Why do you protest your punishment— this wound that has no cure? I have had to punish you because your sins are many and your guilt is great.

你为何因损伤哀号呢？你的痛苦无法医治。我因你的罪孽甚大，罪恶众多，曾将这些加在你身上。

你为何因所受的损伤哀号呢？你的痛苦无法医治。我因你罪孽甚大，罪恶众多，曾将这些加在你身上。

你为何因所受的损伤哀号呢？你的痛苦无法医治。我因你罪孽甚大，罪恶众多，曾将这些加在你身上。

你们为何因自己无法医治的创伤而哭泣呢？因为你们罪大恶极，罪过无数，我才这样惩罚你们。

你为什么因你的损伤哀叫呢？你的病痛无法痊愈。我这样对你，是因你的罪孽甚多，你的罪恶无数。

你為何因損傷哀號呢？你的痛苦無法醫治。我因你的罪孽甚大，罪惡眾多，曾將這些加在你身上。

你為何因所受的損傷哀號呢？你的痛苦無法醫治。我因你罪孽甚大，罪惡眾多，曾將這些加在你身上。

你為何因所受的損傷哀號呢？你的痛苦無法醫治。我因你罪孽甚大，罪惡眾多，曾將這些加在你身上。

你們為何因自己無法醫治的創傷而哭泣呢？因為你們罪大惡極，罪過無數，我才這樣懲罰你們。

你為甚麼因你的損傷哀叫呢？你的病痛無法痊愈。我這樣對你，是因你的罪孽甚多，你的罪惡無數。

你為甚麼因你的破爛而哀呼你痛苦之無法醫治呢？我將這些刑罰施在你身上、都因你罪孽之眾多，你罪惡之重大呀。

爾曷因創傷而哀號乎、爾之痛苦、不可療也、我之待爾若此、以爾愆尤重大、罪惡增多也、

爾既遭難、何哭泣若此、因爾咎戾眾多、故予責爾、傷殘殊甚。

爾雖受傷損、痛苦難堪、豈可鳴冤、爾愆尤甚多、罪惡加增、故我待爾若是、

Why do you cry out over your wound, your pain that has no cure? Because of your great guilt and many sins I have done these things to you.

Why do you cry out about your wound? Your pain can’t be healed. Your guilt is very great. And you have committed many sins. That is why I have done all these things to you.

Why do you cry out over your hurt? Your pain is incurable. Because your guilt is great, because your sins are flagrant, I have done these things to you.

Why do you cry out about your injury? Your pain has no cure! I have done these things to you because of your enormous guilt and your innumerable sins.

Why do you cry out over your injury? Your pain is incurable. Because your wrongdoing is great And your sins are numerous, I have done these things to you.

Why do you cry about your affliction? Your sorrow is incurable. Because of the multitude of your iniquities, Because your sins have increased, I have done these things to you.

Why criest thou for thy hurt? thy pain is incurable: for the greatness of thine iniquity, because thy sins were increased, I have done these things unto thee.

Why do you cry out about your injury? Your pain has no cure! I have done these things to you because of your enormous guilt and your innumerable sins.

Why criest thou for thine affliction? thy sorrow[ is] incurable for the multitude of thine iniquity:[ because] thy sins were increased, I have done these things unto thee.

Why do you complain about your injuries, that your pain is incurable? I have done all this to you because your wickedness is so great and your sin is so much.

Why do you cry over your injury? Your pain is incurable. For the greatness of your iniquity, because your sins have increased, I have done these things to you.

All your lovers— your allies— have left you and do not care about you anymore. I have wounded you cruelly, as though I were your enemy. For your sins are many, and your guilt is great.

This is what the Lord says:“ Your injury is incurable— a terrible wound.

I am innocent, but they call me a liar. My suffering is incurable, though I have not sinned.’

I will be patient as the Lord punishes me, for I have sinned against him. But after that, he will take up my case and give me justice for all I have suffered from my enemies. The Lord will bring me into the light, and I will see his righteousness.

Look now, people of Judah; you have as many gods as you have towns. You have as many altars of shame— altars for burning incense to your god Baal— as there are streets in Jerusalem.

I will give you back your health and heal your wounds,” says the Lord.“ For you are called an outcast—‘ Jerusalem for whom no one cares.’”

“‘ Don’t be fooled into thinking that you will never suffer because the Temple is here. It’s a lie!Do you really think you can steal, murder, commit adultery, lie, and burn incense to Baal and all those other new gods of yours,and then come here and stand before me in my Temple and chant,“ We are safe!”— only to go right back to all those evils again?Don’t you yourselves admit that this Temple, which bears my name, has become a den of thieves? Surely I see all the evil going on there. I, the Lord, have spoken!

Her oppressors have become her masters, and her enemies prosper, for the Lord has punished Jerusalem for her many sins. Her children have been captured and taken away to distant lands.

Your wickedness has deprived you of these wonderful blessings. Your sin has robbed you of all these good things.“ Among my people are wicked men who lie in wait for victims like a hunter hiding in a blind. They continually set traps to catch people.Like a cage filled with birds, their homes are filled with evil plots. And now they are great and rich.They are fat and sleek, and there is no limit to their wicked deeds. They refuse to provide justice to orphans and deny the rights of the poor.Should I not punish them for this?” says the Lord.“ Should I not avenge myself against such a nation?A horrible and shocking thing has happened in this land—the prophets give false prophecies, and the priests rule with an iron hand. Worse yet, my people like it that way! But what will you do when the end comes?

Then another message came to me from the Lord:“ Son of man, confront Jerusalem with her detestable sins.Give her this message from the Sovereign Lord: You are nothing but a Canaanite! Your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite.On the day you were born, no one cared about you. Your umbilical cord was not cut, and you were never washed, rubbed with salt, and wrapped in cloth.No one had the slightest interest in you; no one pitied you or cared for you. On the day you were born, you were unwanted, dumped in a field and left to die.“ But I came by and saw you there, helplessly kicking about in your own blood. As you lay there, I said,‘ Live!’And I helped you to thrive like a plant in the field. You grew up and became a beautiful jewel. Your breasts became full, and your body hair grew, but you were still naked.And when I passed by again, I saw that you were old enough for love. So I wrapped my cloak around you to cover your nakedness and declared my marriage vows. I made a covenant with you, says the Sovereign Lord, and you became mine.“ Then I bathed you and washed off your blood, and I rubbed fragrant oils into your skin.I gave you expensive clothing of fine linen and silk, beautifully embroidered, and sandals made of fine goatskin leather.I gave you lovely jewelry, bracelets, beautiful necklaces,a ring for your nose, earrings for your ears, and a lovely crown for your head.And so you were adorned with gold and silver. Your clothes were made of fine linen and costly fabric and were beautifully embroidered. You ate the finest foods— choice flour, honey, and olive oil— and became more beautiful than ever. You looked like a queen, and so you were!Your fame soon spread throughout the world because of your beauty. I dressed you in my splendor and perfected your beauty, says the Sovereign Lord.“ But you thought your fame and beauty were your own. So you gave yourself as a prostitute to every man who came along. Your beauty was theirs for the asking.You used the lovely things I gave you to make shrines for idols, where you played the prostitute. Unbelievable! How could such a thing ever happen?You took the very jewels and gold and silver ornaments I had given you and made statues of men and worshiped them. This is adultery against me!You used the beautifully embroidered clothes I gave you to dress your idols. Then you used my special oil and my incense to worship them.Imagine it! You set before them as a sacrifice the choice flour, olive oil, and honey I had given you, says the Sovereign Lord.“ Then you took your sons and daughters— the children you had borne to me— and sacrificed them to your gods. Was your prostitution not enough?Must you also slaughter my children by sacrificing them to idols?In all your years of adultery and detestable sin, you have not once remembered the days long ago when you lay naked in a field, kicking about in your own blood.“ What sorrow awaits you, says the Sovereign Lord. In addition to all your other wickedness,you built a pagan shrine and put altars to idols in every town square.On every street corner you defiled your beauty, offering your body to every passerby in an endless stream of prostitution.Then you added lustful Egypt to your lovers, provoking my anger with your increasing promiscuity.That is why I struck you with my fist and reduced your boundaries. I handed you over to your enemies, the Philistines, and even they were shocked by your lewd conduct.You have prostituted yourself with the Assyrians, too. It seems you can never find enough new lovers! And after your prostitution there, you still were not satisfied.You added to your lovers by embracing Babylonia, the land of merchants, but you still weren’t satisfied.“ What a sick heart you have, says the Sovereign Lord, to do such things as these, acting like a shameless prostitute.You build your pagan shrines on every street corner and your altars to idols in every square. In fact, you have been worse than a prostitute, so eager for sin that you have not even demanded payment.Yes, you are an adulterous wife who takes in strangers instead of her own husband.Prostitutes charge for their services— but not you! You give gifts to your lovers, bribing them to come and have sex with you.So you are the opposite of other prostitutes. You pay your lovers instead of their paying you!“ Therefore, you prostitute, listen to this message from the Lord!This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because you have poured out your lust and exposed yourself in prostitution to all your lovers, and because you have worshiped detestable idols, and because you have slaughtered your children as sacrifices to your gods,this is what I am going to do. I will gather together all your allies— the lovers with whom you have sinned, both those you loved and those you hated— and I will strip you naked in front of them so they can stare at you.I will punish you for your murder and adultery. I will cover you with blood in my jealous fury.Then I will give you to these many nations who are your lovers, and they will destroy you. They will knock down your pagan shrines and the altars to your idols. They will strip you and take your beautiful jewels, leaving you stark naked.They will band together in a mob to stone you and cut you up with swords.They will burn your homes and punish you in front of many women. I will stop your prostitution and end your payments to your many lovers.“ Then at last my fury against you will be spent, and my jealous anger will subside. I will be calm and will not be angry with you anymore.But first, because you have not remembered your youth but have angered me by doing all these evil things, I will fully repay you for all of your sins, says the Sovereign Lord. For you have added lewd acts to all your detestable sins.Everyone who makes up proverbs will say of you,‘ Like mother, like daughter.’For your mother loathed her husband and her children, and so do you. And you are exactly like your sisters, for they despised their husbands and their children. Truly your mother was a Hittite and your father an Amorite.“ Your older sister was Samaria, who lived with her daughters in the north. Your younger sister was Sodom, who lived with her daughters in the south.But you have not merely sinned as they did. You quickly surpassed them in corruption.As surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, Sodom and her daughters were never as wicked as you and your daughters.Sodom’s sins were pride, gluttony, and laziness, while the poor and needy suffered outside her door.She was proud and committed detestable sins, so I wiped her out, as you have seen.“ Even Samaria did not commit half your sins. You have done far more detestable things than your sisters ever did. They seem righteous compared to you.Shame on you! Your sins are so terrible that you make your sisters seem righteous, even virtuous.“ But someday I will restore the fortunes of Sodom and Samaria, and I will restore you, too.Then you will be truly ashamed of everything you have done, for your sins make them feel good in comparison.Yes, your sisters, Sodom and Samaria, and all their people will be restored, and at that time you also will be restored.In your proud days you held Sodom in contempt.But now your greater wickedness has been exposed to all the world, and you are the one who is scorned— by Edom and all her neighbors and by Philistia.This is your punishment for all your lewdness and detestable sins, says the Lord.“ Now this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will give you what you deserve, for you have taken your solemn vows lightly by breaking your covenant.Yet I will remember the covenant I made with you when you were young, and I will establish an everlasting covenant with you.Then you will remember with shame all the evil you have done. I will make your sisters, Samaria and Sodom, to be your daughters, even though they are not part of our covenant.And I will reaffirm my covenant with you, and you will know that I am the Lord.You will remember your sins and cover your mouth in silent shame when I forgive you of all that you have done. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken!”

So now a lion from the forest will attack them; a wolf from the desert will pounce on them. A leopard will lurk near their towns, tearing apart any who dare to venture out. For their rebellion is great, and their sins are many.“ How can I pardon you? For even your children have turned from me. They have sworn by gods that are not gods at all! I fed my people until they were full. But they thanked me by committing adultery and lining up at the brothels.They are well fed, lusty stallions, each neighing for his neighbor’s wife.Should I not punish them for this?” says the Lord.“ Should I not avenge myself against such a nation?

“ Now we are being punished because of our wickedness and our great guilt. But we have actually been punished far less than we deserve, for you, our God, have allowed some of us to survive as a remnant.

On August 14, during the seventh year of King Jehoiachin’s captivity, some of the leaders of Israel came to request a message from the Lord. They sat down in front of me to wait for his reply.Then this message came to me from the Lord:“ Son of man, tell the leaders of Israel,‘ This is what the Sovereign Lord says: How dare you come to ask me for a message? As surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, I will tell you nothing!’“ Son of man, bring charges against them and condemn them. Make them realize how detestable the sins of their ancestors really were.Give them this message from the Sovereign Lord: When I chose Israel— when I revealed myself to the descendants of Jacob in Egypt— I took a solemn oath that I, the Lord, would be their God.I took a solemn oath that day that I would bring them out of Egypt to a land I had discovered and explored for them— a good land, a land flowing with milk and honey, the best of all lands anywhere.Then I said to them,‘ Each of you, get rid of the vile images you are so obsessed with. Do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt, for I am the Lord your God.’“ But they rebelled against me and would not listen. They did not get rid of the vile images they were obsessed with, or forsake the idols of Egypt. Then I threatened to pour out my fury on them to satisfy my anger while they were still in Egypt.But I didn’t do it, for I acted to protect the honor of my name. I would not allow shame to be brought on my name among the surrounding nations who saw me reveal myself by bringing the Israelites out of Egypt.So I brought them out of Egypt and led them into the wilderness.There I gave them my decrees and regulations so they could find life by keeping them.And I gave them my Sabbath days of rest as a sign between them and me. It was to remind them that I am the Lord, who had set them apart to be holy.“ But the people of Israel rebelled against me, and they refused to obey my decrees there in the wilderness. They wouldn’t obey my regulations even though obedience would have given them life. They also violated my Sabbath days. So I threatened to pour out my fury on them, and I made plans to utterly consume them in the wilderness.But again I held back in order to protect the honor of my name before the nations who had seen my power in bringing Israel out of Egypt.But I took a solemn oath against them in the wilderness. I swore I would not bring them into the land I had given them, a land flowing with milk and honey, the most beautiful place on earth.For they had rejected my regulations, refused to follow my decrees, and violated my Sabbath days. Their hearts were given to their idols.Nevertheless, I took pity on them and held back from destroying them in the wilderness.“ Then I warned their children not to follow in their parents’ footsteps, defiling themselves with their idols.‘ I am the Lord your God,’ I told them.‘ Follow my decrees, pay attention to my regulations,and keep my Sabbath days holy, for they are a sign to remind you that I am the Lord your God.’“ But their children, too, rebelled against me. They refused to keep my decrees and follow my regulations, even though obedience would have given them life. And they also violated my Sabbath days. So again I threatened to pour out my fury on them in the wilderness.Nevertheless, I withdrew my judgment against them to protect the honor of my name before the nations that had seen my power in bringing them out of Egypt.But I took a solemn oath against them in the wilderness. I swore I would scatter them among all the nationsbecause they did not obey my regulations. They scorned my decrees by violating my Sabbath days and longing for the idols of their ancestors.I gave them over to worthless decrees and regulations that would not lead to life.I let them pollute themselves with the very gifts I had given them, and I allowed them to give their firstborn children as offerings to their gods— so I might devastate them and remind them that I alone am the Lord.“ Therefore, son of man, give the people of Israel this message from the Sovereign Lord: Your ancestors continued to blaspheme and betray me,for when I brought them into the land I had promised them, they offered sacrifices on every high hill and under every green tree they saw! They roused my fury as they offered up sacrifices to their gods. They brought their perfumes and incense and poured out their liquid offerings to them.I said to them,‘ What is this high place where you are going?’( This kind of pagan shrine has been called Bamah—‘ high place’— ever since.)“ Therefore, give the people of Israel this message from the Sovereign Lord: Do you plan to pollute yourselves just as your ancestors did? Do you intend to keep prostituting yourselves by worshiping vile images?For when you offer gifts to them and give your little children to be burned as sacrifices, you continue to pollute yourselves with idols to this day. Should I allow you to ask for a message from me, O people of Israel? As surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, I will tell you nothing.“ You say,‘ We want to be like the nations all around us, who serve idols of wood and stone.’ But what you have in mind will never happen.As surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, I will rule over you with an iron fist in great anger and with awesome power.And in anger I will reach out with my strong hand and powerful arm, and I will bring you back from the lands where you are scattered.I will bring you into the wilderness of the nations, and there I will judge you face to face.I will judge you there just as I did your ancestors in the wilderness after bringing them out of Egypt, says the Sovereign Lord.I will examine you carefully and hold you to the terms of the covenant.I will purge you of all those who rebel and revolt against me. I will bring them out of the countries where they are in exile, but they will never enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord.“ As for you, O people of Israel, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Go right ahead and worship your idols, but sooner or later you will obey me and will stop bringing shame on my holy name by worshiping idols.For on my holy mountain, the great mountain of Israel, says the Sovereign Lord, the people of Israel will someday worship me, and I will accept them. There I will require that you bring me all your offerings and choice gifts and sacrifices.When I bring you home from exile, you will be like a pleasing sacrifice to me. And I will display my holiness through you as all the nations watch.Then when I have brought you home to the land I promised with a solemn oath to give to your ancestors, you will know that I am the Lord.You will look back on all the ways you defiled yourselves and will hate yourselves because of the evil you have done.You will know that I am the Lord, O people of Israel, when I have honored my name by treating you mercifully in spite of your wickedness. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken!”Then this message came to me from the Lord:“ Son of man, turn and face the south and speak out against it; prophesy against the brushlands of the Negev.Tell the southern wilderness,‘ This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Hear the word of the Lord! I will set you on fire, and every tree, both green and dry, will be burned. The terrible flames will not be quenched and will scorch everything from south to north.And everyone in the world will see that I, the Lord, have set this fire. It will not be put out.’”Then I said,“ O Sovereign Lord, they are saying of me,‘ He only talks in riddles!’”

Your wickedness will bring its own punishment. Your turning from me will shame you. You will see what an evil, bitter thing it is to abandon the Lord your God and not to fear him. I, the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, have spoken!

Likewise, all the leaders of the priests and the people became more and more unfaithful. They followed all the pagan practices of the surrounding nations, desecrating the Temple of the Lord that had been consecrated in Jerusalem.The Lord, the God of their ancestors, repeatedly sent his prophets to warn them, for he had compassion on his people and his Temple.But the people mocked these messengers of God and despised their words. They scoffed at the prophets until the Lord’s anger could no longer be restrained and nothing could be done.So the Lord brought the king of Babylon against them. The Babylonians killed Judah’s young men, even chasing after them into the Temple. They had no pity on the people, killing both young men and young women, the old and the infirm. God handed all of them over to Nebuchadnezzar.

The garlands have fallen from our heads. Weep for us because we have sinned.Our hearts are sick and weary, and our eyes grow dim with tears.

Then why should we, mere humans, complain when we are punished for our sins?

What sorrow awaits rebellious, polluted Jerusalem, the city of violence and crime!No one can tell it anything; it refuses all correction. It does not trust in the Lord or draw near to its God.Its leaders are like roaring lions hunting for their victims. Its judges are like ravenous wolves at evening time, who by dawn have left no trace of their prey.Its prophets are arrogant liars seeking their own gain. Its priests defile the Temple by disobeying God’s instructions.But the Lord is still there in the city, and he does no wrong. Day by day he hands down justice, and he does not fail. But the wicked know no shame.

“ Go up to Gilead to get medicine, O virgin daughter of Egypt! But your many treatments will bring you no healing.

Israel and Judah have done nothing but wrong since their earliest days. They have infuriated me with all their evil deeds,” says the Lord.“ From the time this city was built until now, it has done nothing but anger me, so I am determined to get rid of it.“ The sins of Israel and Judah— the sins of the people of Jerusalem, the kings, the officials, the priests, and the prophets— have stirred up my anger.My people have turned their backs on me and have refused to return. Even though I diligently taught them, they would not receive instruction or obey.They have set up their abominable idols right in my own Temple, defiling it.They have built pagan shrines to Baal in the valley of Ben Hinnom, and there they sacrifice their sons and daughters to Molech. I have never commanded such a horrible deed; it never even crossed my mind to command such a thing. What an incredible evil, causing Judah to sin so greatly!

See how Jerusalem, once so faithful, has become a prostitute. Once the home of justice and righteousness, she is now filled with murderers.Once like pure silver, you have become like worthless slag. Once so pure, you are now like watered down wine.Your leaders are rebels, the companions of thieves. All of them love bribes and demand payoffs, but they refuse to defend the cause of orphans or fight for the rights of widows.Therefore, the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the Mighty One of Israel, says,“ I will take revenge on my enemies and pay back my foes!

But if he chooses to remain quiet, who can criticize him? When he hides his face, no one can find him, whether an individual or a nation.

I prayed,“ O my God, I am utterly ashamed; I blush to lift up my face to you. For our sins are piled higher than our heads, and our guilt has reached to the heavens.From the days of our ancestors until now, we have been steeped in sin. That is why we and our kings and our priests have been at the mercy of the pagan kings of the land. We have been killed, captured, robbed, and disgraced, just as we are today.

calamity will come upon you suddenly— like a bulging wall that bursts and falls. In an instant it will collapse and come crashing down.You will be smashed like a piece of pottery— shattered so completely that there won’t be a piece big enough to carry coals from a fireplace or a little water from the well.”

Now this message came to me from the Lord:“ Son of man, are you ready to judge Jerusalem? Are you ready to judge this city of murderers? Publicly denounce her detestable sins,and give her this message from the Sovereign Lord: O city of murderers, doomed and damned— city of idols, filthy and foul—you are guilty because of the blood you have shed. You are defiled because of the idols you have made. Your day of destruction has come! You have reached the end of your years. I will make you an object of mockery throughout the world.O infamous city, filled with confusion, you will be mocked by people far and near.“ Every leader in Israel who lives within your walls is bent on murder.Fathers and mothers are treated with contempt. Foreigners are forced to pay for protection. Orphans and widows are wronged and oppressed among you.You despise my holy things and violate my Sabbath days of rest.People accuse others falsely and send them to their death. You are filled with idol worshipers and people who do obscene things.Men sleep with their fathers’ wives and force themselves on women who are menstruating.Within your walls live men who commit adultery with their neighbors’ wives, who defile their daughters in law, or who rape their own sisters.There are hired murderers, loan racketeers, and extortioners everywhere. They never even think of me and my commands, says the Sovereign Lord.“ But now I clap my hands in indignation over your dishonest gain and bloodshed.How strong and courageous will you be in my day of reckoning? I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will do what I said.I will scatter you among the nations and purge you of your wickedness.And when I have been dishonored among the nations because of you, you will know that I am the Lord.”Then this message came to me from the Lord:“ Son of man, the people of Israel are the worthless slag that remains after silver is smelted. They are the dross that is left over— a useless mixture of copper, tin, iron, and lead.So tell them,‘ This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because you are all worthless slag, I will bring you to my crucible in Jerusalem.Just as silver, copper, iron, lead, and tin are melted down in a furnace, I will melt you down in the heat of my fury.I will gather you together and blow the fire of my anger upon you,and you will melt like silver in fierce heat. Then you will know that I, the Lord, have poured out my fury on you.’”Again a message came to me from the Lord:

If only my head were a pool of water and my eyes a fountain of tears, I would weep day and night for all my people who have been slaughtered.Oh, that I could go away and forget my people and live in a travelers’ shack in the desert. For they are all adulterers— a pack of treacherous liars.“ My people bend their tongues like bows to shoot out lies. They refuse to stand up for the truth. They only go from bad to worse. They do not know me,” says the Lord.“ Beware of your neighbor! Don’t even trust your brother! For brother takes advantage of brother, and friend slanders friend.They all fool and defraud each other; no one tells the truth. With practiced tongues they tell lies; they wear themselves out with all their sinning.They pile lie upon lie and utterly refuse to acknowledge me,” says the Lord.Therefore, this is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says:“ See, I will melt them down in a crucible and test them like metal. What else can I do with my people?For their tongues shoot lies like poisoned arrows. They speak friendly words to their neighbors while scheming in their heart to kill them.Should I not punish them for this?” says the Lord.“ Should I not avenge myself against such a nation?”

For my people’s wound is too deep to heal. It has reached into Judah, even to the gates of Jerusalem.

“ From the least to the greatest, their lives are ruled by greed. From prophets to priests, they are all frauds.

He plowed the land, cleared its stones, and planted it with the best vines. In the middle he built a watchtower and carved a winepress in the nearby rocks. Then he waited for a harvest of sweet grapes, but the grapes that grew were bitter.

Yet it happened because of the sins of her prophets and the sins of her priests, who defiled the city by shedding innocent blood.

The Lord of Heaven’s Armies says,“ The day of judgment is coming, burning like a furnace. On that day the arrogant and the wicked will be burned up like straw. They will be consumed— roots, branches, and all.“ But for you who fear my name, the Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing in his wings. And you will go free, leaping with joy like calves let out to pasture.

Oh, what a sinful nation they are— loaded down with a burden of guilt. They are evil people, corrupt children who have rejected the Lord. They have despised the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on him.Why do you continue to invite punishment? Must you rebel forever? Your head is injured, and your heart is sick.

Listen! The Lord’s arm is not too weak to save you, nor is his ear too deaf to hear you call.It’s your sins that have cut you off from God. Because of your sins, he has turned away and will not listen anymore.Your hands are the hands of murderers, and your fingers are filthy with sin. Your lips are full of lies, and your mouth spews corruption.No one cares about being fair and honest. The people’s lawsuits are based on lies. They conceive evil deeds and then give birth to sin.

But why not call on these gods you have made? When trouble comes, let them save you if they can! For you have as many gods as there are towns in Judah.Why do you accuse me of doing wrong? You are the ones who have rebelled,” says the Lord.“ I have punished your children, but they did not respond to my discipline. You yourselves have killed your prophets as a lion kills its prey.

For our sins are piled up before God and testify against us. Yes, we know what sinners we are.We know we have rebelled and have denied the Lord. We have turned our backs on our God. We know how unfair and oppressive we have been, carefully planning our deceitful lies.Our courts oppose the righteous, and justice is nowhere to be found. Truth stumbles in the streets, and honesty has been outlawed.Yes, truth is gone, and anyone who renounces evil is attacked. The Lord looked and was displeased to find there was no justice.

Why then does my suffering continue? Why is my wound so incurable? Your help seems as uncertain as a seasonal brook, like a spring that has gone dry.”

We have also heard what he did to the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan River— King Sihon of Heshbon and King Og of Bashan( who lived in Ashtaroth).So our elders and all our people instructed us,‘ Take supplies for a long journey. Go meet with the people of Israel and tell them,“ We are your servants; please make a treaty with us.”’

I will destroy Israel as a moth consumes wool. I will make Judah as weak as rotten wood.“ When Israel and Judah saw how sick they were, Israel turned to Assyria— to the great king there— but he could neither help nor cure them.

This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says:“ Cut down the trees for battering rams. Build siege ramps against the walls of Jerusalem. This is the city to be punished, for she is wicked through and through.She spouts evil like a fountain. Her streets echo with the sounds of violence and destruction. I always see her sickness and sores.

“ But despite all this, they were disobedient and rebelled against you. They turned their backs on your Law, they killed your prophets who warned them to return to you, and they committed terrible blasphemies.So you handed them over to their enemies, who made them suffer. But in their time of trouble they cried to you, and you heard them from heaven. In your great mercy, you sent them liberators who rescued them from their enemies.“ But as soon as they were at peace, your people again committed evil in your sight, and once more you let their enemies conquer them. Yet whenever your people turned and cried to you again for help, you listened once more from heaven. In your wonderful mercy, you rescued them many times!“ You warned them to return to your Law, but they became proud and obstinate and disobeyed your commands. They did not follow your regulations, by which people will find life if only they obey. They stubbornly turned their backs on you and refused to listen.In your love, you were patient with them for many years. You sent your Spirit, who warned them through the prophets. But still they wouldn’t listen! So once again you allowed the peoples of the land to conquer them.But in your great mercy, you did not destroy them completely or abandon them forever. What a gracious and merciful God you are!“ And now, our God, the great and mighty and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of unfailing love, do not let all the hardships we have suffered seem insignificant to you. Great trouble has come upon us and upon our kings and leaders and priests and prophets and ancestors— all of your people— from the days when the kings of Assyria first triumphed over us until now.Every time you punished us you were being just. We have sinned greatly, and you gave us only what we deserved.Our kings, leaders, priests, and ancestors did not obey your Law or listen to the warnings in your commands and laws.Even while they had their own kingdom, they did not serve you, though you showered your goodness on them. You gave them a large, fertile land, but they refused to turn from their wickedness.“ So now today we are slaves in the land of plenty that you gave our ancestors for their enjoyment! We are slaves here in this good land.