1 * I am Isaiah, the son of Amoz.

And this is the message* that I was given about Judah and Jerusalem when Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah were the kings of Judah:*

2 The Lord has said,

"Listen, heaven and earth!

The children I raised

have turned against me.

3 Oxen and donkeys know

who owns and feeds them,

but my people won't ever learn."

4 Israel, you are a sinful nation

loaded down with guilt.

You are wicked and corrupt

and have turned from the Lord,

the holy God of Israel.

5 Why be punished more?

Why not give up your sin?

Your head is badly bruised,

and you are weak all over.

6 From your head to your toes

there isn't a healthy spot.

Bruises, cuts, and open sores

go without care

or oil to ease the pain.

7 Your country lies in ruins;

your towns are in ashes.

Foreigners and strangers

take and destroy your land

while you watch.

8 Enemies surround Jerusalem,

alone like a hut

in a vineyard*

or in a cucumber field.

9 * Zion would have disappeared

like Sodom and Gomorrah,*

if the Lord All-Powerful

had not let a few

of its people survive.

10 You are no better

than the leaders and people

of Sodom and Gomorrah!

So listen to the Lord God:

11 * "Your sacrifices

mean nothing to me.

I am sick of your offerings

of rams and choice cattle;

I don't like the blood

of bulls or lambs or goats.

12 "Who asked you to bring all this

when you come to worship me?

Stay out of my temple!

13 Your sacrifices are worthless,

and your incense disgusting.

I can't stand the evil you do

on your New Moon Festivals

or on your Sabbaths

and other times of worship.

14 I hate your New Moon Festivals

and all others as well.

They are a heavy burden

I am tired of carrying.

15 "No matter how much you pray,

I won't listen.

You are too violent.

16 Wash yourselves clean!

I hate your filthy deeds.

Stop doing wrong

17 and learn to live right.

See that justice is done.

Defend widows and orphans

and help the oppressed."*

18 I, the Lord, invite you

to come and talk it over.

Your sins are scarlet red,

but they will be whiter

than snow or wool.

19 If you willingly obey me,

the best crops in the land

will be yours.

20 But if you turn against me,

your enemies will kill you.

I, the Lord, have spoken.

21 Jerusalem, you are like

an unfaithful wife.

Once your judges were honest

and your people lived right;

now you are a city

full of murderers.

22 Your silver is fake,

and your wine

is watered down.

23 Your leaders have rejected me

to become friends of crooks;

your rulers are looking

for gifts and bribes.

Widows and orphans

never get a fair trial.

24 I am the Lord All-Powerful,

the mighty ruler of Israel,

and I make you a promise:

You are now my enemy,

and I will show my anger

by taking revenge on you.

25 I will punish you terribly

and burn away everything

that makes you unfit

to worship me.

26 Jerusalem, I will choose

judges and advisors

like those you had before.

Your new name will be

"Justice and Faithfulness."

27 Jerusalem, you will be saved

by showing justice;*

Zion's people who turn to me

will be saved

by doing right.

28 But those rebellious sinners

who turn against me, the Lord,

will all disappear.

29 You will be made ashamed

of those groves of trees

where you worshiped idols.

30 You will be like a grove of trees

dying in a drought.

31 Your strongest leaders

will be like dry wood

set on fire by their idols.*

No one will be able to help,

as they all go up in flames.