An Indictment of Judah and Hope for Its Future

Isaiah 1:1–28

Biblical Period

1The prophecies of Isaiah son of Amoz, who prophesied concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.

2Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth,
For the Lord has spoken:
“I reared children and brought them up—
And they have rebelled against Me!
3An ox knows its owner,
An ass its master’s crib:
Israel does not know,
My people takes no thought.”
4Ah, sinful nation!
People laden with iniquity!
Brood of evildoers!
Depraved children!
They have forsaken the Lord,
Spurned the Holy One of Israel,
Turned their backs [on Him].
5Why do you seek further beatings,
That you continue to offend?
Every head is ailing,
And every heart is sick.
6From head to foot
No spot is sound:
All bruises, and welts,
And festering sores—
Not pressed out, not bound up,
Not softened with oil.
7Your land is a waste,
Your cities burnt down;
Before your eyes, the yield of your soil
Is consumed by strangers—
A wasteland a-as overthrown by strangers!-a
8Fair Zion is left
Like a booth in a vineyard,
Like a hut in a cucumber field,
Like a city beleaguered.
9Had not the Lord of Hosts
Left us some survivors,
We should be like Sodom,
Another Gomorrah.
10Hear the word of the Lord,
You chieftains of Sodom;
Give ear to our God’s instruction,
You folk of Gomorrah!
11“What need have I of all your sacrifices?”
Says the Lord.
“I am sated with burnt offerings of rams,
And suet of fatlings,
And blood of bulls;
And I have no delight
In lambs and he-goats.
12That you come to appear before Me—
Who asked that a-of you?
Trample My courts13no more;
Bringing oblations is futile,-a
Incense is offensive to Me.
New moon and sabbath,
Proclaiming of solemnities,
Assemblies with iniquity,
I cannot abide.
14Your new moons and fixed seasons
Fill Me with loathing;
They are become a burden to Me,
I cannot endure them.
15And when you lift up your hands,
I will turn My eyes away from you;
Though you pray at length,
I will not listen.
Your hands are stained with crime—
16Wash yourselves clean;
Put your evil doings
Away from My sight.
Cease to do evil;
17Learn to do good.
Devote yourselves to justice;
Aid the wronged.
Uphold the rights of the orphan;
Defend the cause of the widow.
18“Come, let us reach an understanding,”
—says the Lords.
“Be your sins like crimson,
They can turn snow-white;
Be they red as dyed wool,
They can become like fleece.”
19If, then, you agree and give heed,
You will eat the good things of the earth;
20But if you refuse and disobey,
a-You will be devoured [by] the sword.-a—
For it was the Lord who spoke.
21Alas, she has become a harlot,
The faithful city
That was filled with justice,
Where righteousness dwelt—
But now murderers.
22Youra silver has turned to dross;
Your wine is cut with water.
23Your rulers are rogues
And cronies of thieves,
Every one avid for presents
And greedy for gifts;
They do not judge the case of the orphan,
And the widow’s cause never reaches them.
24Assuredly, this is the declaration
Of the Sovereign, the Lord of Hosts,
The Mighty One of Israel:
“Ah, I will get satisfaction from My foes;
I will wreak vengeance on My enemies!
25I will turn My hand against you,
And smelt out your dross a-as with lye,-a
And remove all your slag:
26I will restore your magistrates as of old,
And your counselors as of yore.
After that you shall be called
City of Righteousness, Faithful City.”
27aZion shall be saved in the judgment;
Her repentant ones, in the retribution.
28But rebels and sinners shall all be crushed,
And those who forsake the Lord shall perish.

Notes

Emendation yields “like Sodom overthrown.”

Others “To trample My courts? / 13Bring no more vain oblations.”

Or “you will be fed the sword.”

I.e., Jerusalem’s.

Emendation yields “in a crucible.”

Others “Zion shall be saved by justice, / Her repentant ones by righteousness.”

Credits

Reprinted from Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures by permission of the University of Nebraska Press. Copyright 1985 by the Jewish Publication Society, Philadelphia.

Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 1.

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Related Guide

Isaiah and the Call for Monotheism

The book of Isaiah has two sections, one the voice of Isaiah ben Amoz, an eighth-century BCE prophet in Jerusalem, and the other an anonymous Judean prophet of the Babylonian exile.

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