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Isaiah 1
New Catholic Bible
Isaiah 1
New Catholic Bible
The Book of Judgment[a]
Indictment of Israel and Judah[b]
Chapter 1
The Sins of Israel. 1 The vision of Isaiah, the son of Amoz, concerning Judah and Jerusalem which he received during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.
2 [c]Listen, O heavens, and pay close attention, O earth,
for the Lord is speaking.
I reared children and brought them up,
but they have rebelled against me.
3 An ox knows its owner
and the donkey its master’s stall,
but Israel does not know,
my people do not understand.
4 You are a sinful nation,
a people weighed down with iniquity,
a race of evildoers
whose children are corrupt;
you have forsaken the Lord,
despised the Holy One of Israel,
and turned your backs on him.
5 [d]Why do you continue to seek further beatings?
Why do you persist in your rebellion?
Your entire head is sick
and your whole heart is faint.
6 From the sole of your foot to your head
there is not a single healthy area
nothing but bruises and welts and open sores
that have not been drained or bandaged
or soothed with ointment.
7 Your country is a desolate waste,
and fire has destroyed your cities.
Before your very eyes
foreigners have devoured your land
and left it as desolate
as Sodom after it had been overthrown.
8 Daughter Zion[e] is left
like a shack in a vineyard,
like a shed in a field of cucumbers,
like a besieged city.
9 If the Lord of hosts[f]
had not left us a few survivors,
we would have become like Sodom
and been like Gomorrah.
10 [g]Hear the word of the Lord,
you rulers of Sodom.
Listen to the teaching of our God,
you people of Gomorrah.
11 What do I care about your unceasing sacrifices?
says the Lord.
I am weary of burnt offerings of rams
and the fat of well-fed animals.
I derive no delight in the blood
of bulls and lambs and goats.
12 When you come into my presence,
who has asked you to present such offerings?
Never again trample my courts!
13 To bring me offerings is futile;
I regard your incense as loathsome.
New moons and Sabbaths and sacred assemblies—
I cannot tolerate your iniquity that accompanies them.
14 I loathe your new moons and your festivals;
they have become a burden to me
and I can no longer endure bearing them.
15 When you stretch out your hands,[h]
I will turn away my eyes from you.
Even if you pray endlessly,
I will not listen,
for your hands are covered with blood.
16 Wash yourselves and become clean;
remove your evil deeds
far from my sight.
Cease to do evil
17 and learn to do good.
Pursue justice and rescue the oppressed;
listen to the plea of the orphan[i]
and defend the widow.
18 Come now and let us discuss this,
says the Lord.
Though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be like snow.
Though they are as red as crimson,
they shall become as white as wool.
19 If you are willing to obey,
you will eat the best food
that the land has to offer.
20 However, if you refuse and rebel,
the sword will devour you,
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.
21 How the faithful city
has become an adulteress,[j]
she who used to be a symbol of justice.
Righteousness used to dwell in her,
but now she is the abode of murderers.
22 Your silver has turned to dross,
and your wine is mixed with water.
23 Your princes are rebels
and companions of thieves.
All of them love bribes
and are eager to receive gifts.
They do not treat the orphan with justice,
and they refuse to listen to the pleas of widows.
24 Therefore, the Lord of hosts,
the Mighty One of Israel, says this:
I am determined to vent my anger upon my enemies
and wreak vengeance on my foes.
25 I will turn my hand against you
and refine your dross in the furnace,
purging all of your impurities.
26 And I will restore your judges
as in the days of old
and your counselors as at the beginning.
Then you will be called the city of righteousness,
the faithful city.
27 Zion will be redeemed by judgment
and those who are repentant by righteousness.
28 But rebels and sinners alike will be destroyed,
and those who forsake the Lord will perish.
29 You will be ashamed of the sacred oaks[k]
which offered you such delight,
and you will blush when you behold the gardens
which you chose in their stead.
30 You will be like a tree whose leaves are withered,
like a garden without water.
31 The strong man will become like straw
and his work like a spark.
Both will burn together,
and no one will be able to quench the flames.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 1:1 This first part of the Book presents Isaiah himself and his message, although some sections are clearly from a later date, such as chapters 24–27; 34–35, which are often called “the Isaiah apocalypses.” But the oracles in the collection do not follow a strict chronological order.
In the midst of political upheaval, Isaiah proclaimed the greatness of God, the “Holy One of Israel,” who governs the world. He opposed King Ahaz, who nonetheless called on Assyria for help and came under its control; he opposed Hezekiah, who wanted to defy Assyria by allying himself with Egypt. Such insecure and shifting alliances could do nothing to change the fate of the people of God; the nation would, however, be safe if it learned to emphasize above all else its covenant with God, in which justice was a supreme value. Judah should have found within itself the courage for a moral renewal. Yet the people of the covenant remain strong thanks above all to their faith. - Isaiah 1:1 The vision of Isaiah: thus begins the book; Isaiah in fact remains an unparalleled seer in the history of humanity. The title, “Vision,” applies above all to the first twelve chapters. Nothing, whether the powers of this world, or external events, or domestic intrigues, can turn the prophet’s gaze from the holiness of God, before whom everything else disappears. In this entire body of oracles, we can distinguish several collections: oracles uttered in the most diverse circumstances during fifty years of prophetic ministry from the last days of Uzziah (740 B.C.) to the death of Hezekiah (687 B.C.).
The first five chapters perhaps correspond most closely to the beginning of Isaiah’s activity; the remainder belong to the course of the Syro-Ephraimite war against Judah in 732 B.C. It is true that some of the verses look more to the northern kingdom (9:7) and to Assyria (10:5), but on the whole, the oracles are addressed to the people of Judah. The “Book of Immanuel” that begins in chapter 6 is doubtless the jewel of Isaiah’s work and has won him the title of supreme prophetic foreteller of the coming of Jesus. The Advent liturgy draws upon these chapters. - Isaiah 1:2 Isaiah must denounce decadence and open the eyes of those who no longer want to see. He first takes on himself the suffering involved in the fate of his country by remaining in solidarity with the very people whom he accuses and even severely indicts.
- Isaiah 1:5 The enemy, perhaps Sennacherib (in 701 B.C.), has ravaged the realm and taken many inhabitants captive. The country has suffered a deadly blow. Only Jerusalem, the Daughter Zion, has been spared.
- Isaiah 1:8 Daughter Zion: a personification of Jerusalem. Shack: huts for keeping the grapes were built among the vines during the grape harvest.
- Isaiah 1:9 Lord of hosts: literally, “Lord of armies (Hebrew, sabaoth),” indicates that the God of Israel is master of everything, from the armed hosts of Israel to the stars and every celestial power. Sodom and Gomorrah are cities constantly recalled (even in Mt 10:15) as an example of moral depravity that calls down punishment from God (see Gen 18:16—19:29).
- Isaiah 1:10 Right in the temple of Jerusalem, young Isaiah raises his voice in denunciation of hypocrisy in worship. He compares the leaders and people to the most dissolute sinners of Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen 18:16—19:29). The diatribe against hypocritical worship occurs frequently in the Bible (Pss 40:6-8; 50:5-15; Jer 6:20; Am 5:21-27; Hos 6:6; Mic 6:5-8). We already think of the scathing words of Jesus against Pharisaism (Mt 7:21) and of his forceful action against the sellers in the temple (Lk 19:45-46; Jn 2:13-22).
- Isaiah 1:15 Hands: the habitual manner of praying was to extend the hands with the palms open upwards.
- Isaiah 1:17 Orphan, widow: these were the people most defenseless and most exposed to injustice in the social order of the time. This is why they are constantly mentioned in ethical passages of the Bible.
- Isaiah 1:21 Adulteress: the term signifies infidelity to God, inasmuch as the covenant between God and his people had its most appropriate image in the bond of conjugal love. This allegory recurs constantly.
- Isaiah 1:29 Sacred oaks: a reference to places of idolatrous worship, which was practiced for the most part in sacred groves on high places.
Isaiah 1
New International Version
Isaiah 1
New International Version
1 The vision(A) concerning Judah and Jerusalem(B) that Isaiah son of Amoz saw(C) during the reigns of Uzziah,(D) Jotham,(E) Ahaz(F) and Hezekiah,(G) kings of Judah.
A Rebellious Nation
2 Hear me, you heavens! Listen, earth!(H)
For the Lord has spoken:(I)
“I reared children(J) and brought them up,
but they have rebelled(K) against me.
3 The ox knows(L) its master,
the donkey its owner’s manger,(M)
but Israel does not know,(N)
my people do not understand.(O)”
4 Woe to the sinful nation,
a people whose guilt is great,(P)
a brood of evildoers,(Q)
children given to corruption!(R)
They have forsaken(S) the Lord;
they have spurned the Holy One(T) of Israel
and turned their backs(U) on him.
5 Why should you be beaten(V) anymore?
Why do you persist(W) in rebellion?(X)
Your whole head is injured,
your whole heart(Y) afflicted.(Z)
6 From the sole of your foot to the top of your head(AA)
there is no soundness(AB)—
only wounds and welts(AC)
and open sores,
not cleansed or bandaged(AD)
or soothed with olive oil.(AE)
7 Your country is desolate,(AF)
your cities burned with fire;(AG)
your fields are being stripped by foreigners(AH)
right before you,
laid waste as when overthrown by strangers.(AI)
8 Daughter Zion(AJ) is left(AK)
like a shelter in a vineyard,
like a hut(AL) in a cucumber field,
like a city under siege.
9 Unless the Lord Almighty
had left us some survivors,(AM)
we would have become like Sodom,
we would have been like Gomorrah.(AN)
10 Hear the word of the Lord,(AO)
you rulers of Sodom;(AP)
listen to the instruction(AQ) of our God,
you people of Gomorrah!(AR)
11 “The multitude of your sacrifices—
what are they to me?” says the Lord.
“I have more than enough of burnt offerings,
of rams and the fat of fattened animals;(AS)
I have no pleasure(AT)
in the blood of bulls(AU) and lambs and goats.(AV)
12 When you come to appear before me,
who has asked this of you,(AW)
this trampling of my courts?
13 Stop bringing meaningless offerings!(AX)
Your incense(AY) is detestable(AZ) to me.
New Moons,(BA) Sabbaths and convocations(BB)—
I cannot bear your worthless assemblies.
14 Your New Moon(BC) feasts and your appointed festivals(BD)
I hate with all my being.(BE)
They have become a burden to me;(BF)
I am weary(BG) of bearing them.
15 When you spread out your hands(BH) in prayer,
I hide(BI) my eyes from you;
even when you offer many prayers,
I am not listening.(BJ)
16 Wash(BM) and make yourselves clean.
Take your evil deeds out of my sight;(BN)
stop doing wrong.(BO)
17 Learn to do right;(BP) seek justice.(BQ)
Defend the oppressed.[a](BR)
Take up the cause of the fatherless;(BS)
plead the case of the widow.(BT)
18 “Come now, let us settle the matter,”(BU)
says the Lord.
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;(BV)
though they are red as crimson,
they shall be like wool.(BW)
19 If you are willing and obedient,(BX)
you will eat the good things of the land;(BY)
20 but if you resist and rebel,(BZ)
you will be devoured by the sword.”(CA)
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.(CB)
21 See how the faithful city
has become a prostitute!(CC)
She once was full of justice;
righteousness(CD) used to dwell in her—
but now murderers!(CE)
22 Your silver has become dross,(CF)
your choice wine is diluted with water.
23 Your rulers are rebels,(CG)
partners with thieves;(CH)
they all love bribes(CI)
and chase after gifts.
They do not defend the cause of the fatherless;
the widow’s case does not come before them.(CJ)
24 Therefore the Lord, the Lord Almighty,
the Mighty One(CK) of Israel, declares:
“Ah! I will vent my wrath on my foes
and avenge(CL) myself on my enemies.(CM)
25 I will turn my hand against you;[b](CN)
I will thoroughly purge(CO) away your dross(CP)
and remove all your impurities.(CQ)
26 I will restore your leaders as in days of old,(CR)
your rulers as at the beginning.
Afterward you will be called(CS)
the City of Righteousness,(CT)
the Faithful City.(CU)”
27 Zion will be delivered with justice,
her penitent(CV) ones with righteousness.(CW)
28 But rebels and sinners(CX) will both be broken,
and those who forsake(CY) the Lord will perish.(CZ)
29 “You will be ashamed(DA) because of the sacred oaks(DB)
in which you have delighted;
you will be disgraced because of the gardens(DC)
that you have chosen.
30 You will be like an oak with fading leaves,(DD)
like a garden without water.
31 The mighty man will become tinder
and his work a spark;
both will burn together,
with no one to quench the fire.(DE)”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 1:17 Or justice. / Correct the oppressor
- Isaiah 1:25 That is, against Jerusalem
New International Version (NIV) 
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