⁴ Woe to the sinful nation,
    a people whose guilt is great,^(P)
a brood of evildoers,^(Q)
    children given to corruption!^(R)
They have forsaken^(S) the Lord;
    they have spurned the Holy One^(T) of Israel
    and turned their backs^(U) on him.

⁵ Why should you be beaten^(V) anymore?
    Why do you persist^(W) in rebellion?^(X)
Your whole head is injured,
    your whole heart^(Y) afflicted.^(Z)
6 From the sole of your foot to the top of your head^(AA)
    there is no soundness^(AB)—
only wounds and welts^(AC)
    and open sores,
not cleansed or bandaged^(AD)
    or soothed with olive oil.^(AE)

⁷ Your country is desolate,^(AF)
    your cities burned with fire;^(AG)
your fields are being stripped by foreigners^(AH)
    right before you,
    laid waste as when overthrown by strangers.^(AI)
8 Daughter Zion^(AJ) is left^(AK)
    like a shelter in a vineyard,
like a hut^(AL) in a cucumber field,
    like a city under siege.
⁹ Unless the Lord Almighty
    had left us some survivors,^(AM)
we would have become like Sodom,
    we would have been like Gomorrah.^(AN)

¹⁰ Hear the word of the Lord,^(AO)
    you rulers of Sodom;^(AP)
listen to the instruction^(AQ) of our God,
    you people of Gomorrah!^(AR)
11 “The multitude of your sacrifices—
    what are they to me?” says the Lord.
“I have more than enough of burnt offerings,
    of rams and the fat of fattened animals;^(AS)
I have no pleasure^(AT)
    in the blood of bulls^(AU) and lambs and goats.^(AV)
12 When you come to appear before me,
    who has asked this of you,^(AW)
    this trampling of my courts?
¹³ Stop bringing meaningless offerings!^(AX)
    Your incense^(AY) is detestable^(AZ) to me.
New Moons,^(BA) Sabbaths and convocations^(BB)—
    I cannot bear your worthless assemblies.
¹⁴ Your New Moon^(BC) feasts and your appointed festivals^(BD)
    I hate with all my being.^(BE)
They have become a burden to me;^(BF)
    I am weary^(BG) of bearing them.
¹⁵ When you spread out your hands^(BH) in prayer,
    I hide^(BI) my eyes from you;
even when you offer many prayers,
    I am not listening.^(BJ)

Your hands^(BK) are full of blood!^(BL)

¹⁶ Wash^(BM) and make yourselves clean.
    Take your evil deeds out of my sight;^(BN)
    stop doing wrong.^(BO)
17 Learn to do right;^(BP) seek justice.^(BQ)
    Defend the oppressed.^[a](BR)
Take up the cause of the fatherless;^(BS)
    plead the case of the widow.^(BT)

¹⁸ “Come now, let us settle the matter,”^(BU)
    says the Lord.
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
    they shall be as white as snow;^(BV)
though they are red as crimson,
    they shall be like wool.^(BW)
19 If you are willing and obedient,^(BX)
    you will eat the good things of the land;^(BY)
20 but if you resist and rebel,^(BZ)
    you will be devoured by the sword.”^(CA)
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.^(CB)

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

²⁴ Therefore the Lord, the Lord Almighty,
    the Mighty One^(CK) of Israel, declares:
“Ah! I will vent my wrath on my foes
    and avenge^(CL) myself on my enemies.^(CM)
25 I will turn my hand against you;^[b](CN)
    I will thoroughly purge^(CO) away your dross^(CP)
    and remove all your impurities.^(CQ)
26 I will restore your leaders as in days of old,^(CR)
    your rulers as at the beginning.
Afterward you will be called^(CS)
    the City of Righteousness,^(CT)
    the Faithful City.^(CU)”

²⁷ Zion will be delivered with justice,
    her penitent^(CV) ones with righteousness.^(CW)
28 But rebels and sinners^(CX) will both be broken,
    and those who forsake^(CY) the Lord will perish.^(CZ)

²⁹ “You will be ashamed^(DA) because of the sacred oaks^(DB)
    in which you have delighted;
you will be disgraced because of the gardens^(DC)
    that you have chosen.
³⁰ You will be like an oak with fading leaves,^(DD)
    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.^(DE)”

the mountain^(DI) of the Lord’s temple will be established
    as the highest of the mountains;^(DJ)
it will be exalted^(DK) above the hills,
    and all nations will stream to it.^(DL)

“Come, let us go^(DN) up to the mountain^(DO) of the Lord,
    to the temple of the God of Jacob.
He will teach us his ways,
    so that we may walk in his paths.”
The law^(DP) will go out from Zion,
    the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.^(DQ)
4 He will judge^(DR) between the nations
    and will settle disputes^(DS) for many peoples.
They will beat their swords into plowshares
    and their spears into pruning hooks.^(DT)
Nation will not take up sword against nation,^(DU)
    nor will they train for war anymore.

⁵ Come, descendants of Jacob,^(DV)
    let us walk in the light^(DW) of the Lord.

¹⁰ Go into the rocks, hide^(EO) in the ground
    from the fearful presence of the Lord
    and the splendor of his majesty!^(EP)
11 The eyes of the arrogant^(EQ) will be humbled^(ER)
    and human pride^(ES) brought low;^(ET)
the Lord alone will be exalted^(EU) in that day.^(EV)

¹² The Lord Almighty has a day^(EW) in store
    for all the proud^(EX) and lofty,^(EY)
for all that is exalted^(EZ)
    (and they will be humbled),^(FA)
13 for all the cedars of Lebanon,^(FB) tall and lofty,^(FC)
    and all the oaks of Bashan,^(FD)
14 for all the towering mountains
    and all the high hills,^(FE)
15 for every lofty tower^(FF)
    and every fortified wall,^(FG)
16 for every trading ship^[d](FH)
    and every stately vessel.
¹⁷ The arrogance of man will be brought low^(FI)
    and human pride humbled;^(FJ)
the Lord alone will be exalted in that day,^(FK)
18     and the idols^(FL) will totally disappear.^(FM)

¹⁹ People will flee to caves^(FN) in the rocks
    and to holes in the ground^(FO)
from the fearful presence^(FP) of the Lord
    and the splendor of his majesty,^(FQ)
    when he rises to shake the earth.^(FR)
20 In that day^(FS) people will throw away
    to the moles and bats^(FT)
their idols of silver and idols of gold,^(FU)
    which they made to worship.^(FV)
21 They will flee to caverns in the rocks^(FW)
    and to the overhanging crags
from the fearful presence of the Lord
    and the splendor of his majesty,^(FX)
    when he rises^(FY) to shake the earth.^(FZ)

²² Stop trusting in mere humans,^(GA)
    who have but a breath^(GB) in their nostrils.
    Why hold them in esteem?^(GC)

“Holy, holy^(I), holy is the Lord Almighty;^(J)
    the whole earth^(K) is full of his glory.”^(L)

“Until the cities lie ruined^(AI)
    and without inhabitant,
until the houses are left deserted^(AJ)
    and the fields ruined and ravaged,^(AK)
12 until the Lord has sent everyone far away^(AL)
    and the land is utterly forsaken.^(AM)
13 And though a tenth remains^(AN) in the land,
    it will again be laid waste.^(AO)
But as the terebinth and oak
    leave stumps^(AP) when they are cut down,
    so the holy^(AQ) seed will be the stump in the land.”^(AR)

⁹ “Therefore I will take away my grain^(AT) when it ripens,
    and my new wine^(AU) when it is ready.
I will take back my wool and my linen,
    intended to cover her naked body.
¹⁰ So now I will expose^(AV) her lewdness
    before the eyes of her lovers;^(AW)
    no one will take her out of my hands.^(AX)
11 I will stop^(AY) all her celebrations:^(AZ)
    her yearly festivals, her New Moons,
    her Sabbath days—all her appointed festivals.^(BA)
12 I will ruin her vines^(BB) and her fig trees,^(BC)
    which she said were her pay from her lovers;^(BD)
I will make them a thicket,^(BE)
    and wild animals will devour them.^(BF)
13 I will punish her for the days
    she burned incense^(BG) to the Baals;^(BH)
she decked herself with rings and jewelry,^(BI)
    and went after her lovers,^(BJ)
    but me she forgot,^(BK)”
declares the Lord.^(BL)

¹⁴ “Therefore I am now going to allure her;
    I will lead her into the wilderness^(BM)
    and speak tenderly to her.
¹⁵ There I will give her back her vineyards,
    and will make the Valley of Achor^[e](BN) a door of hope.
There she will respond^[f](BO) as in the days of her youth,^(BP)
    as in the day she came up out of Egypt.^(BQ)

¹⁶ “In that day,” declares the Lord,
    “you will call me ‘my husband’;^(BR)
    you will no longer call me ‘my master.^[g]’
¹⁷ I will remove the names of the Baals from her lips;^(BS)
    no longer will their names be invoked.^(BT)
18 In that day I will make a covenant for them
    with the beasts of the field, the birds in the sky
    and the creatures that move along the ground.^(BU)
Bow and sword and battle
    I will abolish^(BV) from the land,
    so that all may lie down in safety.^(BW)
19 I will betroth^(BX) you to me forever;
    I will betroth you in^[h] righteousness and justice,^(BY)
    in^[i] love and compassion.^(BZ)
20 I will betroth you in^[j] faithfulness,
    and you will acknowledge^(CA) the Lord.^(CB)

²¹ “In that day I will respond,”
    declares the Lord—
“I will respond^(CC) to the skies,
    and they will respond to the earth;
²² and the earth will respond to the grain,
    the new wine and the olive oil,^(CD)
    and they will respond to Jezreel.^[k](CE)
23 I will plant^(CF) her for myself in the land;
    I will show my love to the one I called ‘Not my loved one.^[l](CG)’
I will say to those called ‘Not my people,^[m]’ ‘You are my people’;^(CH)
    and they will say, ‘You are my God.^(CI)’”

⁴ “But let no one bring a charge,
    let no one accuse another,
for your people are like those
    who bring charges against a priest.^(DH)
5 You stumble^(DI) day and night,
    and the prophets stumble with you.
So I will destroy your mother^(DJ)—
⁶     my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge.^(DK)

“Because you have rejected knowledge,
    I also reject you as my priests;
because you have ignored the law^(DL) of your God,
    I also will ignore your children.
⁷ The more priests there were,
    the more they sinned against me;
    they exchanged their glorious God^[q](DM) for something disgraceful.^(DN)
8 They feed on the sins of my people
    and relish their wickedness.^(DO)
9 And it will be: Like people, like priests.^(DP)
    I will punish both of them for their ways
    and repay them for their deeds.^(DQ)

¹⁰ “They will eat but not have enough;^(DR)
    they will engage in prostitution^(DS) but not flourish,
because they have deserted^(DT) the Lord
    to give themselves ¹¹ to prostitution;^(DU)
old wine^(DV) and new wine
    take away their understanding.^(DW)
12 My people consult a wooden idol,^(DX)
    and a diviner’s rod speaks to them.^(DY)
A spirit of prostitution^(DZ) leads them astray;^(EA)
    they are unfaithful^(EB) to their God.
¹³ They sacrifice on the mountaintops
    and burn offerings on the hills,
under oak,^(EC) poplar and terebinth,
    where the shade is pleasant.^(ED)
Therefore your daughters turn to prostitution^(EE)
    and your daughters-in-law to adultery.^(EF)

¹⁴ “I will not punish your daughters
    when they turn to prostitution,
nor your daughters-in-law
    when they commit adultery,
because the men themselves consort with harlots^(EG)
    and sacrifice with shrine prostitutes^(EH)—
    a people without understanding^(EI) will come to ruin!^(EJ)

¹⁵ “Though you, Israel, commit adultery,
    do not let Judah become guilty.

“Do not go to Gilgal;^(EK)
    do not go up to Beth Aven.^[r](EL)
    And do not swear, ‘As surely as the Lord lives!’^(EM)
16 The Israelites are stubborn,^(EN)
    like a stubborn heifer.^(EO)
How then can the Lord pasture them
    like lambs^(EP) in a meadow?
¹⁷ Ephraim is joined to idols;
    leave him alone!
¹⁸ Even when their drinks are gone,
    they continue their prostitution;
    their rulers dearly love shameful ways.
¹⁹ A whirlwind^(EQ) will sweep them away,
    and their sacrifices will bring them shame.^(ER)