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Rebellion of God's People

¹ The vision of the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz concerning the kingdom of ^(C1)Judah and its capital Jerusalem, which he saw as revealed by God during the reigns of ^(C2)Uzziah, ^(C3)Jotham, ^(C4)Ahaz, and ^(C5)Hezekiah, kings of Judah.

^2 (C1)Hear, O heavens, and listen, O ^(C2)earth;
For the LORD has spoken:
"I have reared and brought up ^(C3)sons,
But they have ^(C4)rebelled against Me and have broken away.

³ "The ox instinctively knows its owner,
And the donkey its master's feeding trough,
But Israel ^(C1)does not know Me as LORD,
My people ^(C2)do not understand."

⁴ Ah, sinful nation,
A people loaded down with wickedness with sin, with injustice, with wrongdoing,
^(C1)Offspring of evildoers,
Sons who ^(C2)behave corruptly!
They have ^(C3)abandoned (rejected) the LORD,
They have ^(C4)despised the Holy One of Israel provoking Him to anger,
They have turned away from Him.

⁵ Why should you be stricken and punished again since no change results from it?
You only ^(C1)continue to rebel.
The whole head is ^(C2)sick
And the whole heart is faint and sick.

^6 (C1)From the sole of the foot even to the head
There is ^(C2)nothing healthy in the nation's body,
Only bruises, welts, and raw wounds,
^(C3)Not pressed out or bandaged,
Nor softened with oil as a remedy.

⁷ Your ^(C1)land lies desolate because of your disobedience,
Your cities are burned with fire,
Your fields—strangers are devouring them in your very presence;
It is desolate, as overthrown by strangers.

⁸ The Daughter of Zion (Jerusalem) is left like a deserted shelter in a vineyard,
Like a watchman's hut in a cucumber field, like a besieged city isolated, surrounded by devastation.

^9 (C1)If the LORD of hosts
Had not left us a few ^(C2)survivors,
We would be like ^(C3)Sodom,
We would be like Gomorrah. ^(VR1)

God Has Had Enough

¹⁰ Hear ^(C1)the word of the LORD rulers of Jerusalem,
You rulers of another ^(C2)Sodom,
Listen to the law and instruction of our God,
You people of another Gomorrah.

¹¹ "^(C1)What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me without your repentance?"
Says the LORD.
"I have had enough of your burnt offerings of rams
And the fat of well-fed cattle without your obedience;
And I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls or lambs or goats offered without repentance.

¹² "When you come to ^(C1)appear before Me,
Who requires this of you, this trampling of My temple courts by your sinful feet?

¹³ "Do not bring worthless offerings again,
Your ^(C1)incense is repulsive to Me;
Your ^(C2)New Moon and Sabbath observances, the ^(C3)calling of assemblies—
I cannot ^(C4)endure wickedness your sin, your injustice, your wrongdoing and the squalor of the festive assembly.

¹⁴ "I hate the hypocrisy of your New Moon festivals and your ^(C1)appointed feasts.
They have become a burden to Me;
I am ^(C2)weary of bearing them.

¹⁵ "So when you ^(C1)spread out your hands in prayer, pleading for My help,
^(C2)I will hide My eyes from you;
Yes, even though you offer ^(C3)many prayers,
I will not be listening.
^(C4)Your hands are full of blood!

¹⁶ "^(C1)Wash yourselves, ^(C2)make yourselves clean;
^(C3)Get your evil deeds out of My sight.
^(C4)Stop doing evil,

¹⁷ Learn to do good.
^(C1)Seek justice,
Rebuke the ruthless,
^(C2)Defend the fatherless,
Plead for the rights of the widow in court.

"Let Us Reason"

¹⁸ "Come now, and ^(C1)let us reason together,"
Says the LORD.
"^(F1)(C2)Though your sins are like scarlet,
They shall be as white as snow;
Though they are red like crimson,
They shall be like wool.

¹⁹ "^(C1)If you are willing and obedient,
You shall ^(C2)eat the best of the land;

²⁰ But if you refuse and rebel,
You shall be ^(C1)devoured by the sword."
For ^(C2)the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

Zion Corrupted, to Be Redeemed

²¹ How the faithful city has become ^(C1)a prostitute idolatrous, despicable,
She who was full of justice!
Right standing with God once lodged in her,
But now murderers.

²² Your silver has turned to ^(F1)lead,
Your wine is diluted with water.

²³ Your ^(C1)rulers are rebels
And companions of thieves;
Everyone ^(C2)loves bribes
And chases after gifts.
They ^(C3)do not defend the fatherless,
Nor does the widow's cause come before them instead they delay or turn a deaf ear.

²⁴ Therefore the Lord GOD of hosts,
The ^(C1)Mighty One of Israel, declares:
"Ah, I will be freed of My adversaries
And ^(C2)avenge Myself on My enemies.

²⁵ "And I will turn My hand against you,
And will thoroughly ^(C1)purge away your dross as with lye
And remove all your tin (impurity).

²⁶ "Then I will restore your ^(C1)judges as at the first,
And your counselors as at the beginning;
Afterward you will be called the ^(C2)city of righteousness,
The faithful city."

²⁷ Zion will be ^(C1)redeemed with justice
And her repentant ones with righteousness.

²⁸ But rebels and sinners will be ^(C1)crushed and destroyed together,
And those who abandon (turn away from) the LORD will be consumed (perish).

²⁹ For you will be ashamed of the degradation of the ^(C1)oaks in which you took idolatrous pleasure,
And you will be ashamed of the ^(C2)gardens of passion which you have chosen for pagan worship.

³⁰ For you will be like an oak whose ^(C1)leaf withers and dies
And like a garden that has no water.

³¹ The strong man will become tinder,
And his work a spark.
So both will ^(C1)burn together
And there will be ^(C2)none to quench them.