A Rebellious People

1 “I permitted Myself to be sought by those who did not ask for Me;
          I permitted Myself to be found by those who did not seek Me.
          I said, ‘Here am I, here am I,’
          To a nation which did not call on My name.

2 “I have spread out My hands all day long to a rebellious people,
          Who walk in the way which is not good, following their own thoughts,

3 A people who continually provoke Me to My face,
          Offering sacrifices in gardens and burning incense on bricks;

4 Who sit among graves and spend the night in secret places;
          Who eat swine’s flesh,
          And the broth of unclean meat is in their pots.

5 “Who say, ‘Keep to yourself, do not come near me,
          For I am holier than you!’
          These are smoke in My nostrils,
          A fire that burns all the day.

6 “Behold, it is written before Me,
          I will not keep silent, but I will repay;
          I will even repay into their bosom,

7 Both their own iniquities and the iniquities of their fathers together,” says the LORD.
          “Because they have burned incense on the mountains
          And scorned Me on the hills,
          Therefore I will measure their former work into their bosom.”

      8 Thus says the LORD,
          “As the new wine is found in the cluster,
          And one says, ‘Do not destroy it, for there is benefit in it,’
          So I will act on behalf of My servants
          In order not to destroy all of them.

9 “I will bring forth offspring from Jacob,
          And an heir of My mountains from Judah;
          Even My chosen ones shall inherit it,
          And My servants will dwell there.

10 “Sharon will be a pasture land for flocks,
          And the valley of Achor a resting place for herds,
          For My people who seek Me.

11 “But you who forsake the LORD,
          Who forget My holy mountain,
          Who set a table for Fortune,
          And who fill cups with mixed wine for Destiny,

12 I will destine you for the sword,
          And all of you will bow down to the slaughter.
          Because I called, but you did not answer;
          I spoke, but you did not hear.
          And you did evil in My sight
          And chose that in which I did not delight.”

      13 Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD,
          “Behold, My servants will eat, but you will be hungry.
          Behold, My servants will drink, but you will be thirsty.
          Behold, My servants will rejoice, but you will be put to shame.

14 “Behold, My servants will shout joyfully with a glad heart,
          But you will cry out with a heavy heart,
          And you will wail with a broken spirit.

15 “You will leave your name for a curse to My chosen ones,
          And the Lord GOD will slay you.
          But My servants will be called by another name.

16 “Because he who is blessed in the earth
          Will be blessed by the God of truth;
          And he who swears in the earth
          Will swear by the God of truth;
          Because the former troubles are forgotten,
          And because they are hidden from My sight!


New Heavens and a New Earth

17 “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth;
          And the former things will not be remembered or come to mind.

18 “But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create;
          For behold, I create Jerusalem for rejoicing
          And her people for gladness.

19 “I will also rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in My people;
          And there will no longer be heard in her
          The voice of weeping and the sound of crying.

20 “No longer will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days,
          Or an old man who does not live out his days;
          For the youth will die at the age of one hundred
          And the one who does not reach the age of one hundred
          Will be thought accursed.

21 “They will build houses and inhabit them;
          They will also plant vineyards and eat their fruit.

22 “They will not build and another inhabit,
          They will not plant and another eat;
          For as the lifetime of a tree, so will be the days of My people,
          And My chosen ones will wear out the work of their hands.

23 “They will not labor in vain,
          Or bear children for calamity;
          For they are the offspring of those blessed by the LORD,
          And their descendants with them.

24 “It will also come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear. 25 “The wolf and the lamb will graze together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox; and dust will be the serpent’s food. They will do no evil or harm in all My holy mountain,” says the LORD.