2  ^gHear, O heavens, and give ear, O ^hearth;

for the Lord has spoken:

“Children^{1 i}have I reared and brought up,

but they have rebelled against me.

3  The ox ^jknows its owner,

and the donkey its master’s crib,

but Israel does ^jnot know,

my people do not understand.”

4  Ah, sinful nation,

a people laden with iniquity,

^koffspring of evildoers,

children who deal corruptly!

They have forsaken the Lord,

they have ^ldespised ^mthe Holy One of Israel,

they are utterly ⁿestranged.

5  Why will you still be ^ostruck down?

Why will you ^pcontinue to rebel?

The whole head is sick,

and the whole heart faint.

6  ^qFrom the sole of the foot even to the head,

there is no soundness in it,

but bruises and sores

and raw wounds;

they are ^rnot pressed out or bound up

or softened with oil.

7  ^sYour country lies desolate;

your cities are burned with fire;

in your very presence

foreigners devour your land;

it is desolate, as overthrown by foreigners.

8  And ^tthe daughter of Zion is left

like a ^ubooth in a vineyard,

like a lodge in a cucumber field,

like a besieged city.

9  ^vIf the Lord of hosts

had not left us ^wa few survivors,

we should have been like ^xSodom,

and become like ^xGomorrah.

10  Hear the word of the Lord,

you rulers of ^yzSodom!

Give ear to the teaching² of our God,

you people of ^zGomorrah!

11  ^a“What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices?

says the Lord;

I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams

and the fat of well-fed beasts;

I do not delight in the blood of bulls,

or of lambs, or of goats.

12  “When you come to ^bappear before me,

who has required of you

this trampling of my courts?

13  Bring no more vain offerings;

incense is an abomination to me.

^cNew moon and Sabbath and the ^dcalling of convocations—

I cannot endure ^einiquity and ^fsolemn assembly.

14  Your ^cnew moons and your appointed feasts

my soul hates;

they have become a burden to me;

I am weary of bearing them.

15  When you ^gspread out your hands,

I will hide my eyes from you;

^heven though you make many prayers,

I will not listen;

ⁱyour hands are full of blood.

16  ^jWash yourselves; make yourselves clean;

remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes;

^kcease to do evil,

17  learn to do good;

^lseek justice,

correct oppression;

^mbring justice to the fatherless,

plead the widow’s cause.

18  “Come now, ⁿlet us reason³ together, says the Lord:

though your sins are like scarlet,

they shall be as ^owhite as snow;

though they are red like crimson,

they shall become like wool.

19  ^pIf you are willing and obedient,

you shall eat the good of the land;

20  but if you refuse and rebel,

you shall be eaten by the sword;

^qfor the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

21  How the faithful city

^rhas become a whore,⁴

^sshe who was full of justice!

Righteousness lodged in her,

but now murderers.

22  ^tYour silver has become dross,

your best wine mixed with water.

23  Your princes are rebels

and companions of thieves.

Everyone ^uloves a bribe

and runs after gifts.

^vThey do not bring justice to the fatherless,

and the widow’s cause does not come to them.

24  Therefore the ^wLord declares,

the Lord of hosts,

the ^xMighty One of Israel:

“Ah, I will get relief from my enemies

^yand avenge myself on my foes.

25  ^zI will turn my hand against you

and will smelt away your ^adross as with lye

and remove all your alloy.

26  And I will restore your judges ^bas at the first,

and your counselors as at the beginning.

Afterward ^cyou shall be called the city of righteousness,

the faithful city.”

27  ^dZion shall be redeemed by justice,

and those in her who repent, by righteousness.

28  ^eBut rebels and sinners shall be broken together,

and those who forsake the Lord shall be consumed.