People of Israel, listen to what I am saying. Have I been like a desert to you, like a dark and dangerous land? Why, then, do you say that you will do as you please, that you will never come back to me?

So now my friend says, "You people who live in Jerusalem and Judah, judge between my vineyard and me.

Is there anything I failed to do for it? Then why did it produce sour grapes and not the good grapes I expected?

The LORD says, "But you were tired of me, Israel; you did not worship me.

You did not bring me your burnt offerings of sheep; you did not honor me with your sacrifices. I did not burden you by demanding offerings or wear you out by asking for incense.

You mountains, you everlasting foundations of the earth, listen to the LORD's case! The LORD has a case against his people. He is going to bring an accusation against Israel.

The LORD says, "My people, what have I done to you? How have I been a burden to you? Answer me.

You plant them, and they take root; they grow and bear fruit. They always speak well of you, yet they do not really care about you.

The Lord said, "These people claim to worship me, but their words are meaningless, and their hearts are somewhere else. Their religion is nothing but human rules and traditions, which they have simply memorized.

"Mortal man," he said, "the people who live in Jerusalem are talking about you and those of your nation who are in exile. They say, 'The exiles are too far away to worship the LORD. He has given us possession of the land.'

'These people, says God, honor me with their words, but their heart is really far away from me.

All of them are stupid and foolish. What can they learn from wooden idols?

At the sight of this, people feel stupid and senseless; those who make idols are disillusioned, because the gods they make are false and lifeless.

They are worthless and should be despised; they will be destroyed when the LORD comes to deal with them.

None of the idols of the nations can send rain; the sky by itself cannot make showers fall. We have put our hope in you, O LORD our God, because you are the one who does these things.

With their idols they have made me angry, jealous with their so-called gods, gods that are really not gods. So I will use a so-called nation to make them angry; I will make them jealous with a nation of fools.

Don't go after false gods; they cannot help you or save you, for they are not real.

They refused to obey his instructions, they did not keep the covenant he had made with their ancestors, and they disregarded his warnings. They worshiped worthless idols and became worthless themselves, and they followed the customs of the surrounding nations, disobeying the LORD's command not to imitate them.

Those who worship worthless idols have abandoned their loyalty to you.

"Why are you doing this? We ourselves are only human beings like you! We are here to announce the Good News, to turn you away from these worthless things to the living God, who made heaven, earth, sea, and all that is in them.

At the sight of this, people feel stupid and senseless; those who make idols are disillusioned because the gods they make are false and lifeless.

They are worthless and should be despised; they will be destroyed when the LORD comes to deal with them.

May all who made them and who trust in them become like the idols they have made.

All those who make idols are worthless, and the gods they prize so highly are useless. Those who worship these gods are blind and ignorant---and they will be disgraced.

They know God, but they do not give him the honor that belongs to him, nor do they thank him. Instead, their thoughts have become complete nonsense, and their empty minds are filled with darkness.