Isaiah Pt. 1, The Prophet's Vision (Isaiah 1:1–39:8)

Lyrics · Isaiah

Isaiah Pt. 1, The Prophet's Vision

Isaiah 1:1–39:8

LISTEN HERE

Lyrics

Now playing

Isaiah Pt. 1, The Prophet's Vision

Isaiah 1:1-39:8

Lyrics and song details

0:000:00

Volume

Playing next

Lyrics and song details

About this song

This song belongs to the Isaiah collection. One recording is available to play here, with the complete lyrics below.

Bible book: Isaiah
Collection: Isaiah
Musical styles: Soul, Blues & Jazz

I planted a vineyard on a fertile hill Cleared the stones with my own hand I watched it bloom and I watched it spill Wild grapes upon my land The watchtower stands but the song is gone And the press runs dry as bone What more could I have done for you Before I left you all alone In the year that the king lay dead I saw the Lord upon his throne And the seraphim cried out above his head And the doorposts shook like stone Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts The whole earth is His fire And I fell down with unclean lips In the smoke and in the choir Holy, holy, holy The Lord of hosts is here Holy, holy, holy And the proud shall know His fear A call from the altar to the trembling mouth A voice that splits the dark Hear, my Lord, send me out With the burning on my heart Unto us a child shall yet be born Unto us a son is given And the government shall rest upon his shoulder And his name shall come from heaven Wonderful Counselor, mighty God Everlasting Prince of Peace And the wolf shall lie beside the lamb When the kingdoms of men shall cease How art thou fallen, O morning star Who said, I will climb the sky I will set my throne above the stars of God I will lift myself up high But the pit is deep and the pit is cold And the proud shall not ascend For the Lord alone shall be exalted In the day without an end Holy, holy, holy The Lord of hosts is here Holy, holy, holy And the proud shall know His fear A call from the altar to the trembling mouth A voice that splits the dark Here am I, Lord, send me out With the burning on my heart The Assyrian came down like a wolf on the fold His banners filled the plain And he mocked the God of Jacob from the gate And he called the holy vein But the king went up to the house of the Lord And he spread the letter wide And he said, O Lord, the God of Israel, save us from this time And the angel of the Lord went forth that night through the camp upon the hill And when the morning broke upon the field, the hosts of war were still A hundred and eighty and five thousand fell Where the proud had pitched their tent And the king of Assyria turned for home With his glory broken and spent Holy, holy, holy The Lord of hosts has spoken Holy, holy, holy And the rod of the proud is broken A coal from the altar to the trembling mouth A voice that splits the dark Hearing my Lord send me out With the burning on my heart

Lyrics transcribed from this recording. Word-for-word review is pending.

About the passage

Isaiah 1: A crowded temple and a city full of blood

Isaiah opens by putting Judah in the uncomfortable position of a child who has forgotten the hand that raised it. The images keep changing, but the charge does not soften: an untreated body, a besieged field hut, bloodied hands lifted in prayer, silver gone to dross, wine diluted with water. Religious activity is everywhere, yet justice for the oppressed, the fatherless, and the widow is missing where it should be easiest to find. The chapter refuses both easy despair and easy reassurance. Zion is not discarded, but neither is its survival mistaken for approval. Cleansing has moral content, restoration passes through judgment, and the faithful city's old name is recovered only after the corruption attached to it is burned away. Isaiah ends where he began, with dependence exposed: the chosen garden cannot water itself.

Study Isaiah 1 in depth

Isaiah 2: The mountain rises and human grandeur falls

Isaiah 2 begins with one of the book's great reversals of motion: nations flow uphill toward the LORD's mountain because instruction is going out from Zion. Weapons are remade for cultivation and war itself becomes something no longer studied. That future exposes Judah's present fullness. Its land is crowded with silver, gold, horses, chariots, imported practices, and handmade gods, yet none of that abundance produces the understanding the nations seek. The rest of the chapter is organized by height. Proud looks, trees, mountains, towers, walls, and ships all enter a catalogue of things that seem impressive enough to stand. They do not. People who trusted visible grandeur end up crawling into rocks while their precious idols are discarded to creatures of the dark. Only the LORD's exaltation survives the leveling, and Isaiah ends by reducing human grandeur to a breath in the nostrils.

Study Isaiah 2 in depth

Isaiah 3: A society runs out of supports

Isaiah 3 imagines collapse by removing the supports that make ordinary society possible. Bread and water disappear beside soldiers, judges, elders, craftsmen, and counsellors, until leadership becomes so scarce that owning a coat almost qualifies a man for office. The chapter then shows that the ruin is not merely accidental institutional failure. The LORD brings a case against rulers whose houses contain the spoil of the poor, making exploitation visible as evidence. Isaiah turns next to conspicuous display, cataloguing the ornaments and garments of Zion's daughters before replacing fragrance, arranged hair, and finery with signs of humiliation and mourning. The final movement widens from individuals to the city herself. Warriors fall, gates lament, and Zion sits on the ground. Everything that had projected stability, status, and beauty has been stripped until the society is pictured in the posture of bereavement.

Study Isaiah 3 in depth