Old Testament
Isaiah
Judgment that never gets the last word — comfort does.
Prophecy · 66 chapters · About 3.5 hours
8th century BC and after
Overview
Isaiah speaks into a nation about to lose everything. The first half is warning: religion without justice is noise.
Then, at chapter 40, the tone breaks open — 'Comfort, comfort my people' — and the book becomes some of the most tender writing in Scripture, addressed to exiles who assume God has forgotten them.
Its Servant Songs, describing one who suffers for others, are read at Christmas and Good Friday alike.
What it keeps returning to
Holiness
Isaiah's vision in the temple sets the book's key: God is other, and God is here.
Justice
Worship God does not want is worship that ignores the poor.
Comfort
Chapters 40–55 are written for people at the end of their hope.
Start here
Isaiah 6
The vision, the coal, the 'here I am'.
Isaiah 40
Comfort for the weary — the eagles' wings chapter.
Isaiah 53
The suffering servant.
Go deeper in Isaiah
“Those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength.”