ESV Study Bible | English Standard Version

 2 g Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O h earth;
for the Lord has spoken:
“Children [1] i have I reared and brought up,
but they have rebelled against me.
 3 The ox j knows its owner,
and the donkey its master's crib,
but Israel does j not know,
my people do not understand.”

 4 Ah, sinful nation,
a people laden with iniquity,
k offspring of evildoers,
children who deal corruptly!
They have forsaken the Lord,
they have l despised m the Holy One of Israel,
they are utterly n estranged.

 5 Why will you still be o struck down?
Why will you p continue to rebel?
The whole head is sick,
and the whole heart faint.
 6 q From the sole of the foot even to the head,
there is no soundness in it,
but bruises and sores
and raw wounds;
they are r not pressed out or bound up
or softened with oil.

 7 s Your 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 t the daughter of Zion is left
like a u booth in a vineyard,
like a lodge in a cucumber field,
like a besieged city.

 9 v If the Lord of hosts
had not left us w a few survivors,
we should have been like x Sodom,
and become like x Gomorrah.

10 Hear the word of the Lord,
you rulers of y z Sodom!
Give ear to the teaching [2] of our God,
you people of z Gomorrah!
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 b appear before me,
who has required of you
this trampling of my courts?
13 Bring no more vain offerings;
incense is an abomination to me.
c New moon and Sabbath and the d calling of convocations—
I cannot endure e iniquity and f solemn assembly.
14 Your c new moons and your appointed feasts
my soul hates;
they have become a burden to me;
I am weary of bearing them.
15 When you g spread out your hands,
I will hide my eyes from you;
h even though you make many prayers,
I will not listen;
i your hands are full of blood.
16 j Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean;
remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes;
k cease to do evil,
17 learn to do good;
l seek justice,
correct oppression;
m bring justice to the fatherless,
plead the widow's cause.

18 “Come now, n let us reason [3] together, says the Lord:
though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as o white as snow;
though they are red like crimson,
they shall become like wool.
19 p If 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;
q for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

21 How the faithful city
r has become a whore, [4]
s she who was full of justice!
Righteousness lodged in her,
but now murderers.
22 t Your silver has become dross,
your best wine mixed with water.
23 Your princes are rebels
and companions of thieves.
Everyone u loves a bribe
and runs after gifts.
v They do not bring justice to the fatherless,
and the widow's cause does not come to them.

24 Therefore the w Lord declares,
the Lord of hosts,
the x Mighty One of Israel:
“Ah, I will get relief from my enemies
y and avenge myself on my foes.
25 z I will turn my hand against you
and will smelt away your a dross as with lye
and remove all your alloy.
26 And I will restore your judges b as at the first,
and your counselors as at the beginning.
Afterward c you shall be called the city of righteousness,
the faithful city.”

27 d Zion shall be redeemed by justice,
and those in her who repent, by righteousness.
28 e But rebels and sinners shall be broken together,
and those who forsake the Lord shall be consumed.
29 f For they [5] shall be ashamed of g the oaks
that you desired;
and you shall blush for h the gardens
that you have chosen.
30 For you shall be i like an oak
whose leaf withers,
and like a garden without water.
31 And the strong shall become j tinder,
and his work a spark,
and both of them shall burn together,
with k none to quench them.