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From: Isaiah 1:10, 16-20

Religion Without Soul

[10] Hear the word of the LORD,
you rulers of Sodom!
Give ear to the teaching of our God,
you people of Gomorrah!

Call to Conversion

[16] Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean;
remove the evil of your doings
from before my eyes;
cease to do evil,
[17] learn to do good;
seek justice,
correct oppression;
defend the fatherless,
plead for the widow.

The People Must Decide—Obedience or Rebellion

[18] “Come now, let us reason together,
says the LORD:
though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red like crimson,
they shall become like wool.
[19] If you are willing and obedient,
you shall eat the good of the land;
[20] But if you refuse and rebel,
you shall be devoured by the sword;
for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”

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Commentary:

1:10-20. These verses, too, in some ways form a literary unit in line with the
“lawsuit” (”rib”) style often found in prophetical literature: the charge sheet (vv.
10-15) is set against a list of good works, given here in the form of an exhortation
(vv. 16-17), and then comes to the sentence at the end, seen here in the attitude
of the judge, who is God (vv. 18-20).

Harsh words (v. 10) are used: the people of Judah are identified with those of So-
dom and Gomorrah, the epitome of sin and rejection of God. The transgressions
of which they are accused are against acts of worship (vv. 11-15), listed one af-
ter the other — sacrifices, incense offerings, festivals, entreaties. The accusation
is not against acts of worship in themselves, for these are laid down in the book
of Leviticus and therefore are right and proper. What the prophet is inveighing a-
gainst is religious formalism and the dichotomy between performance and inten-
tion, as can be seen from the verses that follow. What God desires is sincerity
of heart, virtue, protection for the weak — in other words, proper treatment of
others. In laying down the law here, the Lord shows his readiness to forgive,
while still holding out the threat of punishment (vv. 18-20).

Some passages of the section are read in the Liturgy during Lent (Tuesday of
the Second Week) to help people check whether they have given God the wor-
ship due to him, and as a call to a sincere change of heart. Christian writers
have used this passage from Isaiah (and other texts from the Scriptures) to ex-
plain that true religion and compassion begin in a person’s heart and then ex-
press themselves in actions. For example, one of the apostolic Fathers writes:
“Inspired by the Holy Spirit, the ministers of God’s grace will speak of penance.
And the Lord of all things himself spoke of penance, and swore an oath: I do not
desire the death of the wicked man, but that he should change his ways; and he
adds: “Cease to do evil, learn to do good; [...] though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow, though they are red like crimson, they shall be-
come like wool.” The Lord desires that all whom he loves would repent, and he
affirms it by his all-powerful will. Let us be obedient, then, to his glorious plan,
and, by imploring his mercy and kindness, let us return to his goodness and
be converted, leaving aside all our vain works, the disputes and jealousies that
lead to death” (St Clement of Rome, “Ad Corinthios”, 8, 1-9, 1).

1-17. “Learn to do good”: in order to lead the sort of lives that God wants, we
need to be properly schooled. St Basil comments: “Since moral understanding
is neither self-evident nor clear to all, we must learn to do good deeds through
our study of sound doctrine” (”Enarratio in Isaiam”, 1, 40). As well as calling for
sound doctrine, holiness of life requires the practice of virtue, day after day, con-
sistently, in whatever circumstances we find ourselves. The “human virtues are
[...] the foundation for the supernatural ones. These in turn provide us with con-
stant encouragement to behave in a noble way. But it is not sufficient merely to
want to have these virtues: we must learn how to practise them. “Discite bene-
facere” (Is 1:17), learn to do good. We need to make a habit of exercising each
virtue, by actually being sincere, truthful, balanced, calm, and patient — for love
is proved by deeds and we cannot love God only by word, but ‘with deeds and in
truth’ (1 Jn 3:18)” (St. Josemaria Escriva, “Friends of God”, 91).

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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.