⁴ Doom! Sinful nation, people weighed down with crimes,
    evildoing offspring, corrupt children!
They have abandoned the Lord,
    despised the holy one of Israel;
    they turned their backs on God.

⁵ Why do you invite further beatings?
    Why continue to rebel?
Everyone’s head throbs,
    and everyone’s heart fails.
⁶ From head to toe, none are well—
    only bruises, cuts, and raw wounds,
        not treated, not bandaged,
        not soothed with oil.

⁷ Your country is deserted,
    your cities burned with fire;
    your land—strangers are devouring it in plain sight.
    It’s a wasteland, as when foreigners raid.
⁸ Daughter Zion is left like a small shelter in a vineyard,
    like a hut in a cucumber field,
    like a city besieged.^[a]
9 If the Lord of heavenly forces had not spared a few of us,
    we would be like Sodom; we would resemble Gomorrah.

¹⁸ Come now, and let’s settle this,
    says the Lord.
Though your sins are like scarlet,
    they will be white as snow.
If they are red as crimson,
    they will become like wool.
¹⁹ If you agree and obey,
    you will eat the best food of the land.
²⁰ But if you refuse and rebel,
    you will be devoured by the sword.
The Lord has said this.