History of Israel around Isaiah's time
Assyria was getting bigger and was going to attack Israel and
Syria.
Israel and Syria joined together to fight Assyria. Israel and
Syria wanted Judah to join with them.
The king of Judah said no. Then Israel and Syria attacked
Judah. They wanted to control Judah and then set up a new king
who would help them fight Assyria.
The king of Judah, Ahaz, thought about asking Assyria to
help them fight Israel and Syria. Isaiah said that Judah
should not ask Assyria for help. They should trust God to
protect Judah. But King Ahaz did not listen to Isaiah. He asked
for Assyria's help to fight Israel. Assyria helped Judah, and then Assyria took control of Israel's
capital, Samaria, and all of Israel. The Assyrians took away the
people who lived in Israel. They took them back to Assyria.
After Assyria defeated Israel, they were planning to take
control of Judah. Judah was thinking about asking Egypt to help
them. Isaiah said that Judah should not ask Egypt for help. They
should trust God to protect them. Judah's King Hezekiah
listened to Isaiah, and he did not ask Egypt for help. Later,
though, he did ask Egypt for help.
God helped Judah defeat Assyria. Later, King Hezekiah sinned. He
showed some people from Babylon the valuable items that Judah
had. Isaiah told Hezekiah that his descendants would be taken
away to Babylon.
King Hezekiah's son was Manesseh. He was a bad king. He
encouraged the people in Judah to worship false gods and idols
again. He was captured and taken to Babylon. Then he repented
and started to follow God's laws.
Later, the Babylonians attacked Judah.
They took control and then carried all of the Jewish people
back to Babylon.
|
Isaiah 1
Isaiah tells how Judah and Jerusalem are
sinning.
Isaiah was a prophet. His father's name
was Amoz. God talked to him in visions (like dreams). God told him what
would happen to Judah and Jerusalem. These are the visions he saw when these men
were the kings of Judah: Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah.
[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.
Isaiah told the people what God told him. God said
that He has taken care of the Israelites. He has raised them, and now they
are not obeying Him.
[2] Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken, I have
nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.
Oxen and donkey's know their masters. But the
Israelites do not know and obey God.
[3] The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib: but Israel doth
not know, my people doth not consider.
Judah is a sinful nation. The people have behaved
very badly. They have forgotten God. They have made God angry. They have
moved backwards away from God.
[4] Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers,
children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have
provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.
Why should Judah want to be punished anymore? Judah
is like a sick body. The head is sick, and the heart is weak. From the
bottom of the foot to the head, there is nothing healthy. It has wounds,
bruises, and sores. They have not been taken care of with medicine and
bandages. They have not healed.
[5] Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the
whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint.
[6] From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in
it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been
closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.
(This is a vision about how things will look in the
future ) Judah is empty, and the
cities are burned with fire. Strangers take over the country.
[7] Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire: your land,
strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by
strangers.
Jerusalem is alone like a small house on a farm. It
is under attack.
[8] And the daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in a vineyard, as a lodge
in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city.
| Sodom and Gomorrah were two cities
back in the book of Genesis. The people in those cities were very
bad and sinned. God destroyed both of the cities, and all of the
people died. |
God left some people there. If He hadn't, the
city would be gone like the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.
[9] Except the LORD of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we
should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah.
Isaiah tells the people in Judah and Jerusalem that they are not sincere when they
worship.
The people in Jerusalem should listen to what God
says. God has had enough of Jerusalem's burnt offerings. He is not
happy with their offerings of rams, bulls, lambs, and goats.
[10] Hear the word of the LORD, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of
our God, ye people of Gomorrah.
[11] To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the
LORD: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts;
and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats.
God wants to know who told them to take offerings
to Him. Who told them to go to His temple?
[12] When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand,
to tread my courts?
God does not want them to bring more offerings to
Him. He does not like their incense. He does not like them to celebrate
their new moon and sabbath holidays. God cannot stand these days. He is
tired of them.
[13] Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the
new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is
iniquity, even the solemn meeting.
[14] Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a
trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them.
When they pray, He will not hear them. He says
their hands are full of blood.
[15] And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you:
yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of
blood.
They should wash and become clean. They should stop
doing evil things. He does not want to see it anymore.
[16] Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before
mine eyes; cease to do evil;
They should learn to do good things. They should help people who are
having trouble. They should help widows and orphans.
[17] Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the
fatherless, plead for the widow.
God asks Jerusalem to come and think about this.
Even if their sins are like the color red, the people can be white like snow or wool.
If they want to follow God and will obey Him, He will help them again.
[18] Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins
be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like
crimson, they shall be as wool.
[19] If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land:
But if they do not obey God, they will be killed in war. God has said this.
[20] But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for
the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.
Jerusalem is now like a prostitute. In the
past, it was a good place. Now murderers live there. It is like silver that
is not pretty and shiny. It is like wine that is mixed with water.
[21] How is the faithful city become an harlot! it was full of judgment;
righteousness lodged in it; but now murderers.
[22] Thy silver is become dross, thy wine mixed with water:
Jerusalem's leaders do not obey God. Their friends
steal things. They are greedy and want more rewards. They do not help
orphans or widows.
[23] Thy princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves: every one loveth
gifts, and followeth after rewards: they judge not the fatherless, neither
doth the cause of the widow come unto them.
God tells how He will punish Jerusalem and what
will happen next.
God is the Lord of all. He is very strong and mighty. He says He will punish
His enemies. He will take away the bad things in Jerusalem.
[24] Therefore saith the Lord, the LORD of hosts, the mighty One of Israel,
Ah, I will ease me of mine adversaries, and avenge me of mine enemies:
[25] And I will turn my hand upon thee, and purely purge away thy dross, and
take away all thy tin:
He will put judges in control (judges were in
control of Jerusalem many years ago before King Saul). Then, Jerusalem will
be called "The City of Righteousness" and "The Faithful City".
[26] And I will restore thy judges as at the first, and thy counsellers as
at the beginning: afterward thou shalt be called, The city of righteousness,
the faithful city.
Zion is another name for Jerusalem. Jerusalem
will belong to God again. The sinners will be destroyed. People who
did not obey God will be destroyed.
[27] Zion shall be redeemed with judgment, and her converts with
righteousness.
[28] And the destruction of the transgressors and of the sinners shall be
together, and they that forsake the LORD shall be consumed.
People who live in future Jerusalem will be ashamed about some of the oak
trees. The area near the trees is where some people worshiped false gods.
The people will be like an oak tree whose leaves have fallen off and a
garden that is dried up.
[29] For they shall be ashamed of the oaks which ye have desired, and ye
shall be confounded for the gardens that ye have chosen.
[30] For ye shall be as an oak whose leaf fadeth, and as a garden that hath
no water.
Strong people will be like dried wood. Their
actions will be like sparks. The sparks and dried wood will make a fire. No
one will be able to put out the fire.
[31] And the strong shall be as tow, and the maker of it as a spark, and
they shall both burn together, and none shall quench them.
Isaiah 2
Isaiah sees a vision that all of the people
in the world will go to God's temple.
God gave Isaiah another vision.
Isaiah then told what he saw in the vision. The vision was about Judah and
Jerusalem.
[1] the word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah
and Jerusalem.
In the last days, God's temple will be on top of
the mountains. It will be higher than all of the other mountains.
People from all over the world will travel to God's temple.
[2] And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the
LORD's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be
exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.
The people will talk to other people. They will ask
them to go with them to the mountain. They will go to God's temple.
God will teach them about His laws. They will obey God. God's laws will go
out to the world from Jerusalem.
[3] And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the
mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us
of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth
the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
God will judge all of the parts of the world. He
will tell many people that they have done bad things. The different
countries in the world will change their weapons into tools for farming. The
different countries will not fight with each other anymore. They will not
have any more war.
[4] And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and
they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into
pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall
they learn war any more.
Isaiah wants the Jewish people to join him. He
wants them all to obey God.
[5] O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the LORD.
Isaiah is talking to the good and obedient people of Jerusalem. God will judge and
punish Jerusalem.
The good people of Jerusalem have
given up on the other people. They gave up on them because they have witches from places in the east,
and they have fortune tellers like the Philistines. They also abuse
children.
[6] Therefore thou hast forsaken thy people the house of Jacob, because they
be replenished from the east, and are soothsayers like the Philistines, and
they please themselves in the children of strangers.
They have a lot of silver and gold. They also have
many horses. But they have made idols (statues), and they worship them..
[7] Their land also is full of silver and gold, neither is there any end of
their treasures; their land is also full of horses, neither is there any end
of their chariots:
[8] Their land also is full of idols; they worship the work of their own
hands, that which their own fingers have made:
They worship and bow down to the idols. The
good people should not forgive the people who worship idols.
[9] And the mean man boweth down, and the great man humbleth himself:
therefore forgive them not.
The good people should hide in the rocks and dust.
They should be afraid of God and His power.
[10] Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, for fear of the LORD,
and for the glory of his majesty.
God will judge Jerusalem on His day. The people
who are too proud and think they are important will be brought down. Only
God will be worshiped.
[11] The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men
shall be bowed down, and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day.
[12] For the day of the LORD of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud
and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought
low:
On God's day, every tall and powerful thing will be
brought down. God will bring down the tall cedar trees in Lebanon and the
oak trees in Bashan. He will bring down the high mountains and hills. He
will bring down the high towers and the tall fences.
[13] And upon all the cedars of Lebanon, that are high and lifted up, and
upon all the oaks of Bashan,
[14] And upon all the high mountains, and upon all the hills that are lifted
up,
[15] And upon every high tower, and upon every fenced wall,
He will bring down the ships of Tarshish (a
powerful area) and the beautiful pictures.
[16] And upon all the ships of Tarshish, and upon all pleasant pictures.
Only God will be important in His day. The men who think they are important
will be brought down.
[17] And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of
men shall be made low: and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day.
God hates idols (statues that people worship). On
God's day, the men will throw their idols into holes and rocks. They will be
afraid of God and will throw away their idols. Men will also try to hide in
rocks. On God's day, He will shake the earth.
[18] And the idols he shall utterly abolish.
[19] And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of
the earth, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when he
ariseth to shake terribly the earth.
[20] In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of
gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to
the bats;
[21] To go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged
rocks, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when he
ariseth to shake terribly the earth.
Man is not going to be important.
[22] Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils: for wherein is he
to be accounted of?
Isaiah 3
God will punish Jerusalem and the area of Judah.
God will take away Jerusalem's and Judah's food and water.
He will take away their leaders, soldiers, prophets, and people who help
them.
[1] For, behold, the Lord, the LORD of hosts, doth take away
from Jerusalem and from Judah the stay and the staff, the whole stay of
bread, and the whole stay of water,
[2] The mighty man, and the man of war, the judge, and the prophet, and the
prudent, and the ancient,
[3] The captain of fifty, and the honourable man, and the counseller, and
the cunning artificer, and the eloquent orator.
He will make children be their leaders. People will
fight with each other. Young people will not be nice to older people.
Dishonest people will not be good to people who have honor.
[4] And I will give children to be their princes, and babes shall rule over
them.
[5] And the people shall be oppressed, every one by another, and every one
by his neighbour: the child shall behave himself proudly against the
ancient, and the base against the honourable.
A man will grab his brother. He will say that his
brother has clothes. His brother should be the leader. Then they can blame
him for the problems in Judah. But the brother will say no. He will say he is
not a healer. He does not have food or clothes. He does not want to be the
leader.
[6] When a man shall take hold of his brother of the house of his father,
saying, Thou hast clothing, be thou our ruler, and let this ruin be under
thy hand:
[7] In that day shall he swear, saying, I will not be an healer; for in my
house is neither bread nor clothing: make me not a ruler of the people.
Jerusalem and Judah are having trouble because they talked against God. They
acted against God and made Him mad.
[8] For Jerusalem is ruined, and Judah is fallen: because their tongue and
their doings are against the LORD, to provoke the eyes of his glory.
It is easy to see their sins. They do not hide
their sins. They deserve to be punished.
[9] The shew of their countenance doth witness against them; and they
declare their sin as Sodom, they hide it not. Woe unto their soul! for they
have rewarded evil unto themselves.
The good people will be all right.
They will be treated well. But God will punish the wicked people.
[10] Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him: for they shall
eat the fruit of their doings.
[11] Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him: for the reward of his
hands shall be given him.
The leaders of Jerusalem and Judah have caused them
to sin.
[12] As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over
them. O my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the
way of thy paths.
God will judge them. They have
taken food from the poor people.
[13] The LORD standeth up to plead, and standeth to judge the people.
[14] The LORD will enter into judgment with the ancients of his people, and
the princes thereof: for ye have eaten up the vineyard; the spoil of the
poor is in your houses.
God asks them why they beat His people and why they hurt the poor people.
[15] What mean ye that ye beat my people to pieces, and grind the faces of
the poor? saith the LORD GOD of hosts.
Isaiah warns the women of Judah and
Jerusalem.
God said that the women in Jerusalem and Judah are vain (too proud). They
walk with their necks stretched out. Their eyes look like they want men to
look at them. They wear a lot of jewelry so they jingle when they
walk.
[16] Moreover the LORD saith, Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and
walk with stretched forth necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they
go, and making a tinkling with their feet:
God will punish the women. They will have
problems on their heads. Their heads will be shaved. They will have scabs on
their heads.
[17] Therefore the LORD will smite with a scab the crown of the head of the
daughters of Zion, and the LORD will discover their secret parts.
God will take away their jewelry -- their
necklaces, chains, bracelets, headbands, earrings, rings, nose jewelry, and
others. He will take away their fancy clothes -- robes, head scarves,
hoods, and veils. They will not smell sweet like perfume. They will smell
bad. They will not wear fancy clothes. They will wear sackcloth (scratchy
fabric). They will not be pretty anymore.
[18] In that day the Lord will take away the bravery of their tinkling
ornaments about their feet, and their cauls, and their round tires like the
moon,
[19] The chains, and the bracelets, and the mufflers,
[20] The bonnets, and the ornaments of the legs, and the headbands, and the
tablets, and the earrings,
[21] The rings, and nose jewels,
[22] The changeable suits of apparel, and the mantles, and the wimples, and
the crisping pins,
[23] The glasses, and the fine linen, and the hoods, and the vails.
[24] And it shall come to pass, that instead of sweet smell there shall be
stink; and instead of a girdle a rent; and instead of well set hair
baldness; and instead of a stomacher a girding of sackcloth; and burning
instead of beauty.
Their husbands will die in the war.
[25] Thy men shall fall by the sword, and thy mighty in the war.
The gates of the city will cry and feel sad. The
women will feel hopeless and will sit down on the ground.
[26] And her gates shall lament and mourn; and she being desolate shall sit
upon the ground.
Back to the previous chapters
To the next chapters