Isaiah 1:2–20

^2–4Heaven and earth, you’re the jury.

Listen to God’s case:

“I had children and raised them well,

and they turned on me.

The ox knows who’s boss,

the mule knows the hand that feeds him,

But not Israel.

My people don’t know up from down.

Shame! Misguided God-dropouts,

staggering under their guilt-baggage,

Gang of miscreants,

band of vandals—

My people have walked out on me, their God,

turned their backs on The Holy of Israel,

walked off and never looked back.

^5–9“Why bother even trying to do anything with you

when you just keep to your bullheaded ways?

You keep beating your heads against brick walls.

Everything within you protests against you.

From the bottom of your feet to the top of your head,

nothing’s working right.

Wounds and bruises and running sores—

untended, unwashed, unbandaged.

Your country is laid waste,

your cities burned down.

Your land is destroyed by outsiders while you watch,

reduced to rubble by barbarians.

Daughter Zion is deserted—

like a tumbledown shack on a dead-end street,

Like a tarpaper shanty on the wrong side of the tracks,

like a sinking ship abandoned by the rats.

If God-of-the-Angel-Armies hadn’t left us a few survivors,

we’d be as desolate as Sodom, doomed just like Gomorrah.

¹⁰“Listen to my Message,

you Sodom-schooled leaders.

Receive God’s revelation,

you Gomorrah-schooled people.

^11–12“Why this frenzy of sacrifices?”

God’s asking.

“Don’t you think I’ve had my fill of burnt sacrifices,

rams and plump grain-fed calves?

Don’t you think I’ve had my fill

of blood from bulls, lambs, and goats?

When you come before me,

whoever gave you the idea of acting like this,

Running here and there, doing this and that—

all this sheer commotion in the place provided for worship?

^13–17“Quit your worship charades.

I can’t stand your trivial religious games:

Monthly conferences, weekly Sabbaths, special meetings—

meetings, meetings, meetings—I can’t stand one more!

Meetings for this, meetings for that. I hate them!

You’ve worn me out!

I’m sick of your religion, religion, religion,

while you go right on sinning.

When you put on your next prayer-performance,

I’ll be looking the other way.

No matter how long or loud or often you pray,

I’ll not be listening.

And do you know why? Because you’ve been tearing

people to pieces, and your hands are bloody.

Go home and wash up.

Clean up your act.

Sweep your lives clean of your evildoings

so I don’t have to look at them any longer.

Say no to wrong.

Learn to do good.

Work for justice.

Help the down-and-out.

Stand up for the homeless.

Go to bat for the defenseless.

Let’s Argue This Out

^18–20“Come. Sit down. Let’s argue this out.”

This is God’s Message:

“If your sins are blood-red,

they’ll be snow-white.

If they’re red like crimson,

they’ll be like wool.

If you’ll willingly obey,

you’ll feast like kings.

But if you’re willful and stubborn,

you’ll die like dogs.”

That’s right. God says so.