1 I am Isaiah, the son of Amoz.
And this is the message that I was given about Judah
and Jerusalem when Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah were the
kings of Judah:
2 The Lord has said,
“Listen, heaven and earth!
The children I raised
have turned against me.
3 Oxen and donkeys know
who owns and feeds them,
but my people won’t ever learn.”
4 Israel, you are a sinful nation
loaded down with guilt.
You are wicked and corrupt
and have turned from the Lord,
the holy God of Israel.
5 Why be punished more?
Why not give up your sin?
Your head is badly bruised,
and you are weak all over.
6 From your head to your toes
there isn’t a healthy
spot.
Bruises, cuts, and open sores
go without care
or oil to
ease the pain.
7 Your country lies in ruins;
your towns are in ashes.
Foreigners and strangers
take and destroy your land
while you watch.
8 Enemies surround Jerusalem,
alone like a hut in a vineyard
or in a cucumber field.
9 Zion would have disappeared
like Sodom and Gomorrah,
if the Lord All-Powerful
had not let a few
of its people survive.
10 You are no better
than the leaders and people
of Sodom and Gomorrah!
So listen to the Lord God:
11 “Your sacrifices
mean nothing to me.
I am sick of your offerings
of rams and choice cattle;
I don’t like the blood
of bulls or lambs or goats.
12 “Who asked you to bring all this
when you come to worship me?
Stay out of my temple!
13 Your sacrifices are worthless,
and incense
is disgusting.
I can’t stand the evil you do
on your New Moon Festivals
or on your Sabbaths
and other times of worship.
14 I hate your New Moon Festivals
and all others as well.
They are a heavy burden
I am tired of carrying.
15 “No matter how much you pray,
I won’t listen.
You are too violent.
16 Wash yourselves clean!
I am disgusted
with your
filthy deeds.
Stop doing wrong
17 and learn to live right.
See that justice is done.
Defend widows and orphans
and help
those in need.”
18 I, the Lord, invite you
to come
and talk it over.
Your sins are scarlet red,
but they will be whiter
than snow
or wool.
19 If you willingly obey me,
the best crops in the land
will be
yours.
20 But if you turn against me,
your enemies will kill you.
I, the Lord,
have spoken.
21 Jerusalem, you are like
an unfaithful
wife.
Once your judges were honest
and your
people lived right;
now you are a city
full of
murderers.
22 Your silver is fake,
and your wine
is watered
down.
23 Your leaders have rejected me
to become
friends of crooks;
your rulers are looking
for gifts
and bribes.
Widows and orphans
never get
a fair trial.
24 I am the Lord All-Powerful,
the mighty ruler of Israel,
and I make
you a promise:
You are now my enemy,
and I will show my anger
by taking
revenge on you.
25 I will punish you terribly
and burn
away everything
that makes you unfit
to worship
me.
26 Jerusalem, I will choose
judges and advisors
like those
you had before.
Your new name will be
“Justice
and Faithfulness.”
27 Jerusalem, you will be saved
by showing
justice;
Zion’s people who turn
to me
will be saved
by doing
right.
28 But those rebellious sinners
who turn against me, the Lord,
will all
disappear.
29 You will be made ashamed
of those groves of trees
where you
worshiped idols.
30 You will be like a grove of trees
dying in
a drought.
31 Your strongest leaders
will be like dry wood
set on fire
by their idols.
No one will be able to help,
as they
all go up in flames.
The Contemporary English Version, c1995 by the American Bible
Society.
Selected texts provided for use with the Amos: Hypertext Bible Commentary