Isaiah 1
A Sinful
Nation |
1 |
The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz,
which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzzi'ah, 2
Kgs. 15.1-7 · 2 Chr. 26.1-23 Jotham, 2 Kgs. 15.32-38 · 2 Chr.
27.1-9 Ahaz, 2 Kgs. 16.1-20 · 2 Chr.
28.1-27 and Hezeki'ah, 2 Kgs. 18.1--20.21 · 2 Chr. 29.1--32.33 kings of Judah.
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2 |
Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth:
for the LORD hath spoken; I have nourished and
brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.
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3 |
The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his
master's crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not
consider.
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4 |
Ah sinful nation, a people laden with
iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they
have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the
Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away
backward.
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5 |
Why should ye be stricken any more? ye
will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole
heart faint.
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6 |
From the sole of the foot even unto the
head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and
bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither
bound up, neither mollified with ointment.
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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
strangers.
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8 |
And the daughter of Zion is left as a
cottage in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a
besieged city.
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9 |
Except the LORD of
hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as
Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah. Gen.
19.24 · Rom.
9.29
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A Call to True
Repentance |
10 |
Hear the word of the LORD, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our
God, ye people of Gomorrah.
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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 the fat of fed beasts;
and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he
goats.
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12 |
When ye come to appear before me, who
hath required this at your hand, to tread my courts?
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13 |
Bring no more vain oblations; incense is
an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of
assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the
solemn meeting.
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14 |
Your new moons and your appointed feasts
my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them. Amos 5.21, 22
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15 |
And 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.
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16 |
Wash ye, make you clean; put away the
evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do
evil;
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17 |
learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve
the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.
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18 |
Come now, and let us reason together,
saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson,
they shall be as wool.
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19 |
If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall
eat the good of the land:
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20 |
but if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be
devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.
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The Judgment and
Redemption of Zion |
21 |
How is the faithful city become a
harlot! it was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but now
murderers.
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22 |
Thy silver is become dross, thy wine
mixed with water:
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23 |
thy princes are rebellious, and
companions of thieves: every one loveth gifts, and followeth after
rewards: they judge not the fatherless, neither doth the cause of
the widow come unto them.
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24 |
Therefore saith the Lord, the LORD of hosts, the Mighty One of Israel, Ah, I will
ease me of mine adversaries, and avenge me of mine
enemies.
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25 |
And I will turn my hand upon thee, and
purely purge away thy dross, and take away all thy tin:
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26 |
and I will restore thy judges as at the
first, and thy counselors as at the beginning: afterward thou shalt
be called, The city of righteousness, the faithful city.
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27 |
Zion shall be redeemed with judgment,
and her converts with righteousness.
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28 |
And the destruction of the transgressors
and of the sinners shall be together, and they that forsake
the LORD shall be consumed.
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29 |
For they shall be ashamed of the oaks
which ye have desired, and ye shall be confounded for the gardens
that ye have chosen.
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30 |
For ye shall be as an oak whose leaf
fadeth, and as a garden that hath no water.
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31 |
And the strong shall be as tow, and the
maker of it as a spark, and they shall both burn together, and none
shall quench them.
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