A message about the rebellious nation of Judah

2 This is what Yahweh says:

“All you angels in [APO] heaven and all you people on [APO] earth, listen to me!

The people that I caused to exist and took care of [DOU]

have rebelled against me.

3 Oxen know their owners,

and donkeys know who provides food for them,

but my Israeli people do not know me;

they do not realize that I am the one who takes care of them.”

4 Terrible things will happen to that sinful nation,

to those people who are guilty of sinning greatly.

They are a group of very evil people,

who act very unjustly.

They have abandoned Yahweh,

the holy one of Israel;

they have ◄abandoned/turned away from► him.

5 Why do you [RHQ] continue to do things for which you should be punished?

Why do you continue to rebel against Yahweh?

You are like [MET] someone whose head is badly injured

and whose mind is sick/corrupt.

6 It is as though [MET] from the soles/bottoms of your feet to the tops of your heads

nothing is healthy;

there are only open wounds and cuts and sores

that have not been cleaned or bandaged,

and no olive oil has been put on them to heal them.

7 It is as though your country is ruined/desolate;

your towns have been burned.

Foreigners plunder/steal the crops in your fields while you watch;

they destroy everything that they see.

8 The city of Jerusalem has already been abandoned,

it is like [SIM] a shelter in a vineyard that has been abandoned by the watchmen;

it is like [SIM] a watchman’s hut in a field of melons that has been deserted.

It is a city surrounded by its enemies who are waiting to attack it.

9 If the Commander of the armies of angels had not allowed a few of us his people to ◄survive/remain alive►,

we would have all been destroyed,

like the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed.

10 You leaders of Judah are as wicked as the rulers of Sodom were,

and you other people in Jerusalem areas are as wicked as the people in Gomorrah were.

Listen to this message from Yahweh, all of you!

11 He says, “You continue to bring many sacrifices to me,

but I do not [RHQ] want them because you do not worship me sincerely!

You bring me many offerings to be completely burned on the altar,

but I ◄am tired/do not want any more► of your burning all those offerings,

the burning rams and the fat from fat cattle.

I am not pleased with the blood of bulls and lambs and goats

that the priest pours against the altar.

12 When you come to my temple to worship me,

no one [RHQ] told you to trample on my courtyard while you perform all those rituals.

13 Stop bringing to me those offerings, because they are useless to me;

I am disgusted with the incense that the priests burn.

And your feasts to celebrate the new moon each month and your ◄Sabbath days/days of rest► and your other festivals—

I detest them because of the wicked things that you do.

14 I [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.

15 So, 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.

16 Cleanse your inner beings, and become spiritually clean!

Stop your evil behavior!

Stop doing things that are wrong!

17 Learn 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.”

18 Yahweh 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].

19 If you are willing to obey me,

I will enable you to have plenty to eat.

20 But, 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.”