Isaiah 1:18-31

New Living Translation

¹⁸“Come now, let’s settle this,”
    says the Lord.
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
    I will make them as white as snow.
Though they are red like crimson,
    I will make them as white as wool.
¹⁹If you will only obey me,
    you will have plenty to eat.
²⁰But if you turn away and refuse to listen,
    you will be devoured by the sword of your enemies.
    I, the Lord, have spoken!”

Unfaithful Jerusalem

²¹See how Jerusalem, once so faithful,
    has become a prostitute.
Once the home of justice and righteousness,
    she is now filled with murderers.
²²Once like pure silver,
    you have become like worthless slag.
Once so pure,
    you are now like watered-down wine.
²³Your leaders are rebels,
    the companions of thieves.
All of them love bribes
    and demand payoffs,
but they refuse to defend the cause of orphans
    or fight for the rights of widows.

²⁴Therefore, the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies,
    the Mighty One of Israel, says,
“I will take revenge on my enemies
    and pay back my foes!
²⁵I will raise my fist against you.
    I will melt you down and skim off your slag.
    I will remove all your impurities.
²⁶Then I will give you good judges again
    and wise counselors like you used to have.
Then Jerusalem will again be called the Home of Justice
    and the Faithful City.”

²⁷Zion will be restored by justice;
those who repent will be revived by righteousness.
²⁸But rebels and sinners will be completely destroyed,
and those who desert the Lord will be consumed.

²⁹You will be ashamed of your idol worship
    in groves of sacred oaks.
You will blush because you worshiped
    in gardens dedicated to idols.
³⁰You will be like a great tree with withered leaves,
    like a garden without water.
³¹The strongest among you will disappear like straw;
    their evil deeds will be the spark that sets it on fire.
They and their evil works will burn up together,
    and no one will be able to put out the fire.