Isaiah’s Commission

¹In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted; and the train of His robefilled the temple.

²Above Him stood seraphim, each having six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying.

³And they were calling out to one another:“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of Hosts;all the earth is full of His glory.”

⁴At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook, and the temple was filled with smoke.

⁵Then I said:“Woe is me,for I am ruined,because I am a man of unclean lipsdwelling among a people of unclean lips;for my eyes have seen the King,the LORD of Hosts.”

⁶Then one of the seraphim flew to me, and in his hand was a glowing coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar.

⁷And with it he touched my mouth and said:“Now that this has touched your lips,your iniquity is removedand your sin is atoned for.”

⁸Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying:“Whom shall I send?Who will go for Us?”And I said:“Here am I. Send me!”

⁹And He replied:“Go and tell this people,‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding;be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’

¹⁰Make the hearts of this people calloused;deafen their ears and close their eyes.Otherwise they might see with their eyes,hear with their ears,understand with their hearts,and turn and be healed.”

¹¹Then I asked:“How long, O Lord?”And He replied:“Until the cities lie ruinedand without inhabitant,until the houses are left unoccupiedand the land is desolate and ravaged,

¹²until the LORD has driven men far awayand the land is utterly forsaken.

¹³And though a tenth remains in the land,it will be burned again.As the terebinth and oak leave stumps when felled,so the holy seed will be a stump in the land.”

The Destroyers of Jerusalem Destroyed

¹Behold, a day of the LORD is coming when your plunder will be divided in your presence.

²For I will gather all the nations for battle against Jerusalem, and the city will be captured, the houses looted, and the women ravished. Half of the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be removed from the city.

³Then the LORD will go out to fight against those nations, as He fights in the day of battle.

⁴On that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half the mountain moving to the north and half to the south.

⁵You will flee by My mountain valley, for it will extend to Azal. You will flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the LORD my God will come, and all the holy ones with Him.

⁶On that day there will be no light, no cold or frost.

⁷It will be a unique day known only to the LORD, without day or night; but when evening comes, there will be light.

⁸And on that day living water will flow out from Jerusalem, half of it toward the Eastern Seaand the other half toward the Western Sea,in summer and winter alike.

⁹On that day the LORD will become King over all the earth—the LORD alone, and His name alone.

¹⁰All the land from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem will be turned into a plain, but Jerusalem will be raised up and will remain in her place, from the Benjamin Gate to the site of the First Gate to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the royal winepresses.

¹¹People will live there, and never again will there be an utter destruction. So Jerusalem will dwell securely.

¹²And this will be the plague with which the LORD strikes all the peoples who have warred against Jerusalem: Their flesh will rot while they stand on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths.

¹³On that day a great panic from the LORD will come upon them, so that each will seize the hand of another, and the hand of one will rise against the other.

¹⁴Judah will also fight at Jerusalem, and the wealth of all the surrounding nations will be collected—gold, silver, and apparel in great abundance.

¹⁵And a similar plague will strike the horses and mules, camels and donkeys, and all the animals in those camps.

All Nations Will Worship the King

¹⁶Then all the survivors from the nations that came against Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD of Hosts, and to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles.

¹⁷And should any of the families of the earth not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of Hosts, then the rain will not fall on them.

¹⁸And if the people of Egypt will not go up and enter in, then the rain will not fall on them; this will be the plague with which the LORD strikes the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles.

¹⁹This will be the punishment of Egypt and of all the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles.

²⁰On that day, HOLY TO THE LORDwill be inscribed on the bells of the horses, and the cooking pots in the house of the LORD will be like the sprinkling bowls before the altar.

²¹Indeed, every pot in Jerusalem and Judah will be holy to the LORD of Hosts, and all who sacrifice will come and take some pots and cook in them. And on that day there will no longer be a Canaanitein the house of the LORD of Hosts.

Provision for Priests and Levites

¹The Levitical priests—indeed the whole tribe of Levi—shall have no portion or inheritance with Israel. They are to eat the food offerings to the LORD; that is their inheritance.

²Although they have no inheritance among their brothers, the LORD is their inheritance, as He promised them.

³This shall be the priests’ share from the people who offer a sacrifice, whether a bull or a sheep: the priests are to be given the shoulder, the jowls, and the stomach.

⁴You are to give them the firstfruits of your grain, new wine, and oil, and the first wool sheared from your flock.

⁵For the LORD your God has chosen Levi and his sons out of all your tribes to stand and minister in His name for all time.

⁶Now if a Levite moves from any town of residence throughout Israel and comes in all earnestness to the place the LORD will choose,

⁷then he shall serve in the name of the LORD his God like all his fellow Levites who stand there before the LORD.

⁸They shall eat equal portions, even though he has received money from the sale of his father’s estate.

Sorcery Forbidden

⁹When you enter the land that the LORD your God is giving you, do not imitate the detestable ways of the nations there.

¹⁰Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire,practices divination or conjury, interprets omens, practices sorcery,

¹¹casts spells, consults a medium or spiritist, or inquires of the dead.

¹²For whoever does these things is detestable to the LORD. And because of these detestable things, the LORD your God is driving out the nations before you.

¹³You must be blameless before the LORD your God.

¹⁴Though these nations, which you will dispossess, listen to conjurers and diviners, the LORD your God has not permitted you to do so.

A Prophet Like Moses

¹⁵The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers. You must listen to him.

¹⁶This is what you asked of the LORD your God at Horebon the day of the assembly, when you said, “Let us not hear the voice of the LORD our God or see this great fire anymore, so that we will not die!”

¹⁷Then the LORD said to me, “They have spoken well.

¹⁸I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. I will put My words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him.

¹⁹And I will hold accountable anyone who does not listen to My words that the prophet speaks in My name.

²⁰But if any prophet dares to speak a message in My name that I have not commanded him to speak, or to speak in the name of other gods, that prophet must be put to death.”

²¹You may ask in your heart, “How can we recognize a message that the LORD has not spoken?”

²²When a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD and the message does not come to pass or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. The prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him.

Trust in the LORD with All Your Heart

¹My son, do not forget my teaching,but let your heart keep my commandments;

²for they will add length to your days,years and peace to your life.

³Never let loving devotionor faithfulness leave you;bind them around your neck,write them on the tablet of your heart.

⁴Then you will find favor and high regardin the sight of God and man.

⁵Trust in the LORD with all your heart,and lean not on your own understanding;

⁶in all your ways acknowledge Him,and He will make your paths straight.

⁷Be not wise in your own eyes;fear the LORD and turn away from evil.

⁸This will bring healing to your bodyand refreshmentto your bones.

⁹Honor the LORD with your wealthand with the firstfruits of all your crops;

¹⁰then your barns will be filled with plenty,and your vats will overflow with new wine.

¹¹My son, do not reject the discipline of the LORD,and do not loathe His rebuke;

¹²for the LORD disciplines the one He loves,as does a father the son in whom he delights.

The Blessings of Wisdom

¹³Blessed is the man who finds wisdom,the man who acquires understanding,

¹⁴for she is more profitable than silver,and her gain is better than fine gold.

¹⁵She is more precious than rubies;nothing you desire compares with her.

¹⁶Long life is in her right hand;in her left hand are riches and honor.

¹⁷All her ways are pleasant,and all her paths are peaceful.

¹⁸She is a tree of life to those who embrace her,and those who lay hold of her are blessed.

¹⁹The LORD founded the earth by wisdomand established the heavens by understanding.

²⁰By His knowledge the watery depths were broken open,and the clouds dripped with dew.

²¹My son, do not lose sight of this:Preserve sound judgment and discernment.

²²They will be life to your souland adornment to your neck.

²³Then you will go on your way in safety,and your foot will not stumble.

²⁴When you lie down, you will not be afraid;when you rest, your sleep will be sweet.

²⁵Do not fear sudden dangeror the ruin that overtakes the wicked,

²⁶for the LORD will be your confidenceand will keep your foot from the snare.

²⁷Do not withhold good from the deservingwhen it is within your power to act.

²⁸Do not tell your neighbor,“Come back tomorrow and I will provide”—when you already have the means.

²⁹Do not devise evil against your neighbor,for he trustfully dwells beside you.

³⁰Do not accuse a man without cause,when he has done you no harm.

³¹Do not envy a violent manor choose any of his ways;

³²for the LORD detests the perverse,but He is a friend to the upright.

³³The curse of the LORD is on the house of the wicked,but He blesses the home of the righteous.

³⁴He mocks the mockers,but gives grace to the humble.

³⁵The wise will inherit honor,but fools are held up to shame.