Isaiah 1:21-31

Look how the once faithful city has become as unfaithful as a prostitute! She who was once the “Center of Justice,” where righteousness made its home, is now the dwelling place of murderers! She was once like sterling silver, now only mixture; once so pure, now diluted like watered-down wine. Your rulers are rebellious and companions of crooks. They are self-centered racketeers who love a bribe and who chase after payoffs. They don’t defend the fatherless or consider the rights of a helpless widow. Therefore, here is what the Sovereign One, the Lord God of Angel Armies, the Mighty One of Israel, decrees: “Ah, I will get relief from my adversaries and avenge myself on my foes! I will put my fiery hand upon you and purify you with fire into something clean.” “I will restore deliverers as in former times and your wise counselors as at the beginning. Only then will you be called the Righteous City and the Faithful City!” Yes, Zion will be redeemed with justice and her repentant converts with righteousness. There will be a shattering of rebels and sinners together, and those who forsake the Lord will be consumed. You will reap shame from the idols you once delighted in and you will be humiliated by your cultic sacred groves, where you chose to worship. You will be like an oak tree with faded, fallen leaves and like a withered, waterless garden. The “powerful elite” will become like kindling and their evil deeds like sparks—both will burn together and no one will be able to put out the fire.