Study Desk

Hear the word of the Lord ,^(w) you rulers of Sodom! Listen to the instruction of our God, you people of Gomorrah!^(x)

"What are all your sacrifices to Me?" asks the Lord . "I have had enough of burnt offerings and rams and the fat of well-fed cattle; I have no desire for the blood of bulls, lambs, or male goats.^(y)

When you come to appear before Me, who requires this from you— this trampling of My courts?

Stop bringing useless offerings.^(z) Your incense is detestable to Me. New Moons and Sabbaths,^(aa) and the calling of solemn assemblies^(ab)— I cannot stand iniquity^(ac) with a festival.

I hate your New Moons and prescribed festivals. They have become a burden to Me; I am tired of putting up with them.

When you lift up your hands in prayer,^(ad) I will refuse to look at you; even if you offer countless prayers, I will not listen.^(ae) Your hands are covered with blood.^(af)

"Wash yourselves. Cleanse yourselves.^(ag) Remove your evil deeds from My sight. Stop doing evil.^(ah)

Learn to do what is good. Seek justice.^(ai) Correct the oppressor.^[e] Defend the rights of the fatherless. Plead the widow's cause.

"Come, let us discuss this,"^(aj) says the Lord . "Though your sins are like scarlet, they will be as white as snow;^(ak) though they are as red as crimson, they will be like wool.

If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good things of the land.^(al)

But if you refuse and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword."^(am) For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.^(an)

The faithful city— what an adulteress^[f] she has become! She was once full of justice. Righteousness once dwelt in her— but now, murderers!

Your silver has become dross,^[g] your beer^[h] is diluted with water.

Your rulers are rebels, friends of thieves.^(ao) They all love graft and chase after bribes.^(ap) They do not defend the rights of the fatherless, and the widow's case never comes before them.^(aq)

Therefore the Lord God of Hosts, the Mighty One of Israel, declares: "Ah, I will gain satisfaction from My foes; I will take revenge against My enemies.^(ar)

I will turn My hand against you^(as) and will burn away your dross^[i] completely;^[j] I will remove all your impurities.^(at)

I will restore your judges^(au) to what they once were,^[k] and your advisers to their former state.^[l] Afterward you will be called the Righteous City,^(av) a Faithful City."

Zion will be redeemed by justice, her repentant ones by righteousness.^(aw)

But both rebels and sinners will be destroyed, and those who abandon the Lord will perish.

Indeed, they^[m] will be ashamed of the sacred trees you desired,^(ax) and you will be embarrassed because of the gardens you have chosen.^(ay)

For you will become like an oak whose leaves are withered, and like a garden without water.^(az)

The strong one will become tinder, and his work a spark; both will burn together,^(ba) with no one to quench the flames.^(bb)

The vision that Isaiah^(a) son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem:

In^(b) the last days^(c) the mountain of the Lord 's house^(d) will be established at the top of the mountains and will be raised above the hills. All nations will stream to it,^(e)

and many peoples will come and say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord , to the house of the God of Jacob.^(f) He will teach us about His ways so that we may walk in His paths." For instruction will go out of Zion and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

He will settle disputes among the nations and provide arbitration for many peoples. They will turn their swords into plows and their spears into pruning knives.^(g) Nations will not take up the sword against other nations, and they will never again train for war.^(h)

House of Jacob, come and let us walk in the Lord 's light.⁽ⁱ⁾

For You have abandoned^(j) Your people, the house of Jacob, because they are full of divination from the East and of fortune-tellers^(k) like the Philistines.^(l) They are in league^[a] with foreigners.

Their^[b][c] land is full of silver and gold, and there is no limit to their treasures; their land is full of horses, and there is no limit to their chariots.^(m)

Their land is full of idols;⁽ⁿ⁾ they bow down to the work of their hands, to what their fingers have made.^(o)

So humanity is brought low, and man is humbled. Do not forgive them!^(p)

Go into the rocks^(q) and hide in the dust from the terror of the Lord ^(r) and from His majestic splendor.^(s)

Human pride^[d] will be humbled,^(t) and the loftiness of men will be brought low; the Lord alone will be exalted on that day.

For a day belonging to the Lord of Hosts is coming against all that is proud and lofty,^(u) against all that is lifted up—it will be humbled—

against all the cedars of Lebanon,^(v) lofty and lifted up, against all the oaks of Bashan,^(w)

against all the high mountains,^(x) against all the lofty hills,

against every high tower,^(y) against every fortified wall,

against every ship of Tarshish,^(z) and against every splendid sea vessel.

So human pride will be brought low, and the loftiness of men will be humbled; the Lord alone will be exalted on that day.^(aa)

The idols will vanish completely.

People will go into caves in the rocks^(ab) and holes in the ground, away from the terror of the Lord and from His majestic splendor, when He rises to terrify the earth.^(ac)

On that day people will throw their silver and gold idols,^(ad) which they made to worship, to the moles and the bats.

They will go into the caves of the rocks and the crevices in the cliffs, away from the terror of the Lord and from His majestic splendor,^(ae) when He rises to terrify the earth.

Put no more trust in man, who has only the breath in his nostrils.^(af) What is he really worth?

Observe this: The Lord God of Hosts is about to remove from Jerusalem and from Judah every kind of security: the entire supply of bread and water,

the hero and warrior,^(a) the judge and prophet, the fortune-teller and elder,

the commander of 50 and the dignitary, the counselor, cunning magician,^[a] and necromancer.^[b]

"I will make youths their leaders,^(b) and the unstable^[c] will govern them."

The people will oppress one another,^(c) man against man, neighbor against neighbor; the youth will act arrogantly toward the elder, and the worthless toward the honorable.

A man will even seize his brother in his father's house, saying: "You have a cloak—you be our leader! This heap of rubble will be under your control."

On that day he will cry out, saying: "I'm not a healer. I don't even have food or clothing in my house. Don't make me the leader of the people!"

For Jerusalem has stumbled and Judah has fallen because they have spoken and acted against the Lord ,^(d) defying His glorious presence.^(e)

The look on their faces testifies against them, and like Sodom,^(f) they flaunt their sin. They do not conceal it. Woe to them, for they have brought evil on themselves.^(g)

Tell the righteous that it will go well for them, for they will eat the fruit of their labor.

Woe to the wicked—it will go badly for them, for what they have done will be done to them.

Youths oppress My people,^(h) and women rule over them. My people, your leaders mislead you; they confuse the direction of your paths.⁽ⁱ⁾

The Lord rises to argue the case and stands to judge the people.^(j)

The Lord brings this charge against the elders and leaders of His people:^(k) "You have devastated the vineyard. The plunder from the poor is in your houses.^(l)

Why do you crush My people and grind the faces of the poor?" This is the declaration of the Lord God of Hosts.

The Lord also says: Because the daughters of Zion are haughty,^(m) walking with heads held high and seductive eyes, going along with prancing steps, jingling their ankle bracelets,

the Lord will put scabs on the heads of the daughters of Zion, and the Lord will shave their foreheads bare.

On that day⁽ⁿ⁾ the Lord will strip their finery: ankle bracelets, headbands, crescents,^(o)

pendants, bracelets, veils,

headdresses, ankle jewelry, sashes, perfume bottles, amulets,^(p)

signet rings, nose rings,^(q)

festive robes, capes, cloaks, purses,

garments, linen clothes, turbans, and veils.

Instead of perfume there will be a stench; instead of a belt, a rope; instead of beautifully styled hair,^(r) baldness;^(s) instead of fine clothes, sackcloth;^(t) instead of beauty, branding.^[d]

Your men will fall by the sword, your warriors in battle.

Then her gates^(u) will lament and mourn; deserted, she will sit on the ground.^(v)

On that day seven women will seize one man,^(a) saying, "We will eat our own bread and provide our own clothing. Just let us be called by your name. Take away our disgrace."^(b)

On that day the Branch of^[a] the Lord will be beautiful and glorious,^(c) and the fruit of the land^(d) will be the pride and glory^(e) of Israel's survivors.^(f)

Whoever remains in Zion and whoever is left in Jerusalem^(g) will be called holy^(h)—all in Jerusalem who are destined to live⁽ⁱ⁾—

when the Lord has washed away the filth^(j) of the daughters of Zion and cleansed the bloodguilt^(k) from the heart of Jerusalem by a spirit of judgment^(l) and a spirit of burning.^(m)

Then the Lord will create⁽ⁿ⁾ a cloud of smoke by day^(o) and a glowing flame of fire by night over the entire site of Mount Zion and over its assemblies. For there will be a canopy over all the glory,^[b]

and there will be a booth for shade from heat by day, and a refuge and shelter from storm and rain.^(p)

I will sing about the one I love, a song about my loved one's vineyard:^(a) The one I love had a vineyard on a very fertile hill.

He broke up the soil, cleared it of stones, and planted it with the finest vines.^(b) He built a tower in the middle of it and even dug out a winepress there. He expected^(c) it to yield good grapes, but it yielded worthless grapes.^(d)

So now, residents of Jerusalem and men of Judah, please judge between Me and My vineyard.

What more could I have done for My vineyard than I did?^(e) Why, when I expected a yield of good grapes, did it yield worthless grapes?

Now I will tell you what I am about to do to My vineyard: I will remove its hedge,^(f) and it will be consumed; I will tear down its wall,^(g) and it will be trampled.

I will make it a wasteland.^(h) It will not be pruned or weeded; thorns and briers will grow up.⁽ⁱ⁾ I will also give orders to the clouds that rain should not fall on it.

For the vineyard of the Lord of Hosts is the house of Israel,^(j) and the men^[a] of Judah, the plant He delighted in. He looked for justice but saw injustice, for righteousness, but heard cries of wretchedness.

Woe to those who add house to house^(k) and join field to field until there is no more room and you alone are left in the land.

I heard the Lord of Hosts say: Indeed, many houses^(l) will become desolate, grand and lovely ones without inhabitants.

For a ten-acre^[b] vineyard will yield only six gallons,^[c] and 10 bushels^[d] of seed will yield only one bushel.^[e]

Woe to those who rise early in the morning in pursuit of beer,^(m) who linger into the evening, inflamed by wine.

At their feasts they have lyre, harp, tambourine, flute, and wine. They do not perceive the Lord 's actions,⁽ⁿ⁾ and they do not see the work of His hands.^(o)

Therefore My people will go into exile because they lack knowledge;^(p) her^[f] dignitaries are starving, and her^[g] masses are parched with thirst.

Therefore Sheol enlarges its throat and opens wide its enormous jaws,^(q) and down go Zion's dignitaries, her masses, her crowds, and those who carouse in her!

Humanity is brought low, man is humbled, and haughty eyes are humbled.^(r)

But the Lord of Hosts is exalted by His justice,^(s) and the holy God^(t) is distinguished by righteousness.^(u)

Lambs will graze as if in^[h] their own pastures,^(v) and strangers^[i] will eat among the ruins of the rich.