Isaiah 1:3–11

³The ox knows its owner,

and the donkey its master’s feeding trough,

but Israel does not know;

My people do not understand.” ^m

⁴Oh sinful nation,

people weighed down with iniquity, ⁿ

brood of evildoers, ^o

depraved children! ^p

They have abandoned ^qthe Lord;

they have despised ^rthe Holy One of Israel; ^s

they have turned their backs on Him.

⁵Why do you want more beatings?

Why do you keep on rebelling?

The whole head is hurt,

and the whole heart is sick.

⁶From the sole of the foot even to the head, ^t

no spot is uninjured ^u—

wounds, welts, and festering sores

not cleansed, bandaged,

or soothed with oil.

⁷Your land is desolate,

your cities burned with fire; ^v

foreigners devour your fields

before your very eyes—

a desolation demolished by foreigners.

⁸Daughter Zion ^wis abandoned

like a shelter in a vineyard,

like a shack in a cucumber field,

like a besieged city.

⁹If the Lord of Hosts ^x

had not left us a few survivors, ^y

we would be like Sodom,

we would resemble Gomorrah. ^z

¹⁰Hear the word of the Lord, ^a

you rulers of Sodom!

Listen to the instruction of our God,

you people of Gomorrah! ^b

¹¹“What are all your sacrifices to Me?”

asks the Lord.

“I have had enough of burnt offerings and rams

and the fat of well-fed cattle;

I have no desire for the blood of bulls,

lambs, or male goats. ^c