Isa 1-6 | ESV | STEP | The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz , which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah , Jotham , Ahaz , and Hezekiah , kings of Judah .

1 The ^avision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem ^bin the days of ^cUzziah, ^dJotham, ^eAhaz, and ^fHezekiah, kings of Judah.

The Wickedness of Judah

2 ^gHear, O heavens, and give ear, O ^hearth;
for the Lord has spoken:
“Children ^{▼▼Or Sons; also verse 4} ^jhave I reared and brought up,
but they have rebelled against me.
3 The ox ^kknows its owner,
and the donkey its master’s crib,
but Israel does ^lnot know,
my people do not understand.”
4 Ah, sinful nation,
a people laden with iniquity,
^moffspring of evildoers,
children who deal corruptly!
They have forsaken the Lord,
they have ⁿdespised ^othe Holy One of Israel,
they are utterly ^pestranged.
5 Why will you still be ^qstruck down?
Why will you ^rcontinue to rebel?
The whole head is sick,
and the whole heart faint.
6 ^sFrom the sole of the foot even to the head,
there is no soundness in it,
but bruises and sores
and raw wounds;
they are ^tnot pressed out or bound up
or softened with oil.
7 ^uYour country lies desolate;
your cities are burned with fire;
in your very presence
foreigners devour your land;
it is desolate, as overthrown by foreigners.
8 And ^vthe daughter of Zion is left
like a ^wbooth in a vineyard,
like a lodge in a cucumber field,
like a besieged city.
9 ^xIf the Lord of hosts
had not left us ^ya few survivors,
we should have been like ^zSodom,
and become like ^aaGomorrah.
10 Hear the word of the Lord,
you rulers of ^ab, ^acSodom!
Give ear to the teaching ^{▼▼Or law} of our God,
you people of ^aeGomorrah!
11 ^af“What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices?
says the Lord;
I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams
and the fat of well-fed beasts;
I do not delight in the blood of bulls,
or of lambs, or of goats.
12 “When you come to ^agappear before me,
who has required of you
this trampling of my courts?
13 Bring no more vain offerings;
incense is an abomination to me.
^ahNew moon and Sabbath and the ^aicalling of convocations—
I cannot endure ^ajiniquity and ^aksolemn assembly.
14 Your ^alnew moons and your appointed feasts
my soul hates;
they have become a burden to me;
I am weary of bearing them.
15 When you ^amspread out your hands,
I will hide my eyes from you;
^aneven though you make many prayers,
I will not listen;
^aoyour hands are full of blood.
16 ^apWash yourselves; make yourselves clean;
remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes;
^aqcease to do evil,
17 learn to do good;
^arseek justice,
correct oppression;
^asbring justice to the fatherless,
plead the widow’s cause.
18 “Come now, ^atlet us reason ^{▼▼Or dispute} together, says the Lord:
though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as ^avwhite as snow;
though they are red like crimson,
they shall become like wool.
19 ^awIf you are willing and obedient,
you shall eat the good of the land;
20 but if you refuse and rebel,
you shall be eaten by the sword;
^axfor the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

The Unfaithful City

21 How the faithful city
^ayhas become a whore, ^{▼▼Or become unchaste}
^bashe who was full of justice!
Righteousness lodged in her,
but now murderers.
22 ^bbYour silver has become dross,
your best wine mixed with water.
23 Your princes are rebels
and companions of thieves.
Everyone ^bcloves a bribe
and runs after gifts.
^bdThey do not bring justice to the fatherless,
and the widow’s cause does not come to them.
24 Therefore the ^beLord declares,
the Lord of hosts,
the ^bfMighty One of Israel:
“Ah, I will get relief from my enemies
^bgand avenge myself on my foes.
25 ^bhI will turn my hand against you
and will smelt away your ^bidross as with lye
and remove all your alloy.
26 And I will restore your judges ^bjas at the first,
and your counselors as at the beginning.
Afterward ^bkyou shall be called the city of righteousness,
the faithful city.”
27 ^blZion shall be redeemed by justice,
and those in her who repent, by righteousness.
28 ^bmBut rebels and sinners shall be broken together,
and those who forsake the Lord shall be consumed.
29 ^bnFor they ^{▼▼Some Hebrew manuscripts you} shall be ashamed of ^bpthe oaks
that you desired;
and you shall blush for ^bqthe gardens
that you have chosen.
30 For you shall be ^brlike an oak
whose leaf withers,
and like a garden without water.
31 And the strong shall become ^bstinder,
and his work a spark,
and both of them shall burn together,
with ^btnone to quench them.

Isaiah 2

The Mountain of the Lord

1 The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.

2 ^buIt shall come to pass in the latter days
that ^bvthe mountain of the house of the Lord
shall be established as the highest of the mountains,
and shall be lifted up above the hills;
and ^bwall the nations shall flow to it,
3 and ^bxmany peoples shall 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 his ways
and that we may walk in his paths.”
For ^byout of Zion shall go forth the law, ^{▼▼Or teaching}
and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
4 He shall judge between the nations,
and shall decide disputes for many peoples;
^caand they shall beat their swords into plowshares,
and their spears into pruning hooks;
^cbnation shall not lift up sword against nation,
neither shall they learn war anymore.
5 O house of Jacob,
come, let us walk
in ^ccthe light of the Lord.

The Day of the Lord

6 For you have rejected your people,
the house of Jacob,
because they are full of things ^cdfrom the east
and ^ceof fortune-tellers ^cflike the Philistines,
and they ^cgstrike hands with the children of foreigners.
7 Their land is ^chfilled with silver and gold,
and there is no end to their treasures;
their land is ^cifilled with horses,
and there is no end to their chariots.
8 Their land is ^cjfilled with idols;
they bow down to ^ckthe work of their hands,
to what their own fingers have made.
9 So man ^clis humbled,
and each one ^cmis brought low—
do not forgive them!
10 ^cnEnter into the rock
and hide in the dust
^cofrom before the terror of the Lord,
and from the splendor of his majesty.
11 ^cpThe haughty looks of man shall be brought low,
and the lofty pride of men shall be humbled,
and the Lord alone will be exalted in that day.
12 ^cqFor the Lord of hosts has a day
against all that is proud and lofty,
against all that is lifted up—and it shall be brought low;
13 against all the ^crcedars of Lebanon,
lofty and lifted up;
and against all the ^csoaks of Bashan;
14 against all ^ctthe lofty mountains,
and against all the uplifted hills;
15 against every high tower,
and against every fortified wall;
16 against all ^cuthe ships of Tarshish,
and against all the beautiful craft.
17 ^cvAnd the haughtiness of man shall be humbled,
and the lofty pride of men shall be brought low,
and the Lord alone will be exalted in that day.
18 ^cwAnd the idols shall utterly pass away.
19 ^cxAnd people shall enter the caves of the rocks
and the holes of the ground, ^{▼▼Hebrew dust}
from before the terror of the Lord,
and from the splendor of his majesty,
^czwhen he rises to terrify the earth.
20 In that day ^damankind will cast away
their idols of silver and their idols of gold,
which they made for themselves to worship,
to the moles and to the ^dbbats,
21 ^dcto enter the caverns of the rocks
and the clefts of the cliffs,
from before the terror of the Lord,
and from the splendor of his majesty,
^ddwhen he rises to terrify the earth.
22 ^deStop regarding man
^dfin whose nostrils is breath,
for of what account is he?

Isaiah 3

Judgment on Judah and Jerusalem

1 For behold, the ^dgLord God of hosts
is taking away from Jerusalem and from Judah
support and supply, ^{▼▼Hebrew staff}
all ^disupport of bread,
and all support of water;
2 ^djthe mighty man and the soldier,
the judge and the prophet,
the diviner and the elder,
3 the captain of fifty
and the man of rank,
the counselor and the skillful magician
and the expert in charms.
4 ^dkAnd I will make boys their princes,
and infants ^{▼▼Or caprice} shall rule over them.
5 ^dmAnd the people will oppress one another,
every one his fellow
and every one his neighbor;
the youth will be insolent to the elder,
and the despised to the honorable.
6 For ^dna man will take hold of his brother
in the house of his father, saying:
“You have a cloak;
you shall be our leader,
and this heap of ruins
shall be under your rule”;
7 in that day he will speak out, saying:
“I will not be a ^dohealer; ^{▼▼Hebrew binder of wounds}
in my house there is neither bread nor cloak;
you shall not make me
leader of the people.”
8 For Jerusalem has stumbled,
and Judah has fallen,
because their ^dqspeech and their deeds are against the Lord,
^drdefying his glorious presence. ^{▼▼Hebrew the eyes of his glory}
9 For the look on their faces bears witness against them;
they proclaim their sin ^dtlike Sodom;
they do not hide it.
Woe to them!
^duFor they have brought evil on themselves.
10 ^dvTell the righteous that it shall be well with them,
^dwfor they shall eat the fruit of their deeds.
11 ^dxWoe to the wicked! It shall be ill with him,
for what his hands have dealt out shall be done to him.
12 My people— ^dyinfants are their oppressors,
and women rule over them.
O my people, ^dzyour guides mislead you
and they have swallowed up ^{▼▼Or they have confused} the course of your paths.
13 The Lord ^ebhas taken his place to contend;
he stands to judge peoples.
14 The Lord will enter into judgment
with the ^ecelders and princes of his people:
“It is you who ^edhave devoured ^{▼▼Or grazed over; compare Exodus 22:5} the vineyard,
^efthe spoil of the poor is in your houses.
15 What do you mean by ^egcrushing my people,
by grinding the face of the poor?”

declares the Lord God of hosts.
16 The Lord said:
^ehBecause ^eithe daughters of Zion are haughty
and walk with outstretched necks,
glancing wantonly with their eyes,
mincing along as they go,
^ejtinkling with their feet,
17 therefore the Lord ^ekwill strike with a scab
the heads of ^elthe daughters of Zion,
and the Lord will lay bare their secret parts.
18 In that day the Lord will take away ^emthe finery of the anklets, the ^enheadbands, and the ^eocrescents; 19 the pendants, the bracelets, and the scarves; 20 the ^epheaddresses, the armlets, the sashes, the perfume boxes, and the amulets; 21 the signet rings and ^eqnose rings; 22 the ^erfestal robes, the mantles, the cloaks, and the handbags; 23 the mirrors, the linen garments, the turbans, and the veils.

24 Instead of ^esperfume there will be rottenness;
and instead of a ^etbelt, a rope;
and instead of ^euwell-set hair, ^evbaldness;
and instead of a rich robe, a ^ewskirt of sackcloth;
and ^exbranding instead of beauty.
25 Your men shall fall by the sword
and your mighty men in battle.
26 And ^eyher gates shall lament and mourn;
empty, she shall ^ezsit on the ground.

Isaiah 4

1 ^faAnd seven women ^fbshall take hold of ^fcone man in that day, saying, “We will eat our own bread and wear our own clothes, only let us be called by your name; ^fdtake away our reproach.”

The Branch of the Lord Glorified

2 In that day ^fethe branch of the Lord shall be beautiful and glorious, and ^ffthe fruit of the land shall be the pride and honor of the survivors of Israel. 3 ^fgAnd he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called ^fhholy, everyone who has ^fibeen recorded for life in Jerusalem, 4 when ^fjthe Lord shall have washed away the filth of ^fkthe daughters of Zion and cleansed the bloodstains of Jerusalem from its midst by a spirit of judgment and by ^fla spirit of burning. ^{▼▼Or purging} 5 Then the Lord will create over the whole site of Mount Zion and over her assemblies ^fna cloud by day, and smoke and the shining of a flaming fire by night; for over all the glory there will be ^foa canopy. 6 ^fpThere will be a ^fqbooth for shade by day from the heat, and ^frfor a refuge and a shelter from the storm and rain.

Isaiah 5

The Vineyard of the Lord Destroyed

1 Let me sing for my beloved
my love song concerning his vineyard:
My beloved had ^fsa vineyard
on a very fertile hill.
2 He dug it and cleared it of stones,
and planted it with ^ftchoice vines;
he built a watchtower in the midst of it,
and hewed out a wine vat in it;
and ^fuhe looked for it to yield grapes,
but it yielded wild grapes.
3 And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem
and men of Judah,
judge between me and my vineyard.
4 ^fvWhat more was there to do for my vineyard,
that I have not done in it?
^fwWhen I looked for it to yield grapes,
why did it yield wild grapes?
5 And now I will tell you
what I will do to my vineyard.
I will remove ^fxits hedge,
and it shall be devoured; ^{▼▼Or grazed over; compare Exodus 22:5}
^fzI will break down its wall,
and it shall be trampled down.
6 I will make it a waste;
it shall not be pruned or hoed,
and ^gabriers and thorns shall grow up;
^gbI will also command the clouds
that they rain no rain upon it.
7 ^gcFor the vineyard of the Lord of hosts
is the house of Israel,
and the men of Judah
are his pleasant planting;
and he looked for justice,
but behold, bloodshed; ^{▼▼The Hebrew words for justice and bloodshed sound alike}
for righteousness,
but behold, an outcry! ^{▼▼The Hebrew words for righteous and outcry sound alike}

Woe to the Wicked

8 Woe to those who ^gfjoin house to house,
who add field to field,
until there is no more room,
and you are made to dwell alone
in the midst of the land.
9 The Lord of hosts has sworn in my hearing:
^gg“Surely many houses shall be desolate,
large and beautiful houses, without inhabitant.
10 ^ghFor ten acres ^{▼▼Hebrew ten yoke, the area ten yoke of oxen can plow in a day} of vineyard shall yield but one bath,
and a ^gjhomer of seed shall yield but an ephah.” ^{▼▼A bath was about 6 gallons or 22 liters; a homer was about 6 bushels or 220 liters; an ephah was about 3/5 bushel or 22 liters}
11 Woe to those who ^glrise early in the morning,
that they may run after strong drink,
who tarry late into the evening
as wine inflames them!
12 ^gmThey have lyre and harp,
tambourine and flute and wine at their feasts,
^gnbut they do not regard the deeds of the Lord,
or see the work of his hands.
13 Therefore my people go into exile
^gofor lack of knowledge; ^{▼▼Or without their knowledge}
their ^gqhonored men go hungry, ^{▼▼Or die of hunger}
and their multitude is parched with thirst.
14 Therefore Sheol has ^gsenlarged its appetite
and opened ^gtits mouth beyond measure,
and the nobility of Jerusalem ^{▼▼Hebrew her nobility} and her multitude will go down,
her revelers and he who ^gvexults in her.
15 ^gwMan is humbled, and each one is brought low,
and the eyes of the haughty ^{▼▼Hebrew high} are brought low.
16 ^gyBut the Lord of hosts is exalted ^{▼▼Hebrew high} in justice,
and the Holy God shows himself holy in righteousness.
17 Then shall the lambs graze ^haas in their pasture,
and ^hbnomads shall eat among the ruins of the rich.
18 Woe to those who draw iniquity with ^hccords of falsehood,
who draw sin as with cart ropes,
19 who say: ^hd“Let him be quick,
let him speed his work
that we may see it;
let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw near,
and let it come, that we may know it!”
20 Woe to ^hethose who call evil good
and good evil,
^hfwho put darkness for light
and light for darkness,
who put bitter for sweet
and sweet for bitter!
21 Woe to those who are ^hgwise in their own eyes,
and shrewd in their own sight!
22 Woe to those who are ^hhheroes at drinking wine,
and valiant men in mixing strong drink,
23 who ^hiacquit the guilty for a bribe,
and deprive the innocent of his right!
24 Therefore, ^hjas the tongue of fire devours the stubble,
and as dry grass sinks down in the flame,
so ^hktheir root will be ^hlas rottenness,
and their blossom go up like dust;
for they have ^hmrejected the law of the Lord of hosts,
and have ^hndespised the word of the Holy One of Israel.
25 Therefore ^hothe anger of the Lord was kindled against his people,
and he stretched out his hand against them and struck them,
and ^hpthe mountains quaked;
and their corpses were ^hqas refuse
in the midst of the streets.
^hrFor all this his anger has not turned away,
and his hand is stretched out still.
26 He will ^hsraise a signal for nations far away,
and ^htwhistle for them ^hufrom the ends of the earth;
and behold, quickly, speedily they come!
27 ^hvNone is weary, none stumbles,
none slumbers or sleeps,
not a waistband is loose,
not a sandal strap broken;
28 ^hwtheir arrows are sharp,
all their bows bent,
their horses’ hoofs seem like flint,
and their wheels ^hxlike the whirlwind.
29 Their roaring is like a lion,
like young lions they roar;
they growl and ^hyseize their prey;
they carry it off, and none can rescue.
30 They will growl over it on that day,
like the growling of the sea.
And if one looks to the land,
behold, ^hzdarkness and distress;
and the light is darkened by its clouds.

Isaiah 6

Isaiah’s Vision of the Lord

1 In the year that ^iaKing Uzziah died I ^ibsaw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train ^{▼▼Or hem} of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him stood the seraphim. Each had ^idsix wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one called to another and said:

^ie“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
^ifthe whole earth is full of his glory!” ^{▼▼Or may his glory fill the whole earth}
4 And ^ihthe foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and ⁱⁱthe house was filled with smoke. 5 And I said: “Woe is me! ^ijFor I am lost; ^ikfor I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the ^ilKing, the Lord of hosts!”

6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 And he ^imtouched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”

Isaiah’s Commission from the Lord

8 And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for ⁱⁿus?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.” 9 And he said, “Go, and say to this people:

^io“‘Keep on hearing, ^{▼▼Or Hear indeed} but do not understand;
keep on seeing, ^{▼▼Or see indeed} but do not perceive.’
10 ^irMake the heart of this people ^isdull, ^{▼▼Hebrew fat}
and their ears heavy,
and blind their eyes;
^iulest they see with their eyes,
and hear with their ears,
and understand with their hearts,
and turn and be healed.”
11 Then I said, ^iv“How long, O Lord?”
And he said:
“Until ^iwcities lie waste
without inhabitant,
and houses without people,
and the land is a desolate waste,
12 and the Lord removes people far away,
and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land.
13 ^ixAnd though a tenth remain in it,
it will be burned ^{▼▼Or purged} again,
like a terebinth or an oak,
whose stump ^izremains
when it is felled.”
^jaThe holy seed ^{▼▼Or offspring} is its stump.