Isaiah 1:14-30

¹⁴I SYN hate all your celebrations of each new moon and the other festivals that you celebrate each year. They are like MET a heavy burden that I am tired of carrying.

¹⁵So, when you lift up your hands when you pray to me, I will not even look at you. Even if you pray to me very frequently, I will not listen to you, because it is as though your hands are covered with the blood of people whom you have killed.

¹⁶Cleanse your inner beings, and become spiritually clean! Stop your evil behavior! Stop doing things that are wrong!

¹⁷Learn to do things that are good! Try to cause people to do what is just. Help people who are ◄oppressed/treated cruelly►. Defend orphans and widows when people take them to court.”

¹⁸Yahweh says, “You need to think about the results of what you do. Even though the guilt of your sins be as evident and as difficult to get rid of as SIM red stains on a white garment DOU, I will get rid of them completely like someone who can make that stained garment become as white as snow or wool DOU.

¹⁹If you are willing to obey me, I will enable you to have plenty to eat.

²⁰But, if you turn away from me and rebel against me, you will be killed by your enemies' swords. That will surely happen, because I, Yahweh, have said it.”

²¹“ You people of Jerusalem previously faithfully worshiped only me, but now you have become like MET prostitutes who are not faithful to any husband. Previously, people there always acted justly/fairly and righteously, but now your city is full of murderers.

²²Previously, you were like MET pure silver, but now you have become like MET the scum that is left when silver is purified. Previously you were like pure wine, but you have become like MET wine that has a lot of water mixed with it.

²³Your leaders are rebels; they spend time with thieves. They all want to get bribes and force others to give them gifts in order that they do good things for them. They do not defend orphans in court, and they do not do all they can to enable widows to get what they should receive.

²⁴Therefore I, the Commander of the armies of angels, the mighty God of Israel, say to my enemies, 'I will get revenge on you; you will not cause me any more trouble. And I will pay you back for the evil things that you did.

²⁵I will raise my fist to strike you. I will punish you severely MET, as though MET you were silver and I needed to heat you very greatly to melt you and get rid of the impurities.

²⁶After that happens, I will give you good judges like you had previously; you will have wise counselors like you had long ago. Then people will call your city ‘a city where people act righteously,’ a city where people are loyal to me.' ”

²⁷Because the people of Jerusalem will do what is fair/just, their city will be restored; those who repent will be saved because of their acting righteously.

²⁸But rebels and sinners will be crushed by Yahweh, and those who forsake him will disappear.

²⁹You will be ashamed because you worshiped idols under the oak trees that you considered to be sacred; you will be disgraced because you worshiped idols in the gardens where you chose to worship them.

³⁰You will be like SIM a very large tree which has withered leaves, like SIM a garden that is dried up because it has no water.