Isaiah
Chapter 1
The Vision of Isaiah
This is what Isaiah, son of Amoz, foretold, concerning Judah and Jerusalem, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.
God’s Indictment and the People’s Confession
Listen, O heavens! Give heed, O earth! For the Lord speaks: “I raised children, I brought them up, but they have turned against me.
The ox recognizes its master and the donkey the owner’s manger, but Israel does not recognize me. My people do not understand.
A sinful nation, a people weighed down with iniquity, a wicked race, perverted children! They have turned away from the Lord and despised the Holy One of Israel.
Why do you seek further beating? People always rebelling, your whole head is diseased and your heart is also afflicted.
From the soles of your feet to the top of your head—all is wounds and bruises, sores uncleaned and unbound, not eased with soothing ointment.
Your country lies desolate, your cities razed by fire. Aliens have devoured the harvest before your very eyes, and you were left in ruins.
The Daughter of Zion is left like a shanty in a vineyard, like a hut in a melon field, like a city besieged.
Had not the Lord of Hosts left us a small remnant, we would resemble Sodom, we would be like Gomorrah.
Second Indictment
Hear the warning of the Lord, rulers of Sodom. Listen to the word of God, people of Gomorrah.
“What do I care,” says the Lord “for your endless sacrifices? I am fed up with your burnt offerings, and the fat of your bulls. The blood of fatlings, lambs and he-goats I abhor,
when you come before me and trample on my courts. Who asked you to visit me?
I am fed up with your oblations. I grow sick with your incense. Your New Moons, Sabbaths and meetings, evil with holy assemblies, I can no longer bear.
I hate your New Moons and appointed feasts. They burden me.
When you stretch out your hands I will close my eyes; the more you pray, the more I refuse to listen, for your hands are bloody.
Wash and make yourselves clean. Remove from my sight the evil of your deeds. Put an end to your wickedness
and learn to do good. Seek justice and keep in line the abusers; give the fatherless their rights and defend the widow.
“Come,” says the Lord, “let us reason together. Though your sins be like scarlet, they will be white as snow; though they be as crimson red, they will be white as wool.
If you will obey me, you will eat the goods of the earth;
but if you resist and rebel, the sword will eat you instead.” Truly the Lord has spoken.
The Unfaithful City
Zion, the faithful city, has become a prostitute! She who abounded in justice, in whom righteousness lodged, has become a hideout of murderers!
Your silver has turned to dross, your best wine thinned with water.
Your rulers are tyrants, partners of thieves. They love a bribe and look around for gifts. No one protects the orphan, or listens to the claim of the widow.
This is why the Lord speaks, the Lord Sabaoth, the Mighty One of Israel: “I will subdue my foes and exact payment from my enemies.
I will turn my hand against you, I will smelt away your dross and remove your impurities.
I will restore your judges, I will give back your counselors, as it was in the beginning. Then you will be called the city of righteousness, the faithful city.”
The deliverance of Zion will be like a judgment. There will be a remnant: the just ones.
But rebels and sinners alike will be destroyed, and those who desert the Lord will likewise perish.
Against Idolatrous Cults
Yes, you will be ashamed of your sacred oaks, which have given you delight; you will blush for your gardens which you have chosen.
You will be like an oak, the leaves of which wither, and like a garden which runs out of water.
The strongman will be as tinder and all his work a spark: both will burn together and no one will quench the fire.
Commentaries
The Vision of Isaiah.
This title introduces the entire book of Isaiah. Although there are only two visions in the whole book (6:1-13; 21:1-10), the word “vision” is used here in a broader sense of “revelation” that it acquired later. The mention of Judah and Jerusalem in this order suggests that the final edition of the book was made during the time of the Second Temple (2 Chr 11:14; 20:17; Ezr 9:9; 10:7). Isaiah’s ministry took place between the death of Uzziah, possibly in 741, and the 14th year of Hezekiah in 701, indicating 40 years, similar to Jeremiah (Jr 1:1-3). In this way, the lives and missions of these prophets align with that of Moses, whose ministry lasted over four decades (Dt 1:3).
The final editor of the book uses Isaiah 1:1-31 as a prologue to the first section (Is 1-33) and the entire book as a whole. The central theme is the suffering of the people as a form of purification and preparation for God himself to sit on David’s throne in Jerusalem to reign over all creation.
God’s Indictment and the People’s Confession.
God files a lawsuit against his rebellious people and calls heaven and earth as witnesses (cf. Dt 4:26; 32:1; Ps 50:4). The Lord accuses his people of not knowing or recognizing their identity, history, and origins (2-3). They are a people lacking understanding and unable to see that their suffering is due to their sin and abandonment of God (4-7). Nonetheless, God does not eradicate them but leaves a remnant in Judah who are hopeful for salvation for Jerusalem, the “besieged city” (8-9).
This concept of the “remnant” was already introduced by Amos (Am 3:12; 5:15). Isaiah himself revisits this theme in 6:13; 7:3; 10:19-21; 28:5; 37:4; 37:31ff. Other prophets also follow this pattern: Micah 4:7; 5:2; Zephaniah 2:7, 9; 3:12; Jeremiah 3:14; Ezekiel 5:3; 9.
Second Indictment.
God calls the leaders of Judah “princes of Sodom” and those who obey them “people of Gomorrah.” This is a huge insult because those cities symbolize rebellion against God, the most vile sin, and injustice toward foreigners whose cries reached God (Gn 18:20). Along with orphans and widows, immigrants symbolize the poor and helpless who cannot defend their rights. The display of the people’s worship is pure irony because, in reality, their liturgy is a pantomime, the opposite of true worship. It is anti-worship: their offerings are hollow and their incense is abominable, profaning and mocking God. The participation of each person in the liturgy, with hymns and gestures, only exposes their murderous hands, stained with the blood of the poor, helpless, and oppressed. The turning point is God’s call to purification (16) and conversion to justice (18). Obedience will bring abundant harvests, while disobedience will result in war and death (19-20).
The Unfaithful City.
This lament, which depicts Jerusalem as a prostitute, aligns with Hosea’s sermons. The decadence highlighted by the prophet here contrasts with her original fidelity, which she must return to after being purified (26a). In the Bible, a change of name (26b) indicates a new direction and destiny (Gn 17:5; 32:29). The future Jerusalem will be given other names by the prophets (cf. 60:14; 62:4.12; Ez 48:35).
Against Idolatrous Cults.
This refers to the Canaanite fertility cults of the goddess Asherah or Ashtoreth, practiced under trees and involving ritual prostitution (cf. Jer 3:6). Here, we see the conclusion of the inclusion that began in verse 21, when Jerusalem is accused of engaging in prostitution. The assimilation of the Canaanite idol cults only leads to drought and destruction. The Lord is the only God and does not tolerate syncretism or rivals. Monotheism is a recurring theme in the book of Isaiah and the prophets in general.