66  ^aThus says the Lord:

^b“Heaven is my throne,

and the earth is my footstool;

what is the house that you would build for me,

and what is the place of my rest?

2  ^cAll these things my hand has made,

and so all these things came to be,

declares the Lord.

^dBut this is the one to whom I will look:

he who is humble and contrite in spirit

and trembles at my word.

3  ^e“He who slaughters an ox is like one who kills a man;

he who sacrifices a lamb, like one who breaks a dog’s neck;

he who presents a grain offering, like one who offers ^fpig’s blood;

he who makes a memorial offering of frankincense, like one who blesses an idol.

^gThese have chosen their own ways,

and their soul delights in their abominations;

4  ^hI also will choose harsh treatment for them

and bring ⁱtheir fears upon them,

^jbecause when I called, no one answered,

when I spoke, they did not listen;

^kbut they did what was evil in my eyes

and chose that in which I did not delight.”

5  Hear the word of the Lord,

you who tremble at his word:

“Your brothers who hate you

and cast you out for my name’s sake

have said, ^l‘Let the Lord be glorified,

that we may see your joy’;

but it is they who shall be put to shame.

6  “The sound of an uproar from the city!

A sound from the temple!

The sound of the Lord,

^mrendering recompense to his enemies!

7  ⁿ“Before she was in labor

she gave birth;

before her pain came upon her

she delivered a son.

8  Who has heard such a thing?

Who has seen such things?

Shall a land be born in one day?

Shall a nation be brought forth in one moment?

For ⁿas soon as Zion was in labor

she brought forth her children.

9  Shall I bring to the point of birth and not cause to bring forth?”

says the Lord;

“shall I, who cause to bring forth, shut the womb?”

says your God.

10  ^o“Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad for her,

all you who love her;

rejoice with her in joy,

all you who mourn over her;

11  that you may nurse and be satisfied

from her consoling breast;

that you may drink deeply with delight

from her glorious abundance.”¹

12  For thus says the Lord:

^p“Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river,

and the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream;

and ^qyou shall nurse, you shall be carried upon her hip,

and bounced upon her knees.

13  As one whom his mother comforts,

so ^rI will comfort you;

you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.

14  You shall see, and your heart shall rejoice;

^syour bones shall flourish like the grass;

and ^tthe hand of the Lord shall be known to his servants,

and he shall show his indignation against his enemies.

15  “For behold, ^uthe Lord will come in fire,

and ^vhis chariots like the whirlwind,

to render his anger in fury,

and his rebuke with flames of fire.

16  For ^wby fire ^xwill the Lord enter into judgment,

and by his sword, with all flesh;

and those slain by the Lord shall be many.

22  “For as ^kthe new heavens and the new earth

that I make

shall remain before me, says the Lord,

so ^lshall your offspring and your name remain.

23  ^mFrom new moon to new moon,

and from Sabbath to Sabbath,

all flesh shall come to worship before me,

declares the Lord.

5  ⁱ“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,

and before you were born ^jI consecrated you;

I appointed you a prophet ^kto the nations.”

“Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’;

for to all to whom I send you, you shall go,

and ⁿwhatever I command you, you shall speak.

8  ^oDo not be afraid of them,

^pfor I am with you to deliver you,

declares the Lord.”

“Behold, I have put ^smy words in your mouth.

10  See, I have set you this day ^kover nations and over kingdoms,

^tto pluck up and to break down,

to destroy and to overthrow,

to build and to plant.”

“I remember the devotion of ^kyour youth,

your love ^las a bride,

^mhow you followed me in the wilderness,

ⁿin a land not sown.

3  ^oIsrael was holy to the Lord,

^pthe firstfruits of his harvest.

^qAll who ate of it incurred guilt;

disaster came upon them,

declares the Lord.”

^r“What wrong did your fathers find in me

that they went far from me,

^sand went after ^tworthlessness, and became worthless?

6  They did not say, ^u‘Where is the Lord

who brought us up from the land of Egypt,

who led us ^vin the wilderness,

in a land of deserts and pits,

in a land of drought and deep darkness,

in a land that none passes through,

where no man dwells?’

7  ^wAnd I brought you into a plentiful land

to enjoy its fruits and its good things.

But when you came in, ^xyou defiled my land

and made my heritage an abomination.

8  The priests did not say, ‘Where is the Lord?’

^yThose who handle the law did not know me;

^zthe shepherds¹ transgressed against me;

^athe prophets prophesied by Baal

and went after ^bthings that do not profit.

9  “Therefore ^cI still contend with you,

declares the Lord,

and ^dwith your children’s children I will contend.

10  For cross to the coasts of ^eCyprus and see,

or send to ^fKedar and examine with care;

see if there has been such a thing.

11  ^gHas a nation changed its gods,

^heven though they are no gods?

But my people ⁱhave changed their glory

for ^bthat which does not profit.

12  Be appalled, ^jO heavens, at this;

be shocked, be utterly desolate,

declares the Lord,

13  for my people have committed two evils:

^kthey have forsaken ^lme,

the fountain of ^mliving waters,

and hewed out cisterns for themselves,

broken cisterns that can hold no water.

14  ⁿ“Is Israel a slave? Is he a homeborn servant?

Why then has he become a prey?

15  ^oThe lions have roared against him;

they have roared loudly.

They have made his land a waste;

his cities are in ruins, ^pwithout inhabitant.

16  Moreover, the men of ^qMemphis and ^rTahpanhes

^shave shaved² the crown of your head.

17  ^tHave you not brought this upon yourself

by forsaking the Lord your God,

when ^uhe led you in the way?

18  ^vAnd now what do you gain by going to Egypt

to drink the waters of ^wthe Nile?

^xOr what do you gain by going to Assyria

to drink the waters of ^ythe Euphrates?³

19  ^zYour evil will chastise you,

and ^ayour apostasy will reprove you.

Know and see that it is evil and ^bbitter

for ^cyou to forsake the Lord your God;

the fear of me is not in you,

declares the Lord God of hosts.

20  “For long ago I ^dbroke your yoke

and burst your bonds;

but you said, ^e‘I will not serve.’

Yes, ^fon every high hill

and under every green tree

you bowed down ^glike a whore.

21  ^hYet I planted you a choice vine,

wholly of pure seed.

ⁱHow then have you turned degenerate

and become a wild vine?

22  Though you wash yourself with lye

and use much soap,

^jthe stain of your guilt is still before me,

declares the Lord God.

23  ^kHow can you say, ‘I am not unclean,

I have not gone after the Baals’?

Look at your way ^lin the valley;

know what you have done—

a restless young camel running here and there,

24  ^ma wild donkey used to the wilderness,

in her heat sniffing the wind!

Who can restrain her lust?

None who seek her need weary themselves;

in her month they will find her.

25  Keep ⁿyour feet from going unshod

and ^oyour throat from thirst.

But you said, ‘It is hopeless,

^pfor I have loved foreigners,

and after them I will go.’

26  “As a thief is shamed when caught,

so the house of Israel shall be shamed:

^qthey, their kings, their officials,

their priests, and their prophets,

27  who say to a tree, ‘You are my father,’

and to a stone, ‘You gave me birth.’

For they have turned their back to me,

and not their face.

But ^rin the time of their trouble they say,

‘Arise and save us!’

28  But ^swhere are your gods

that you made for yourself?

Let them arise, ^tif they can save you,

in your time of trouble;

for ^uas many as your cities

are your gods, O Judah.

29  “Why do you contend with me?

You have all transgressed against me,

declares the Lord.

30  In vain have I ^vstruck your children;

they took no correction;

^wyour own sword devoured your prophets

like a ravening lion.

31  And you, O generation, behold the word of the Lord.

Have I been a wilderness to Israel,

or a land of thick darkness?

Why then do my people say, ‘We are free,

we will come no more to you’?

32  ^xCan a virgin forget her ornaments,

or a bride her attire?

Yet ^ymy people have forgotten me

days without number.

33  “How well you direct your course

to seek love!

So that even to wicked women

you have taught your ways.

34  Also on your skirts is found

^zthe lifeblood of the guiltless poor;

you did not find them ^abreaking in.

Yet in spite of all these things

35  you say, ‘I am innocent;

surely his anger has turned from me.’

^bBehold, I will bring you to judgment

for ^csaying, ‘I have not sinned.’

36  ^dHow much you go about,

changing your way!

You shall be ^eput to shame by Egypt

as you were put to shame by Assyria.

37  From it too you will come away

with ^fyour hands on your head,

for the Lord has rejected those in whom you trust,

and you will not prosper by them.

3  ^g“If¹ a man divorces his wife

and she goes from him

and becomes another man’s wife,

will he return to her?

^hWould not that land be greatly polluted?

ⁱYou have played the whore with many lovers;

and would you return to me?

declares the Lord.

2  Lift up your eyes to ^jthe bare heights, and see!

Where have you not been ravished?

^kBy the waysides you have sat awaiting lovers

like an Arab in the wilderness.

^hYou have polluted the land

with your vile whoredom.

3  ^lTherefore the showers have been withheld,

and the spring rain has not come;

yet you have ^mthe forehead of a whore;

you refuse to be ashamed.

4  Have you not just now ⁿcalled to me,

‘My father, you are the friend of my youth—

5  ^owill he be angry forever,

will he be indignant to the end?’

Behold, you have spoken,

but you have done all the evil that you could.”

^z“‘Return, faithless Israel,

declares the Lord.

I will not look on you in anger,

for ^aI am merciful,

declares the Lord;

^bI will not be angry forever.

13  ^cOnly acknowledge your guilt,

that you rebelled against the Lord your God

and scattered your favors among foreigners under ^devery green tree,

and that you have not obeyed my voice,

declares the Lord.

14  ^eReturn, O faithless children,

declares the Lord;

^ffor I am your master;

I will take you, one from a city and two from a family,

and I will bring you to Zion.

19  “‘I said,

How I would set you among my sons,

and give you a pleasant land,

a heritage most beautiful of all nations.

And I thought you would ⁿcall me, My Father,

and would not turn from following me.

20  ^oSurely, as a treacherous wife leaves her husband,

so have you been treacherous to me, O house of Israel,

declares the Lord.’”

21  A voice on the ^pbare heights is heard,

^qthe weeping and pleading of Israel’s sons

because they have perverted their way;

they have forgotten the Lord their God.

22  ^r“Return, O faithless sons;

^sI will heal your faithlessness.”

“Behold, we come to you,

for you are the Lord our God.

23  Truly ^tthe hills are a delusion,

the orgies² on the mountains.

^uTruly in the Lord our God

is the salvation of Israel.

4  “If you return, O Israel,

declares the Lord,

^xto me you should return.

If you remove your detestable things from my presence,

^yand do not waver,

2  ^zand if you swear, ‘As the Lord lives,’

in truth, in justice, and in righteousness,

then ^anations shall bless themselves in him,

^band in him shall they glory.”