Isaiah 1 - ESV - Bible Reading / Study Notes

Isaiah 1

1:1 The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.

The Wickedness of Judah

2   Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth;
    for the LORD has spoken:
  “Children¹ have I reared and brought up,
    but they have rebelled against me.
3   The ox knows its owner,
    and the donkey its master’s crib,
  but Israel does not know,
    my people do not understand.”
4   Ah, sinful nation,
    a people laden with iniquity,
  offspring of evildoers,
    children who deal corruptly!
  They have forsaken the LORD,
    they have despised the Holy One of Israel,
    they are utterly estranged.
5   Why will you still be struck down?
    Why will you continue to rebel?
  The whole head is sick,
    and the whole heart faint.
6   From the sole of the foot even to the head,
    there is no soundness in it,
  but bruises and sores
    and raw wounds;
  they are not pressed out or bound up
    or softened with oil.
7   Your country lies desolate;
    your cities are burned with fire;
  in your very presence
    foreigners devour your land;
    it is desolate, as overthrown by foreigners.
8   And the daughter of Zion is left
    like a booth in a vineyard,
  like a lodge in a cucumber field,
    like a besieged city.
9   If the LORD of hosts
    had not left us a few survivors,
  we should have been like Sodom,
    and become like Gomorrah.
10   Hear the word of the LORD,
    you rulers of Sodom!
  Give ear to the teaching² of our God,
    you people of Gomorrah!
11   “What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices?
    says the LORD;
  I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams
    and the fat of well-fed beasts;
  I do not delight in the blood of bulls,
    or of lambs, or of goats.
12   “When you come to appear before me,
    who has required of you
    this trampling of my courts?
13   Bring no more vain offerings;
    incense is an abomination to me.
  New moon and Sabbath and the calling of convocations—
    I cannot endure iniquity and solemn assembly.
14   Your new moons and your appointed feasts
    my soul hates;
  they have become a burden to me;
    I am weary of bearing them.
15   When you spread out your hands,
    I will hide my eyes from you;
  even though you make many prayers,
    I will not listen;
    your hands are full of blood.
16   Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean;
    remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes;
  cease to do evil,
17     learn to do good;
  seek justice,
    correct oppression;
  bring justice to the fatherless,
    plead the widow’s cause.
18   “Come now, let us reason³ together, says the LORD:
  though your sins are like scarlet,
    they shall be as white as snow;
  though they are red like crimson,
    they shall become like wool.
19   If you are willing and obedient,
    you shall eat the good of the land;
20   but if you refuse and rebel,
    you shall be eaten by the sword;
    for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”

The Unfaithful City

21   How the faithful city
    has become a whore,⁴
    she who was full of justice!
  Righteousness lodged in her,
    but now murderers.
22   Your silver has become dross,
    your best wine mixed with water.
23   Your princes are rebels
    and companions of thieves.
  Everyone loves a bribe
    and runs after gifts.
  They do not bring justice to the fatherless,
    and the widow’s cause does not come to them.
24   Therefore the Lord declares,
    the LORD of hosts,
    the Mighty One of Israel:
  “Ah, I will get relief from my enemies
    and avenge myself on my foes.
25   I will turn my hand against you
    and will smelt away your dross as with lye
    and remove all your alloy.
26   And I will restore your judges as at the first,
    and your counselors as at the beginning.
  Afterward you shall be called the city of righteousness,
    the faithful city.”
27   Zion shall be redeemed by justice,
    and those in her who repent, by righteousness.
28   But rebels and sinners shall be broken together,
    and those who forsake the LORD shall be consumed.
29   For they⁵ shall be ashamed of the oaks
    that you desired;
  and you shall blush for the gardens
    that you have chosen.
30   For you shall be like an oak
    whose leaf withers,
    and like a garden without water.
31   And the strong shall become tinder,
    and his work a spark,
  and both of them shall burn together,
    with none to quench them.

Footnotes

[1] 1:2 Or Sons; also verse 4
[2] 1:10 Or law
[3] 1:18 Or dispute
[4] 1:21 Or become unchaste
[5] 1:29 Some Hebrew manuscripts you

Commentary

Chapters 1-12 speak of judgment upon rebellious Judah, but with many promises of future hope.

v1: Isaiah's ministry was dated during the reigns of four kings. He seems to have been involved in Hezekiah's reforms, and thus had some access to human thrones. Equally, he heard from the throne of God.

v2-3: The Lord God had nourished and brought up Judah, providing all her needs, yet she rebelled. God calls heaven and earth to witness, for these things are important (Deut 4.26); these verses are presented as a prosecution in a Court.

The care of God for His people is illustrated;

a parent for a child;
an owner for his ox;
a master for his donkey.

Judah was effectively ignorant of God, and failed to enjoy the privileges of belonging to God. Thus, the Lord God grieves over "my people."

Judah is addressed as "Israel," for Judah had become as corrupt as the northern kingdom, although Isaiah was a prophet to the southern kingdom.

v4: The charges against Judah;

a people laden with guilt;
a brood of evildoers;
children devoted to corruption;
they have forsaken the Lord;
they have spurned, or provoked, the Holy One of Israel;
they have turned their backs on Him.

v5-6: Illustrating v4, with the thoroughness of their condition; the whole head (the will), and the whole heart (the emotions), and from toe to head (the body). Their sores were visible, not hidden either from God, or from other nations. The prophet's words are echoed by Paul in Rom 3.9-18, where he exposes sinful human nature.

Judah had fallen back into her sins; "again...more and more" indicate this. She had not learned from previous judgments.

v7-8: Their national defeats and disasters were further symptoms of the spiritual problem. These things had not happened by chance.

v9: In fact, God had been merciful, for the nation was not totally destroyed. Yet they were ignorant of God's mercy. This verse is like an interruption from others ("we"), agreeing that He had been merciful.

The reference to Sodom and Gomorrah indicates the seriousness of their sins. In v10, Judah is actually addressed using these names. In Ezek 16, Sodom is Judah's sister.

v10-15: Religion without reality. Their continued religious form, even though commanded by God, was useless without real devotion, commitment, and obedience. Isaiah refers to sacrifices and feasts, which were key parts of Judah's religious life. These things had been maintained, but without reality; such a complaint was not new; Samuel had said similar, and the Lord Jesus also. These things stand as a warning to all who profess to worship God.

The Lord's response to the people's religious ways is uncompromising; "I have more than enough...I have no pleasure...I cannot bear...I am weary;" and, as a result, their prayers fell on deaf ears; "I will hide my eyes from you...I will not listen."

The hypocrisy of the people was exposed, "your hands are full of blood," even while they offered sacrifices. However, they are not left without hope, since there is a route of repentance.

v16-17: The command to repent, similar to John Baptist's call in Luke 3.10-14. Specific issues had to be addressed. A general regret was insufficient.

v18-20: In the N.T. we read of the Lord's faithfulness to grant forgiveness, 1 John 1.9. And the same is true here. The Lord is willing to forgive and cleanse.

Each one had a responsibility to repent, and their choice affected the outcome; those who were willing and obedient would be blessed, but those who resist and rebel would suffer loss.

v21: The Lord looks back to the faithful city, full of justice and righteousness, but now become the unfaithful harlot, full of murderers.

v22: The silver of purity had become the dross of selfishness. The wine of joy in God mixed with the water of self.

v23: There were specific sins, following the threefold pattern of v4;

rebellious rulers, companions of thieves; no honesty;
they loved bribes, and seek riches for themselves; no contentment;
they neglected the fatherless and widows; no compassion.

v24-25: Purification, removing the bad; judgment upon the rebellious. The Lord had a desire to ensure Judah's true purity. He would not be passive concerning His people.

v26-27: To restore the good, so that righteousness and faithfulness are restored; this was God's stated plan and intention. There may well have been an initial fulfilment during Isaiah's lifetime, for some set their hearts on seeking God, 2 Chr 30.19; there was a later fulfilment during the exile in Babylon; Scripture also points to a later fulfilment of purging, Ezek 20.38.

v28: Isaiah speaks of real retribution, for sinners were broken, and would perish.

v29: Where they had pursued idolatry, at their sacred oaks (terebinth trees) and in their secret gardens, these would be seen to be useless.

v30-31: The rebels would be wood for the fire of judgment, with no one to quench it.