Bible / Isaias
Isaias 1
Douay-Rheims Bible, Challoner revision (1749–1752), the traditional Catholic English Bible, translated from the Latin Vulgate. If you read a modern Bible, this is the same Scripture in older English; some names are spelled differently (Cesarea for Caesarea, Apocalypse for Revelation). About this translation
1 The vision of Isaias the son of Amos, which he saw concerning Juda and Jerusalem in the days of Ozias, Joathan, Achaz, and Ezechias, kings of Juda.
2 Hear, O ye heavens, and give ear, O earth, for the Lord hath spoken. I have brought up children, and exalted them: but they have despised me.
3 The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib: but Israel hath not known me, and my people hath not understood.
4 Woe to the sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a wicked seed, ungracious children: they have forsaken the Lord, they have blasphemed the Holy One of Israel, they are gone away backwards.
5 For what shall I strike you any more, you that increase transgression? the whole head is sick, and the whole heart is sad.
6 From the sole of the foot unto the top of the head, there is no soundness therein: wounds and bruises and swelling sores: they are not bound up, nor dressed, nor fomented with oil.
7 Your land is desolate, your cities are burnt with fire: your country strangers devour before your face, and it shall be desolate as when wasted by enemies.
8 And the daughter of Sion shall be left as a covert in a vineyard, and as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, and as a city that is laid waste.
9 Except the Lord of hosts had left us seed, we had been as Sodom, and we should have been like to Gomorrha.
10 Hear the word of the Lord, ye rulers of Sodom, give ear to the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrha.
11 To what purpose do you offer me the multitude of your victims, saith the Lord? I am full, I desire not holocausts of rams, and fat of fatlings, and blood of calves, and lambs, and buck goats.
12 When you came to appear before me, who required these things at your hands, that you should walk in my courts?
13 Offer sacrifice no more in vain: incense is an abomination to me. The new moons, and the sabbaths and other festivals I will not abide, your assemblies are wicked.
14 My soul hateth your new moons, and your solemnities: they are become troublesome to me, I am weary of bearing them.
15 And when you stretch forth your hands, I will turn away my eyes from you: and when you multiply prayer, I will not hear: for your hands are full of blood.
16 Wash yourselves, be clean, take away the evil of your devices from my eyes, cease to do perversely,
17 Learn to do well: seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge for the fatherless, defend the widow.
18 And then come, and accuse me, saith the Lord: if your sins be as scarlet, they shall be made as white as snow: and if they be red as crimson, they shall be white as wool.
19 If you be willing, and will hearken to me, you shall eat the good things of the land.
20 But if you will not, and will provoke me to wrath: the sword shall devour you because the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.
21 How is the faithful city, that was full of judgment, become a harlot? justice dwelt in it, but now murderers.
22 Thy silver is turned into dross: thy wine is mingled with water.
23 Thy princes are faithless, companions of thieves: they all love bribes, they run after rewards. They judge not for the fatherless: and the widow’s cause cometh not in to them.
24 Therefore saith the Lord the God of hosts, the mighty one of Israel: Ah! I will comfort myself over my adversaries: and I will be revenged of my enemies.
25 And I will turn my hand to thee, and I will clean purge away thy dross, and I will take away all thy tin.
26 And I will restore thy judges as they were before, and thy counsellors as of old. After this thou shalt be called the city of the just, a faithful city.
27 Sion shall be redeemed in judgment, and they shall bring her back in justice.
28 And he shall destroy the wicked, and the sinners together: and they that have forsaken the Lord, shall be consumed.
29 For they shall be confounded for the idols, to which they have sacrificed: and you shall be ashamed of the gardens which you have chosen.
30 When you shall be as an oak with the leaves falling off, and as a garden without water.
31 And your strength shall be as the ashes of tow, and your work as a spark: and both shall burn together, and there shall be none to quench it.
This chapter in the Catechism and the early Church
Where the Catechism of the Catholic Church cites these verses (from its footnotes on vatican.va), and where the earliest Church Fathers quote them (Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1, public domain). Short quotes only; follow the links for the full text. The Catechism uses modern verse numbers, so these are listed by chapter.
- Isaias 1:2 in modern BiblesCCC 762
Read the Catechism and Fathers
- CCC 762 “The remote preparation for this gathering together of the People of God begins when he calls Abraham and promises that he will…”
“By hearing let him hear the voice of my servant." And again He saith, "Hear, O heaven, and give ear, O earth, for God hath spoken.”
Quoted in The Letter of Barnabas, Unknown author (early 2nd century), Chapter IX. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1
“He says: "Hear, O heavens; and give ear, O earth: for the Lord hath spoken.”
Quoted in Against Heresies, Book IV, St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 180), Chapter II. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1
“And that such is the case He has declared in Isaiah: "I have begotten and brought up children, but they have rebelled against Me.”
Quoted in Against Heresies, Book IV, St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 180), Chapter XLI. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1
- Isaias 1:3 in modern BiblesCCC 762
Read the Catechism and Fathers
- CCC 762 “The remote preparation for this gathering together of the People of God begins when he calls Abraham and promises that he will…”
“Woe, sinful nation, a people full of sins, a wicked seed, children that are transgressors, ye have forsaken the Lord.”
Quoted in First Apology, St. Justin Martyr (c. AD 155), Chapter XXXVII. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1
“… teach that the nameless God spake to Moses; whence the Spirit of prophecy, accusing them by Isaiah the prophet mentioned above, said "The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib; but Israel doth not know Me, and My people do not understand.”
Quoted in First Apology, St. Justin Martyr (c. AD 155), Chapter LXIII. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1
“Whence also the Spirit of prophecy rebukes them, and says, "Israel doth not know Me, my people have not understood Me.”
Quoted in First Apology, St. Justin Martyr (c. AD 155), Chapter LXIII. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1
- Isaias 1:4 in modern BiblesCCC 762
Read the Catechism
- CCC 762 “The remote preparation for this gathering together of the People of God begins when he calls Abraham and promises that he will…”
- Isaias 1:6 in modern BiblesCCC 1293
Read the Catechism
- CCC 1293 “In treating the rite of Confirmation, it is fitting to consider the sign of anointing and what it signifies and imprints: a…”
- Isaias 1:7 in modern Bibles
Read the Fathers
“And concerning its desolation, and that no one should be permitted to inhabit it, there was the following prophecy by Isaiah: "Their land is desolate, their enemies consume it before them, and none of them shall dwell therein.”
Quoted in First Apology, St. Justin Martyr (c. AD 155), Chapter XLVII. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1
- Isaias 1:8 in modern Bibles
Read the Fathers
“But that the administration of them (the Jews) was temporary, Esaias says: "And the daughter of Zion shall be left as a cottage in a vineyard, and as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers.”
Quoted in Against Heresies, Book IV, St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 180), Chapter IV. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1
- Isaias 1:9 in modern Bibles
Read the Fathers
“For if so, Isaiah would never have said this: And unless the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, we would have been like Sodom and Gomorrah.”
Quoted in Dialogue with Trypho, St. Justin Martyr (c. AD 160), Chapter CXL. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1
- Isaias 1:10 in modern BiblesCCC 2100
Read the Catechism and Fathers
- CCC 2100 “Outward sacrifice, to be genuine, must be the expression of spiritual sacrifice: "The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit...." The…”
“And again He saith, "Hear the word of the Lord, ye rulers of this people.”
Quoted in The Letter of Barnabas, Unknown author (early 2nd century), Chapter IX. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1
“about females; each one neighed after his neighbour's wife." And Isaiah, when preaching in Judea, and reasoning with Israel, termed them "rulers of Sodom" and "people of Gomorrah;”
Quoted in Against Heresies, Book IV, St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 180), Chapter XLI. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1
- Isaias 1:13 in modern Bibles
Read the Fathers
“Further, He says to them, "Your new moons and your Sabbaths I cannot endure.”
Quoted in The Letter of Barnabas, Unknown author (early 2nd century), Chapter XV. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1
- Isaias 1:14 in modern Bibles
Read the Fathers
“But loose every bond of wickedness, tear asunder the tight knots of violent contracts, cover the houseless and naked, deal thy bread to the hungry.”
Quoted in First Apology, St. Justin Martyr (c. AD 155), Chapter XXXVII. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1
- Isaias 1:16 in modern BiblesCCC 1430
Read the Catechism and Fathers
- CCC 1430 “Jesus' call to conversion and penance, like that of the prophets before him, does not aim first at outward works, "sackcloth and…”
“And if ye be willing and obey Me, ye shall eat the good of the land; but if ye refuse, and will not hearken unto Me, the sword shall devour you, for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken these things.”
Quoted in First Letter to the Corinthians, St. Clement of Rome (c. AD 96), Chapter VIII. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1
“And if ye be willing and obey Me, ye shall eat the good of the land; but if ye do not obey Me, the sword shall devour you: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.”
Quoted in First Apology, St. Justin Martyr (c. AD 155), Chapter XLIV. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1
“But if ye refuse and rebel, the sword shall devour you: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.”
Quoted in First Apology, St. Justin Martyr (c. AD 155), Chapter LXI. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1
Read the Catechism and Fathers
- CCC 1430 “Jesus' call to conversion and penance, like that of the prophets before him, does not aim first at outward works, "sackcloth and…”
- CCC 1435 “Conversion is accomplished in daily life by gestures of reconciliation, concern for the poor, the exercise and defense of justice and right,…”
“Wash you, make you clean, put away evil from your hearts, learn to do well, seek judgment, protect the oppressed, judge the fatherless (pupillo), plead for the widow; and come, let us reason together, saith the Lord.”
Quoted in Against Heresies, Book IV, St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 180), Chapter XXXVI. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1
- Isaias 1:18 in modern Bibles
Read the Fathers
“Wash you, make you clean, put away evil from your hearts, learn to do well, seek judgment, protect the oppressed, judge the fatherless (pupillo), plead for the widow; and come, let us reason together, saith the Lord.”
Quoted in Against Heresies, Book IV, St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 180), Chapter XXXVI. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1
- Isaias 1:19 in modern Bibles
Read the Fathers
“Wash you, make you clean, put away evil from your hearts, learn to do well, seek judgment, protect the oppressed, judge the fatherless (pupillo), plead for the widow; and come, let us reason together, saith the Lord.”
Quoted in Against Heresies, Book IV, St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 180), Chapter XXXVI. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1
- Isaias 1:22 in modern Bibles
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“Wherefore also Esaias declares: "Thy dealers mix the wine with water,”
Quoted in Against Heresies, Book IV, St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 180), Chapter XII. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1
- Isaias 1:23 in modern Bibles
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“No more do we wish to live like the rulers of your people, whom God reproaches when He says, Your rulers are companions of thieves, lovers of bribes, followers of the rewards.”
Quoted in Dialogue with Trypho, St. Justin Martyr (c. AD 160), Chapter LXXXII. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1
“Of these Esaias says: "Thy princes are rebellious, companions of thieves, loving gifts, following after rewards, not judging the fatherless, and negligent of the cause of the widows.”
Quoted in Against Heresies, Book IV, St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 180), Chapter II. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1
- Isaias 1:24 in modern BiblesCCC 269
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- CCC 269 “The Holy Scriptures repeatedly confess the universal power of God. He is called the "Mighty One of Jacob", the "LORD of hosts",…”
- Isaias 1:27 in modern Bibles
Read the Fathers
“… nothing but locusts and wild honey, men supposed him to be Christ; but he cried to them, I am not the Christ, but the voice of one crying; for He that is stronger than I shall come, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear.”
Quoted in Dialogue with Trypho, St. Justin Martyr (c. AD 160), Chapter LXXXVIII. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1
A modern English Catholic translation will be added once its publisher grants permission.