18 And now why take ^athe road to Egypt,
To drink the waters of^{1 b}Sihor?
Or why take the road to ^cAssyria,
To drink the waters of the River? ‡

19 Your own wickedness will ^acorrect you,
And your backslidings will rebuke you.
Know therefore and see that it is an evil and bitter thing
That you have forsaken the Lord your God,
And the¹ fear of Me is not in you,”
Says the Lord God of hosts. ‡

21 Yet I had ^aplanted you a noble vine, a seed of highest quality.
How then have you turned before Me
Into ^bthe degenerate plant of an alien vine? ‡

22 For though you wash yourself with lye, and use much soap,
Yet your iniquity is ^amarked before Me,” says the Lord God. ‡