Isaiah 1:3–11

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.