15 When you spread out your hands(A) in prayer,
    I hide(B) my eyes from you;
even when you offer many prayers,
    I am not listening.(C)

Your hands(D) are full of blood!(E)

16 Wash(F) and make yourselves clean.
    Take your evil deeds out of my sight;(G)
    stop doing wrong.(H)
17 Learn to do right;(I) seek justice.(J)
    Defend the oppressed.[a](K)
Take up the cause of the fatherless;(L)
    plead the case of the widow.(M)

18 “Come now, let us settle the matter,”(N)
    says the Lord.
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
    they shall be as white as snow;(O)
though they are red as crimson,
    they shall be like wool.(P)
19 If you are willing and obedient,(Q)
    you will eat the good things of the land;(R)
20 but if you resist and rebel,(S)
    you will be devoured by the sword.”(T)
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.(U)

21 See how the faithful city
    has become a prostitute!(V)
She once was full of justice;
    righteousness(W) used to dwell in her—
    but now murderers!(X)
22 Your silver has become dross,(Y)
    your choice wine is diluted with water.
23 Your rulers are rebels,(Z)
    partners with thieves;(AA)
they all love bribes(AB)
    and chase after gifts.
They do not defend the cause of the fatherless;
    the widow’s case does not come before them.(AC)

24 Therefore the Lord, the Lord Almighty,
    the Mighty One(AD) of Israel, declares:
“Ah! I will vent my wrath on my foes
    and avenge(AE) myself on my enemies.(AF)
25 I will turn my hand against you;[b](AG)
    I will thoroughly purge(AH) away your dross(AI)
    and remove all your impurities.(AJ)
26 I will restore your leaders as in days of old,(AK)
    your rulers as at the beginning.
Afterward you will be called(AL)
    the City of Righteousness,(AM)
    the Faithful City.(AN)

27 Zion will be delivered with justice,
    her penitent(AO) ones with righteousness.(AP)
28 But rebels and sinners(AQ) will both be broken,
    and those who forsake(AR) the Lord will perish.(AS)

29 “You will be ashamed(AT) because of the sacred oaks(AU)
    in which you have delighted;
you will be disgraced because of the gardens(AV)
    that you have chosen.
30 You will be like an oak with fading leaves,(AW)
    like a garden without water.
31 The mighty man will become tinder
    and his work a spark;
both will burn together,
    with no one to quench the fire.(AX)

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 1:17 Or justice. / Correct the oppressor
  2. Isaiah 1:25 That is, against Jerusalem

15 And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood.

16 Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil;

17 Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.

18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

19 If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land:

20 But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.

21 How is the faithful city become an harlot! it was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but now murderers.

22 Thy silver is become dross, thy wine mixed with water:

23 Thy princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves: every one loveth gifts, and followeth after rewards: they judge not the fatherless, neither doth the cause of the widow come unto them.

24 Therefore saith the Lord, the Lord of hosts, the mighty One of Israel, Ah, I will ease me of mine adversaries, and avenge me of mine enemies:

25 And I will turn my hand upon thee, and purely purge away thy dross, and take away all thy tin:

26 And I will restore thy judges as at the first, and thy counsellors as at the beginning: afterward thou shalt be called, The city of righteousness, the faithful city.

27 Zion shall be redeemed with judgment, and her converts with righteousness.

28 And the destruction of the transgressors and of the sinners shall be together, and they that forsake the Lord shall be consumed.

29 For they shall be ashamed of the oaks which ye have desired, and ye shall be confounded for the gardens that ye have chosen.

30 For ye shall be as an oak whose leaf fadeth, and as a garden that hath no water.

31 And the strong shall be as tow, and the maker of it as a spark, and they shall both burn together, and none shall quench them.

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