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The Wickedness of Judah

Hear, O heavens, and listen, O earth,
    for the Lord has spoken:
I reared children and brought them up,
    but they have rebelled against me.(A)
The ox knows its owner
    and the donkey its master’s crib,
but Israel does not know;
    my people do not understand.(B)

Woe, sinful nation,
    people laden with iniquity,
offspring who do evil,
    children who act corruptly,
who have forsaken the Lord,
    who have despised the Holy One of Israel,
    [[who are utterly estranged!]][a](C)

Why do you seek further beatings?
    Why do you continue to rebel?
The whole head is injured,
    and the whole heart faint.(D)
From the sole of the foot to the head,
    there is no soundness in it,
only bruises and sores
    and bleeding wounds;
they have not been drained or bound up
    or softened with oil.(E)

Your country lies desolate;
    your cities are burned with fire;
in your very presence
    aliens devour your land;
    it is desolate, as overthrown by foreigners.(F)
And daughter Zion is left
    like a booth in a vineyard,
like a shelter in a cucumber field,
    like a besieged city.
If the Lord of hosts
    had not left us a few survivors,
we would have been like Sodom
    and become like Gomorrah.(G)

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Footnotes

  1. 1.4 Gk OL lack: Heb adds who are utterly estranged

A Message for Rebellious Judah

Listen, O heavens! Pay attention, earth!
    This is what the Lord says:
“The children I raised and cared for
    have rebelled against me.
Even an ox knows its owner,
    and a donkey recognizes its master’s care—
but Israel doesn’t know its master.
    My people don’t recognize my care for them.”
Oh, what a sinful nation they are—
    loaded down with a burden of guilt.
They are evil people,
    corrupt children who have rejected the Lord.
They have despised the Holy One of Israel
    and turned their backs on him.

Why do you continue to invite punishment?
    Must you rebel forever?
Your head is injured,
    and your heart is sick.
You are battered from head to foot—
    covered with bruises, welts, and infected wounds—
    without any soothing ointments or bandages.
Your country lies in ruins,
    and your towns are burned.
Foreigners plunder your fields before your eyes
    and destroy everything they see.
Beautiful Jerusalem[a] stands abandoned
    like a watchman’s shelter in a vineyard,
like a lean-to in a cucumber field after the harvest,
    like a helpless city under siege.
If the Lord of Heaven’s Armies
    had not spared a few of us,[b]
we would have been wiped out like Sodom,
    destroyed like Gomorrah.

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Footnotes

  1. 1:8 Hebrew The daughter of Zion.
  2. 1:9 Greek version reads a few of our children. Compare Rom 9:29.