Isaiah 1:2-18

Hear, O heavens, and listen, O earth; For the LORD has spoken: “I have reared and brought up sons, But they have rebelled against Me and have broken away. “The ox [instinctively] knows its owner, And the donkey its master’s feeding trough, But Israel does not know [Me as LORD], My people do not understand.” ¶Ah, sinful nation, A people loaded down with wickedness [with sin, with injustice, with wrongdoing], Offspring of evildoers, Sons who behave corruptly! They have abandoned (rejected) the LORD, They have despised the Holy One of Israel [provoking Him to anger], They have turned away from Him. ¶Why should you be stricken and punished again [since no change results from it]? You [only] continue to rebel. The whole head is sick And the whole heart is faint and sick. From the sole of the foot even to the head There is nothing healthy in the nation’s body, Only bruises, welts, and raw wounds, Not pressed out or bandaged, Nor softened with oil [as a remedy]. ¶Your land lies desolate [because of your disobedience], Your cities are burned with fire, Your fields—strangers are devouring them in your very presence; It is desolate, as overthrown by strangers. The Daughter of Zion (Jerusalem) is left like a [deserted] shelter in a vineyard, Like a watchman’s hut in a cucumber field, like a besieged city [isolated, surrounded by devastation]. If the LORD of hosts Had not left us a few survivors, We would be like Sodom, We would be like Gomorrah. [Gen 19:24, 25; Rom 9:29] ¶Hear the word of the LORD [rulers of Jerusalem], You rulers of [another] Sodom, Listen to the law and instruction of our God, You people of [another] Gomorrah. “What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me [without your repentance]?” Says the LORD. “I have had enough of [your] burnt offerings of rams And the fat of well-fed cattle [without your obedience]; And I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls or lambs or goats [offered without repentance]. “When you come to appear before Me, Who requires this of you, this trampling of My [temple] courts [by your sinful feet]? “Do not bring worthless offerings again, [Your] incense is repulsive to Me; [Your] New Moon and Sabbath [observances], the calling of assemblies— I cannot endure wickedness [your sin, your injustice, your wrongdoing] and [the squalor of] the festive assembly. “I hate [the hypocrisy of] your New Moon festivals and your appointed feasts. They have become a burden to Me; I am weary of bearing them. “So when you spread out your hands [in prayer, pleading for My help], I will hide My eyes from you; Yes, even though you offer many prayers, I will not be listening. Your hands are full of blood! ¶“Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Get your evil deeds out of My sight. Stop doing evil, Learn to do good. Seek justice, Rebuke the ruthless, Defend the fatherless, Plead for the [rights of the] widow [in court]. ¶“Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be like wool.