Isaiah 1:2–20

God’s Case Against His Children

²Heaven and earth, listen,

because the Lord is speaking:

“I raised my children and helped them grow up,

but they have turned against me.

³An ox knows its master,

and a donkey knows where its owner feeds it,

but the people of Israel do not know me;

my people do not understand.”

⁴How terrible! Israel is a nation of sin,

a people loaded down with guilt,

a group of children doing evil,

children who are full of evil.

They have left the Lord;

they hate God, the Holy One of Israel,

and have turned away from him as if he were a stranger.

⁵Why should you continue to be punished?

Why do you continue to turn against him?

Your whole head is hurt,

and your whole heart is sick.

⁶There is no healthy spot

from the bottom of your foot to the top of your head;

you are covered with wounds, hurts, and open sores

that are not cleaned and covered,

and no medicine takes away the pain.

⁷Your land is ruined;

your cities have been burned with fire.

While you watch,

your enemies are stealing everything from your land;

it is ruined like a country destroyed by enemies.

⁸Jerusalem is left alone

like an empty shelter in a vineyard,

like a hut left in a field of melons,

like a city surrounded by enemies.

⁹The Lord All-Powerful

allowed a few of our people to live.

Otherwise we would have been completely destroyed

like the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.

¹⁰Jerusalem, your rulers are like those of Sodom,

and your people are like those of Gomorrah.

Hear the word of the Lord;

listen to the teaching of our God!

¹¹The Lord says,

“I do not want all these sacrifices.

I have had enough of your burnt sacrifices

of male sheep and fat from fine animals.

I am not pleased

by the blood of bulls, lambs, and goats.

¹²You come to meet with me,

but who asked you to do

all this running in and out of my Temple’s rooms?

¹³Don’t continue bringing me worthless sacrifices!

I hate the incense you burn.

I can’t stand your New Moons, Sabbaths, and other feast days;

I can’t stand the evil you do in your holy meetings.

¹⁴I hate your New Moon feasts

and your other yearly feasts.

They have become a heavy weight on me,

and I am tired of carrying it.

¹⁵When you raise your arms to me in prayer,

I will refuse to look at you.

Even if you say many prayers,

I will not listen to you,

because your hands are full of blood.

¹⁶Wash yourselves and make yourselves clean.

Stop doing the evil things I see you do.

Stop doing wrong.

¹⁷Learn to do good.

Seek justice.

Punish those who hurt others.

Help the orphans.

Stand up for the rights of widows.”

¹⁸The Lord says,

“Come, let us talk about these things.

Though your sins are like scarlet,

they can be as white as snow.

Though your sins are deep red,

they can be white like wool.

¹⁹If you become willing and obey me,

you will eat good crops from the land.

²⁰But if you refuse to obey and if you turn against me,

you will be destroyed by your enemies’ swords.”

The Lord himself said these things.