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Isaiah 1

Amplified Bible, 2015 (AMP)

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Introduction

¹ "For your ruins and desolate places and your land [once the scene] of destruction— Certainly now [in the coming years] will be too cramped for the inhabitants, And those who once engulfed you will be far away.

² "The children of your bereavement [those born in captivity] will yet say in your ears, 'The place is too cramped for me'; Make room for me that I may live here.

³ "Then [Zion], you will say in your heart, 'Who has borne me these children, Since I have been bereaved of my children And am barren, an exile and a wanderer? And who has reared these? Indeed, I was left alone; [9] From where then did these children come?'"

⁴ This is what the Lord GOD says, "Listen carefully, I will lift up My hand to the [Gentile] nations And set up My banner to the peoples; And they will bring your sons in the fold of their garments, And your daughters will be carried on their shoulders.

⁵ "Kings will be your attendants, And their princesses your nurses. They will bow down to you with their faces to the earth And lick the dust of your feet; And you shall know [with an understanding based on personal experience] that I am the LORD; For they shall not be put to shame who wait and hope expectantly for Me.

⁶ "Can the spoils of war be taken from the mighty man, Or the captives of a tyrant be rescued?"

⁷ Indeed, this is what the LORD says, "Even the captives of the mighty man will be taken away, And the tyrant's spoils of war will be rescued; For I will contend with your opponent, And I will save your children.

⁸ "I will make those who oppress you consume their own flesh [in mutually destructive wars] And they will become drunk with their own blood as with sweet wine; And all[10] mankind will know [with a knowledge grounded in personal experience] that I, the LORD, am your Savior And your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob."

⁹ [1] The LORD declares this; "Where is the certificate of divorce By which I have sent your mother away, [O Israel]? Or to which one of My creditors did I sell you [as slaves]? In fact, You were sold for your wickedness [your sin, your injustice, your wrongdoing], And for your transgressions your mother was sent away.

¹⁰ "Why, when I came, was there no man [to greet Me]? When I called, why was there no one to answer? Is My hand really so short that it cannot redeem [My servants]? Or have I no power to rescue? Listen carefully, with My rebuke I dry up the sea, I make the rivers into a desert; Their fish stink because there is no water And die of thirst.

¹¹ "I clothe the heavens with the blackness [of storm clouds] And make sackcloth [of mourning] their clothing."

¹² The Lord GOD has given Me [His[2] Servant] the tongue of disciples [as One who is taught], That I may know how to sustain the weary with a word. He awakens Me morning by morning, He awakens My ear to listen as a disciple [as One who is taught].

¹³ The Lord GOD has opened My ear, And I have not been rebellious Nor have I turned back.

¹⁴ I turned My back to those who strike Me, And My cheeks to those who pluck out the beard; I did not hide My face from insults and spitting.

¹⁵ For the Lord GOD helps Me, Therefore, I have not been ashamed or humiliated. Therefore, I have made My face like flint, And I know that I shall not be put to shame.

¹⁶ He who declares Me in the right is near; Who will [dare to] contend with Me? Let us stand up to each other; Who is My adversary? Let him approach Me.

¹⁷ In fact, the Lord GOD helps Me; Who is he who condemns Me [as guilty]? Indeed, they will all wear out like a garment; The moth will eat them.

¹⁸ Who is among you who fears the LORD, Who obeys the voice of His Servant, Yet who walks in darkness and has no light? Let him trust and be confident in the name of the LORD and let him rely on his God.

¹⁹ Listen carefully, all you who kindle your own fire [devising your own man-made plan of salvation], Who surround yourselves with torches, Walk by the light of your [self-made] fire And among the torches that you have set ablaze. But this you will have from My hand: You will lie down in [a place of] torment.

²⁰ "Listen to Me, you who pursue righteousness (right standing with God), Who seek and inquire of the LORD: Look to the rock from which you were cut And to the excavation of the quarry from which you were dug.

²¹ "Look to Abraham your father And to Sarah who gave birth to you in pain; For I called him when he was but one, Then I blessed him and made him many."

²² For the LORD will comfort Zion [in her captivity]; He will comfort all her ruins. And He will make her wilderness like Eden, And her desert like the garden of the LORD; Joy and gladness will be found in her, Thanksgiving and the voice of a melody.

²³ "Listen carefully to Me [says the LORD], O My people, And hear Me, O My nation; For a [divine] law will go forth from Me, And I will quickly establish My justice as a light to the peoples.

²⁴ "My righteousness (justice) is near, My salvation has gone forth, And My arms will judge the peoples; The islands and coastlands will wait for Me, And they will wait with hope and confident expectation for My arm.

²⁵ "Lift up your eyes to the heavens, Then look to the earth beneath; For the heavens will be torn to pieces and vanish like smoke, And the earth will wear out like a garment And its inhabitants will die in like manner. But My salvation will be forever, And My righteousness (justice) [and faithfully fulfilled promise] will not be broken.

²⁶ "Listen to Me, you who know righteousness (right standing with God), The people in whose heart is My law and instruction; Do not fear the reproach and taunting of man, Nor be distressed at their reviling.

²⁷ "For the moth will eat them like a garment, And the worm will eat them like wool. But My righteousness and justice [faithfully promised] will exist forever, And My salvation to all generations."

²⁸ Awake, awake, put on strength and might, O arm of the LORD; Awake as in the ancient days, as in the generations of long ago. Was it not You who cut Rahab (Egypt) in pieces, Who pierced the dragon [of Egypt]?

²⁹ Was it not You who dried up the [Red] Sea, The waters of the great deep, Who made the depths of the sea a pathway For the redeemed to cross over?

³⁰ So the redeemed of the LORD will return And come with joyful shouting to Zion; Everlasting joy will be on their heads. They will obtain gladness and joy, And sorrow and sighing will flee away.

³¹ "I, even I, am He who comforts you. Who are you that you are afraid of man who dies And of a son of man who is made [as destructible] as grass,

#	AMP
1	"For your ruins and desolate places and your land [once the scene] of destruction— Certainly now [in the coming years] will be too cramped for the inhabitants, And those who once engulfed you will be far away.
2	"The children of your bereavement [those born in captivity] will yet say in your ears, 'The place is too cramped for me'; Make room for me that I may live here.
3	"Then [Zion], you will say in your heart, 'Who has borne me these children, Since I have been bereaved of my children And am barren, an exile and a wanderer? And who has reared these? Indeed, I was left alone; [9] From where then did these children come?'"
4	This is what the Lord GOD says, "Listen carefully, I will lift up My hand to the [Gentile] nations And set up My banner to the peoples; And they will bring your sons in the fold of their garments, And your daughters will be carried on their shoulders.
5	"Kings will be your attendants, And their princesses your nurses. They will bow down to you with their faces to the earth And lick the dust of your feet; And you shall know [with an understanding based on personal experience] that I am the LORD; For they shall not be put to shame who wait and hope expectantly for Me.
6	"Can the spoils of war be taken from the mighty man, Or the captives of a tyrant be rescued?"
7	Indeed, this is what the LORD says, "Even the captives of the mighty man will be taken away, And the tyrant's spoils of war will be rescued; For I will contend with your opponent, And I will save your children.
8	"I will make those who oppress you consume their own flesh [in mutually destructive wars] And they will become drunk with their own blood as with sweet wine; And all[10] mankind will know [with a knowledge grounded in personal experience] that I, the LORD, am your Savior And your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob."
9	[1] The LORD declares this; "Where is the certificate of divorce By which I have sent your mother away, [O Israel]? Or to which one of My creditors did I sell you [as slaves]? In fact, You were sold for your wickedness [your sin, your injustice, your wrongdoing], And for your transgressions your mother was sent away.
10	"Why, when I came, was there no man [to greet Me]? When I called, why was there no one to answer? Is My hand really so short that it cannot redeem [My servants]? Or have I no power to rescue? Listen carefully, with My rebuke I dry up the sea, I make the rivers into a desert; Their fish stink because there is no water And die of thirst.
11	"I clothe the heavens with the blackness [of storm clouds] And make sackcloth [of mourning] their clothing."
12	The Lord GOD has given Me [His[2] Servant] the tongue of disciples [as One who is taught], That I may know how to sustain the weary with a word. He awakens Me morning by morning, He awakens My ear to listen as a disciple [as One who is taught].
13	The Lord GOD has opened My ear, And I have not been rebellious Nor have I turned back.
14	I turned My back to those who strike Me, And My cheeks to those who pluck out the beard; I did not hide My face from insults and spitting.
15	For the Lord GOD helps Me, Therefore, I have not been ashamed or humiliated. Therefore, I have made My face like flint, And I know that I shall not be put to shame.
16	He who declares Me in the right is near; Who will [dare to] contend with Me? Let us stand up to each other; Who is My adversary? Let him approach Me.
17	In fact, the Lord GOD helps Me; Who is he who condemns Me [as guilty]? Indeed, they will all wear out like a garment; The moth will eat them.
18	Who is among you who fears the LORD, Who obeys the voice of His Servant, Yet who walks in darkness and has no light? Let him trust and be confident in the name of the LORD and let him rely on his God.
19	Listen carefully, all you who kindle your own fire [devising your own man-made plan of salvation], Who surround yourselves with torches, Walk by the light of your [self-made] fire And among the torches that you have set ablaze. But this you will have from My hand: You will lie down in [a place of] torment.
20	"Listen to Me, you who pursue righteousness (right standing with God), Who seek and inquire of the LORD: Look to the rock from which you were cut And to the excavation of the quarry from which you were dug.
21	"Look to Abraham your father And to Sarah who gave birth to you in pain; For I called him when he was but one, Then I blessed him and made him many."
22	For the LORD will comfort Zion [in her captivity]; He will comfort all her ruins. And He will make her wilderness like Eden, And her desert like the garden of the LORD; Joy and gladness will be found in her, Thanksgiving and the voice of a melody.
23	"Listen carefully to Me [says the LORD], O My people, And hear Me, O My nation; For a [divine] law will go forth from Me, And I will quickly establish My justice as a light to the peoples.
24	"My righteousness (justice) is near, My salvation has gone forth, And My arms will judge the peoples; The islands and coastlands will wait for Me, And they will wait with hope and confident expectation for My arm.
25	"Lift up your eyes to the heavens, Then look to the earth beneath; For the heavens will be torn to pieces and vanish like smoke, And the earth will wear out like a garment And its inhabitants will die in like manner. But My salvation will be forever, And My righteousness (justice) [and faithfully fulfilled promise] will not be broken.
26	"Listen to Me, you who know righteousness (right standing with God), The people in whose heart is My law and instruction; Do not fear the reproach and taunting of man, Nor be distressed at their reviling.
27	"For the moth will eat them like a garment, And the worm will eat them like wool. But My righteousness and justice [faithfully promised] will exist forever, And My salvation to all generations."
28	Awake, awake, put on strength and might, O arm of the LORD; Awake as in the ancient days, as in the generations of long ago. Was it not You who cut Rahab (Egypt) in pieces, Who pierced the dragon [of Egypt]?
29	Was it not You who dried up the [Red] Sea, The waters of the great deep, Who made the depths of the sea a pathway For the redeemed to cross over?
30	So the redeemed of the LORD will return And come with joyful shouting to Zion; Everlasting joy will be on their heads. They will obtain gladness and joy, And sorrow and sighing will flee away.
31	"I, even I, am He who comforts you. Who are you that you are afraid of man who dies And of a son of man who is made [as destructible] as grass,

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Isaiah 1

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