4 In that dayp seven women

will take hold of one manq

and say, “We will eat our own foodr

and provide our own clothes;

only let us be called by your name.

Take away our disgrace!”s

The Branch of the Lord

2 In that dayt the Branch of the Lordu will be beautifulv and glorious, and the fruitw of the land will be the pride and gloryx of the survivorsy in Israel. 3 Those who are left in Zion,z who remaina in Jerusalem, will be called holy,b all who are recordedc among the living in Jerusalem. 4 The Lord will wash away the filthd of the women of Zion;e he will cleansef the bloodstainsg from Jerusalem by a spirita of judgmenth and a spiritb of fire.i 5 Then the Lord will createj over all of Mount Zionk and over those who assemble there a cloud of smoke by day and a glow of flaming fire by night;l over everything the gloryc m will be a canopy.n 6 It will be a sheltero and shade from the heat of the day, and a refugep and hiding place from the stormq and rain.

The Song of the Vineyard

5 I will sing for the one I love

a song about his vineyard:r

My loved one had a vineyard

on a fertile hillside.

2 He dug it up and cleared it of stones

and planted it with the choicest vines.s

He built a watchtowert in it

and cut out a winepressu as well.

Then he looked for a crop of good grapes,

but it yielded only bad fruit.v

3 “Now you dwellers in Jerusalem and people of Judah,

judge between me and my vineyard.w

4 What more could have been done for my vineyard

than I have done for it?x

When I looked for good grapes,

why did it yield only bad?y

5 Now I will tell you

what I am going to do to my vineyard:

I will take away its hedge,

and it will be destroyed;z

I will break down its wall,a

and it will be trampled.b

6 I will make it a wasteland,c

neither pruned nor cultivated,

and briers and thornsd will grow there.

I will command the clouds

not to raine on it.”

7 The vineyardf of the Lord Almighty

is the nation of Israel,

and the people of Judah

are the vines he delighted in.

And he looked for justice,g but saw bloodshed;

for righteousness,h but heard cries of distress.i

Woes and Judgments

8 Woej to you who add house to house

and join field to fieldk

till no space is left

and you live alone in the land.

9 The Lord Almightyl has declared in my hearing:m

“Surely the great houses will become desolate,n

the fine mansions left without occupants.

10 A ten-acre vineyard will produce only a batha of wine;

a homerb of seed will yield only an ephahc of grain.”o

11 Woep to those who rise early in the morning

to run after their drinks,

who stay up late at night

till they are inflamed with wine.q

12 They have harps and lyres at their banquets,

pipesr and timbrelss and wine,

but they have no regardt for the deeds of the Lord,

no respect for the work of his hands.u

13 Therefore my people will go into exilev

for lack of understanding;w

those of high rankx will die of hunger

and the common people will be parched with thirst.y

14 Therefore Deathz expands its jaws,

opening wide its mouth;a

into it will descend their nobles and masses

with all their brawlers and revelers.b

15 So people will be brought lowc

and everyone humbled,d

the eyes of the arrogante humbled.

16 But the Lord Almighty will be exaltedf by his justice,g

and the holy God will be proved holyh by his righteous acts.

17 Then sheep will graze as in their own pasture;i

lambs will feedd among the ruins of the rich.

18 Woej to those who draw sin along with cordsk of deceit,

and wickednessl as with cart ropes,

19 to those who say, “Let God hurry;

let him hastenm his work

so we may see it.

The plan of the Holy Onen of Israel—

let it approach, let it come into view,

so we may know it.”o

20 Woep to those who call evil goodq

and good evil,r

who put darkness for light

and light for darkness,s

who put bitter for sweet

and sweet for bitter.t

21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyesu

and clever in their own sight.

22 Woe to those who are heroes at drinking winev

and champions at mixing drinks,w

23 who acquit the guilty for a bribe,x

but deny justicey to the innocent.z

24 Therefore, as tongues of firea lick up strawb

and as dry grass sinks down in the flames,

so their roots will decayc

and their flowers blow away like dust;d

for they have rejected the law of the Lord Almighty

and spurned the worde of the Holy Onef of Israel.

25 Therefore the Lord’s angerg burns against his people;

his hand is raised and he strikes them down.

The mountains shake,h

and the dead bodiesi are like refusej in the streets.k

Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away,l

his hand is still upraised.m

26 He lifts up a bannern for the distant nations,

he whistleso for those at the ends of the earth.p

Here they come,

swiftly and speedily!

27 Not one of them grows tiredq or stumbles,

not one slumbers or sleeps;

not a beltr is loosened at the waist,s

not a sandal strap is broken.t

28 Their arrows are sharp,u

all their bowsv are strung;

their horses’ hoovesw seem like flint,

their chariot wheels like a whirlwind.x

29 Their roar is like that of the lion,y

they roar like young lions;

they growl as they seizez their prey

and carry it off with no one to rescue.a

30 In that dayb they will roar over it

like the roaring of the sea.c

And if one looks at the land,

there is only darknessd and distress;e

even the sun will be darkenedf by clouds.

Isaiah’s Commission

6 In the year that King Uzziahg died,h I saw the Lord,i high and exalted,j seated on a throne;k and the train of his robel filled the temple. 2 Above him were seraphim,m each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet,n and with two they were flying. 3 And they were calling to one another:

“Holy, holyo, holy is the Lord Almighty;p

the whole earthq is full of his glory.”r

4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.s

5 “Woet to me!” I cried. “I am ruined!u For I am a man of unclean lips,v and I live among a people of unclean lips,w and my eyes have seenx the King,y the Lord Almighty.”z

6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coala in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips;b your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.c”

8 Then I heard the voiced of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send?e And who will go for us?f”

And I said, “Here am I.g Send me!”

9 He said, “Goh and tell this people:

“ ‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding;

be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’i

10 Make the heart of this people calloused;j

make their ears dull

and close their eyes.a k

Otherwise they might see with their eyes,

hear with their ears,l

understand with their hearts,

and turn and be healed.”m

11 Then I said, “For how long, Lord?”n

And he answered:

“Until the cities lie ruinedo

and without inhabitant,

until the houses are left desertedp

and the fields ruined and ravaged,q

12 until the Lord has sent everyone far awayr

and the land is utterly forsaken.s

13 And though a tenth remainst in the land,

it will again be laid waste.u

But as the terebinth and oak

leave stumpsv when they are cut down,

so the holyw seed will be the stump in the land.”x

The Sign of Immanuel

7 When Ahazy son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, was king of Judah, King Rezinz of Arama and Pekahb son of Remaliahc king of Israel marched up to fight against Jerusalem, but they could not overpower it.

2 Now the house of Davidd was told, “Aram has allied itself witha Ephraime”; so the hearts of Ahaz and his people were shaken,f as the trees of the forest are shaken by the wind.

3 Then the Lord said to Isaiah, “Go out, you and your son Shear-Jashub,b g to meet Ahaz at the end of the aqueduct of the Upper Pool, on the road to the Launderer’s Field.h 4 Say to him, ‘Be careful, keep calmi and don’t be afraid.j Do not lose heartk because of these two smoldering stubsl of firewood—because of the fierce angerm of Rezin and Aram and of the son of Remaliah.n 5 Aram, Ephraim and Remaliah’so son have plottedp your ruin, saying, 6 “Let us invade Judah; let us tear it apart and divide it among ourselves, and make the son of Tabeel king over it.” 7 Yet this is what the Sovereign Lord says:q

“ ‘It will not take place,

it will not happen,r

8 for the head of Aram is Damascus,s

and the head of Damascus is only Rezin.t

Within sixty-five years

Ephraim will be too shatteredu to be a people.

9 The head of Ephraim is Samaria,v

and the head of Samaria is only Remaliah’s son.

If you do not standw firm in your faith,x

you will not stand at all.’ ”y

10 Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, 11 “Ask the Lord your God for a sign,z whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights.a”

12 But Ahaz said, “I will not ask; I will not put the Lord to the test.b”

13 Then Isaiah said, “Hear now, you house of David!c Is it not enoughd to try the patience of humans? Will you try the patiencee of my Godf also? 14 Therefore the Lord himself will give youc a sign:g The virgind h will conceive and give birth to a son,i ande will call him Immanuel.f j 15 He will be eating curdsk and honeyl when he knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, 16 for before the boy knowsm enough to reject the wrong and choose the right,n the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste.o 17 The Lord will bring on you and on your people and on the house of your father a time unlike any since Ephraim broke awayp from Judah—he will bring the king of Assyria.q”

Assyria, the Lord’s Instrument

18 In that dayr the Lord will whistles for flies from the Nile delta in Egypt and for bees from the land of Assyria.t 19 They will all come and settle in the steep ravines and in the crevicesu in the rocks, on all the thornbushesv and at all the water holes. 20 In that dayw the Lord will usex a razor hired from beyond the Euphrates Rivery—the king of Assyriaz—to shave your head and private parts, and to cut off your bearda also.b 21 In that day,c a person will keep alive a young cow and two goats.d 22 And because of the abundance of the milk they give, there will be curds to eat. All who remain in the land will eat curdse and honey.f 23 In that day,g in every place where there were a thousand vines worth a thousand silver shekels,g h there will be only briers and thorns.i 24 Hunters will go there with bow and arrow, for the land will be covered with briersj and thorns. 25 As for all the hillsk once cultivated by the hoe, you will no longer go there for fear of the briers and thorns;l they will become places where cattle are turned loose and where sheep run.m

Isaiah and His Children as Signs

8 The Lord said to me, “Take a large scrolln and write on it with an ordinary pen: Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.”a o 2 So I called in Uriahp the priest and Zechariah son of Jeberekiah as reliable witnessesq for me. 3 Then I made love to the prophetess,r and she conceived and gave birth to a son.s And the Lord said to me, “Name him Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz.t 4 For before the boy knowsu how to say ‘My father’ or ‘My mother,’ the wealth of Damascusv and the plunder of Samaria will be carried off by the king of Assyria.w”

5 The Lord spoke to me again:

6 “Because this people has rejectedx

the gently flowing waters of Shiloahy

and rejoices over Rezin

and the son of Remaliah,z

7 therefore the Lord is about to bring against them

the mighty floodwatersa of the Euphrates—

the king of Assyriab with all his pomp.c

It will overflow all its channels,

run over all its banksd

8 and sweep on into Judah, swirling over it,e

passing through it and reaching up to the neck.

Its outspread wingsf will cover the breadth of your land,

Immanuelb!”g

9 Raise the war cry,c h you nations, and be shattered!i

Listen, all you distant lands.

Preparej for battle, and be shattered!

Prepare for battle, and be shattered!

10 Devise your strategy, but it will be thwarted;k

propose your plan, but it will not stand,l

for God is with us.d m

11 This is what the Lord says to me with his strong hand upon me,n warning me not to followo the way of this people:

12 “Do not call conspiracyp

everything this people calls a conspiracy;

do not fear what they fear,q

and do not dread it.r

13 The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy,s

he is the one you are to fear,t

he is the one you are to dread.u

14 He will be a holy place;v

for both Israel and Judah he will be

a stonew that causes people to stumblex

and a rock that makes them fall.y

And for the people of Jerusalem he will be

a trap and a snare.z

15 Many of them will stumble;a

they will fall and be broken,

they will be snared and captured.”

16 Bind up this testimony of warningb

and sealc up God’s instruction among my disciples.

17 I will waitd for the Lord,

who is hidinge his face from the descendants of Jacob.

I will put my trust in him.f

18 Here am I, and the children the Lord has given me.g We are signsh and symbolsi in Israel from the Lord Almighty, who dwells on Mount Zion.j

The Darkness Turns to Light

19 When someone tells you to consultk mediums and spiritists,l who whisper and mutter,m should not a people inquiren of their God? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living? 20 Consult God’s instructiono and the testimony of warning.p If anyone does not speak according to this word, they have no lightq of dawn. 21 Distressed and hungry,r they will roam through the land;s when they are famished, they will become enraged and, looking upward, will curset their king and their God. 22 Then they will look toward the earth and see only distress and darkness and fearful gloom,u and they will be thrust into utter darkness.v