Isaiah 1:2–20

The Wickedness of Judah

^2cHear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth!

For the Lord has spoken:

“I have nourished and brought up children,

And they have rebelled against Me;

^3dThe ox knows its owner

And the donkey its master’s ¹crib;

But Israel ^edoes not know,

My people do not ²consider.”

⁴Alas, sinful nation,

A people ³laden with iniquity,

^fA ⁴brood of evildoers,

Children who are corrupters!

They have forsaken the Lord,

They have provoked to anger

The Holy One of Israel,

They have turned away backward.

^5gWhy should you be stricken again?

You will revolt more and more.

The whole head is sick,

And the whole heart faints.

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

There is no soundness in it,

But wounds and bruises and putrefying sores;

They have not been closed or bound up,

Or soothed with ointment.

^7hYour country is desolate,

Your cities are burned with fire;

Strangers devour your land in your presence;

And it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers.

⁸So the daughter of Zion is left ⁱas a ⁵booth in a vineyard,

As a hut in a garden of cucumbers,

^jAs a besieged city.

^9kUnless the Lord of hosts

Had left to us a very small remnant,

We would have become like ^lSodom,

We would have been made like Gomorrah.

¹⁰Hear the word of the Lord,

You rulers ^mof Sodom;

Give ear to the law of our God,

You people of Gomorrah:

¹¹“To what purpose is the multitude of your ⁿsacrifices to Me?”

Says the Lord.

“I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams

And the fat of fed cattle.

I do not delight in the blood of bulls,

Or of lambs or goats.

¹²“When you come ^oto appear before Me,

Who has required this from your hand,

To trample My courts?

¹³Bring no more ^pfutile ⁶sacrifices;

Incense is an abomination to Me.

The New Moons, the Sabbaths, and ^qthe calling of assemblies—

I cannot endure iniquity and the sacred meeting.

¹⁴Your ^rNew Moons and your ^sappointed feasts

My soul hates;

They are a trouble to Me,

I am weary of bearing them.

^15tWhen you ⁷spread out your hands,

I will hide My eyes from you;

^uEven though you make many prayers,

I will not hear.

Your hands are full of ⁸blood.

¹⁶“Wash ^vyourselves, make yourselves clean;

Put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes.

^wCease to do evil,

¹⁷Learn to do good;

Seek justice,

Rebuke ⁹the oppressor;

¹Defend the fatherless,

Plead for the widow.

¹⁸“Come now, and let us ^xreason together,”

Says the Lord,

“Though your sins are like scarlet,

^yThey shall be as white as snow;

Though they are red like crimson,

They shall be as wool.

¹⁹If you are willing and obedient,

You shall eat the good of the land;

²⁰But if you refuse and rebel,

You shall be devoured by the sword”;

^zFor the mouth of the Lord has spoken.