Isaiah - Chapter 1 | New King James Version

  • 1. 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.
  • 2. Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth! For the Lord has spoken: " I have nourished and brought up children, And they have rebelled against Me;
  • 3. The ox knows its owner And the donkey its master's crib; But Israel does not know, My people do not consider."
  • 4. Alas, sinful nation, A people laden with iniquity, A brood of evildoers, Children who are corrupters! They have forsaken the Lord, They have provoked to anger The Holy One of Israel, They have turned away backward.
  • 5. Why should you be stricken again? You will revolt more and more. The whole head is sick, And the whole heart faints.
  • 6. From the sole of the foot even to the head, There is no soundness in it, But wounds and bruises and putrefying sores; They have not been closed or bound up, Or soothed with ointment.
  • 7. Your country is desolate, Your cities are burned with fire; Strangers devour your land in your presence; And it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers.
  • 8. So the daughter of Zion is left as a booth in a vineyard, As a hut in a garden of cucumbers, As a besieged city.
  • 9. Unless the Lord of hosts Had left to us a very small remnant, We would have become like Sodom, We would have been made like Gomorrah.
  • 10. Hear the word of the Lord, You rulers of Sodom; Give ear to the law of our God, You people of Gomorrah:
  • 11. "To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices to Me?" Says the Lord. "I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams And the fat of fed cattle. I do not delight in the blood of bulls, Or of lambs or goats.
  • 12. "When you come to appear before Me, Who has required this from your hand, To trample My courts?
  • 13. Bring no more futile sacrifices; Incense is an abomination to Me. The New Moons, the Sabbaths, and the calling of assemblies-- I cannot endure iniquity and the sacred meeting.
  • 14. Your New Moons and your appointed feasts My soul hates; They are a trouble to Me, I am weary of bearing them.
  • 15. When you spread out your hands, I will hide My eyes from you; Even though you make many prayers, I will not hear. Your hands are full of blood.
  • 16. "Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes. Cease to do evil,
  • 17. Learn to do good; Seek justice, Rebuke the oppressor; {cf2super [1]} Defend the fatherless, Plead for the widow.
  • 18. "Come now, and let us reason together," Says the Lord, "Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool.
  • 19. If you are willing and obedient, You shall eat the good of the land;
  • 20. But if you refuse and rebel, You shall be devoured by the sword"; For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.
  • 21. How the faithful city has become a harlot! It was full of justice; Righteousness lodged in it, But now murderers.
  • 22. Your silver has become dross, Your wine mixed with water.
  • 23. Your princes are rebellious, And companions of thieves; Everyone loves bribes, And follows after rewards. They do not defend the fatherless, Nor does the cause of the widow come before them.
  • 24. Therefore the Lord says, The Lord of hosts, the Mighty One of Israel, "Ah, I will rid Myself of My adversaries, And take vengeance on My enemies.
  • 25. I will turn My hand against you, And thoroughly purge away your dross, And take away all your alloy.
  • 26. I will restore your judges as at the first, And your counselors as at the beginning. Afterward you shall be called the city of righteousness, the faithful city."
  • 27. Zion shall be redeemed with justice, And her penitents with righteousness.
  • 28. The destruction of transgressors and of sinners shall be together, And those who forsake the Lord shall be consumed.
  • 29. For they {cf2super [2]} shall be ashamed of the terebinth trees Which you have desired; And you shall be embarrassed because of the gardens Which you have chosen.
  • 30. For you shall be as a terebinth whose leaf fades, And as a garden that has no water.
  • 31. The strong shall be as tinder, And the work of it as a spark; Both will burn together, And no one shall quench them.
أعلى