The book of the prophet Isaiah

Front matter

THE

BOOK OF THE PROPHET

ISAIAH.

Chap. I

THE VISION OF ISAIAH THE SON OF AMOZ 5 WHICH HE SAW CONCERNING JUDAH AND JERUSALEM; IN THE DAYS OF UZZIAH, JOTHAM, AHAZ, HEZEKIAH, KINGS OF JUDAH.

2 Hear, O ye heavens; and give ear, O earth! For Jehovah speaketh.

I have nourished and brought up children ; And they have rebelled against me.

3 The ox knoweth his owner, And the ass his master's crib : [But] Israel knoweth not; My people cloth not consider.

4 Ah, sinful nation! people laden with iniquity ! Seed of evil-doers! children that are corrupters! They have forsaken Jehovah,

Have despised the Holy One of Israel; Have gone off backward.

5 Why will ye be smitten any more ? you will

still revolt:

B

ISAIAH. chap. i.

The whole head is sick, and the whole heartfaint:

6 From the sole of the foot to the crown of the

head, there is no soundness ; [But] wounds, and lashes, and fresh stripes : They havenotbeen pressed out, neither bound up, Nor raollified with oil.

7 Your country is desolate, your cities are burnt

with fire ;

Your land, strangers devour it before your eyes; It is desolate, as overthrown by strangers.

8 And the daughter of Zion is left alone, as a

shed in a vineyard ; As a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a city saved.

9 Had Jehovah of hosts not left us the smallest

remnant,

We had been as Sodom ; we had become like unto Gomorrah.

10 Hear ye the word of Jehovah, O ye princes of Sodom!

Give ear to the law of our God, ye people of G omorrah !

1L Why to me is the multitude of your sacrifices? saith Jehovah : I am satiated with the burnt-offerings of rams,

and the fat of fed beasts ; And in the blood of bullocks, and of lambs, and of he-goats, I have no delight. 12 When ye come to appear before me.

CHAP. I.

ISAIAH.

Who hath required this at your hand, to tread my courts?

13 Bring no more insincere oblation, Incense ! it is an abomination unto me;

The new moon also, the sabbath, and the proclaiming of an assembly;

I cannot endure iniquity, even the solemn assembly;

14 Your new moons, and your appointed festivals,

my soul hateth : They are a burden unto me ; I am weary of bearing them.

15 And when ye spread forth your hands, I will

hide mine eyes from you : Even when ye multiply prayer, I will not hear: Your hands are full of blood,

16 Wash ye, make ye clean ;

Remove ye far away the evil of your doings

from before mine eyes ; Cease to do evil :

17 Learn to do good; seek after justice; correct

the evil-doer ; Do justice to the orphan ; plead for the widow.

18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith

Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be

white as snow ; Though they be red as crimson, they shall be

like wool.

b 2

ISAIAH.

CHAP, I,

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 by the sword :

For the mouth of Jehovah hath spoken it.

2L How is the faithful city become an harlot! She that was full of judgment, righteousness

lodged in her ; But now murderers !

22 Thy silver is become dross; Thy wine adulterated with water.

23 Thy princes are rebellious and associates of

robbers ;

Every one of them loveth a bribe, and hunteth

after rewards : For the orphan they procure no justice; And the cause of the widow cometh not before

them.

24 Wherefore saith the Lord, Jehovah of hosts,

the mighty One of Israel : Ah ! I will ease me of mine adversaries, And I will be avenged of mine enemies.

25 And I will direct mine hand against thee, And entirely melt out thy dross,

And remove all thy tin :

26 And I will restore thy judges, as at the first; And thy counsellors, as at the beginning : Then thou shalt be called,

Chap. II. Isaiah

A town of righteousness, a faithful city.

27 Zion shall be redeemed with judgment,

And those that return unto her, with righteousness,

28 But the destruction of revolters and sinners

shall be together; And they that forsake Jehovah shall perish.

29 Then shall men be ashamed of the grove of

turpentine trees, which are your delight; And ye shall blush for the gardens, which ye have loved :

30 For ye shall be as the turpentine tree, whose

leaves are withered ; And as a garden, wherein there is no water.

31 The powerful shall become as tow, And his work as a spark of fire 5

And they shall burn both of them together; and none shall quench them.

CHAP. II.

THE WORD WHICH WAS REVEALED TO ISAIAH. THE SON OF AMOZ, CONCERNING JUDAH AND JERUSALEM.

2 It shall come to pass in the latter days, That the mountain of the house of Jehovah

shall be established on the top of the

mountains ; And it shall be exalted above the hills : And all the nations shall flow unto it.

3 And many peoples shall go, and say ;

ISAIAH.

CHAP. II.

Come on ? and iet us go up to the mountain of

Jehovah ; To the house of the God of Jacob: And he will teach us of his ways; And we will walk in his paths : For from Zion shall go forth the law ; And the word of Jehovah from Jerusalem.

4 And he shall judge among the nations, And give sentence to many peoples :

And they shall beat their swords into ploughshares,

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, come ye,

And let us walk in the light of Jehovah!

6 For thou hast abandoned thy people, the house

of Jacob, Because they are full of the East, And soothsayers like the Philistines; And with a foreign race they go hand in hand.

7 Their land is full of silver and gold ; And there is no end to their treasures : Their land is full of horses ;

And there is no end to their chariots.

8 Their land is full of idols ;

Before the work of their own hands do they

prostrate themselves ; Before that which their own fingers have made.

CHAP. II*

ISAIAH.

9 Therefore the mean man is bowed down, and the great man is humbled ; And thou wilt not forgive them.

10 Go into the rock, and hide thyself in the dust; For fear of Jehovah, and for the glory of his

majesty.

11 The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, And the haughtiness of mortals shall be bowed

down :

And Jehovah alone shall be exalted in that day.

12 For there is unto Jehovah of hosts, a day

against every thing proud and lofty; And against every thing exalted, that it shall be humbled.

13 Even against all the cedars of Lebanon, the

high and the exalted; And against all the oaks of Basan :

14 And against all the high mountains. And against all the exalted hills :

15 And against every high raised tower ; And against every fenced wall.

16 And against all the ships of Tarshish ; And against every desirable work of art.

17 And the pride of man shall be bowed down ; And the haughtiness of mortals shall be

humbled ;

And Jehovah alone shall be exalted in that day.

18 And the idols shall be totally destroyed.

19 And they shall go into caverns of rocks, and

into dens of the earth ; For fear of Jehovah, and for the glory of his majesty,

When he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.

20 In that day shall men cast away their idols

of silver,

And their idols of gold, which they had made

for themselves to worship; To the moles and to the bats :

21 To go into caves of rocks, and into clefts of

craggy rocks : For fear of Jehovah, and for the glory of his majesty,

When he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.

22 Cease ye from trust in man, whose breath is

in his nostrils ; For wherein is he of any account ?

Chap. III

1 For behold the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, Removeth from Jerusalem, and from Judah, Every stay and support;

The whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of water :

2 The mighty man, and the warrior;

The judge, and the prophet, and the diviner, and the elder :

3 The captain of fifty, and the honourable man ;

chap. in. ISAIAH.

And the counsellor, and the cunning artificer, and the skilful of speech.

4 And I will set boys for their princes ; And children shall rule over them.

5 And the people shall be oppressed ;

This man by that man, and that man by his neighbour:

They shall behave themselves insolently, the

boy towards the old man ; And the base towards the honourable.

6 Then should a man lay hold on his brother, of

the house of his father, [Saying] thou hast raiment; be thou ruler over us, And take this ruin under thy hand :

7 He shall swear in that day, saying, I cannot be the healer ;

For in my house is neither bread, nor raiment: Appoint not me ruler of the people.

8 For Jerusalem tottereth, and Judah falleth ; Because their tongue, and their deeds, are

against Jehovah ; To provoke his glorious eyes.

9 The shamelessness of their countenances wit-

nesseth against them; And they speak openly of their sin, like Sodom

they hide it not : Wo unto their soul ! for they have rewarded

evil unto themselves. 10 Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well

[with him] ;

b 3

ISAIAH. CHAP. I1L

For the fruit of his deeds shall he eat.

11 Wo unto the wicked; it shall be ill [with

him] ;

For the reward of his hands shall be given him.

12 As for my people, children are their oppressors; And women rule over them.

O my people, thy leaders cause thee to err ; And the way of thy paths, they pervert

13 Jehovah ariseth to plead his cause; He standeth to judge the people.

14 Jehovah will enter into judgment,

With the elders of his people and their princes * For ye have consumed the vineyard : The plunder of the poor is in your houses.

15 What mean ye, that ye crush my people ; And grind the faces of the poor?

Saith the Lord, Jehovah of hosts a

1G Moreover Jehovah hath said :

Because the daughters of Zion are haughty; And walk displaying the neck, And leering with their eyes, Walking and mincing as they go, And making a tinkling with their feet.

17 Therefore will the Lord smite with a scab the

head of the daughters of Zion; Ariel Jehovah will expose their nakedness.

18 In that day will the Lord take away the orna-

ments,

Chap. IV. Isaiah

Of -the ancle-rings, and the caps of network, and the crescents ;

19 The pendents, and the bracelets, and the thin

veils ;

20 The head-dress, and the anklets, and the girdles. And the perfume-boxes, and the amulets :

21 The rings, and the jewels of the nose ;

22 The embroidered robes, and the tunics ; And the cloaks, and the sachels ;

23 The transparent garments, and the fine linen

vests ;

And the turbans, and the mantles.

24 And it shall come to pass, that instead of per-

fume there shall be putrefaction, And instead of a girdle, an ulcer; And instead of plaited hair, baldness; And instead of a zone, a girdle of sackloth : A sunburnt skin, instead of beauty.

25 Thy men shall fall by the sword ; And thy mighty, in the war,

26 And her gates shall lament and mourn ; And desolate shall she sit on the ground,

CHAP. IV.

1 And seven women shall lay hold on one man in that day, saying : Our own bread will we eat, and wear our own apparel ;

Only let us be called by thy name : Do thou take away our reproach..

ISAIAH.

CHAtf. V.

2 In that day shall the Branch of Jehovah Become glorious and honourable;

And the fruit of the land excellent and beautiful, For the remnant saved of Israel.

3 And it shall come to pass, whosoever is left

in Zion, And remaineth in Jerusalem, Holy shall he be called ;

Every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem.

4 When the Lord shall have washed away the

filth of the daughters of Zion ;

And shall have wiped off the blood of Jerusalem from the midst of her,

By a spirit of judgment, and by a spirit of burning :

5 Then shall Jehovah create upon every dwell-

ing-place in mount Zion, And upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day ;

And the brightness of a flaming fire by night: But upon all the glory there shall be a covering.

6 And a tabernacle it shall be for a shade by day

from the heat ; And for a refuge, and for a covert, from storm and from rain.

CHAP. V. 1 Let me sing now to my Beloved, A song of my Beloved touching his vineyard

chap v. ISAIAH.

My Beloved had a vineyard Upon a very fruitful hill.

2 He digged it, and cleared it of stones, And planted it with the choicest vine, And he built a tower in the midst of it, And also digged a winepress therein ;

And he expected, that it should bring forth grapes ;

But it brought forth baneful berries.

3 And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and ye

men of Judah, Judge, 1 pray you, between me and my vineyard,

4 Whateould have been done moretomy vineyard. Than I have done unto it ?

Why, when I expected that it should bring

forth grapes, Brought it forth baneful berries ?

5 But come now, and I will make known unto

you,

What I will do to my vineyard : I will remove its hedge, and it shall be eaten up ;

I will demolish its wall, and it shall be trodden down.

6 And I will make it a waste :

It shall not be pruned, neither shall it be weeded ;

But there shall come up brier and thorn; And to the clouds I will give command. That they rain no rain upon it.

ISAIAH.

CHAP. V e

7 For the vineyard of Jehovah of hosts is the

house of Israel; And the men of Judah his pleasant plant : He looked for judgment, and behold a shedding

of blood ; For justice, and behold a cry.

8 Wo unto them, who join house to house; Who lay field unto field together ;

Until there be no more room left, and ye dwell By yourselves alone in the midst of the land.

9 To mine ears hath Jehovah of hosts revealed it: Surely, the many houses shall become a desolation ;

The great and the fair ones, no one shall inhabit,

10 Yea, ten acres of vineyard shall yield but one

bath,

And a chomer of seed shall produce an ephah.

11 Wo unto them, who rise early in the morning to

follow after strong drink ; Who sit late in the evening, that the wine may inflame them :

12 And the lyre, and the harp, the tabor, and the

pipe,

And wine, are their entertainments ; But the work of Jehovah they regard not ; And the operation of his hands they do not perceive.

13 Therefore my people goeth into captivity, for

want of knowledge ;

CHAP. V.

ISAIAH.

Their nobles have died with hunger;

And their multitude are parched up with thirst.

14 Therefore hath Hades opened its jaws with

greediness;

And hath stretched open its mouth without measure :

And down go her nobility, and her multitude ; And her busy throng, and all that exult in her,

15 And the mean man is bowed down, and the

great man is humbled; And the eyes of the haughty are humbled. T6 But Jehovah of hosts is exalted in judgment; And the Holy God is sanctified in righteousness.

17 The sheep shall feed, as upon their own

pasture ;

And in the desolate possessions of the rich shall strange flocks graze.

18 Wo unto them, who draw punishment along with

a rope of vice ; And destruction, as with a cart-rope.

19 Who say, Let him make speed, let him hasten

his work, that we may see it ; And let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw near and come to pass, that we may know it

20 Wo unto them that call evil good, and good

evil ;

Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness ;

Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter.

ISAIAH.

CHAP. V

21 Wo unto them, who are wise in their own eyes And prudent in their own conceit.

22 Wo unto them, that are powerful to drink wine ; And men of might to mingle strong drink.

23 Who justify the guilty for reward,

And take away the righteousness of the righteous from him.

24 Therefore as the flame of fire devoureth the

stubble,

And as the dry grass sinketh down together in

the flame ; So their root shall be as rottenness, And their blossom shall go up like the dust : Because they have despised the law of Jehovah

of hosts;

And scornfully rejected the word of the Holy One of Israel.

25 Wherefore the anger of Jehovah is kindled

against his people ; He hath stretched out his hand against them, And smitten them ; and the mountains trembled ;

And their carcases became as the mire in the

midst of the streets.

For all this his anger is not turned away ; But his hand is still stretched out.

26 And he will erect a standard for the nations

afar off ;

And he will hiss unto them from the end of the earth ;

Chap. VI. Isaiah

And behold, with speed swiftly shall they come.

27 None among them is faint, and none stumbleth; No one slumbereth, and no one sleepeth : Neither is the girdle of their loins loosed; Nor the latchet of their shoes torn off.

28 Whose arrows are sharpened, And all their bows are bent:

The hoofs of their horses are counted like unto the flint;

And their wheels unto the whirlwind.

29 Their roaring is like that of the lioness ; They roar like the young lions :

They rage, and seize the prey ;

They bear it away, and no one doth rescue.

30 In that day, shall they roar against them, like

the roaring of the sea; And they shall look towards the earth, and

behold ! darkness ; Anguish their only light!

It darkeneth in the heavens above.

CHAP. VI.

1 In the year, in which XJzziah the king died, I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne high and lofty; and his train filled the temple.

2 Above him stood the Seraphim : each one of them had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and

3 with two he did fly. And one called to the other, and said :

ISAIAH.

CHAP. VI.

Holy, holy, holy, Jehovah of hosts ! The whole earth is full of his glory.

4 And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of the calling; and the house

5 was filled with smoke. Then I said, Wo is me! I am undone: for I am a man of unclean lips; and in the midst of a people of unclean lips do I dwell : for mine eyes have seen the King, Jehovah of hosts.

6 Then flew one of the Seraphim towards me; and in his hand was a burning coal, which he had taken with the tongs from off

7 the altar. And he touched my mouth, and said :

Lo! this hath touched thy lips : Thine iniquity is removed, and thy sin is expiated.

8 And I heard the voice of the Lord, saying : "Whom shall I send ; and who will go for us ? And I said : Behold, here am I, send

9 me. And he said :

Go, and say thou to this people: Hear ye distinctly, but ye shall not understand ;

See ye clearly, but ye shall not perceive; 10 Make gross the heart of this people ;

Make their ears dull, and close up their

eyes ;

Lest they should see with their eyes, and hear

with their ears, chap. vii. ISAIAH.

And understand with their hearts, and be converted, and be healed.

11 And I said; How long, Lord? And he said: Until cities be laid waste, so that there be no

inhabitant; And houses, so that there be no man : And the land be left utterly desolate.

12 Then Jehovah will remove men far away: And the desolation shall be increased in the land,

13 But should there still be left in it a tenth part, It would likewise be exterminated ;

[Yet], as the turpentine tree, and the oak, when they are cut down, have their stem remaining ;

So also a holy seed, as a stem of the people., shall remain.

Chap. VII

1 It came to pass in the days of Ahaz, the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin king of Syria, and Pekah, the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, came up against Jerusalem, to besiege it; but they could not overcome it.

2 And when it was told to the house of David, that Syria was supported by Ephraim ; then his heart, and the heart of his people, was moved; as the trees of the forest are moved before the wind

ISAIAH. chap. mi.

3 And Jehovah said to Isaiah: Go out now to meet Ahaz; thou and Shearjeshub thy son ; at the end of the aqueduct of the upper pool, at

4 the causeway of the fuller's field. And thou shalt say unto him :

Take heed, and be still : fear not, neither let thy heart be faint ;

Because of these two ends of smoking firebrands ;

For the fierce wrath of Rezin, and Syria, and the son of Remaliah.

5 Because Syriahathplotted mischief against thee : Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah, saying:

6 Let us go up against Judah, and besiege it; And let us divide it among ourselves: And let us set up a king in the midst of it; Even the son of Tabeal.

7 Thus saith the Lord Jehovah :

It shall not stand, neither shall it be.

8 Though the head of Syria be Damascus, And the head of Damascus, Rezin; Yet within threescore and five years, Ephraim shall be broken, that he be no more a

people :

9 Though the head of Ephraim be Samaria ; And the head of Samaria, Remaliah's son :

If ye believe not in me, surely ye shall not be established.

10 And Jehovah spake yet again to Ahaz, saying: 1 J Ask thee a sign from Jehovah thy God :

CHAP. VII.

ISAIAH.

Ask it in the deep, or seek it in the height.

12 And Ahaz said ; I will not ask ; neither will I

tempt Jehovah. And he said :

13 Hear ye now, O house of David :

Is it a small thing for you to weary the patience of men,

That you should weary my God also ?

14 Therefore the Lordhimself shall give you a sign: Behold, the Virgin shall conceive, and bear

a son:

And she shall call his name Immanuel.

15 Butter and honey shall he eat,

Till he shall have knowledge to reject what is evil, and to choose what is good :

16 For before the child shall have knowledge To reject the evil, and to choose the good ; The land, which causeth uneasiness to thee By reason of its two kings, shall be deserted.

17 [But] Jehovah shall bring upon thee,

And upon thy people, and upon thy father's house,

Days, such as have not come, From the day that Ephraim departed from Judah ;

[Xamely] the king of Assyria.

18 And it shall come to pass in that day ; Jehovah shall hiss for the fly,

That is in the utmost part of the rivers of Egypt ; And for the bee, that is in the land of Assyria :

ISAIAH.

CHAP. VII.

19 And they shall come, and they shall light all of

them,

On the valleys of the deserts, and on the clefts

of the rocks, And on all the thorn bushes, and on all the

meadows.

20 In that day shall the Lord shave with a razor

hired

Beyond the river, [namely] with the king of

Assvria,

The head, and the hair of the feet ; And the beard also it shall take away.

That a man shall keep one cow and two sheep ;

22 And it shall be,

From the plenty of milk which they shall produce, he shall eat butter : Yea, butter and honey shall he eat, Whosoever is left in the land.

That every place wherein there were a thousand vines,

At a thousand pieces of silver,

Shall become the portion of briers and thorns.

24 With arrows and with the bow shall they come

thither;

For the whole land shall become briers and thorns.

Chap. VIII. Isaiah

25 And upon all the hills, which were dressed with

the mattock, Will no one go, for fear of briers and thorns; But they shall be for the sending forth of oxen,

and for the treading of sheep,

CHAP. VIII.

1 And Jehovah said unto me : Take unto thee a large roll, and write upon it in the style of man, Hasten the spoil, take quickly

2 the prey. And I took unto me faithful witnesses ; Uriah the priest, and Zachariah the

3 son of Jerebechiah. And I approached unto the prophetess ; and she conceived and bare a son. And Jehovah said unto me: Gall his name Maher-shalal hash-baz :

4 For before the child shall have knowledge To cry, My father, and My mother,

The riches of Damascus shall be taken away, And the spoil of Samaria, before the face of the king of Assyria.

5 Yet again Jehovah spake unto me, saying ;

6 Because this people hath rejected

The waters of Shiloah, which flow gently; And rejoiceth in Rezin, and the son of Remaliah:

7 Now, therefore, behold the Lord bringeth up

upon them

The waters of the river, strong and mighty;

ISAIAH. chap. viii.

Even the king of Assyria, and all his glory. And he shall rise above all their channels, And go over all their banks.

8 And he shall pass through Judah, he shall

overflow and go over ; Even to the neck shall he reach : And the spreading of his wings shall be Over the full breadth of thy land, O Immanuel !

9 Link yourselves together, O ye people, yet

shall you be broken in pieces ; And give ear, all ye distant lands : Gird ye yourselves, yet shall you be broken in

pieces ;

Gird ye yourselves, yet shall you be broken in pieces.

10 Take counsel together, yet it shall be brought

to nought; Speak the word ; but it shall not stand : For God is with us.

11 For thus said Jehovah unto me, with a strong

hand ;

When he warned me against walking in the way of this people, saying :

12 Call ye not that a confederacy, Whatsoever this people shall call a confederacy :

And be ye not afraid of their fear, neither be ye terrified.

13 Jehovah of hosts, Him sanctify ;

chap. viii. ISAIAH.

And let him be your fear, and let him be your terror.

14 And he shall be [unto you] for a sanctuary : But for a stone of stumbling, and for a rock of

offence, To both the houses of Israel ; For a trap, and for a snare to the inhabitants

of Jerusalem.

15 And, against which, many shall stumble, And shall fall, and be broken; and shall be

insnared, and caught.

16 Bind up the testimony, seal the law, among

my disciples.

17 And I will wait for Jehovah, who hideth

his face

From the house of Jacob; and I will lookforhim.

18 Behold, I, and the children,

Whom Jehovah hath given unto me ; For signs and tor wonders in Israel, From Jehovah of hosts, Who dwelleth upon mount Zion.

19 And when they shall say unto yoa : Inquire of the necromancers and the wizards, Who chirp, and mutter :

[Say ye], Should not a people inquire of their God?

[Should they inquire] of the dead concerning the living?

20 To the law and to the testimony ;

If they will not speak according to this word, c

26 ISAIAH. chap, ix,

It is because there is no dawn of day for them.

21 And they shall pass through the land sorely

beset and hungry : And it shall come to pass when they shall

hunger and fret themselves, They will curse their king, and their God,

22 Whether they shall cast their eyes upward, Or shall look unto the earth ; for, behold,