The Book of Isaiah is important in both Jewish tradition and Christian theology, and therefore a complicated subject. The first thing to understand is that like some other books of the Tanakh, it's really a compilation of material. The current consensus is that it consists of three works. The first, as it purports at the beginning, really was written in the 8th Century BC. The context is that the Assyrian empire, under the Shalmaneser V and his successor Sargon II, had destroyed the northern Kingdom of Israel. Judah survived a siege of Jerusalem but was reduced to a tributary kingdom. (It's not entirely clear whether this was concluded under Shalmaneser or Sargon.)
The writer attributes the kingdom's misfortune to apostasy: Yahweh has removed his protection because the people have failed to follow his laws or do him proper worship. However, Isaiah prophesies that the glory of Judah and its relationship with Yahweh will ultimately be restored. Christian theologians made a huge stretch, interpreting this as prophesying the coming of Jesus, whereas if you simply read it the plain and unambiguous sense is that it refers to the restoration of the kingdom of Judah and its religion.
The second portion of the book we have today was in fact written during the Babylonian exile. In case you've forgotten, the Assyrian empire fell to Babylon in the late 7th Century BC. The Babylonian emperor Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the kingdom of Judah in 587 BC, and deported its elite citizens, including the royal household, military leadership, and the literate priesthood, to Babylon. It was easy enough for the author of the second part of Isiah to prophesy what had already happened!
In 539 BC, Cyrus the Great of Persia conquered Babylon, and he allowed the exiles to return, bringing about the restoration of Judah and the rebuilding of the Temple. The final chapters of Isaiah were written in the post-exilic period. We'll cross those bridges when we come to them.
1 The vision concerning Judah and Jerusalem that Isaiah son of Amoz saw during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.
A Rebellious Nation
2 Hear me, you heavens! Listen, earth!
For the Lord has spoken:
“I reared children and brought them up,
but they have rebelled against me.
3 The ox knows its master,
the donkey its owner’s manger,
but Israel does not know,
my people do not understand.”4 Woe to the sinful nation,
a people whose guilt is great,
a brood of evildoers,
children given to corruption!
They have forsaken the Lord;
they have spurned the Holy One of Israel
and turned their backs on him.5 Why should you be beaten anymore?
Why do you persist in rebellion?
Your whole head is injured,
your whole heart afflicted.
6 From the sole of your foot to the top of your head
there is no soundness—
only wounds and welts
and open sores,
not cleansed or bandaged
or soothed with olive oil.7 Your country is desolate,
your cities burned with fire;
your fields are being stripped by foreigners
right before you,
laid waste as when overthrown by strangers.
8 Daughter Zion is left
like a shelter in a vineyard,
like a hut in a cucumber field,
like a city under siege.
9 Unless the Lord Almighty
had left us some survivors,
we would have become like Sodom,
we would have been like Gomorrah.10 Hear the word of the Lord,
you rulers of Sodom;
listen to the instruction of our God,
you people of Gomorrah!
11 “The multitude of your sacrifices—
what are they to me?” says the Lord.
“I have more than enough of burnt offerings,
of rams and the fat of fattened animals;
I have no pleasure
in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats.
12 When you come to appear before me,
who has asked this of you,
this trampling of my courts?
13 Stop bringing meaningless offerings!
Your incense is detestable to me.
New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations—
I cannot bear your worthless assemblies.
14 Your New Moon feasts and your appointed festivals
I hate with all my being.
They have become a burden to me;
I am weary of bearing them.
15 When you spread out your hands in prayer,
I hide my eyes from you;
even when you offer many prayers,
I am not listening.Your hands are full of blood!
16 Wash and make yourselves clean.
Take your evil deeds out of my sight;
stop doing wrong.
17 Learn to do right; seek justice.
Defend the oppressed.[a]
Take up the cause of the fatherless;
plead the case of the widow.18 “Come now, let us settle the matter,”
says the Lord.
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red as crimson,
they shall be like wool.
19 If you are willing and obedient,
you will eat the good things of the land;
20 but if you resist and rebel,
you will be devoured by the sword.”
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.21 See how the faithful city
has become a prostitute!
She once was full of justice;
righteousness used to dwell in her—
but now murderers!
22 Your silver has become dross,
your choice wine is diluted with water.
23 Your rulers are rebels,
partners with thieves;
they all love bribes
and chase after gifts.
They do not defend the cause of the fatherless;
the widow’s case does not come before them.24 Therefore the Lord, the Lord Almighty,
the Mighty One of Israel, declares:
“Ah! I will vent my wrath on my foes
and avenge myself on my enemies.
25 I will turn my hand against you;[b]
I will thoroughly purge away your dross
and remove all your impurities.
26 I will restore your leaders as in days of old,
your rulers as at the beginning.
Afterward you will be called
the City of Righteousness,
the Faithful City.”27 Zion will be delivered with justice,
her penitent ones with righteousness.
28 But rebels and sinners will both be broken,
and those who forsake the Lord will perish.29 “You will be ashamed because of the sacred oaks
in which you have delighted;
you will be disgraced because of the gardens
that you have chosen.
30 You will be like an oak with fading leaves,
like a garden without water.
31 The mighty man will become tinder
and his work a spark;
both will burn together,
with no one to quench the fire.”Footnotes
- Isaiah 1:17 Or justice. / Correct the oppressor
- Isaiah 1:25 That is, against Jerusalem
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