Isaiah gives an accusation against Judah for her rebellion, 1-4. He laments her judgments, 5-9. He upbraids their whole service, 10-15. He exhorts to repentance with promises and threatenings, 16-20. Bewailing their wickedness, he denounces God's judgments, 21-24. He promises grace, 25-27; and threatens destruction to the wicked, 28-31.
1 [The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.]
2 Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth./
For the LORD has spoken,/
"I have nourished and brought up children,/
and they have rebelled against me.
3 The ox knows his owner/
and the donkey his master's crib,/
but Israel does not know,/
my people do not consider."
4 Ah, sinful nation,/
a people laden with iniquity,/
offspring of evil-doers,/
children who are corrupters./
They have forsaken the LORD./
They have provoked the Holy One of Israel to anger./
They have gone away backward.
5 Why should you be stricken anymore?/
You will revolt more and more./
The whole head is sick/
and the whole heart is faint.
6 From the sole of the foot even to the head/
there is no soundness in it,/
but wounds, bruises, and putrefying sores./
They have not been closed, neither bound up,/
neither mollified with ointment.
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.
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.
9 Unless the LORD of hosts/
had left to us a very small remnant,/
we should have been as Sodom,/
we should have been like Gomorrah.
10 Hear the word of the LORD,/
rulers of Sodom./
Give ear to the law of our God,/
people of Gomorrah.
11 The LORD says,/
"To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices to me?/
I am full of the burnt-offerings of rams/
and the fat of fed beasts,/
and I do not delight in the blood/
of bulls, of lambs, or of male goats.
12 When you come to appear before me,/
who has required this at your hand/
to tread my courts?
13 Bring no more vain oblations./
Incense is an abomination to me./
The new moons and sabbaths,/
the calling of assemblies,/
I cannot endure./
It is iniquity, even the solemn meeting.
14 Your new moons and your appointed feasts/
my soul hates./
They are a trouble to me./
I am weary to bear them.
15 And when you spread forth your hands,/
I will hide my eyes from you./
Indeed, when you make many prayers,/
I will not hear./
Your hands are full of blood.
16 Wash, make yourselves clean./
Put away the evil of your doings/
from before my eyes./
Cease to do evil.
17 Learn to do well./
Seek judgment. Relieve the oppressed./
Judge the fatherless. Plead for the widow.
18 "Come now and let us reason together," says the LORD./
"Though your sins are as scarlet,/
they shall be white as snow./
Though they are red like crimson,/
they shall be as wool.
19 If you are willing and obedient,/
you shall eat the good of the land,
20 But if you refuse and rebel,/
you shall be devoured with the sword,/
for the mouth of the LORD has spoken it."
21 How the faithful city/
has become a harlot!/
It was full of judgment/
and righteousness lodged in it,/
but now murderers.
22 Your silver has become dross/
and your wine mixed with water.
23 Your princes are rebellious/
and companions of thieves./
Everyone loves gifts/
and follows after rewards./
They do not judge the fatherless,/
neither does the cause of the widow come to them.
24 Therefore, the Lord, the LORD of hosts,/
the mighty One of Israel, says,/
"Ah, I will ease myself of my adversaries/
and avenge myself of my enemies.
25 And I will turn my hand upon you/
and thoroughly purge away your dross/
and take away all your tin.
26 And I will restore your judges as at the first/
and your counselors as at the beginning./
Afterward, you shall be called,/
The City of Righteousness,/
The Faithful City."
27 Zion shall be redeemed with judgment/
and her converts with righteousness.
28 And the destruction of the transgressors and of the sinners/
shall be together,/
and those who forsake the LORD/
shall be consumed.
29 For they shall be ashamed of the oaks/
which you have desired,/
and you shall be confounded for the gardens/
that you have chosen.
30 For you shall be as an oak whose leaf fades/
and as a garden that has no water.
31 And the strong shall be as tow/
and its maker as a spark,/
and they shall both burn together,/
and no one shall quench them.
Matthew Henry Commentary - Isaiah, Chapter 1[➚]
[v.9] - Quoted in Romans 9:29.