1:2 Listen, O heavens,
pay attention, O earth! 1
For the Lord speaks:
“I raised children, 2 I brought them up, 3
but 4 they have rebelled 5 against me!
1:3 An ox recognizes its owner,
a donkey recognizes where its owner puts its food; 6
but Israel does not recognize me, 7
my people do not understand.”
1:4 8 The sinful nation is as good as dead, 9
the people weighed down by evil deeds.
They are offspring who do wrong,
children 10 who do wicked things.
They have abandoned the Lord,
and rejected the Holy One of Israel. 11
They are alienated from him. 12
1:5 13 Why do you insist on being battered?
Why do you continue to rebel? 14
Your head has a massive wound, 15
your whole body is weak. 16
1:6 From the soles of your feet to your head,
there is no spot that is unharmed. 17
There are only bruises, cuts,
and open wounds.
They have not been cleansed 18 or bandaged,
nor have they been treated 19 with olive oil. 20
1:7 Your land is devastated,
your cities burned with fire.
Right before your eyes your crops
are being destroyed by foreign invaders. 21
They leave behind devastation and destruction. 22
1:8 Daughter Zion 23 is left isolated,
like a hut in a vineyard,
or a shelter in a cucumber field;
she is a besieged city. 24
1:9 If the Lord who commands armies 25 had not left us a few survivors,
we would have quickly become like Sodom, 26
we would have become like Gomorrah.