1 T he vision of Isaiah the son of Amos, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, kings of Judah.
2 H ear, heavens, and give ear, earth! for Jehovah hath spoken: I have nourished and brought up children; and they have rebelled against me.
3 T he ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib; Israel doth not know, my people hath no intelligence.
4 A h sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that corrupt themselves! They have forsaken Jehovah; they have despised the Holy One of Israel; they are turned away backward.
5 W hy should ye be smitten any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint.
6 F rom the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in him; wounds, and weals, and open sores: they have not been dressed, nor bound up, nor mollified with oil.
7 Y our country is desolate; your cities are burned with fire; your land, strangers eat it up in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers.
8 A nd the daughter of Zion is left, as a booth in a vineyard, as a night-lodge in a cucumber-garden, as a besieged city.
9 U nless Jehovah of hosts had left us a very small residue, we should have been as Sodom, we should have been like unto Gomorrah.
10 H ear the word of Jehovah, rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, people of Gomorrah!
11 T o what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith Jehovah. I am sated with burnt-offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and in the blood of bullocks, and of lambs, and of he-goats I take no pleasure.
12 W hen ye come to appear before me, who hath required this from your hand—to tread my courts?
13 B ring no more vain oblations! Incense is an abomination unto me,—new moon and sabbath, the calling of convocations—wickedness and the solemn meeting I cannot bear.
14 Y our new moons and your set feasts my soul hateth: they are a burden to me; I am wearied of bearing.
15 A nd when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you; yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood.
16 W ash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes;—cease to do evil,
17 l earn to do well: seek judgment, gladden the oppressed, do justice to the fatherless, plead for the widow.
18 C ome now, let us reason together, saith Jehovah: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
19 I f ye be willing and hearken, ye shall eat the good of the land;
20 b ut if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of Jehovah hath spoken.
21 H ow is the faithful city become a harlot! It was full of judgment; righteousness used to lodge in it, but now murderers.
22 T hy silver is become dross, thy wine is mixed with water:
23 t hy princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves; every one loveth presents, and hunteth after rewards; they judge not the fatherless, and the cause of the widow cometh not unto them.
24 T herefore saith the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, the Mighty One of Israel: Ah! I will ease me of mine adversaries, and avenge me of mine enemies.
25 A nd I will turn my hand upon thee, and will thoroughly purge away thy dross, and take away all thine alloy;
26 a nd I will restore thy judges as at the first, and thy counsellors as at the beginning. Afterwards thou shalt be called, Town of righteousness, Faithful city.
27 Z ion shall be redeemed with judgment, and they that return of her with righteousness.
28 B ut the ruin of the transgressors and of the sinners together; and they that forsake Jehovah shall be consumed.
29 F or they shall be ashamed of the terebinths that ye have desired, and ye shall blush for the gardens that ye have chosen.
30 F or ye shall be as a terebinth whose leaf fadeth, and as a garden that hath no water.
31 A nd the strong shall be for tow, and his work a spark; and they shall both burn together, and there shall be none to quench.