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(A)Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O (B)earth;
For [a]Yahweh speaks,
(C)Sons I have reared and raised up,
But they have (D)transgressed against Me.
An ox knows its owner,
And a donkey its master’s manger,
But Israel (E)does not know;
My people (F)do not perceive.”

Alas, sinful nation,
People heavy with iniquity,
(G)Seed of evildoers,
Sons who (H)act corruptly!
They have (I)forsaken Yahweh;
They have (J)spurned the Holy One of Israel;
They have [b]become estranged [c]from Him.

Where will you be stricken again,
As you (K)continue in your rebellion?
The whole head is (L)sick,
And the whole heart is faint.
(M)From the sole of the foot even to the head
There is (N)nothing sound in it,
Only bruises, wounds, and raw wounds,
(O)Not pressed out, not bandaged,
Not softened with oil.

Your (P)land is desolate;
Your cities are burned with fire;
Your fields—strangers are devouring them in your presence;
It is desolate, as overthrown by strangers.
The daughter of Zion is left like a shelter in a vineyard,
Like a watchman’s hut in a cucumber field, like a besieged city.
(Q)Unless Yahweh of hosts
Had left us a few (R)survivors,
We would be like (S)Sodom,
We would be like Gomorrah.

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 1:2 The personal covenant name of God, a form of I AM WHO I AM, cf. Ex 3:14-15
  2. Isaiah 1:4 Or turned away
  3. Isaiah 1:4 Lit backward

Warning to a Sinful Nation

Hear this, O heavens,
and listen, O earth, for the Lord has spoken.
    I have raised children and brought them up,
    but they have rebelled against me.
    The ox knows its owner,
    and the donkey knows its owner’s manger,
    but Israel does not know.
    My people do not understand.

How terrible it will be for that sinful nation,
for a people loaded with guilt,
offspring[a] who act wickedly,
children who are corrupt!
They have forsaken the Lord.
They have despised the Holy One of Israel.
They have deserted him and turned back.

Why do you keep earning more beatings?
Why do you continue to rebel?
Your whole head is wounded.
Your whole heart is weak.
From the sole of your foot to the top of your head
    there is nothing healthy,
    but only wounds, welts, and open sores.
Your wounds have not been cleaned or bandaged
    or soothed with olive oil.
Your country is desolate.
Your cities are burned with fire.
Foreigners devour your farmland right in front of your eyes,
and it is desolate, overthrown by foreigners.
The daughter of Zion[b] is left
    like a shelter in a vineyard,
    like a hut in a melon[c] field,
    like a besieged city.
Unless the Lord of Armies[d] had left us a small surviving remnant,
we would have been like Sodom;
we would have become just like Gomorrah.

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 1:4 Literally seed
  2. Isaiah 1:8 Daughter of Zion is a personification of Jerusalem and the people of Judah.
  3. Isaiah 1:8 Or cucumber
  4. Isaiah 1:9 Traditionally Lord of Hosts or Lord Sebaoth. The armies that God rules are the stars and the angels.