2-4. Heaven and earth, you’re the jury.Listen to God’s case:“I had children and raised them well,and they turned on me.The ox knows who’s boss,the mule knows the hand that feeds him,But not Israel.My people don’t know up from down.Shame! Misguided God-dropouts,staggering under their guilt-baggage,Gang of miscreants,band of vandals—My people have walked out on me, their God,turned their backs on The Holy of Israel,walked off and never looked back.
21-23. Oh! Can you believe it? The chaste cityhas become a whore!She was once all justice,everyone living as good neighbors,And now they’re allat one another’s throats.Your coins are all counterfeits.Your wine is watered down.Your leaders are turncoatswho keep company with crooks.They sell themselves to the highest bidderand grab anything not nailed down.They never stand up for the homeless,never stick up for the defenseless.
24-31. This Decree, therefore, of the Master, God-of-the-Angel-Armies,the Strong One of Israel:“This is it! I’ll get my oppressors off my back.I’ll get back at my enemies.I’ll give you the back of my hand,purge the junk from your life, clean you up.I’ll set honest judges and wise counselors among youjust like it was back in the beginning.Then you’ll be renamedCity-That-Treats-People-Right, the True-Blue City.”God’s right ways will put Zion right again.God’s right actions will restore her penitents.But it’s curtains for rebels and God-traitors,a dead end for those who walk out on God.“Your dalliances in those oak grove shrineswill leave you looking mighty foolish,All that fooling around in god and goddess gardensthat you thought was the latest thing.You’ll end up like an oak treewith all its leaves falling off,Like an unwatered garden,withered and brown.‘The Big Man’ will turn out to be dead bark and twigs,and his ‘work,’ the spark that starts the fireThat exposes man and work bothas nothing but cinders and smoke.”