- 11Now Jacob spoke many more things to my people at that time. However, I’ve only caused these things to be written, and I’m satisfied with what I’ve written.
- 2Now I’ll write more of Isaiah’s words since my soul takes comfort from his words. I’ll apply his words to my people and record them for all my descendants, because he truly saw my Redeemer, just as I’ve seen Him. 3And my brother Jacob has also seen Him, as I’ve seen Him. Therefore I’ll proclaim their words for my descendants in order to show them that my words are true. God has said: I’ll confirm My word by testimony from three witnesses. However, God sends more witnesses, establishing the truth of all His words. 4I take great joy in demonstrating to my people the truth of Christ’s coming, and the Law of Moses has been given for this purpose. And all things given to man by God from the beginning of the world foretell of Him. 5I also take great joy in the Lord’s covenants made to our fathers; yes, my soul delights in His grace, justice, power, and mercy; and in the great and eternal plan of redemption from death. 6I take great joy in demonstrating to my people that unless Christ comes, all mankind will certainly be lost. 7Because if there’s no Christ there’s no God. And if there’s no God we don’t exist since there couldn’t have been any creation. But there is a God and He is Christ, and He comes at His own appointed time.
- 8Now I write some of Isaiah’s words, so that any of my people who see these words can lift up their hearts and rejoice for all mankind. Here are the words; you can relate them to yourselves and to all mankind.
- 2In days to come the mountain of the Lord’s House will stand unchanging above the mountains, and tower above the hills, and all the nations will look joyfully at it. 3And many people will go and say: Come, let’s go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that He may instruct in His ways and we’ll walk in His paths. For instruction will come out of Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. 4In this way He’ll govern the nations and settle matters between people. And they’ll exchange their swords for plowshares and their spears for pruning tools; nation won’t take up sword against nation, they’ll never again experience war.
- 5O house of Jacob! Come all of you and let’s walk by the light of the Lord, because you’ve abandoned the right way. 6O house of Jacob! They’ve adopted the practices from the east, and fortunetelling like the Philistines, and they overflow with foreign customs. 7Their land is full of silver and gold, there’s no end to their treasures. Their land is also full of horses, there’s no end to their chariots. 8And their land is full of idols; they bow down to the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made. 9But mankind will be humbled, and mortals humiliated — O do not forgive them!
- 10You wicked ones, hide yourselves deep in the rock and bury yourselves in the ground before the terror of the Lord and His glorious majesty! 11The Lord alone will be exalted in that day. 12For the Lord of Hosts has planned a day against all the proud and arrogant, against everyone who thinks themselves elect; and they’ll be brought down. 13The day of the Lord will come against those acting like the cedars of Lebanon, lofty and proud, and like the oaks of Bashan, 14against the high mountains, and the lofty hills, and against all the arrogant nations, 15and every defense barrier, and every fenced wall, 16and all the ships of Tarshish and other ships of the sea. 17For mankind’s conceit will be humbled and their pride brought down, and the Lord alone will be exalted on that day. 18And all the idols will vanish. 19They’ll cower in caves of the earth, for the fear of the Lord will fill them with dread, and His majesty will overwhelm the earth. 20At that time, mankind will throw away their idols of silver and idols of gold, which they worshiped, to the places where moles and bats are found, 21to then hide in the gaps of the rocks and the lonely canyons; for fear of the Lord will fill them with dread, and His majesty will overwhelm the earth. 22Stop glorifying mankind, who only have breath in their nostrils, for what basis is there to admire them?
- 13Watch this happen: the Lord, the Lord of Hosts, takes away from Jerusalem and from Judah His word, the inspired voices and ordinances of salvation, 2the prophet and prophetess, the priest and priestess, wisdom from the counselors, 3knowledge from the teacher, and they’ll be left without prudence, insight, and understanding. 4He’ll let their boys lead them, babies will govern them. 5The people will oppress one another, everyone abusing their neighbor. Young people will bully the elderly, and those without status will bully the honorable. 6When a man will grab ahold of his brother in his father’s house, and say: You at least have a cloak, you lead us and get us out of these ruins — 7but he’ll protest, saying: I have no remedy, for in my house I have no food or clothing; don’t think I can be your ruler. 8Jerusalem staggers and Judah has fallen because what they say and what they do fights against the Lord, defying Him in front of His glorious presence. 9The look of their faces shows their defiance, they parade and celebrate sins like Sodom, and they don’t hide it. Woe to them, for they’ve provoked disaster for themselves. 10Tell the righteous that it will be well with them, for they will be spared for their righteousness. 11Woe to the wicked, for their defiance will be repaid.
- 12And as for My people, the youth oppress you, foolish women control you. O My people, those who lead you bring you confusion and away from My path. 13The Lord stands up to announce His judgment against the people. 14The Lord will accuse the elders and leaders of His people, announcing: It’s you who’ve wrecked My vineyard and taken the property belonging to the poor into your houses. 15How dare you do this? Why do you crush My people and hit the poor in their faces, demands the Lord God of Hosts. 16The Lord adds: The women of Zion are uppity, parading with their noses in the air, flirting with roving eyes, strutting with swaying hips, clattering bracelets on their ankles, 17therefore the Lord will cover their heads with sores and scabs, and the Lord will make these women of Zion bald. 18In that day, the Lord will strip away their fine outfits, tearing off their earrings, bracelets, astrological jewelry, 19necklaces, scarves, and the charm bracelets, 20the wigs and hair extensions, anklets, girdles, perfumes, and scents, 21the sorority rings, and nose rings, 22the evening gowns, furs, and purses, 23their mirrors, linen undergarments, lace, and scarves. 24And then, instead of perfume there will be rot; and instead of a belt, a rope; and instead of groomed hair, baldness; and instead of expensive clothing, a worn bag; scarring instead of beauty. 25Their men will fall in battle, and those in the prime of life will die in the war. 26And her streets will be filled with crying and mourning, and destitute she will sit on the ground.
- 14In that coming day, seven women will sustain the priesthood authority of a man and say: We are self-sufficient; but let us be called by the name of our Messiah through baptism because the Messiah removes our sins.
- 2In that day the people of the Lord will become pure and reflect His glory, the beauty of the land will make the survivors of Israel grateful and humble. 3And those left in Zion and the survivors in Jerusalem will be called holy, everyone whose name is listed among the living in Jerusalem 4after the Lord will have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and will have removed the blood staining Jerusalem by His judgment, using fire to remove the wicked. 5And the Lord will establish a glowing cloud by day, and a pillar of fire by night over the Temple and meeting place on Mount Zion; and the glory of Zion will be a defense, for none will go up to battle against Zion because it’s glorious and terrible and we can’t stand against her. 6And there will be a canopy to protect Zion from drought and storms, to make a shelter for God’s people.
- 15Let me sing a song for the one I loved, about his vineyard: My loved one had a vineyard on a fertile hillside. 2And he fenced it, and cleared away the rocks, and planted it with the very best vines, and built a watchtower in it, and also installed a winepress. And he expected it to produce good grapes, but it grew bad grapes. 3And now O people living in Jerusalem and those of Judah, judge between Me and My vineyard. 4What more could have been done for My vineyard than I’ve done for it? When I expected it to produce good grapes, why did it produce only bad grapes? 5Now I’ll tell you what I’ll do to My vineyard: I’ll take away the protecting hedge and let it be destroyed, and I’ll break down the wall and let it be trampled; 6and I’ll make it a wasteland; neither pruned nor cultivated, but weeds and thorns will grow there. I’ll also command the clouds not to rain upon it. 7The Lord of Host’s vineyard is the house of Israel, and the people of Judah His vine. And He looked for judgment, but saw violence; for righteousness, but saw only iniquity.
- 8Woe to you that build house to house until everything is crowded and yet you live isolated in the place. 9The Lord of Hosts said directly in my ear: Truly many families will become desolate, and fine mansions abandoned. 10A ten-acre vineyard will hardly produce six gallons of wine, and 360 pounds of seed will only produce 36 pounds of grain.
- 11Woe to those who get up early in the morning to begin drinking and continue until nighttime as pitiful drunkards. 12They listen to loud music and get drunk at their parties, but have no respect for the Lord’s work, nor do they give any thought to His creation. 13Therefore I’ll exile My people because they have no understanding, and the leaders they now respect will die of starvation, and their followers will die of thirst. 14Therefore death will gobble them up, eating their leaders, commoners, partiers, and celebrities. 15And the arrogant will be humbled, and the wealthy put into poverty, and they’ll be made to bow down; 16but the Lord of Hosts will be respected because of His judgment, and His actions will be understood to be right. 17Then sheep will graze on their abandoned homeland, and livestock will occupy their ruins.
- 18Woe to those who pull sin along with ropes of deceit, and iniquity with strong cables, 19that say: Let God hurry up; make Him do His work now so that we can see it; and let the plans of the Holy One of Israel come into our view, so we can see it happen.
- 20Woe to them that call evil good and good evil, that call darkness the light and call light the darkness, that call bitter the sweet and call sweet the bitter.
- 21Woe to those who believe themselves wise and see themselves as clever.
- 22Woe to the drinking champions, and skilled bartenders, 23who take bribes from the guilty, and deny justice to the innocent. 24Therefore, like the fire consumes straw, and dry grass ignites, their roots will rot and their descendants will decay into dust, because they have rejected the law of the Lord Almighty, and ignored the word of the Holy One of Israel. 25Therefore the Lord’s anger has been stirred against His people, and this is why He has hit and punished them. And the earth quaked, and dead bodies piled up in the streets. Despite this His anger remains, and His control over everything remains intact.
- 26And He’ll raise a banner to the distant nations, and will whistle for them to come from the end of the earth. Here they return, swiftly and speedily; not one of them will be tired or stumble; 27none of them slumber or sleep; no belt is loosened, nor sandal strap broken; 28their arrows are sharpened, and all their bows ready, and their horses’ hooves seem like flint, and their wheels spin like a whirlwind, they roar like a lion. 29They’re as loud as young lions; they’ll roar like wild beasts, and capture their prey, and carry it away and no one can rescue them. 30And on that day, they’ll roar over them like the crashing of the sea; and if one looks at the land, there’s great darkness and mourning, and the sun will be hidden behind the clouds.
Chapter 8
12The prophecy of Isaiah the son of Amoz, about Judah and Jerusalem:.