Isaiah 1:10-17
Chapter 1
Second Indictment
Hear the warning of the Lord, rulers of Sodom. Listen to the word of God, people of Gomorrah.“What do I care,” says the Lord “for your endless sacrifices? I am fed up with your burnt offerings, and the fat of your bulls. The blood of fatlings, lambs and he-goats I abhor,
when you come before me and trample on my courts. Who asked you to visit me?
I am fed up with your oblations. I grow sick with your incense. Your New Moons, Sabbaths and meetings, evil with holy assemblies, I can no longer bear.
I hate your New Moons and appointed feasts. They burden me.
When you stretch out your hands I will close my eyes; the more you pray, the more I refuse to listen, for your hands are bloody.
Wash and make yourselves clean. Remove from my sight the evil of your deeds. Put an end to your wickedness
and learn to do good. Seek justice and keep in line the abusers; give the fatherless their rights and defend the widow.
Commentaries
Second Indictment.
God calls the leaders of Judah “princes of Sodom” and those who obey them “people of Gomorrah.” This is a huge insult because those cities symbolize rebellion against God, the most vile sin, and injustice toward foreigners whose cries reached God (Gn 18:20). Along with orphans and widows, immigrants symbolize the poor and helpless who cannot defend their rights. The display of the people’s worship is pure irony because, in reality, their liturgy is a pantomime, the opposite of true worship. It is anti-worship: their offerings are hollow and their incense is abominable, profaning and mocking God. The participation of each person in the liturgy, with hymns and gestures, only exposes their murderous hands, stained with the blood of the poor, helpless, and oppressed. The turning point is God’s call to purification (16) and conversion to justice (18). Obedience will bring abundant harvests, while disobedience will result in war and death (19-20).