Study Desk

The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz concerning ^(a)Judah and Jerusalem, which he saw during the ^[a]reigns of ^(b)Uzziah, ^(c)Jotham, ^(d)Ahaz and ^(e)Hezekiah, kings of Judah.

^(f)Listen, O heavens, and hear, O ^(g)earth; For the Lord speaks, "^(h)Sons I have reared and brought up, But they have ⁽ⁱ⁾revolted against Me.

"An ox knows its owner, And a donkey its master's manger, But Israel ^(j)does not know, My people ^(k)do not understand."

Alas, sinful nation, People weighed down with iniquity, ^[b](l)Offspring of evildoers, Sons who ^(m)act corruptly! They have ⁽ⁿ⁾abandoned the Lord , They have ^(o)despised the Holy One of Israel, They have turned away ^[c]from Him.

Where will you be stricken again, As you ^(p)continue in your rebellion? The whole head is ^(q)sick And the whole heart is faint.

^(r)From the sole of the foot even to the head There is ^(s)nothing sound in it, Only bruises, welts and raw wounds, ^(t)Not pressed out or bandaged, Nor softened with oil.

Your ^(u)land is desolate, Your cities are burned with fire, Your fields—strangers are devouring them in your presence; It is desolation, as overthrown by strangers.

The daughter of Zion is left like a shelter in a vineyard, Like a watchman's hut in a cucumber field, like a besieged city.

^(v)Unless the Lord of hosts Had left us a few ^(w)survivors, We would be like ^(x)Sodom, We would be like Gomorrah.

Hear ^(y)the word of the Lord , You rulers of ^(z)Sodom; Give ear to the instruction of our God, You people of Gomorrah.

"^(aa)What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me?" Says the Lord . "I ^[d]have had enough of burnt offerings of rams And the fat of fed cattle; And I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, lambs or goats.

"When you come ^(ab)to appear before Me, Who requires ^[e]of you this trampling of My courts?

"Bring your worthless offerings no longer, ^(ac)Incense is an abomination to Me. ^(ad)New moon and sabbath, the ^(ae)calling of assemblies— I cannot ^(af)endure iniquity and the solemn assembly.

"I hate your new moon festivals and your ^(ag)appointed feasts, They have become a burden to Me; I am ^(ah)weary of bearing them.

"So when you ^(ai)spread out your hands in prayer, ^(aj)I will hide My eyes from you; Yes, even though you ^(ak)multiply prayers, I will not listen. ^(al)Your hands are ^[f]covered with blood.

"^(am)Wash yourselves, ^(an)make yourselves clean; ^(ao)Remove the evil of your deeds from My sight. ^(ap)Cease to do evil,

Learn to do good; ^(aq)Seek justice, Reprove the ruthless, ^[g](ar)Defend the orphan, Plead for the widow.

"Come now, and ^(as)let us reason together," Says the Lord , "^(at)Though your sins are as scarlet, They will be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They will be like wool.

"^(au)If you consent and obey, You will ^(av)eat the best of the land;

"But if you refuse and rebel, You will be ^(aw)devoured by the sword." Truly, ^(ax)the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

How the faithful city has become a ^(ay)harlot, She who was full of justice! Righteousness once lodged in her, But now murderers.

Your silver has become dross, Your drink diluted with water.

Your ^(az)rulers are rebels And companions of thieves; Everyone ^(ba)loves a bribe And chases after rewards. They ^(bb)do not ^[h]defend the ^[i]orphan, Nor does the widow's plea come before them.

Therefore the Lord ^[j] God of hosts, The ^(bc)Mighty One of Israel, declares, "Ah, I will be relieved of My adversaries And ^(bd)avenge Myself on My foes.

"I will also turn My hand against you, And will ^(be)smelt away your dross as with lye And will remove all your alloy.

"Then I will restore your ^(bf)judges as at the first, And your counselors as at the beginning; After that you will be called the ^(bg)city of righteousness, A faithful city."

Zion will be ^(bh)redeemed with justice And her ^[k]repentant ones with righteousness.

But ^[l]transgressors and sinners will be ^(bi)crushed together, And those who forsake the Lord will come to an end.

Surely ^[m]you will be ashamed of the ^[n](bj)oaks which you have desired, And you will be embarrassed at the ^(bk)gardens which you have chosen.

For you will be like an ^[o]oak whose ^(bl)leaf fades away Or as a garden that has no water.

The strong man will become tinder, His work also a spark. Thus they shall both ^(bm)burn together And there will be ^(bn)none to quench them.

The word which ^(a)Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.

Now it will come about that ^(b)In the last days The ^(c)mountain of the house of the Lord Will be established ^[a]as the chief of the mountains, And will be raised above the hills; And ^(d)all the nations will stream to it.

And many peoples will come and say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord , To the house of the God of Jacob; That He may teach us ^[b]concerning His ways And that we may walk in His paths." For the ^[c]law will go forth ^(e)from Zion And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

And He will judge between the nations, And will ^[d]render decisions for many peoples; And ^(f)they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. ^(g)Nation will not lift up sword against nation, And never again will they learn war.

Come, ^(h)house of Jacob, and let us walk in the ⁽ⁱ⁾light of the Lord .

For You have ^(j)abandoned Your people, the house of Jacob, Because they are filled with influences from the east, And they are soothsayers ^(k)like the Philistines, And they ^(l)strike bargains with the children of foreigners.

Their land has also been filled with silver and gold And there is no end to their treasures; Their land has also been filled with ^(m)horses And there is no end to their chariots.

Their land has also been ⁽ⁿ⁾filled with idols; They worship the ^(o)work of their hands, That which their fingers have made.

So ^(p)the common man has been humbled And the man of importance has been abased, But ^(q)do not forgive them.

^(r)Enter the rock and hide in the dust ^(s)From the terror of the Lord and from the splendor of His majesty.

The ^[e](t)proud look of man will be abased And the ^(u)loftiness of man will be humbled, And the Lord alone will be exalted in that day.

For the Lord of hosts will have a day of reckoning Against ^(v)everyone who is proud and lofty And against everyone who is lifted up, That he may be abased.

And it will be against all the cedars of Lebanon that are lofty and lifted up, Against all the ^(w)oaks of Bashan,

Against all the ^(x)lofty mountains, Against all the hills that are lifted up,

Against every ^(y)high tower, Against every fortified wall,

Against all the ^(z)ships of Tarshish And against all the beautiful craft.

The pride of man will be humbled And the loftiness of men will be abased; And the Lord alone will be exalted in that day,

But the ^(aa)idols will completely vanish.

Men will ^(ab)go into caves of the rocks And into holes of the ^[f]ground Before the terror of the Lord And the splendor of His majesty, When He arises ^(ac)to make the earth tremble.

In that day men will ^(ad)cast away to the moles and the ^(ae)bats Their idols of silver and their idols of gold, Which they made for themselves to worship,

In order to ^(af)go into the caverns of the rocks and the clefts of the cliffs Before the terror of the Lord and the splendor of His majesty, When He arises to make the earth tremble.

^[g](ag)Stop regarding man, whose breath of life is in his nostrils; For ^[h](ah)why should he be esteemed?