Isaiah 1:2
New International Version
Hear me, you heavens! Listen, earth! For the LORD has spoken: “I reared children and brought them up, but they have rebelled against me.

New Living Translation
Listen, O heavens! Pay attention, earth! This is what the LORD says: “The children I raised and cared for have rebelled against me.

English Standard Version
Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth; for the LORD has spoken: “Children have I reared and brought up, but they have rebelled against me.

Berean Standard Bible
Listen, O heavens, and give ear, O earth, for the LORD has spoken: “I have raised children and brought them up, but they have rebelled against Me.

King James Bible
Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.

New King James Version
Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth! For the LORD has spoken: “I have nourished and brought up children, And they have rebelled against Me;

New American Standard Bible
Listen, heavens, and hear, earth; For the LORD has spoken: “Sons I have raised and brought up, But they have revolted against Me.

NASB 1995
Listen, O heavens, and hear, O earth; For the LORD speaks, “Sons I have reared and brought up, But they have revolted against Me.

NASB 1977
Listen, O heavens, and hear, O earth; For the LORD speaks, “Sons I have reared and brought up, But they have revolted against Me.

Legacy Standard Bible
Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth; For Yahweh speaks, “Sons I have reared and raised up, But they have transgressed against Me.

Amplified Bible
Hear, O heavens, and listen, O earth; For the LORD has spoken: “I have reared and brought up sons, But they have rebelled against Me and have broken away.

Christian Standard Bible
Listen, heavens, and pay attention, earth, for the LORD has spoken: “I have raised children and brought them up, but they have rebelled against me.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Listen, heavens, and pay attention, earth, for the LORD has spoken:” I have raised children and brought them up, but they have rebelled against Me.

American Standard Version
Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth; for Jehovah hath spoken: I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.

Contemporary English Version
The LORD has said, "Listen, heaven and earth! The children I raised have turned against me.

English Revised Version
Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth, for the LORD hath spoken: I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Listen, heaven, and pay attention, earth! The LORD has spoken, "I raised [my] children and helped them grow, but they have rebelled against me.

Good News Translation
The LORD said, "Earth and sky, listen to what I am saying! The children I brought up have rebelled against me.

International Standard Version
Listen, you heavens, and let the earth pay attention, because the LORD has spoken: "I reared children and brought them to adulthood, but then they rebelled against me.

Majority Standard Bible
Listen, O heavens, and give ear, O earth, for the LORD has spoken: ?I have raised children and brought them up, but they have rebelled against Me.

NET Bible
Listen, O heavens, pay attention, O earth! For the LORD speaks: "I raised children, I brought them up, but they have rebelled against me!

New Heart English Bible
Hear, heavens, and listen, earth; for the LORD has spoken: I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.

Webster's Bible Translation
Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.

World English Bible
Hear, heavens, and listen, earth; for Yahweh has spoken: “I have nourished and brought up children and they have rebelled against me.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth, "" For YHWH has spoken: “I have nourished and brought up sons, "" And they transgressed against Me.

Young's Literal Translation
Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth, For Jehovah hath spoken: Sons I have nourished and brought up, And they -- they transgressed against Me.

Smith's Literal Translation
Hear, ye heavens, and give ear thou earth, for Jehovah spake: for I caused to grow and lifted up sons, and they rebelled against me.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
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.

Catholic Public Domain Version
Listen, O heavens, and pay attention, O earth, for the Lord has spoken. I have nurtured and raised children, but they have spurned me.

New American Bible
Hear, O heavens, and listen, O earth, for the LORD speaks: Sons have I raised and reared, but they have rebelled against me!

New Revised Standard Version
Hear, O heavens, and listen, O earth; for the LORD has spoken: I reared children and brought them up, but they have rebelled against me.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth; for the LORD has spoken, I have reared and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
Listen, Heaven, and pay attention, Earth, because LORD JEHOVAH has spoken: “I have raised and I have exalted children, and those have risen up against me
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth, For the LORD hath spoken: Children I have reared, and brought up, And they have rebelled against Me.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
Hear, O heaven, and hearken, O earth: for the Lord has spoken, saying, I have begotten and reared up children, but they have rebelled against me.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Judah's Rebellion
1This is the vision concerning Judah and Jerusalem that Isaiah son of Amoz saw during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. 2Listen, O heavens, and give ear, O earth, for the LORD has spoken: “I have raised children and brought them up, but they have rebelled against Me. 3The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master’s manger, but Israel does not know; My people do not understand.”…

Cross References
Deuteronomy 32:1
Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak; hear, O earth, the words of my mouth.

Jeremiah 2:12-13
Be stunned by this, O heavens; be shocked and utterly appalled,” declares the LORD. / “For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living water, and they have dug their own cisterns—broken cisterns that cannot hold water.

Micah 6:1-2
Hear now what the LORD says: “Arise, plead your case before the mountains, and let the hills hear your voice. / Hear, O mountains, the LORD’s indictment, you enduring foundations of the earth. For the LORD has a case against His people, and He will argue it against Israel:

Hosea 4:1
Hear the word of the LORD, O children of Israel, for the LORD has a case against the people of the land: “There is no truth, no loving devotion, and no knowledge of God in the land!

Psalm 50:4
He summons the heavens above, and the earth, that He may judge His people:

Ezekiel 16:20-21
You even took the sons and daughters you bore to Me and sacrificed them as food to idols. Was your prostitution not enough? / You slaughtered My children and delivered them up through the fire to idols.

Malachi 1:6
“A son honors his father, and a servant his master. But if I am a father, where is My honor? And if I am a master, where is your fear of Me?” says the LORD of Hosts to you priests who despise My name. “But you ask, ‘How have we despised Your name?’

Matthew 23:37
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those sent to her, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were unwilling!

Luke 13:34
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those sent to her, how often I have longed to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were unwilling!

John 1:11
He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.

Romans 9:4-5
the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption as sons; theirs the divine glory and the covenants; theirs the giving of the law, the temple worship, and the promises. / Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them proceeds the human descent of Christ, who is God over all, forever worthy of praise! Amen.

Hebrews 3:7-11
Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you hear His voice, / do not harden your hearts, as you did in the rebellion, in the day of testing in the wilderness, / where your fathers tested and tried Me, and for forty years saw My works. ...

Acts 7:51-53
You stiff-necked people with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit, just as your fathers did. / Which of the prophets did your fathers fail to persecute? They even killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One. And now you are His betrayers and murderers— / you who received the law ordained by angels, yet have not kept it.”

Jeremiah 3:19-20
Then I said, ‘How I long to make you My sons and give you a desirable land, the most beautiful inheritance of all the nations!’ I thought you would call Me ‘Father’ and never turn away from following Me. / But as a woman may betray her husband, so you have betrayed Me, O house of Israel,” declares the LORD.

Ezekiel 2:3-5
“Son of man,” He said to me, “I am sending you to the Israelites, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against Me. To this very day they and their fathers have rebelled against Me. / They are obstinate and stubborn children. I am sending you to them, and you are to say to them, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says.’ / And whether they listen or refuse to listen—for they are a rebellious house—they will know that a prophet has been among them.


Treasury of Scripture

Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD has spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.

hear

Deuteronomy 4:26
I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that ye shall soon utterly perish from off the land whereunto ye go over Jordan to possess it; ye shall not prolong your days upon it, but shall utterly be destroyed.

Deuteronomy 30:19
I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:

Deuteronomy 32:1
Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth.

for the Lord

Jeremiah 13:15
Hear ye, and give ear; be not proud: for the LORD hath spoken.

Amos 3:1
Hear this word that the LORD hath spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt, saying,

Micah 3:8
But truly I am full of power by the spirit of the LORD, and of judgment, and of might, to declare unto Jacob his transgression, and to Israel his sin.

I have

Isaiah 5:1,2
Now will I sing to my wellbeloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard. My wellbeloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill: …

Isaiah 46:3,4
Hearken unto me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel, which are borne by me from the belly, which are carried from the womb: …

Deuteronomy 1:31
And in the wilderness, where thou hast seen how that the LORD thy God bare thee, as a man doth bear his son, in all the way that ye went, until ye came into this place.

they have

Isaiah 63:9,10
In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old…

Deuteronomy 9:22-24
And at Taberah, and at Massah, and at Kibrothhattaavah, ye provoked the LORD to wrath…

Jeremiah 2:5-13
Thus saith the LORD, What iniquity have your fathers found in me, that they are gone far from me, and have walked after vanity, and are become vain? …

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Isaiah 1
1. Isaiah complains of Judah for her rebellion
5. He laments her judgments
10. He upbraids their whole service
16. He exhorts to repentance, with promises and threats
21. Bewailing their wickedness, he denounces God's judgments
25. He promises grace
28. And threatens destruction to the wicked














Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth
This opening summons is a powerful call to attention, invoking both the heavens and the earth as witnesses. The Hebrew word for "hear" is "שִׁמְעוּ" (shim'u), which is an imperative form, demanding immediate attention. This reflects the gravity of the message that follows. The heavens and the earth are often called upon in Scripture as witnesses to God's covenant with Israel (Deuteronomy 30:19). This invocation underscores the universal scope of the message, indicating that what is about to be declared is of cosmic significance, transcending time and space.

for the LORD has spoken
The phrase "for the LORD has spoken" emphasizes the divine authority behind the message. The Hebrew word for "LORD" is "יְהוָה" (YHWH), the sacred name of God, which signifies His eternal and unchanging nature. This declaration is not merely a human opinion but a pronouncement from the Creator Himself. The use of "has spoken" (דִּבֶּר, diber) in the perfect tense indicates a completed action, suggesting that God's word is final and authoritative. This serves as a reminder of the power and reliability of God's word, which does not return void (Isaiah 55:11).

I have reared and brought up children
Here, God speaks of His relationship with Israel in familial terms. The Hebrew word for "reared" is "גִּדַּלְתִּי" (gidalti), which conveys the idea of nurturing and raising up. This reflects God's tender care and provision for Israel, akin to a parent's love for their children. "Brought up" (רוֹמַמְתִּי, romamti) suggests elevation and honor, indicating that God not only cared for Israel but also exalted them among the nations. This imagery highlights the depth of God's love and the special status of Israel as His chosen people.

but they have rebelled against Me
The tragic contrast is introduced with "but they have rebelled against Me." The Hebrew word for "rebelled" is "פָּשְׁעוּ" (pash'u), which implies a willful and defiant turning away. This rebellion is not merely a passive drifting but an active rejection of God's authority and love. The personal pronoun "Me" underscores the relational breach; it is not just a violation of laws but a betrayal of the covenant relationship with God. This rebellion is a recurring theme in the prophetic literature, highlighting the persistent waywardness of God's people despite His unwavering faithfulness.

(2) Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth.--The prophet opens the great indictment by calling the universe to listen to it. The words remind us of Deuteronomy 30:19; Deuteronomy 32:1, but the thought was the common inheritance of Hebrew poets (Psalm 50:4; Jeremiah 6:19; Jeremiah 22:29), and we can draw no inference from the parallelism as to the date of either book.

I have nourished and brought up children. The last word has in the Hebrew the emphasis of position: Sons I have reared and brought up. From those who had thus grown up under a father's care filial duty might have been expected; but it was not so. The sons had rebelled against their father's control. It is significant that the prophet starts from the thought of the fatherhood of God in His relation to Israel. The people might be unworthy of their election, but He had chosen them (Exodus 4:22; Deuteronomy 14:1; Hosea 11:1). . . .

Verses 2-6. - GOD'S COMPLAINT AGAINST HIS PEOPLE. The groundwork of Isaiah's entire prophecy is Judah's defection from God. God's people have sinned, done amiss, dealt wickedly. The hour of vengeance approaches. Punishment has begun, and will go on, continually increasing in severity. National repentance would avert God's judgments, but the nation will not repeat. God's vengeance will fall, and by it a remnant will be purified, and return to God, and be his true people. In the present section the indictment is laid. Judah's sins are called to her remembrance. Verse 2. - Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth. "A grave and magnificent exorilium! All nature is invoked to hear Jehovah make complaint of the ingratitude of his people" (Rosenmüller). The invocation is cast in the same form with that so common in Deuteronomy (Deuteronomy 4:26; 30:19; 31:28; 32:1), and seems to indicate familiarity with that book. The idea extends widely among sacred and other poets (see Psalm 1:3, 4; Micah 6:1, 2; Aesch., 'P. V.,' 11. 88-92). The Lord hath spoken; rather, the Lord (literally, Jehovah) speaketh (so Lowth, Cheyne, and Gesenius). The speech of Jehovah follows in vers. 2, 3. I have nourished and brought up children; literally, (my) sons I have made great and high; i.e. I have raised Israel to greatness and exalted him among the nations. Notwithstanding their disobedience, God still acknowledges them as his "sons." They have rebelled against me. The verb used is generally rendered in our version "transgressed" (see Jeremiah 3:13; Hosea 7:13; Amos 4:4); but it may also have the stronger sense here assigned it. Lowth translates, "revolted from me;" Gesenius, "fallen away from me;" Cheyne, "broken away from me."

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Listen,
שִׁמְע֤וּ (šim·‘ū)
Verb - Qal - Imperative - masculine plural
Strong's 8085: To hear intelligently

O heavens,
שָׁמַ֙יִם֙ (šā·ma·yim)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 8064: Heaven, sky

and give ear,
וְהַאֲזִ֣ינִי (wə·ha·’ă·zî·nî)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Imperative - feminine singular
Strong's 238: To broaden out the ear, to listen

O earth,
אֶ֔רֶץ (’e·reṣ)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 776: Earth, land

for
כִּ֥י (kî)
Conjunction
Strong's 3588: A relative conjunction

the LORD
יְהוָ֖ה (Yah·weh)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3068: LORD -- the proper name of the God of Israel

has spoken:
דִּבֵּ֑ר (dib·bêr)
Verb - Piel - Perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 1696: To arrange, to speak, to subdue

“I have raised
גִּדַּ֣לְתִּי (gid·dal·tî)
Verb - Piel - Perfect - first person common singular
Strong's 1431: To grow up, become great

children
בָּנִים֙ (bā·nîm)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 1121: A son

and brought them up,
וְרוֹמַ֔מְתִּי (wə·rō·w·mam·tî)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Piel - Conjunctive perfect - first person common singular
Strong's 7311: To be high actively, to rise, raise

but they
וְהֵ֖ם (wə·hêm)
Conjunctive waw | Pronoun - third person masculine plural
Strong's 1992: They

have rebelled
פָּ֥שְׁעוּ (pā·šə·‘ū)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 6586: To break away, trespass, apostatize, quarrel

against Me.
בִֽי׃ (ḇî)
Preposition | first person common singular
Strong's Hebrew


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OT Prophets: Isaiah 1:2 Hear heavens and listen earth (Isa Isi Is)
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