Isaiah 1: Come Now, Let Us Reason Together

"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" (1:1). Four kings, about forty years. The heading introduces the whole book, which runs far beyond these reigns.

"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. The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider" (vv. 2–3). The scene is a covenant lawsuit: heaven and earth, the witnesses of Deuteronomy 32:1, are called to hear the case.

"Why should ye be stricken any more?… the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it" (vv. 5–6). The land is burned and occupied by strangers; "the daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city. Except the LORD of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom" (vv. 7–9).

"To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me?… 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. Wash you, make you clean… cease to do evil; learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow" (vv. 11–17).

"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. If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: but if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword" (vv. 18–20). "How is the faithful city become an harlot!… Thy princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves: every one loveth gifts" (vv. 21–23). God will purge the dross, "and I will restore thy judges as at the first… afterward thou shalt be called, The city of righteousness, the faithful city" (vv. 24–27).

The world of Isaiah's kings

Uzziah (also called Azariah) ruled a prosperous Judah until about 740 BC; Jotham followed; Ahaz faced the Syro-Ephraimite war (734–732) and submitted to Assyria (2 Kings 16); Hezekiah rebelled against Assyria and saw Sennacherib devastate Judah in 701 (2 Kings 18–19). A burial plaque inscribed in Aramaic, "Hither were brought the bones of Uzziah, king of Judah. Do not open," was found in the 1930s; it dates from the Second Temple period, when his remains were reburied, and is a later witness to his memory, not a contemporary text.

Sacrifice and justice

Isaiah's criticism of sacrifice (vv. 11–15) stands alongside Amos 5:21–24, Hosea 6:6, Micah 6:6–8, Psalm 50 and 1 Samuel 15:22. These prophets do not abolish the temple service; they reject worship offered by people whose "hands are full of blood." The widow and the orphan, without a male protector in a patriarchal society, were the test of a just community (Exodus 22:22–24; Deuteronomy 10:18).

1:18: an offer, a challenge, or irony?

Lekhu-na ve-nivvakhechah means "come, let us argue it out (in court)." The following lines can be read as a promise ("though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow"), or, as some scholars argue, as an ironic question ("if your sins are like scarlet, can they be white as snow?"), answered by the conditions of vv. 19–20. The library's Greek reads "come and accuse me," turning it into God's invitation to argue the case against him (Giguet: "venez m'accuser"). The Great Isaiah Scroll has the same words as the Masoretic Text with fuller spellings. The passage page compares them.

1:9 and Romans 9:29

"Except the LORD of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant (sarid), we should have been as Sodom." Paul quotes this verse in Romans 9:29 in its Greek form, which reads "a seed" (sperma) instead of "a remnant"; the library's Greek (Giguet: "une semence") and the Vulgate (semen) agree with that Greek wording. Paul uses it in his argument about a remnant of Israel. The Great Isaiah Scroll agrees with the Masoretic sarid.

When was chapter 1 written?

Most scholars regard chapter 1 as a collection of Isaianic sayings placed as an introduction to the book, perhaps in its final editing; vv. 7–9 fit 701 BC. Traditional readers see Isaiah himself summarizing his message. Either way, its themes (Holy One of Israel, justice, remnant, Zion's renewal) recur through all 66 chapters, which is why many scholars read it as the overture to the whole book.