Isaiah 1:16-31 - Purification Of Jerusalem

¹⁶
“Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean;
Get your evil deeds out of My sight.
Stop doing evil,
¹⁷
Learn to do good.
Seek justice,
Rebuke the ruthless,
Defend the fatherless,
Plead for the [rights of the] widow [in court].

¹⁸
“Come now, and let us reason together,”
Says the Lord.
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
They shall be as white as snow;
Though they are red like crimson,
They shall be like wool.
¹⁹
“If you are willing and obedient,
You shall eat the best of the land;
²⁰
But if you refuse and rebel,
You shall be devoured by the sword.”
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

²¹
How the faithful city has become a prostitute [idolatrous, despicable],
She who was full of justice!
Right standing with God once lodged in her,
But now murderers.
²²
Your silver has turned to lead,
Your wine is diluted with water.
²³
Your rulers are rebels
And companions of thieves;
Everyone loves bribes
And chases after gifts.
They do not defend the fatherless,
Nor does the widow’s cause come before them [instead they delay or turn a deaf ear].

²⁴
Therefore the Lord God of hosts,
The Mighty One of Israel, declares:
“Ah, I will be freed of My adversaries
And avenge Myself on My enemies.
²⁵
“And I will turn My hand against you,
And will [thoroughly] purge away your dross as with lye
And remove all your tin (impurity).
²⁶
“Then I will restore your judges as at the first,
And your counselors as at the beginning;
Afterward you will be called the city of righteousness,
The faithful city.”

²⁷
Zion will be redeemed with justice
And her repentant ones with righteousness.
²⁸
But rebels and sinners will be crushed and destroyed together,
And those who abandon (turn away from) the Lord will be consumed (perish).
²⁹
For you will be ashamed [of the degradation] of the oaks in which you took [idolatrous] pleasure,
And you will be ashamed of the gardens [of passion] which you have chosen [for pagan worship].
³⁰
For you will be like an oak whose leaf withers and dies
And like a garden that has no water.
³¹
The strong man will become tinder,
And his work a spark.
So both will burn together
And there will be none to quench them.