Judah on Trial

Listen, heavens, and pay attention, earth,(A)
for the Lord has spoken:
“I have raised children[a] and brought them up,
but they have rebelled against me.(B)
The ox knows its owner,
and the donkey its master’s feeding trough,
but Israel does not know;
my people do not understand.”(C)

Oh sinful nation,
people weighed down with iniquity,(D)
brood of evildoers,(E)
depraved children!
They have abandoned(F) the Lord;
they have despised(G) the Holy One of Israel;(H)
they have turned their backs on him.

Why do you want more beatings?
Why do you keep on rebelling?
The whole head is hurt,
and the whole heart is sick.
From the sole of the foot even to the head,(I)
no spot is uninjured(J)
wounds, welts, and festering sores
not cleansed, bandaged,
or soothed with oil.

Your land is desolate,
your cities burned down;(K)
foreigners devour your fields
right in front of you—
a desolation, like a place demolished by foreigners.
Daughter Zion(L) is abandoned
like a shelter in a vineyard,
like a shack in a cucumber field,
like a besieged city.
If the Lord of Armies(M)
had not left us a few survivors,(N)
we would be like Sodom,
we would resemble Gomorrah.(O)

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Footnotes

  1. 1:2 Or sons, also in v. 4

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