Unrighteous Leaders Condemned
9
All you animals of the field and forest,
come and eat!
10
Israel's watchmen are blind, all of them,
they know nothing;
all of them are mute dogs,
they cannot bark;
they dream, lie down,
and love to sleep.
11
These dogs have fierce appetites;
they never have enough.
And they are shepherds
who have no discernment;
all of them turn to their own way,
every last one for his own gain.
12
“Come, let me get some wine,
let's guzzle some beer;
and tomorrow will be like today,
only far better! ”
Isaiah
57
The righteous one perishes,
and no one takes it to heart;
faithful men are swept away,
with no one realizing
that the righteous one is swept away
from the presence of evil.
2
He will enter into peace —
they will rest on their beds —
everyone who lives uprightly.
Pagan Religion Denounced
3
But come here,
you sons of a sorceress,
offspring of an adulterer and a prostitute!
4
Who is it you are mocking?
Who is it you are opening your mouth
and sticking out your tongue at?
Isn't it you, you rebellious children,
you race of liars,
5
who burn with lust among the oaks,
under every green tree,
who slaughter children in the
•wadis
below the clefts of the rocks?
6
Your portion is among the smooth stones of the wadi;
indeed, they are your lot.
You have even poured out a
•drink
offering to them;
you have offered a
•grain
offering;
should I be satisfied with these?
7
You have placed your bed
on a high and lofty mountain;
you also went up there to offer sacrifice.
8
You have set up your memorial
behind the door and doorpost.
For away from Me, you stripped,
went up, and made your bed wide,
and you have made a bargain for yourself with them.
You have loved their bed;
you have gazed on their genitals.
9
You went to the king with oil
and multiplied your perfumes;
you sent your couriers far away
and sent them down even to
•Sheol
.
10
You became weary on your many journeys,
but you did not say, “I give up! ”
You found a renewal of your strength;
therefore you did not grow weak.
11
Who was it you dreaded and feared,
so that you lied and didn't remember Me
or take it to heart?
Have I not kept silent for such a long time
and you do not
•fear
Me?
12
I will expose your righteousness,
and your works — they will not profit you.
13
When you cry out,
let your collection of idols deliver you!
The wind will carry all of them off,
a breath will take them away.
But whoever takes refuge in Me
will inherit the land
and possess My holy mountain.
Healing and Peace
14
He said,
“Build it up, build it up, prepare the way,
remove every obstacle from My people's way.”
15
For the High and Exalted One
who lives forever, whose name is Holy says this:
“I live in a high and holy place,
and with the oppressed and lowly of spirit,
to revive the spirit of the lowly
and revive the heart of the oppressed.
16
For I will not accuse you forever,
and I will not always be angry;
for then the spirit would grow weak before Me,
even the breath of man, which I have made.
17
Because of his sinful greed I was angry,
so I struck him; I was angry and hid;
but he went on turning back to the desires of his heart.
18
I have seen his ways, but I will heal him;
I will lead him and restore comfort
to him and his mourners,
19
creating words of praise.”
The
Lord
says,
“Peace, peace to the one who is far or near,
and I will heal him.
20
But the wicked are like the storm-tossed sea,
for it cannot be still,
and its waters churn up mire and muck.
21
There is no peace for the wicked,”
says my God.
Isaiah
True Fasting
58
“Cry out loudly, don't hold back!
Raise your voice like a trumpet.
Tell My people their transgression
and the house of Jacob their sins.
2
They seek Me day after day
and delight to know My ways,
like a nation that does what is right
and does not abandon the justice of their God.
They ask Me for righteous judgments;
they delight in the nearness of God.”
3
“Why have we fasted, but You have not seen?
We have denied ourselves, but You haven't noticed! ”
“Look, you do as you please on the day of your fast,
and oppress all your workers.
4
You fast with contention and strife
to strike viciously with your fist.
You cannot fast as you do today,
hoping to make your voice heard on high.
5
Will the fast I choose be like this:
A day for a person to deny himself,
to bow his head like a reed,
and to spread out
•sackcloth
and ashes?
Will you call this a fast
and a day acceptable to the
Lord
?
6
Isn't the fast I choose:
To break the chains of wickedness,
to untie the ropes of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free,
and to tear off every yoke?
7
Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,
to bring the poor and homeless into your house,
to clothe the naked when you see him,
and not to ignore your own flesh and blood?
8
Then your light will appear like the dawn,
and your recovery will come quickly.
Your righteousness will go before you,
and the
Lord
's glory will be your rear guard.
9
At that time, when you call, the
Lord
will answer;
when you cry out, He will say, ‘Here I am.'
If you get rid of the yoke among you,
the finger-pointing and malicious speaking,
10
and if you offer yourself to the hungry,
and satisfy the afflicted one,
then your light will shine in the darkness,
and your night will be like noonday.
11
The
Lord
will always lead you,
satisfy you in a parched land,
and strengthen your bones.
You will be like a watered garden
and like a spring whose waters never run dry.
12
Some of you will rebuild the ancient ruins;
you will restore the foundations laid long ago;
you will be called the repairer of broken walls,
the restorer of streets where people live.
13
“If you keep from desecrating the Sabbath,
from doing whatever you want on My holy day;
if you call the Sabbath a delight,
and the holy day of the
Lord
honorable;
if you honor it, not going your own ways,
seeking your own pleasure, or talking too much;
14
then you will delight yourself in the
Lord
,
and I will make you ride over the heights of the land,
and let you enjoy the heritage of your father Jacob.”
For the mouth of the
Lord
has spoken.
Isaiah
Sin and Redemption
59
Indeed, the
Lord
's hand is not too short to save,
and His ear is not too deaf to hear.
2
But your iniquities have built barriers
between you and your God,
and your sins have made Him hide His face from you
so that He does not listen.
3
For your hands are defiled with blood
and your fingers, with iniquity;
your lips have spoken lies,
and your tongues mutter injustice.
4
No one makes claims justly;
no one pleads honestly.
They trust in empty and worthless words;
they conceive trouble and give birth to iniquity.
5
They hatch viper's eggs
and weave spider's webs.
Whoever eats their eggs will die;
crack one open, and a viper is hatched.
6
Their webs cannot become clothing,
and they cannot cover themselves with their works.
Their works are sinful works,
and violent acts are in their hands.
7
Their feet run after evil,
and they rush to shed innocent blood.
Their thoughts are sinful thoughts;
ruin and wretchedness are in their paths.
8
They have not known the path of peace,
and there is no justice in their ways.
They have made their roads crooked;
no one who walks on them will know peace.
9
Therefore justice is far from us,
and righteousness does not reach us.
We hope for light, but there is darkness;
for brightness, but we live in the night.
10
We grope along a wall like the blind;
we grope like those without eyes.
We stumble at noon as though it were twilight;
we are like the dead among those who are healthy.
11
We all growl like bears
and moan like doves.
We hope for justice, but there is none;
for salvation, but it is far from us.
12
For our transgressions have multiplied before You,
and our sins testify against us.
For our transgressions are with us,
and we know our iniquities:
13
transgression and deception against the
Lord
,
turning away from following our God,
speaking oppression and revolt,
conceiving and uttering lying words from the heart.
14
Justice is turned back,
and righteousness stands far off.
For truth has stumbled in the public square,
and honesty cannot enter.
15
Truth is missing,
and whoever turns from evil is plundered.
The
Lord
saw that there was no justice,
and He was offended.
16
He saw that there was no man —
He was amazed that there was no one interceding;
so His own arm brought salvation,
and His own righteousness supported Him.
17
He put on righteousness like a breastplate,
and a helmet of salvation on His head;
He put on garments of vengeance for clothing,
and He wrapped Himself in zeal as in a cloak.
18
So He will repay according to their deeds:
fury to His enemies,
retribution to His foes,
and He will repay the coastlands.
19
They will
•fear
the name of
•Yahweh
in the west
and His glory in the east;
for He will come like a rushing stream
driven by the wind of the
Lord
.
20
“The Redeemer will come to
•Zion
,
and to those in Jacob who turn from transgression.”
This is the
Lord
's declaration.
21
“As for Me, this is My covenant with them,” says the
Lord
: “My Spirit who is on you, and My words that I have put in your mouth, will not depart from your mouth, or from the mouth of your children, or from the mouth of your children's children, from now on and forever,” says the
Lord
.