(AE) And one called to another and said,

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory.”(AF)

The pivots[d] on the thresholds shook at the voices of those who called, and the house filled with smoke. And I said, “Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”(AG)

Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding a live coal that had been taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. The seraph[e] touched my mouth with it and said, “Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out.”(AH) Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I; send me!”(AI) And he said, “Go and say to this people:

‘Keep listening, but do not comprehend;
keep looking, but do not understand.’(AJ)
10 Make the mind of this people dull,
    and stop their ears,
    and shut their eyes,
so that they may not look with their eyes
    and listen with their ears
and comprehend with their minds
    and turn and be healed.”(AK)
11 Then I said, “How long, O Lord?” And he said,
“Until cities lie waste
    without inhabitant,
and houses without people,
    and the land is utterly desolate;(AL)
12 until the Lord sends everyone far away,
    and vast is the emptiness in the midst of the land.(AM)
13 Even if a tenth part remain in it,
    it will be burned again,
like a terebinth or an oak
    whose stump remains standing
    when it is felled.”[f]
(The holy seed is its stump.)(AN)

Isaiah Reassures King Ahaz

In the days of Ahaz son of Jotham son of Uzziah, king of Judah, King Rezin of Aram and King Pekah son of Remaliah of Israel went up to attack Jerusalem but could not conquer it.(AO) When the house of David heard that Aram had allied itself with Ephraim, the heart of Ahaz[g] and the heart of his people shook as the trees of the forest shake before the wind.(AP)

Then the Lord said to Isaiah, “Go out to meet Ahaz, you and your son Shear-jashub,[h] at the end of the conduit of the upper pool on the highway to the fuller’s field,(AQ) and say to him: Take heed, be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint because of these two smoldering stumps of firebrands, because of the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram and the son of Remaliah.(AR) Because Aram—with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah—has plotted evil against you, saying, ‘Let us go up against Judah and terrify it[i] and conquer it for ourselves and make the son of Tabeel king in it’; therefore thus says the Lord God:

It shall not stand,
    and it shall not come to pass.(AS)
For the head of Aram is Damascus,
    and the head of Damascus is Rezin.

(Within sixty-five years Ephraim will be shattered, no longer a people.)(AT)

The head of Ephraim is Samaria,
    and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah.
If you do not stand firm in faith,
    you shall not stand at all.”(AU)

Isaiah Gives Ahaz the Sign of Immanuel

10 Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, saying, 11 “Ask a sign of the Lord your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.”(AV) 12 But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test.” 13 Then Isaiah[j] said, “Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary mortals that you weary my God also? 14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son and shall name him Immanuel.[k](AW) 15 He shall eat curds and honey by the time he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good.(AX) 16 For before the child knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land before whose two kings you are in dread will be deserted.(AY) 17 The Lord will bring on you and on your people and on your ancestral house such days as have not come since the day that Ephraim departed from Judah—the king of Assyria.”(AZ)

18 On that day the Lord will whistle for the fly that is at the sources of the streams of Egypt and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria.(BA) 19 And they will all come and settle in the steep ravines and in the clefts of the rocks and on all the thornbushes and on all the watering holes.[l](BB)

20 On that day the Lord will shave with a razor hired beyond the River—with the king of Assyria—the head and the hair of the feet, and it will take off the beard as well.(BC)

21 On that day one will keep alive a young cow and two sheep 22 and will eat curds because of the abundance of milk that they give, for everyone left in the land shall eat curds and honey.

23 On that day every place where there used to be a thousand vines, worth a thousand shekels of silver, will become briers and thorns. 24 With bow and arrows one will go there, for all the land will be briers and thorns, 25 and as for all the hills that used to be hoed with a hoe, you will not go there for fear of briers and thorns, but they will become a place where cattle are let loose and where sheep tread.

Isaiah’s Son a Sign of the Assyrian Invasion

Then the Lord said to me, “Take a large tablet and write on it in common characters, ‘Belonging to Maher-shalal-hash-baz,’[m](BD) and have it attested[n] for me by reliable witnesses, the priest Uriah and Zechariah son of Jeberechiah.”(BE) And I went to the prophetess, and she conceived and bore a son. Then the Lord said to me, “Name him Maher-shalal-hash-baz, for before the child knows how to call ‘My father’ or ‘My mother,’ the wealth of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria will be carried away by the king of Assyria.”(BF)

The Lord spoke to me again: “Because this people has refused the waters of Shiloah that flow gently and melt in fear before[o] Rezin and the son of Remaliah,(BG) therefore the Lord is bringing up against it the mighty flood waters of the River, the king of Assyria and all his glory; it will rise above all its channels and overflow all its banks; it will sweep on into Judah as a flood and, pouring over, will reach up to the neck, and its outspread wings will fill the breadth of your land, O Immanuel.(BH)

Take notice,[p] you peoples, and be dismayed;
    listen, all you far countries;
gird yourselves and be dismayed![q]
10 Take counsel together, but it shall be brought to naught;
    speak a word, but it will not stand,
    for God is with us.”(BI)

11 The Lord spoke thus to me while his hand was strong upon me and warned me not to walk in the way of this people, saying:(BJ) 12 “Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what it fears or be in dread.(BK) 13 But the Lord of hosts, him you shall regard as holy; let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.(BL) 14 He will become a sanctuary, a stone one strikes against; for both houses of Israel he will become a rock one stumbles over, a trap and a snare for the inhabitants of Jerusalem.(BM) 15 And many among them shall stumble; they shall fall and be broken; they shall be snared and taken.”(BN)

Disciples of Isaiah

16 Bind up the testimony; seal the teaching among my disciples.(BO) 17 I will wait for the Lord, who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob, and I will hope in him.(BP) 18 See, I and the children whom the Lord has given me are signs and portents in Israel from the Lord of hosts, who dwells on Mount Zion.(BQ) 19 Now if people say to you, “Consult the ghosts and the familiar spirits that chirp and mutter; should not a people consult their gods, the dead on behalf of the living,(BR) 20 for teaching and for instruction?” surely those who speak like this will have no dawn!(BS) 21 They will pass through the land,[r] greatly distressed and hungry; when they are hungry, they will be enraged and will curse[s] their king and their gods. They will turn their faces upward,(BT) 22 or they will look to the earth, but they will see only distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish, and they will be thrust into thick darkness.[t](BU)

Footnotes

  1. 5.10 The Heb bath, homer, and ephah are measures of quantity
  2. 5.14 Heb her nobility
  3. 5.17 Gk: Heb aliens
  4. 6.4 Meaning of Heb uncertain
  5. 6.7 Heb He
  6. 6.13 Meaning of Heb uncertain
  7. 7.2 Heb his heart
  8. 7.3 That is, a remnant shall return
  9. 7.6 Or cut it off
  10. 7.13 Heb he
  11. 7.14 That is, God is with us
  12. 7.19 Meaning of Heb uncertain
  13. 8.1 That is, the spoil speeds, the prey hastens
  14. 8.2 Q ms Gk Syr: MT and I caused to be attested
  15. 8.6 Cn: Heb rejoicing with
  16. 8.9 Gk: Heb Be shattered
  17. 8.9 Q mss: MT repeats gird yourselves and be dismayed!
  18. 8.21 Heb it
  19. 8.21 Or curse by
  20. 8.22 Meaning of Heb uncertain

The Song of the Vineyard

I will sing for the one I love
    a song about his vineyard:(A)
My loved one had a vineyard
    on a fertile hillside.
He dug it up and cleared it of stones
    and planted it with the choicest vines.(B)
He built a watchtower(C) in it
    and cut out a winepress(D) as well.
Then he looked for a crop of good grapes,
    but it yielded only bad fruit.(E)

“Now you dwellers in Jerusalem and people of Judah,
    judge between me and my vineyard.(F)
What more could have been done for my vineyard
    than I have done for it?(G)
When I looked for good grapes,
    why did it yield only bad?(H)
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;(I)
I will break down its wall,(J)
    and it will be trampled.(K)
I will make it a wasteland,(L)
    neither pruned nor cultivated,
    and briers and thorns(M) will grow there.
I will command the clouds
    not to rain(N) on it.”

The vineyard(O) 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,(P) but saw bloodshed;
    for righteousness,(Q) but heard cries of distress.(R)

Woes and Judgments

Woe(S) to you who add house to house
    and join field to field(T)
till no space is left
    and you live alone in the land.

The Lord Almighty(U) has declared in my hearing:(V)

“Surely the great houses will become desolate,(W)
    the fine mansions left without occupants.
10 A ten-acre vineyard will produce only a bath[a] of wine;
    a homer[b] of seed will yield only an ephah[c] of grain.”(X)

11 Woe(Y) 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.(Z)
12 They have harps and lyres at their banquets,
    pipes(AA) and timbrels(AB) and wine,
but they have no regard(AC) for the deeds of the Lord,
    no respect for the work of his hands.(AD)
13 Therefore my people will go into exile(AE)
    for lack of understanding;(AF)
those of high rank(AG) will die of hunger
    and the common people will be parched with thirst.(AH)
14 Therefore Death(AI) expands its jaws,
    opening wide its mouth;(AJ)
into it will descend their nobles and masses
    with all their brawlers and revelers.(AK)
15 So people will be brought low(AL)
    and everyone humbled,(AM)
    the eyes of the arrogant(AN) humbled.
16 But the Lord Almighty will be exalted(AO) by his justice,(AP)
    and the holy God will be proved holy(AQ) by his righteous acts.
17 Then sheep will graze as in their own pasture;(AR)
    lambs will feed[d] among the ruins of the rich.

18 Woe(AS) to those who draw sin along with cords(AT) of deceit,
    and wickedness(AU) as with cart ropes,
19 to those who say, “Let God hurry;
    let him hasten(AV) his work
    so we may see it.
The plan of the Holy One(AW) of Israel—
    let it approach, let it come into view,
    so we may know it.”(AX)

20 Woe(AY) to those who call evil good(AZ)
    and good evil,(BA)
who put darkness for light
    and light for darkness,(BB)
who put bitter for sweet
    and sweet for bitter.(BC)

21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes(BD)
    and clever in their own sight.

22 Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine(BE)
    and champions at mixing drinks,(BF)
23 who acquit the guilty for a bribe,(BG)
    but deny justice(BH) to the innocent.(BI)
24 Therefore, as tongues of fire(BJ) lick up straw(BK)
    and as dry grass sinks down in the flames,
so their roots will decay(BL)
    and their flowers blow away like dust;(BM)
for they have rejected the law of the Lord Almighty
    and spurned the word(BN) of the Holy One(BO) of Israel.
25 Therefore the Lord’s anger(BP) burns against his people;
    his hand is raised and he strikes them down.
The mountains shake,(BQ)
    and the dead bodies(BR) are like refuse(BS) in the streets.(BT)

Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away,(BU)
    his hand is still upraised.(BV)

26 He lifts up a banner(BW) for the distant nations,
    he whistles(BX) for those at the ends of the earth.(BY)
Here they come,
    swiftly and speedily!
27 Not one of them grows tired(BZ) or stumbles,
    not one slumbers or sleeps;
not a belt(CA) is loosened at the waist,(CB)
    not a sandal strap is broken.(CC)
28 Their arrows are sharp,(CD)
    all their bows(CE) are strung;
their horses’ hooves(CF) seem like flint,
    their chariot wheels like a whirlwind.(CG)
29 Their roar is like that of the lion,(CH)
    they roar like young lions;
they growl as they seize(CI) their prey
    and carry it off with no one to rescue.(CJ)
30 In that day(CK) they will roar over it
    like the roaring of the sea.(CL)
And if one looks at the land,
    there is only darkness(CM) and distress;(CN)
    even the sun will be darkened(CO) by clouds.

Isaiah’s Commission

In the year that King Uzziah(CP) died,(CQ) I saw the Lord,(CR) high and exalted,(CS) seated on a throne;(CT) and the train of his robe(CU) filled the temple. Above him were seraphim,(CV) each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet,(CW) and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another:

“Holy, holy(CX), holy is the Lord Almighty;(CY)
    the whole earth(CZ) is full of his glory.”(DA)

At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.(DB)

“Woe(DC) to me!” I cried. “I am ruined!(DD) For I am a man of unclean lips,(DE) and I live among a people of unclean lips,(DF) and my eyes have seen(DG) the King,(DH) the Lord Almighty.”(DI)

Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal(DJ) in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips;(DK) your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.(DL)

Then I heard the voice(DM) of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send?(DN) And who will go for us?(DO)

And I said, “Here am I.(DP) Send me!”

He said, “Go(DQ) and tell this people:

“‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding;
    be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’(DR)
10 Make the heart of this people calloused;(DS)
    make their ears dull
    and close their eyes.[e](DT)
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
    hear with their ears,(DU)
    understand with their hearts,
and turn and be healed.”(DV)

11 Then I said, “For how long, Lord?”(DW)

And he answered:

“Until the cities lie ruined(DX)
    and without inhabitant,
until the houses are left deserted(DY)
    and the fields ruined and ravaged,(DZ)
12 until the Lord has sent everyone far away(EA)
    and the land is utterly forsaken.(EB)
13 And though a tenth remains(EC) in the land,
    it will again be laid waste.(ED)
But as the terebinth and oak
    leave stumps(EE) when they are cut down,
    so the holy(EF) seed will be the stump in the land.”(EG)

The Sign of Immanuel

When Ahaz(EH) son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, was king of Judah, King Rezin(EI) of Aram(EJ) and Pekah(EK) son of Remaliah(EL) king of Israel marched up to fight against Jerusalem, but they could not overpower it.

Now the house of David(EM) was told, “Aram has allied itself with[f] Ephraim(EN)”; so the hearts of Ahaz and his people were shaken,(EO) as the trees of the forest are shaken by the wind.

Then the Lord said to Isaiah, “Go out, you and your son Shear-Jashub,[g](EP) to meet Ahaz at the end of the aqueduct of the Upper Pool, on the road to the Launderer’s Field.(EQ) Say to him, ‘Be careful, keep calm(ER) and don’t be afraid.(ES) Do not lose heart(ET) because of these two smoldering stubs(EU) of firewood—because of the fierce anger(EV) of Rezin and Aram and of the son of Remaliah.(EW) Aram, Ephraim and Remaliah’s(EX) son have plotted(EY) your ruin, saying, “Let us invade Judah; let us tear it apart and divide it among ourselves, and make the son of Tabeel king over it.” Yet this is what the Sovereign Lord says:(EZ)

“‘It will not take place,
    it will not happen,(FA)
for the head of Aram is Damascus,(FB)
    and the head of Damascus is only Rezin.(FC)
Within sixty-five years
    Ephraim will be too shattered(FD) to be a people.
The head of Ephraim is Samaria,(FE)
    and the head of Samaria is only Remaliah’s son.
If you do not stand(FF) firm in your faith,(FG)
    you will not stand at all.’”(FH)

10 Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, 11 “Ask the Lord your God for a sign,(FI) whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights.(FJ)

12 But Ahaz said, “I will not ask; I will not put the Lord to the test.(FK)

13 Then Isaiah said, “Hear now, you house of David!(FL) Is it not enough(FM) to try the patience of humans? Will you try the patience(FN) of my God(FO) also? 14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you[h] a sign:(FP) The virgin[i](FQ) will conceive and give birth to a son,(FR) and[j] will call him Immanuel.[k](FS) 15 He will be eating curds(FT) and honey(FU) when he knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, 16 for before the boy knows(FV) enough to reject the wrong and choose the right,(FW) the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste.(FX) 17 The Lord will bring on you and on your people and on the house of your father a time unlike any since Ephraim broke away(FY) from Judah—he will bring the king of Assyria.(FZ)

Assyria, the Lord’s Instrument

18 In that day(GA) the Lord will whistle(GB) for flies from the Nile delta in Egypt and for bees from the land of Assyria.(GC) 19 They will all come and settle in the steep ravines and in the crevices(GD) in the rocks, on all the thornbushes(GE) and at all the water holes. 20 In that day(GF) the Lord will use(GG) a razor hired from beyond the Euphrates River(GH)—the king of Assyria(GI)—to shave your head and private parts, and to cut off your beard(GJ) also.(GK) 21 In that day,(GL) a person will keep alive a young cow and two goats.(GM) 22 And because of the abundance of the milk they give, there will be curds to eat. All who remain in the land will eat curds(GN) and honey.(GO) 23 In that day,(GP) in every place where there were a thousand vines worth a thousand silver shekels,[l](GQ) there will be only briers and thorns.(GR) 24 Hunters will go there with bow and arrow, for the land will be covered with briers(GS) and thorns. 25 As for all the hills(GT) once cultivated by the hoe, you will no longer go there for fear of the briers and thorns;(GU) they will become places where cattle are turned loose and where sheep run.(GV)

Isaiah and His Children as Signs

The Lord said to me, “Take a large scroll(GW) and write on it with an ordinary pen: Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.”[m](GX) So I called in Uriah(GY) the priest and Zechariah son of Jeberekiah as reliable witnesses(GZ) for me. Then I made love to the prophetess,(HA) and she conceived and gave birth to a son.(HB) And the Lord said to me, “Name him Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.(HC) For before the boy knows(HD) how to say ‘My father’ or ‘My mother,’ the wealth of Damascus(HE) and the plunder of Samaria will be carried off by the king of Assyria.(HF)

The Lord spoke to me again:

“Because this people has rejected(HG)
    the gently flowing waters of Shiloah(HH)
and rejoices over Rezin
    and the son of Remaliah,(HI)
therefore the Lord is about to bring against them
    the mighty floodwaters(HJ) of the Euphrates—
    the king of Assyria(HK) with all his pomp.(HL)
It will overflow all its channels,
    run over all its banks(HM)
and sweep on into Judah, swirling over it,(HN)
    passing through it and reaching up to the neck.
Its outspread wings(HO) will cover the breadth of your land,
    Immanuel[n]!”(HP)

Raise the war cry,[o](HQ) you nations, and be shattered!(HR)
    Listen, all you distant lands.
Prepare(HS) for battle, and be shattered!
    Prepare for battle, and be shattered!
10 Devise your strategy, but it will be thwarted;(HT)
    propose your plan, but it will not stand,(HU)
    for God is with us.[p](HV)

11 This is what the Lord says to me with his strong hand upon me,(HW) warning me not to follow(HX) the way of this people:

12 “Do not call conspiracy(HY)
    everything this people calls a conspiracy;
do not fear what they fear,(HZ)
    and do not dread it.(IA)
13 The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy,(IB)
    he is the one you are to fear,(IC)
    he is the one you are to dread.(ID)
14 He will be a holy place;(IE)
    for both Israel and Judah he will be
a stone(IF) that causes people to stumble(IG)
    and a rock that makes them fall.(IH)
And for the people of Jerusalem he will be
    a trap and a snare.(II)
15 Many of them will stumble;(IJ)
    they will fall and be broken,
    they will be snared and captured.”

16 Bind up this testimony of warning(IK)
    and seal(IL) up God’s instruction among my disciples.
17 I will wait(IM) for the Lord,
    who is hiding(IN) his face from the descendants of Jacob.
I will put my trust in him.(IO)

18 Here am I, and the children the Lord has given me.(IP) We are signs(IQ) and symbols(IR) in Israel from the Lord Almighty, who dwells on Mount Zion.(IS)

The Darkness Turns to Light

19 When someone tells you to consult(IT) mediums and spiritists,(IU) who whisper and mutter,(IV) should not a people inquire(IW) of their God? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living? 20 Consult God’s instruction(IX) and the testimony of warning.(IY) If anyone does not speak according to this word, they have no light(IZ) of dawn. 21 Distressed and hungry,(JA) they will roam through the land;(JB) when they are famished, they will become enraged and, looking upward, will curse(JC) their king and their God. 22 Then they will look toward the earth and see only distress and darkness and fearful gloom,(JD) and they will be thrust into utter darkness.(JE)

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 5:10 That is, about 6 gallons or about 22 liters
  2. Isaiah 5:10 That is, probably about 360 pounds or about 160 kilograms
  3. Isaiah 5:10 That is, probably about 36 pounds or about 16 kilograms
  4. Isaiah 5:17 Septuagint; Hebrew / strangers will eat
  5. 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
  6. Isaiah 7:2 Or has set up camp in
  7. Isaiah 7:3 Shear-Jashub means a remnant will return.
  8. Isaiah 7:14 The Hebrew is plural.
  9. Isaiah 7:14 Or young woman
  10. Isaiah 7:14 Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scrolls son, and he or son, and they
  11. Isaiah 7:14 Immanuel means God with us.
  12. Isaiah 7:23 That is, about 25 pounds or about 12 kilograms
  13. Isaiah 8:1 Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz means quick to the plunder, swift to the spoil; also in verse 3.
  14. Isaiah 8:8 Immanuel means God with us.
  15. Isaiah 8:9 Or Do your worst
  16. Isaiah 8:10 Hebrew Immanuel