The Lord will leave his place to punish the people of the world for their sins. The earth will show the blood of the people who have been killed; it will not cover the dead any longer.
You say, “We have made an agreement with death; we have a contract with death. When terrible punishment passes by, it won’t hurt us. Our lies will keep us safe, and our tricks will hide us.”
The Lord presents his case against the elders and other leaders of his people: “You have burned the vineyard. Your houses are full of what you took from the poor.
The Lord said, “How terrible it will be for these stubborn children. They make plans, but they don’t ask me to help them. They make agreements with other nations, without asking my Spirit. They are adding more and more sins to themselves.
You do evil things, but you feel safe and say, ‘No one sees what I do.’ Your wisdom and knowledge have fooled you. You say to yourself, ‘I am God, and no one is equal to me.’
They will be destroyed just as fire burns straw or dry grass. They will be destroyed like a plant whose roots rot and whose flower dies and blows away like dust. They have refused to obey the teachings of the Lord All-Powerful and have hated the message from the Holy God of Israel.
The vineyard belonging to the Lord All-Powerful is the nation of Israel; the garden that he loves is the people of Judah. He looked for justice, but there was only killing. He hoped for right living, but there were only cries of pain.
People take each other to court unfairly, and no one tells the truth in arguing his case. They accuse each other falsely and tell lies. They cause trouble and create more evil.
Israel is led by the city of Samaria, and Samaria is led by its weak king, the son of Remaliah. If your faith is not strong, you will not have strength enough to last.’ ”
This is what the Lord says: “For the many crimes of Judah, I will punish them. They rejected the teachings of the Lord and did not keep his commands; they followed the same gods as their ancestors had followed.
“Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever refuses to accept you refuses to accept me. And whoever refuses to accept me refuses to accept the One who sent me.”