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.

“Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Get your evil deeds out of My sight. Stop doing evil,

Their partiality testifies against them, They display their sin like Sodom; They do not even hide it. Woe (judgment is coming) to them! For they have brought evil on themselves [as a reward].

Woe (judgment is coming) to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!

Because Aram, along with Ephraim (Israel) and the son of Remaliah, have planned evil against you (Judah), saying,

He will eat curds and honey when he knows enough to refuse evil and choose good.

For before the child will know enough to refuse evil and choose good, the land (Canaan) whose two kings you dread will be deserted [both Ephraim and Aram].

Therefore the Lord does not rejoice over their young men, Nor does He have compassion on their fatherless or their widows; For every one of them is godless and an evildoer, And every mouth is speaking foolishness. In spite of all this, God’s anger does not turn away But His hand is still stretched out [in judgment].

Assyria Is God’s Instrument

Woe (judgment is coming) to those [judges] who issue evil statutes, And to those [magistrates] who constantly record unjust and oppressive decisions,

In this way I will punish the world for its evil And the wicked for their wickedness [their sin, their injustice, their wrongdoing]; I will also put an end to the arrogance of the proud And will abase the arrogance of the tyrant.

“You will not be united with them in burial, Because you have destroyed your land, You have slain your people. May the descendants of evildoers never be named!

For the tyrant will come to an end and the scorner will be finished, Indeed all who are intent on doing evil will be cut off—

Yet He is also wise and will bring disaster, And does not retract His words, But will arise against the house of evildoers And against the helpers of those who do evil.

As for the rogue, his weapons are evil; He conceives wicked plans To ruin the poor with lies, Even when the plea of the needy one is just and right.

He who walks righteously and speaks with integrity, Who rejects gain from fraud and from oppression, Who shakes his hand free from the taking of bribes, Who stops his ears from hearing about bloodshed And shuts his eyes to avoid looking upon evil;

Tell us the things that are to come afterward, That we may know that you are gods; Indeed, you should do something good or do evil, that we may be afraid and fear [you] together [as we observe the miracle].

“Blessed (happy, fortunate) is the man who does this, And the son of man who takes hold of it, Who keeps the Sabbath without profaning it, And keeps his hand from doing any evil.”

Evil Leaders Rebuked

The righteous man perishes [at the hand of evil], and no one takes it to heart; Faithful and devout men are taken away, while no one understands That the righteous person is taken away [to be spared] from disaster and evil.

Their feet run to evil, And they rush to shed innocent blood. Their thoughts are thoughts of wickedness [of sin, of injustice, of wrongdoing]; Devastation and destruction are in their highways.

Yes, truth is missing; And he who turns away from evil makes himself a prey. Now the Lord saw it, And it displeased Him that there was no justice.

Who sit among the graves [trying to conjure up evil spirits] and spend the night in the secret places [where spirits are thought to dwell]; Who eat swine’s flesh, And their pots hold the broth of unclean meat;

I will destine you for the sword, [says the Lord], And all of you will bow down to the slaughter, Because when I called, you did not answer; When I spoke, you did not listen or obey. But you did [what was] evil in My sight And chose that in which I did not delight.”

The wolf and the lamb will graze together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox [there will no longer be predator and prey]; and dust will be the serpent’s food. They will do no evil or harm in all My holy mountain (Zion),” says the Lord.

So I will choose their punishments, And will bring the things they dread upon them Because I called, but no one answered; I spoke, but they did not listen or obey. But they did evil in My sight And chose that in which I did not delight.”