Passage

Isaiah 1.11-17

Book: Isaiah · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"9. Except Jehovah of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, we should have been like unto Gomorrah. 10. Hear the word of Jehovah, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah."

"11. What unto me is the multitude of your sacrifices? saith Jehovah: I have had enough of the burnt-offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he-goats. 12. When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to trample my courts? 13. Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; new moon and sabbath, the calling of assemblies,, I cannot away with iniquity and the solemn meeting. 14. Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth; they are a trouble unto me; I am weary of bearing them. 15. And 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. 16. Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; 17. learn to do well; seek justice, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow."

"18. Come now, and let us reason together, saith Jehovah: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. 19. If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land:" (Isaiah 1:9-19, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"9. Unless Yahweh of Armies had left to us a very small remnant, we would have been as Sodom; we would have been like Gomorrah. 10. Hear Yahweh’s word, you rulers of Sodom! Listen to the law of our God, you people of Gomorrah!"

"11. “What are the multitude of your sacrifices to me?”, says Yahweh. “I have had enough of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed animals. I don’t delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of male goats. 12. When you come to appear before me, who has required this at your hand, to trample my courts? 13. Bring no more vain offerings. Incense is an abomination to me; new moons, Sabbaths, and convocations: I can’t bear with evil assemblies. 14. My soul hates your New Moons and your appointed feasts. They are a burden to me. I am weary of bearing them. 15. When you spread out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you. Yes, when you make many prayers, I will not hear. Your hands are full of blood. 16. Wash yourselves, make yourself clean. Put away the evil of your doings from before my eyes. Cease to do evil. 17. Learn to do well. Seek justice. Relieve the oppressed. Judge the fatherless. Plead for the widow.”"

"18. “Come now, and let us reason together,” says Yahweh: “Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. Though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. 19. If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land;" (Isaiah 1:9-19, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"9. Except the LORD of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah. 10. Hear the word of the LORD, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah."

"11. To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the LORD: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats. ^{he goats: Heb. great he goats} 12. When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread my courts? ^{to appear: Heb. to be seen} 13. Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting. ^{iniquity: or, grief} 14. Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them. 15. And 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. ^{make: Heb. multiply prayer} ^{blood: Heb. bloods} 16. Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; 17. Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. ^{relieve: or, righten}"

"18. 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. 19. If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land:" (Isaiah 1:9-19, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"9. Unless Jehovah of Hosts had left to us a remnant, Shortly, as Sodom we had been, To Gomorrah we had been like! 10. Hear the word of Jehovah, ye rulers of Sodom, Give ear to the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah,"

"11. 'Why to Me the abundance of your sacrifices? saith Jehovah, I have been satiated [with] burnt-offerings of rams, And fat of fatlings; And blood of bullocks, and lambs, And he-goats I have not desired. 12. When ye come in to appear before Me, Who hath required this of your hand, To trample My courts? 13. Add not to bring in a vain present, Incense, an abomination it [is] to Me, New moon, and sabbath, calling of convocation! Rendure not iniquity, and a restraint! 14. Your new moons and your set seasons hath My soul hated, They have been upon me for a burden, I have been weary of bearing. 15. And in your spreading forth your hands, I hide mine eyes from you, Also when ye increase prayer, I do not hear, Your hands of blood have been full. 16. Wash ye, make ye pure, Turn aside the evil of your doings, from before Mine eyes, Cease to do evil, learn to do good. 17. Seek judgment, make happy the oppressed, Judge the fatherless, strive [for] the widow."

"18. Come, I pray you, and we reason, saith Jehovah, If your sins are as scarlet, as snow they shall be white, If they are red as crimson, as wool they shall be! 19. If ye are willing, and have hearkened, The good of the land ye consume," (Isaiah 1:9-19, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: TBD
Audience: TBD
Location: TBD
Time period: TBD

Theological reading

Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

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Quoted in

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.