First Upload: Wednesday March 13, 2019
Last Modified: Thursday September 9, 2021
Author: Eduardo Freire Canosa
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1 The vision concerning Judah and Jerusalem that Isaiah son of Amoz saw during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.
2 Hear, O heavens! Listen, O earth! For the Lord has spoken: "I reared children and brought them up, but they have rebelled against me.
3 The ox knows his master, the donkey his owner's manger, but Israel does not know, my people do not understand."
4 Ah, sinful nation, a people loaded with guilt, a brood of evildoers, children given to corruption! They have forsaken the Lord; they have spurned the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on him.
5 Why should you be beaten anymore? Why do you persist in rebellion? Your whole head is injured, your whole heart afflicted.
6 From the sole of your foot to the top of your head there is no soundness—only wounds and welts and open sores, not cleansed or bandaged or soothed with oil.
7 Your country is desolate, your cities burned with fire; your fields are being stripped by foreigners right before you, laid waste as when overthrown by strangers.
8 The Daughter of Zion is left like a shelter in a vineyard, like a hut in a field of melons, like a city under siege.
9 Unless the Lord Almighty had left us some survivors, we would have become like Sodom, we would have been like Gomorrah.
10 Hear the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom; listen to the law of our God, you people of Gomorrah!
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; I have no pleasure in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats.
12 When you come to appear before me, who has asked this of you, this trampling of my courts?
13 Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me. New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations—I cannot bear your evil assemblies.
14 Your New Moon festivals and your appointed feasts my soul hates. They have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them.
15 When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide my eyes from you; even if you offer many prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are full of blood;
16 wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight! Stop doing wrong,
17 learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow.
18 Come now, let us reason together," says the Lord. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.
19 If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best from the land;
20 but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword." For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.
21 See how the faithful city has become a harlot! She once was full of justice; righteousness used to dwell in her—but now murderers!
22 Your silver has become dross, your choice wine is diluted with water.
23 Your rulers are rebels, companions of thieves; they all love bribes and chase after gifts. They do not defend the cause of the fatherless; the widow's case does not come before them.
24 Therefore the Lord, the Lord Almighty, the Mighty One of Israel, declares: "Ah, I will get relief from my foes and avenge myself on my enemies.
25 I will turn my hand against you; I will thoroughly purge away your dross and remove all your impurities.
26 I will restore your judges as in days of old, your counselors as at the beginning. Afterward you will be called the City of Righteousness, the Faithful City."
27 Zion will be redeemed with justice, her penitent ones with righteousness.
28 But rebels and sinners will both be broken, and those who forsake the Lord will perish.
29 "You will be ashamed because of the sacred oaks in which you have delighted; you will be disgraced because of the gardens that you have chosen.
30 You will be like an oak with fading leaves, 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."
The bulk of this chapter revolves around the raids that the land of Judah endured during the monarchy of Ahaz (v 7). At this stage the main invading force of Ephraim plus Aram had not yet arrived, but the people of the countryside have sought refuge in Jerusalem (v 8).
Revised Chapter 1 borrows twenty-two verses of the canonical chapter, imports twenty-four and a half verses from eight chapters and carries the title, "The Invasion of Judah During the Reign of Ahaz."
1. The vision concerning Judah and Jerusalem that Isaiah son of Amoz saw during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.
Reason: There is no description of a vision in this canonical chapter. The only detailed vision in the Book of Isaiah is found in Chapter 6.
Destination: Revised Chapter 6, "The Vision of The Lord."
18-20. "Come now, let us reason together," says the Lord. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. 19 If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best from the land; 20 but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword." For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.
Reason: The conciliatory tone of these three verses contravenes the harsh tone and mounting anger of the foregoing verses 10-17. If the Lord will not pay attention to even many prayers (v 15) how can he abruptly turn around and plead, "Come now, let us reason together"? Consequently this offer of dialogue belongs elsewhere. Furthermore the sword of v 20 is already devouring Judah.
Destination: Revised Chapter 58, "Come Now, Let Us Reason Together, Says The Lord."
26-28. I will restore your judges as in days of old, your counselors as at the beginning. Afterward you will be called the City of Righteousness, the Faithful City. 27 Zion will be redeemed with justice, her penitent ones with righteousness. 28 But rebels and sinners will both be broken, and those who forsake the Lord will perish.
Reason: The forecast of a "City of Righteousness, the Faithful City" (Jerusalem) appertains to a distant future, a prospect that could hardly comfort a righteous man living alongside "a people loaded with guilt, a brood of evildoers" (v 4). Chapters 60 and 62 discourse on a "new heavens and a new earth" (Isaiah 65:17) suggesting that verses 26-28 should reside close by.
Destination: Revised Chapter 60, "The City of The Lord, Zion of The Holy One of Israel."
29-30. You will be ashamed because of the sacred oaks in which you have delighted; you will be disgraced because of the gardens that you have chosen. 30 You will be like an oak with fading leaves, like a garden without water.
Reason: The Lord is once more threatening future shame and disgrace, but shame and disgrace have arrived already (v 7). Consequently verses 29-30 appertain to an earlier date.
The "sacred oaks" reappear on Isaiah 57:5, "You burn with lust among the oaks," in allusion to pagan worship. The "gardens" reappear on Isaiah 65:3, 66:17, both times in connection with pagan worship, the object of reproach.
Destination: Revised Chapter 55, "The Lord Addresses The People,"
57:11 Whom have you so dreaded and feared that you have been false to me, and have neither remembered me nor pondered this in your hearts? Is it not because I have long been silent that you do not fear me? 57:12 I will expose your righteousness and your works, and they will not benefit you. 29 You will be ashamed because of the sacred oaks in which you have delighted; you will be disgraced because of the gardens that you have chosen. 30 You will be like an oak with fading leaves, like a garden without water.
2:20. In that day men will throw away to the rodents and bats their idols of silver and idols of gold which they made to worship.
7:18-19. In that day the Lord will whistle for flies from the distant streams of Egypt and for bees from the land of Assyria. 19 They will all come and settle in the steep ravines and in the crevices in the rocks, on all the thornbushes and at all the water holes.
9:12. Arameans from the east and Philistines from the west have devoured Israel with open mouth. Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away, his hand is still upraised.
9:13. But the people have not returned to him who struck them, nor have they sought the Lord Almighty.
9:18-21. Surely wickedness burns like a fire; it consumes briers and thorns, it sets the forest thickets ablaze, so that it rolls upward in a column of smoke. 19 By the wrath of the Lord Almighty the land will be scorched and the people will be fuel for the fire; no one will spare his brother. 20 On the right they will devour, but still be hungry; on the left they will eat, but not be satisfied. Each will feed on the flesh of his own offspring: 21 Manasseh will feed on Ephraim, and Ephraim on Manasseh; together they will turn against Judah. Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away, his hand is still upraised.
10:20-21. In that day the remnant of Israel, the survivors of the house of Jacob, will no longer rely on him who struck them down but will truly rely on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel. 21 A remnant will return, a remnant of Jacob will return to the Mighty God.
22:7-13. Your choicest valleys are full of chariots, and horsemen are posted at the city gates; 8 the defenses of Judah are stripped away. And you looked in that day to the weapons in the Palace of the Forest; 9 you saw that the City of David had many breaches in its defenses; you stored up water in the Lower Pool. 10 You counted the buildings in Jerusalem and tore down houses to strengthen the wall. 11 You built a reservoir between the two walls for the water of the Old Pool, but you did not look to the One who made it, or have regard for the One who planned it long ago. 12 The Lord, the Lord Almighty, called you on that day to weep and to wail, to tear out your hair and put on sackcloth. 13 But see, there is joy and revelry, slaughtering of cattle and killing of sheep, eating of meat and drinking of wine! "Let us eat and drink," you say, "for tomorrow we die!"
Second Half of 27:4. If only there were briers and thorns confronting me! I would march against them in battle; I would set them all on fire.
30:15-17. This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says: "In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it. 16 You said, 'No, we will flee on horses.' Therefore you will flee! You said, 'We will ride off on swift horses.' Therefore your pursuers will be swift! 17 A thousand will flee at the threat of one; at the threat of five you will all flee away, till you are left like a flagstaff on a mountaintop, like a banner on a hill."
59:1-3. Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. 2 But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear. 3 For your hands are stained with blood, your fingers with guilt. Your lips have spoken lies, and your tongue mutters wicked things.
2 Hear, O heavens! Listen, O earth! For the Lord has spoken: "I reared children and brought them up, but they have rebelled against me. 3 The ox knows his master, the donkey his owner's manger, but Israel does not know, my people do not understand. Second Half of 27:4 If only there were briers and thorns confronting me! I would march against them in battle; I would set them all on fire."
4 Ah, sinful nation, a people loaded with guilt, a brood of evildoers, children given to corruption! They have forsaken the Lord; they have spurned the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on him. 5 Why should you be beaten anymore? Why do you persist in rebellion? Your whole head is injured, your whole heart afflicted. 6 From the sole of your foot to the top of your head there is no soundness—only wounds and welts and open sores, not cleansed or bandaged or soothed with oil. 7 Your country is desolate, your cities burned with fire; your fields are being stripped by foreigners right before you, laid waste as when overthrown by strangers. 9:12 Arameans from the east and Philistines from the west have devoured Israel with open mouth. Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away, his hand is still upraised.
22:7 Your choicest valleys are full of chariots, and horsemen are posted at the city gates; 22:8 the defenses of Judah are stripped away. And you looked in that day to the weapons in the Palace of the Forest; 22:9 you saw that the City of David had many breaches in its defenses; you stored up water in the Lower Pool. 22:10 You counted the buildings in Jerusalem and tore down houses to strengthen the wall. 22:11 You built a reservoir between the two walls for the water of the Old Pool, but you did not look to the One who made it, or have regard for the One who planned it long ago. 22:12 The Lord, the Lord Almighty, called you on that day to weep and to wail, to tear out your hair and put on sackcloth. 22:13 But see, there is joy and revelry, slaughtering of cattle and killing of sheep, eating of meat and drinking of wine! "Let us eat and drink," you say, "for tomorrow we die!"
59:1 Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. 59:2 But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear. 59:3 For your hands are stained with blood, your fingers with guilt. Your lips have spoken lies, and your tongue mutters wicked things.
30:15 This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says: "In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it. 30:16 You said, 'No, we will flee on horses.' Therefore you will flee! You said, 'We will ride off on swift horses.' Therefore your pursuers will be swift! 30:17 A thousand will flee at the threat of one; at the threat of five you will all flee away, till you are left like a flagstaff on a mountaintop, like a banner on a hill."
8 The Daughter of Zion is left like a shelter in a vineyard, like a hut in a field of melons, like a city under siege. 9 Unless the Lord Almighty had left us some survivors, we would have become like Sodom, we would have been like Gomorrah. 9:13 But the people have not returned to him who struck them, nor have they sought the Lord Almighty.
10 Hear the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom; listen to the law of our God, you people of Gomorrah! 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; I have no pleasure in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats. 12 When you come to appear before me, who has asked this of you, this trampling of my courts? 13 Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me. New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations—I cannot bear your evil assemblies. 14 My soul hates your New Moon festivals and your appointed feasts. They have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them. 15 When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide my eyes from you; even if you offer many prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are full of blood; 16 wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight! Stop doing wrong, 17 learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow."
21 See how the faithful city has become a harlot! She once was full of justice; righteousness used to dwell in her—but now murderers! 22 Your silver has become dross, your choice wine is diluted with water. 23 Your rulers are rebels, companions of thieves; they all love bribes and chase after gifts. They do not defend the cause of the fatherless; the widow's case does not come before them. 24 Therefore the Lord, the Lord Almighty, the Mighty One of Israel, declares: "Ah, I will get relief from my foes and avenge myself on my enemies. 25 I will turn my hand against you; I will thoroughly purge away your dross and remove all your impurities. 31 The mighty man will become tinder and his work a spark; both will burn together with no one to quench the fire."
9:18 Surely wickedness burns like a fire; it consumes briers and thorns, it sets the forest thickets ablaze, so that it rolls upward in a column of smoke. 9:19 By the wrath of the Lord Almighty the land will be scorched and the people will be fuel for the fire; no one will spare his brother. 9:20 On the right they will devour, but still be hungry; on the left they will eat, but not be satisfied. Each will feed on the flesh of his own offspring: 9:21 Manasseh will feed on Ephraim, and Ephraim on Manasseh; together they will turn against Judah. Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away, his hand is still upraised.
7:18 In that day the Lord will whistle for flies from the distant streams of Egypt and for bees from the land of Assyria. 7:19 They will all come and settle in the steep ravines and in the crevices in the rocks, on all the thornbushes and at all the water holes.
10:20 In that day the remnant of Israel, the survivors of the house of Jacob, will no longer rely on him who struck them down but will truly rely on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel. 2:20 In that day men will throw away to the rodents and bats their idols of silver and idols of gold which they made to worship. 10:21 A remnant will return, a remnant of Jacob will return to the Mighty God.
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