1:1 This brief verse introduces the prophet’s ministry, which lasts for more than forty years and exercises an incalculable effect down through the ages. He calls his book a “vision” (Hb. khazon) that God gives the prophet to show his people the heavenly reality behind visible history. A “vision” is concerned not so much with seeing things that are not there but with seeing clearly all that is there, through the revelation of God. The title for the book centers our attention on Judah and Jerusalem. Isaiah frequently addresses the northern kingdom as well (e.g. 9:1; 28:1–8), and other nations also (chs. 13–27), but Judah and especially Jerusalem are at the heart of God’s covenant promises (cf. 2 Samuel 7). In particular, the importance of the line of David is emphasized. For the history represented by the kings mentioned here cf. Introduction.

1:2 Isaiah’s message begins with God’s people summoned to a courtroom as wide as the universe itself. In this awesome tribunal the witnesses are heaven and earth, an early reminder of God’s purpose to transform creation and free it from the curse of Genesis 3:18 (cf. Isa. 11:6–9; 25:6–9; 35:1–10; 40:3–5; 41:17–20; 60:1–13; 61:10–11; 65:17–25). There is a deliberate echo of Moses’ words in Deuteronomy 28 and 29, for the prophets all took the message of the great lawgiver and applied it to their time. There is no authority in the OT that bypasses or supersedes that of Moses, the prophet par excellence (Deut. 18:15).

There has been a breakdown in relationships that runs through the whole of life and has created a profoundly unnatural situation. This is more than children accidentally straying; this is deliberate and persistent disobedience on Israel’s part. The word “rebelled” (Hb. pashaʿ) suggests a defiant and willful breaking of God’s commands.

1:3 The people’s behavior is profoundly unnatural and compares badly even to the instinctive actions of domestic animals. The verb “know” is not simply intellectual knowledge, although it includes that, but is a word of intimacy (Gen. 4:1) and covenant (Amos 3:1–2). God’s people are sinning away their privileges.

1:4 A cluster of words continue the anatomy of sin: “sinful” (Hb. khataʾ) describes the actual activity of sinning; “iniquity” (ʿawon) is the twisted disposition from which these actions come. This has led to a despising and rejecting of Yahweh, the Holy One of Israel.4 Relationships have broken down completely.

1:5–8 The situation is desperate: the land lies crushed under an invader. The two possible scenarios are the Syro-Ephraimite War around 735 BC (2 Kings 15:37–16:6) or the Assyrian invasion of 701 (Isaiah 36–37). What is more important than the exact circumstances is Isaiah’s view of history as an arena in which God uses the nations to carry out his purpose (this will be developed further in 10:5–19). The enemy has rendered the land to be like a diseased body (1:5–6), with no health in it. It is laid waste under a foreign yoke. Daughter Zion is no longer smiling at all her foes but is flimsy and precarious: she is like a temporary hut in a harvest field, threatened on all sides by rapacious warlords.

1:9 It is at just this moment that Isaiah introduces a theme that is to become increasingly prominent: the remnant to whom and from whom the Messiah will ultimately come. Unlike with Sodom and Gomorrah, which were destroyed by the Lord’s wrath (cf. Genesis 19), there is hope for Israel, because the Lord who judges is also rich in mercy. Moreover, he is Yahweh of hosts, the ruler of the armies of heaven, who has all the resources needed to rescue his people and destroy their enemies.

1:10 Any idea of “cheap grace” is instantly dismissed by the chilling words of this verse: there is no moral difference between eighth-century Jerusalem and the cities God overthrew. Leaders are to blame for failing to provide good teaching and role models, and the people are to blame for slavishly following such leaders.

1:11–12 Isaiah is not condemning idolatry here—there is plenty of that to come in chapters 40–48. This is something even more dangerous, as outwardly all prescribed rituals and sacrifices are being offered—but they have become empty charades. The people imagine that if they bring the right animals, say the right words, and keep attending the Lord’s courts, there is no need to bother about sin and holiness. The prophet is not condemning sacrifices as such, any more than he rejects the Sabbath (v. 13) or prayer (v. 15). These are God-given means of grace, but when they become ends in themselves and do not result in loving hearts or changed lives, they become obnoxious to the Lord.5 True worship is about appearing before God, not parading a meaningless system of religious activities.

1:13–15 The genuine faith of true believers has been reduced to “vain offerings” that are empty because the worshipers’ hearts are empty. We are irresistibly reminded of our Lord’s words, “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?” (Luke 6:46). This is underlined in Isaiah 1:14, as the divinely appointed means of grace have become “your new moons and your appointed feasts.” It is not the festivals themselves that Yahweh condemns but the way in which they have been robbed of meaning. Yahweh is heartsick of this parody of true worship; it is difficult to see how the people can avoid the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah. They pray, but like Claudius in Hamlet their prayers are meaningless and go nowhere.6 “Hands . . . full of blood” demonstrates that compassion and mercy have gone, anticipating the final section of the chapter.

1:16–17 But there is a way back to God—albeit one that involves drastic action. Sin is serious, the remedy costly. Only radical repentance will lead to radical forgiveness. Washing appears many times in both Testaments as a metaphor for inner cleansing. This does not mean that people can cleanse themselves by their own efforts; rather, it stresses that repentance is needed for the cleansing power of grace to be unleashed. Here that repentance is specifically to show itself first in personal renewal and then in reform of society, which curbs the oppressor and cares for the oppressed. This is to restore the original harmony of creation that God pronounced good: “learn to do good.” Heaven and earth have been called to witness God’s plans to restore his creation (a theme to be developed in later passages; e.g. 2:2–5; 11:1–9; 25:6–9).

1:18 As the court case continues, this key verse summons the people to embrace the remedy offered for their sin. Some have argued that the tone is ironic, mocking the possibility that deep-dyed sin could be completely forgiven. In that case the command for cleansing in verses 16–17 would be meaningless. But there is redemption. It is not automatic but must be preceded by repentance. The verse does not stand alone but follows the command to wash (vv. 16–17) and is succeeded by the two alternatives of blessing or judgment.

1:19–20 Blessing follows obedience of heart (“willing”) and action (“obedient”). This is not meritorious good works but a response to grace. The alternatives are stark: a peaceful and prosperous land or the horrors of war. This is not the prophet’s opinion but the word of Yahweh.

1:21 The emphasis is still on relationships, here the most intimate one of husband and wife. The faithful wife, Zion, has become a whore. This theme is less common in Isaiah than in Hosea, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, but it is very powerful here because Jerusalem stands for the whole people, who have collectively abandoned Yahweh. Thus they do not reflect his justice and have contempt for human life. Dethroning Yahweh has led to the enthroning of self and a consequent indifference to others.

1:22–23 In a change of metaphor the city is not only a prostitute but has become damaged and shoddy goods. Like silver adulterated with dross, like watered-down wine, Jerusalem is destined for the garbage dump. Justice, which governs all God’s dealings, has been perverted into selfish chasing after position and wealth, while the disadvantaged are forgotten.

1:24 From the failure of the nation’s leaders Isaiah turns to the supreme Ruler, underlining his authority by piling up titles. He is the Lord (Hb. haʾadon), the sovereign enthroned on high; the hosts of heaven obey him, and he is in a special relationship with his people. This is no abstract theology; this sovereign God will defeat all his enemies—including his own people if they turn against him.

1:25–26 Even in judgment, however, God remembers mercy (cf. Hab. 3:2), and the dross will be purged from his people. This purging will be bitter but will result in the renewal promised in Isa. 1:26. The ultimate purpose of the cleansing is the restoration of the Davidic kingdom. David is not mentioned here in chapter 1, but increasingly Isaiah will see this restoration in terms of a new son of David (e.g., chs. 7–11), who will present his bride as ransomed, healed, restored, and forgiven.

1:27–28 The characteristic notes of blessing and judgment continue, with the emphasis that, while blessing is available, it is not automatic. Zion can be saved, but this will require justice and righteousness. These are, first of all, attributes of God, but the same virtues will necessarily be evident in the attitudes and behavior of those who are redeemed. Those who do not come back to Yahweh will find only death.

1:29–31 At the root of forsaking Yahweh is turning to idols. Earlier we saw Isaiah’s condemnation of true religion practiced in an ungodly way. Here it is the worship of false gods that is condemned. Sacred trees and gardens were at the heart of Canaanite fertility cults, since pagan worship associated these with life force and virility. At heart, this is what Paul describes as worshiping the “creature rather than the Creator” (Rom. 1:25). This is a religion that appeals to pride and selfishness and makes no inconvenient ethical commands. Yet it holds within it the seeds of its own decay: withered leaves and barren ground, which, as in Psalm 1:4–5, are destroyed like chaff. They have been tested by Yahweh and found wanting, “for our God is a consuming fire” (Heb. 12:29).