2  ^gHear, O heavens, and give ear, O ^hearth;

for the Lord has spoken:

“Children^{1 i}have I reared and brought up,

but they have rebelled against me.

3  The ox ^jknows its owner,

and the donkey its master’s crib,

but Israel does ^jnot know,

my people do not understand.”

4  Ah, sinful nation,

a people laden with iniquity,

^koffspring of evildoers,

children who deal corruptly!

They have forsaken the Lord,

they have ^ldespised ^mthe Holy One of Israel,

they are utterly ⁿestranged.

5  Why will you still be ^ostruck down?

Why will you ^pcontinue to rebel?

The whole head is sick,

and the whole heart faint.

6  ^qFrom the sole of the foot even to the head,

there is no soundness in it,

but bruises and sores

and raw wounds;

they are ^rnot pressed out or bound up

or softened with oil.

7  ^sYour country lies desolate;

your cities are burned with fire;

in your very presence

foreigners devour your land;

it is desolate, as overthrown by foreigners.

8  And ^tthe daughter of Zion is left

like a ^ubooth in a vineyard,

like a lodge in a cucumber field,

like a besieged city.

9  ^vIf the Lord of hosts

had not left us ^wa few survivors,

we should have been like ^xSodom,

and become like ^xGomorrah.

10  Hear the word of the Lord,

you rulers of ^yzSodom!

Give ear to the teaching² of our God,

you people of ^zGomorrah!

11  ^a“What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices?

says the Lord;

I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams

and the fat of well-fed beasts;

I do not delight in the blood of bulls,

or of lambs, or of goats.

12  “When you come to ^bappear before me,

who has required of you

this trampling of my courts?

13  Bring no more vain offerings;

incense is an abomination to me.

^cNew moon and Sabbath and the ^dcalling of convocations—

I cannot endure ^einiquity and ^fsolemn assembly.

14  Your ^cnew moons and your appointed feasts

my soul hates;

they have become a burden to me;

I am weary of bearing them.

15  When you ^gspread out your hands,

I will hide my eyes from you;

^heven though you make many prayers,

I will not listen;

ⁱyour hands are full of blood.

16  ^jWash yourselves; make yourselves clean;

remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes;

^kcease to do evil,

17  learn to do good;

^lseek justice,

correct oppression;

^mbring justice to the fatherless,

plead the widow’s cause.

18  “Come now, ⁿlet us reason³ together, says the Lord:

though your sins are like scarlet,

they shall be as ^owhite as snow;

though they are red like crimson,

they shall become like wool.

19  ^pIf you are willing and obedient,

you shall eat the good of the land;

20  but if you refuse and rebel,

you shall be eaten by the sword;

^qfor the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

21  How the faithful city

^rhas become a whore,⁴

^sshe who was full of justice!

Righteousness lodged in her,

but now murderers.

22  ^tYour silver has become dross,

your best wine mixed with water.

23  Your princes are rebels

and companions of thieves.

Everyone ^uloves a bribe

and runs after gifts.

^vThey do not bring justice to the fatherless,

and the widow’s cause does not come to them.

24  Therefore the ^wLord declares,

the Lord of hosts,

the ^xMighty One of Israel:

“Ah, I will get relief from my enemies

^yand avenge myself on my foes.

25  ^zI will turn my hand against you

and will smelt away your ^adross as with lye

and remove all your alloy.

26  And I will restore your judges ^bas at the first,

and your counselors as at the beginning.

Afterward ^cyou shall be called the city of righteousness,

the faithful city.”

27  ^dZion shall be redeemed by justice,

and those in her who repent, by righteousness.

28  ^eBut rebels and sinners shall be broken together,

and those who forsake the Lord shall be consumed.

29  ^fFor they⁵ shall be ashamed of ^gthe oaks

that you desired;

and you shall blush for ^hthe gardens

that you have chosen.

30  For you shall be ⁱlike an oak

whose leaf withers,

and like a garden without water.

31  And the strong shall become ^jtinder,

and his work a spark,

and both of them shall burn together,

with ^knone to quench them.

1  “Cry aloud; do not hold back;

^clift up your voice like a trumpet;

^ddeclare to my people their transgression,

to the house of Jacob their sins.

2  ^eYet they seek me daily

and delight to know my ways,

as if they were a nation that did righteousness

and did not forsake the judgment of their God;

they ask of me righteous judgments;

they delight to draw near to God.

3  ^f‘Why have we fasted, and you see it not?

Why have we humbled ourselves, and you take no knowledge of it?’

Behold, in the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure,¹

^gand oppress all your workers.

4  Behold, you fast only to quarrel and to fight

and to hit with a wicked fist.

Fasting like yours this day

will not make your voice to be heard on high.

5  ^hIs such the fast that I choose,

ⁱa day for a person to humble himself?

Is it to bow down his head like a reed,

and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him?

Will you call this a fast,

and a day acceptable to the Lord?

6  “Is not this the fast that I choose:

^jto loose the bonds of wickedness,

to undo the straps ^kof the yoke,

to let the oppressed² go free,

and to break every yoke?

7  Is it not ^lto share your bread with the hungry

and bring the homeless poor into your house;

when you see the naked, to cover him,

^mand not to hide yourself from your own flesh?

8  ⁿThen shall your light break forth like the dawn,

^oand your healing shall spring up speedily;

^pyour righteousness shall go before you;

^qthe glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.

9  Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;

you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’

If you take away ^rthe yoke from your midst,

^sthe pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,

10  ^tif you pour yourself out for the hungry

and satisfy the desire of the afflicted,

ⁿthen shall your light rise in the darkness

and your gloom be as the noonday.

11  And the Lord will guide you continually

and satisfy your desire in scorched places

and make your bones strong;

and you shall be ^ulike a watered garden,

like a spring of water,

whose waters do not fail.

12  ^vAnd your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt;

you shall raise up the foundations of many generations;

you shall be called the repairer of the breach,

the restorer of streets to dwell in.

13  ^w“If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath,

from doing your pleasure³ on my holy day,

and call the Sabbath a delight

and the holy day of the Lord honorable;

if you honor it, not going your own ways,

or seeking ^xyour own pleasure,⁴ or talking idly;⁵

14  then you shall take delight in the Lord,

^yand I will make you ride on the heights of the earth;⁶

^zI will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father,

^afor the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”