1 The avision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem bin the days of cUzziah, dJotham, eAhaz, and fHezekiah, kings of Judah.
The Wickedness of Judah
2 gHear, O heavens, and give ear, O hearth;
for the Lord has spoken:
“Children1 ihave I reared and brought up,
but they have rebelled against me.
3 The ox jknows its owner,
and the donkey its master’s crib,
but Israel does jnot know,
my people do not understand.”
4 Ah, sinful nation,
a people laden with iniquity,
koffspring of evildoers,
children who deal corruptly!
They have forsaken the Lord,
they have ldespised mthe Holy One of Israel,
they are utterly nestranged.
5 Why will you still be ostruck down?
Why will you pcontinue to rebel?
The whole head is sick,
and the whole heart faint.
6 qFrom the sole of the foot even to the head,
there is no soundness in it,
but bruises and sores
and raw wounds;
they are rnot pressed out or bound up
or softened with oil.
7 sYour 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 tthe daughter of Zion is left
like a ubooth in a vineyard,
like a lodge in a cucumber field,
like a besieged city.
9 vIf the Lord of hosts
had not left us wa few survivors,
we should have been like xSodom,
and become like xGomorrah.
10 Hear the word of the Lord,
Give ear to the teaching2 of our God,
you people of zGomorrah!
11 a“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 bappear before me,
who has required of you
this trampling of my courts?
13 Bring no more vain offerings;
incense is an abomination to me.
cNew moon and Sabbath and the dcalling of convocations—
I cannot endure einiquity and fsolemn assembly.
14 Your cnew moons and your appointed feasts
my soul hates;
they have become a burden to me;
I am weary of bearing them.
15 When you gspread out your hands,
I will hide my eyes from you;
heven though you make many prayers,
I will not listen;
iyour hands are full of blood.
16 jWash yourselves; make yourselves clean;
remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes;
kcease to do evil,
17 learn to do good;
lseek justice,
correct oppression;
mbring justice to the fatherless,
plead the widow’s cause.
18 “Come now, nlet us reason3 together, says the Lord:
though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as owhite as snow;
though they are red like crimson,
they shall become like wool.
19 pIf 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;
qfor the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
The Unfaithful City
21 How the faithful city
sshe who was full of justice!
Righteousness lodged in her,
but now murderers.
22 tYour silver has become dross,
your best wine mixed with water.
23 Your princes are rebels
and companions of thieves.
Everyone uloves a bribe
and runs after gifts.
vThey do not bring justice to the fatherless,
and the widow’s cause does not come to them.
24 Therefore the wLord declares,
the Lord of hosts,
the xMighty One of Israel:
“Ah, I will get relief from my enemies
yand avenge myself on my foes.
25 zI will turn my hand against you
and will smelt away your adross as with lye
and remove all your alloy.
26 And I will restore your judges bas at the first,
and your counselors as at the beginning.
Afterward cyou shall be called the city of righteousness,
the faithful city.”
27 dZion shall be redeemed by justice,
and those in her who repent, by righteousness.
28 eBut rebels and sinners shall be broken together,
and those who forsake the Lord shall be consumed.
29 fFor they5 shall be ashamed of gthe oaks
that you desired;
and you shall blush for hthe gardens
that you have chosen.
30 For you shall be ilike an oak
whose leaf withers,
and like a garden without water.
31 And the strong shall become jtinder,
and his work a spark,
and both of them shall burn together,
with knone to quench them.
Oh, That My People Would Listen to Me
To the choirmaster: according to fThe Gittith.1 Of gAsaph.
1 hSing aloud to God our strength;
ishout for joy to the God of Jacob!
2 Raise a song; sound jthe tambourine,
kthe sweet lyre with kthe harp.
3 Blow the trumpet at lthe new moon,
at the full moon, on our feast day.
4 For it is a statute for Israel,
a rule2 of the God of Jacob.
5 He made it ma decree in nJoseph
when he owent out over3 the land of Egypt.
pI hear a language qI had not known:
6 “I rrelieved your4 shoulder of sthe burden;
your hands were freed from the basket.
7 In distress you tcalled, and I delivered you;
I uanswered you in the secret place of thunder;
I vtested you at the waters of Meribah. Selah
8 wHear, O my people, while I admonish you!
O Israel, if you would but listen to me!
9 There shall be no xstrange god among you;
you shall not bow down to a yforeign god.
10 zI am the Lord your God,
who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.
aOpen your mouth wide, and I will fill it.
11 “But my people did not listen to my voice;
Israel bwould not submit to me.
12 So I cgave them over to their dstubborn hearts,
to follow their own ecounsels.
13 fOh, that my people would listen to me,
that Israel would gwalk in my ways!
14 I would soon subdue their enemies
and hturn my hand against their foes.
15 Those who hate the Lord would icringe toward him,
and their fate would last forever.
16 But he would feed you5 with jthe finest of the wheat,
and with khoney from the rock I would satisfy you.”
Peter and John Before the Council
1 And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and lthe captain of the temple and mthe Sadducees came upon them, 2 greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming nin Jesus the resurrection from the dead. 3 And they arrested them and oput them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. 4 But many of those who had heard the word believed, and pthe number of the men came to about five thousand.
5 On the next day their rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem, 6 with qAnnas the high priest and rCaiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. 7 And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, s“By what power or tby what name did you do this?” 8 Then Peter, ufilled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, 9 if we are being examined today vconcerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, 10 let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that wby the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, xwhom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well. 11 yThis Jesus1 is the stone that was zrejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone.2 12 And there is asalvation bin no one else, for cthere is no other dname under heaven given among men3 by which we must be saved.”
13 eNow when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus. 14 But seeing the man who was healed fstanding beside them, gthey had nothing to say in opposition. 15 But when they had commanded them to leave the council, they conferred with one another, 16 saying, h“What shall we do with these men? For that ia notable sign has been performed through them is evident to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. 17 But in order that it may spread no further among the people, let us warn them jto speak no more to anyone in this name.” 18 So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John answered them, k“Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, 20 for lwe cannot but speak of what mwe have seen and heard.” 21 And when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way to punish them, nbecause of the people, for all were praising God ofor what had happened. 22 For the man on whom this sign of healing was performed was more than forty years old.
The Believers Pray for Boldness
23 When they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them. 24 And when they heard it, they lifted their voices ptogether to God and said, “Sovereign Lord, qwho made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, 25 who through the mouth of our father David, your servant,4 said by the Holy Spirit,
r“‘Why did the Gentiles rage,
and the peoples plot in vain?
26 The kings of the earth set themselves,
and sthe rulers were gathered together,
27 for truly in this city there were gathered together against your uholy servant Jesus, vwhom you anointed, both wHerod and xPontius Pilate, along ywith the Gentiles and zthe peoples of Israel, 28 ato do whatever your hand and byour plan had predestined to take place. 29 And now, Lord, clook upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all dboldness, 30 while eyou stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed fthrough the name of your gholy servant Jesus.” 31 And when they had prayed, hthe place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and ithey were all filled with the Holy Spirit and jcontinued to speak the word of God with boldness.
They Had Everything in Common
32 Now the full number of those who believed were of kone heart and lsoul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but mthey had everything in common. 33 And with great npower the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and ogreat grace was upon them all. 34 pThere was not a needy person among them, for qas many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold 35 and rlaid it at the apostles’ feet, and sit was distributed to each as any had need. 36 Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means tson of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus, 37 sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and ulaid it at the apostles’ feet.
