Isaiah 1

‘Heaven and earth,

you must listen to what I say.

I have raised my children

and shown them how to live,

but they don't want to listen to Me.

₃A cow knows to whom she belongs

and a donkey knows

where his owner gives him food,

but the Israelites don't want to be near Me.

My people do not want to belong to Me.’

₄Israelites, you will suffer.

All of you are sinners, and you have done wrong.

You have done a lot of bad things.

You have ruined everything.

You do not want to do what the Lord tells you.

You have turned away

from the holy God of Israel.

₅Do you want Me to punish you more?

You disobey Me and you don't stop.

It is like when you

have beaten someone a lot,

and his head is wounded and his body is very weak.

₆From his head to his toes,

his whole body is full of wounds

where he has been beaten.

No one has cleaned his sores

or put olive oil on them or covered them.

₇That is how the enemies

have destroyed your land

and burnt your towns and cities.

People from other lands eat your food.

They have destroyed everything

and you can only stand and look at them.

₈Only Jerusalem is left over

and the enemies have besieged the city.

The city is like a shelter in a vineyard,

like a small house made of branches

in a vegetable garden.

₉You say: ‘The Lord who rules over all

did not cause all of us to die.

He has left some of us to live.

If He had not done that,

then the enemies would

have destroyed all of us

and then we would have been

like Sodom and Gomorrah.’

‘Why do you bring Me so many offerings?

I am tired of the rams

and the fat cattle that you sacrifice.

I do not like the blood

of the bulls and lambs and goats.

₁₂I did not tell you to come to my temple

to trample and break it down

when you bring your offerings.

₁₃The gifts that you bring to Me

are worthless, and your incense

does not smell good to Me.

You must stop sacrificing it to Me.

You celebrate feasts on

the new moon day and the Sabbath day,

and you come together at the temple.

You celebrate holy feasts

but then you do bad things.

I do not like that.

₁₄I hate your New-moon-feasts

and your other feasts.

They are like something heavy

that I have to carry

and I am tired of carrying it.

₁₅I will not listen when you pray

and put out your hands to Me.

Even if you pray again and again,

I will not listen, because you are murderers.

₁₆You must wash and purify yourselves.

That is what you must do.

Do not keep on doing bad things

and stop doing wrong.

₁₇You must learn to do things that are good.

You must do what is right to other people.

You must help people who suffer

and you must make sure that people

help and care for orphans and widows.’

‘Let us talk to each other about this.

Even if your sins are dark red as blood,

I will make them as white as snow or wool.

I will purify you.

₁₉If you listen to Me,

I will be with you here in the land

and I will bless you.

₂₀But if you don't want to listen to Me,

then the enemies will kill you.’

₂₁The Lord also said:

‘People in this city of Jerusalem,

long ago you did what I wanted

and you did right to everyone

and you were fair.

But now you have become

like an unfaithful wife.

You have become a lot of murderers.

₂₂You are like silver that is melted,

but there is a lot of sand in it.

You are like wine

that is mixed with a lot of water.

₂₃Your officials do not listen to Me.

They are friends of thieves.

People pay them bribe money to do wrong.

They don't judge in the right way

and they don't care

about the widows and orphans.

₂₄That is why I am going

to make a promise now.

I am the Lord, the God who rules over all,

the strong God of Israel.

I say: “You are now my enemies

and you will suffer.

I will punish you now.

₂₅Yes, I will take you and I will purify you,

like someone who melts silver

and takes out all the sand and dirt

from the silver to make it pure.

₂₆I will give good leaders to the city again

and good advisors like there were long ago.

People will say:

“‘This is the Righteous and Faithful city.

The people in that city do what God wants.”’ ”

₂₇People of Jerusalem, I will save you

if you do what is right and

if you turn to God and live as He wants,

and if you do what is right to people.

₂₈But the people who do not listen

and who sin and who do not

want to stay with the Lord

will suffer and die.’

₂₉‘You bring offerings to idols

under the big trees

and you make gardens for them,

but that will not help you.

₃₀You will become like a tree

with dead leaves

and like a garden with no water.

₃₁Your strongest leader will become

like a rope that is burning,

and his idols will be the fire

that will burn it.

Then they will all burn together,

and no one will put out the fire.’