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ISAIAH

A Prophet's Indignation

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 hath spoken:

Children I have reared, and brought up,
And they have rebelled against Me.
3 The ox knoweth his owner,
And the ass his master's crib;
But Israel doth not know,
My people doth not consider.

4 Ah sinful nation,

A people laden with iniquity,
A seed of evil-doers,

Children that deal corruptly;
They have forsaken the LORD,

They have contemned the Holy One of Israel,
They are turned away backward.

5 On what part will ye be yet stricken,
Seeing ye stray away more and more?
The whole head is sick,

And the whole heart faint;

6 From the sole of the foot even unto the head There is no soundness in it;

But wounds, and bruises, and festering sores: They have not been pressed, neither bound up,

Neither mollified with oil.

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 floods. 8 And the daughter of Zion is left

As a booth in a vineyard,

As a lodge in a garden of cucumbers,
As a besieged city.

9 Except the LORD of hosts

Had left unto us a very small remnant,
We should have been as Sodom,

We should have been like unto Gomorrah.

10 Hear the word of the LORD,

Ye rulers of Sodom;

Give ear unto the law of our God,

Ye people of Gomorrah.

11 To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto Me?

Saith the LORD;

I am full of the burnt-offerings of rams,
And the fat of fed beasts;

And I delight not in the blood

Of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he-goats. 12 When ye come to appear before Me, Who hath required this at your hand, To trample My courts?

13 Bring no more vain oblations;

It is an offering of abomination unto Me; New moon and sabbath, the holding of convocations

I cannot endure iniquity along with the solemn assembly.

14 Your new moons and your appointed seasons

My soul hateth;

They are a burden unto Me;

I am weary to bear them.

15 And when ye spread forth your hands,

I will hide Mine eyes from you;
Yea, when ye make many prayers,

I will not hear;

Your hands are full of blood. 16 Wash you, make you clean,

Put away the evil of your doings

From before Mine eyes,

Cease to do evil;

17 Learn to do well;

Seek justice, relieve the oppressed,

Judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.

18 Come now, and let us reason together,
Saith the LORD;

Though your sins be as scarlet,
They shall be as white as snow;
Though they be red like crimson,
They shall be as wool.

19 If ye be willing and obedient,
Ye shall eat the good of the land;

20 But if ye refuse and rebel,

Ye shall be devoured with the sword;
For the mouth of the LORD hath spoken.

21 How is the faithful city

Become a harlot!

She that was full of justice,
Righteousness lodged in her,
But now murderers.

22 Thy silver is become dross,

Thy wine mixed with water.
23 Thy princes are rebellious,
And companions of thieves;
Every one loveth bribes,

And followeth after rewards;
They judge not the fatherless,

Neither doth the cause of the widow come
unto them.

24 Therefore saith the Lord, the LORD of hosts, The Mighty One of Israel:

Ah, I will ease Me of Mine adversaries,
And avenge Me of Mine enemies;

25 And I will turn My hand upon thee,
And purge away thy dross as with lye,
And will take away all thine alloy;

26 And I will restore thy judges as at the first, And thy counsellors as at the beginning; Afterward thou shalt be called The city of righteousness,

The faithful city.

27 Zion shall be redeemed with justice,

And they that return of her with righteous

ness.

28 But the destruction of the transgressors and the sinners shall be together,

And they that forsake the LORD shall be consumed.

29 For they shall be ashamed of the terebinths which ye have desired,

And ye shall be confounded for the gardens that ye have chosen.

30 For ye shall be as a terebinth whose leaf fadeth,

And as a garden that hath no water.

31 And the strong shall be as tow, And his work as a spark;

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And they shall both burn together,
And none shall quench them.

A Vision of the Future

2 And it shall come to pass in the end of days,

That the mountain of the LORD's house shall be established as the top of the mountains, And shall be exalted above the hills;

And all nations shall flow unto it.

3 And many peoples shall go and say:
'Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain
of the LORD,

To the house of the God of Jacob;
And He will teach us of His ways,
And we will walk in His paths.'

For out of Zion shall go forth the law,
And the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
4 And He shall judge between the nations,
And shall decide for many peoples;

And they shall beat their swords into plowshares,

And their spears into pruning-hooks;

Nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
Neither shall they learn war any more.

5 O house of Jacob, ccme ye, and let us walk In the light of the LORD.

6 For Thou hast forsaken Thy people the house of Jacob;

For they are replenished from the east,
And with soothsayers like the Philistines,