The Wickedness of Judah

(A)Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O (B)earth;
    for the Lord has spoken:
“Children[a] (C)have I reared and brought up,
    but they have rebelled against me.
The ox (D)knows its owner,
    and the donkey its master's crib,
but Israel does (E)not know,
    my people do not understand.”

Ah, sinful nation,
    a people laden with iniquity,
(F)offspring of evildoers,
    children who deal corruptly!
They have forsaken the Lord,
    they have (G)despised (H)the Holy One of Israel,
    they are utterly (I)estranged.

Why will you still be (J)struck down?
    Why will you (K)continue to rebel?
The whole head is sick,
    and the whole heart faint.
(L)From the sole of the foot even to the head,
    there is no soundness in it,
but bruises and sores
    and raw wounds;
they are (M)not pressed out or bound up
    or softened with oil.

(N)Your country lies desolate;
    your cities are burned with fire;
in your very presence
    foreigners devour your land;
    it is desolate, as overthrown by foreigners.
And (O)the daughter of Zion is left
    like a (P)booth in a vineyard,
like a lodge in a cucumber field,
    like a besieged city.

(Q)If the Lord of hosts
    had not left us (R)a few survivors,
we should have been like (S)Sodom,
    and become like (T)Gomorrah.

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 1:2 Or Sons; also verse 4

Rebels condemned

Hear you heavens, and listen earth,
        for the Lord has spoken:
I reared children; I raised them,
    and they turned against me!
An ox knows its owner,
    and a donkey its master’s feeding trough.
    But Israel doesn’t know;
        my people don’t behave intelligently.

Doom! Sinful nation, people weighed down with crimes,
    evildoing offspring, corrupt children!
They have abandoned the Lord,
    despised the holy one of Israel;
    they turned their backs on God.

Why do you invite further beatings?
    Why continue to rebel?
Everyone’s head throbs,
    and everyone’s heart fails.
From head to toe, none are well—
    only bruises, cuts, and raw wounds,
        not treated, not bandaged,
        not soothed with oil.

Your country is deserted,
    your cities burned with fire;
    your land—strangers are devouring it in plain sight.
    It’s a wasteland, as when foreigners raid.
Daughter Zion is left like a small shelter in a vineyard,
    like a hut in a cucumber field,
    like a city besieged.[a]
If the Lord of heavenly forces had not spared a few of us,
    we would be like Sodom; we would resemble Gomorrah.

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 1:8 LXX, Vulg; MT spared