1 ISAIAH A Prophet's Indignation 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, Children I have reared, and brought up, 4 Ah sinful nation, A people laden with iniquity, Children that deal corruptly; They have contemned the Holy One of Israel, 5 On what part will ye be yet stricken, And the whole heart faint; 6 From the sole of the foot even unto the head There is no soundness in it; But wounds, and bruises, and festering sores: They have not been pressed, neither bound up, Neither mollified with oil. 7 Your country is desolate; Your cities are burned with fire; Your land, strangers devour it in your presence, And it is desolate, as overthrown by floods. 8 And the daughter of Zion is left As a booth in a vineyard, As a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, 9 Except the LORD of hosts Had left unto us a very small remnant, We should have been like unto Gomorrah. 10 Hear the word of the LORD, Ye rulers of Sodom; Give ear unto the law of our God, Ye people of Gomorrah. 11 To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto Me? Saith the LORD; I am full of the burnt-offerings of rams, And I delight not in the blood Of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he-goats. 12 When ye come to appear before Me, Who hath required this at your hand, To trample My courts? 13 Bring no more vain oblations; It is an offering of abomination unto Me; New moon and sabbath, the holding of convocations I cannot endure iniquity along with the solemn assembly. 14 Your new moons and your appointed seasons My soul hateth; They are a burden unto Me; I am weary to bear them. 15 And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide Mine eyes from you; I will not hear; Your hands are full of blood. 16 Wash you, make you clean, Put away the evil of your doings From before Mine eyes, Cease to do evil; 17 Learn to do well; Seek justice, relieve the oppressed, Judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. 18 Come now, and let us reason together, Though your sins be as scarlet, 19 If ye be willing and obedient, 20 But if ye refuse and rebel, Ye shall be devoured with the sword; 21 How is the faithful city Become a harlot! She that was full of justice, 22 Thy silver is become dross, Thy wine mixed with water. And followeth after rewards; Neither doth the cause of the widow come 24 Therefore saith the Lord, the LORD of hosts, The Mighty One of Israel: Ah, I will ease Me of Mine adversaries, 25 And I will turn My hand upon thee, 26 And I will restore thy judges as at the first, And thy counsellors as at the beginning; Afterward thou shalt be called The city of righteousness, The faithful city. 27 Zion shall be redeemed with justice, And they that return of her with righteous ness. 28 But the destruction of the transgressors and the sinners shall be together, And they that forsake the LORD shall be consumed. 29 For they shall be ashamed of the terebinths which ye have desired, And ye shall be confounded for the gardens that ye have chosen. 30 For ye shall be as a terebinth whose leaf fadeth, And as a garden that hath no water. 31 And the strong shall be as tow, And his work as a spark; 2 And they shall both burn together, A Vision of the Future 2 And it shall come to pass in the end of days, That the mountain of the LORD's house shall be established as the top of the mountains, And shall be exalted above the hills; And all nations shall flow unto it. 3 And many peoples shall go and say: To the house of the God of Jacob; For out of Zion shall go forth the law, And they shall beat their swords into plowshares, And their spears into pruning-hooks; Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, 5 O house of Jacob, ccme ye, and let us walk In the light of the LORD. 6 For Thou hast forsaken Thy people the house of Jacob; For they are replenished from the east, |