A Rebellious People
1 “I let Myself be sought by those who did not askfor Me;
I let Myself be found by those who did not seek Me.
I said, ‘Here am I, here am I,’
To the nation [Israel] which did not call on My Name.
2 “I have spread out My hands all the day long to a rebelliousandstubborn people,
Who walk in the way that is not good, [following] after their own thoughtsandintentions,
3 The people who continually provoke Me to My face,
Sacrificing [to idols] in gardens and making offerings with incense on bricks [instead of at the designated altar];
4 Who sit among the graves [trying to conjure up evil spirits] and spend the night in the secret places [where spirits are thought to dwell];
Who eat swine’s flesh,
And their potsholdthe broth ofunclean meat;
5 Who say, ‘Keep to yourself, do not come near me,
For Iam too holy for you [and you might defile me]!’
These [people] are smoke in My nostrils,
A fire that burns all the day.
6 “Indeed, it is written before Me,
I will not keep silent, but I will repay;
I will even repay it [directly] into theirarms,
7 Both your own wickedness and the wickedness of your fathers,” says the Lord.
“Since theytoohave made offerings with incense on the mountains
And scornedandtaunted Me on the hills,
I therefore will measure [punishment for] their former work [directly] into theirarms.”
8 This is what the Lordsays,
“As the new wine is found in the cluster,
And one says, ‘Do not destroy it, for there is a blessingandbenefit in it,’
So I will do for the sake of My servants
In order not to destroy all of them.
9 “I will bring forth descendants from Jacob,
And an heir of My mountains from Judah;
Even My chosen ones shall inherit it,
And My servants will live there.
10 “And [the plain of] Sharon will be a place for flocks to graze,
And the Valley of Achor a resting place for herds,
For My people who seek Me [who long for Me and require My presence in their lives].
11 “But you who abandon (turn away from) the Lord,
Who forgetandignore My holy mountain (Zion),
Who set a table for Gad [the Babylonian god of fortune],
And who fill a jug of mixed wine for Meni [the god of fate],
12 I will destine you for the sword, [says the Lord],
And all of you will bow down to the slaughter,
Because when I called, you did not answer;
When I spoke, you did not listenorobey.
But you did [what was] evil in My sight
And chose that in which I did not delight.”
13 Therefore, the Lord Godsays this,
“Listen carefully, My servants will eat, but you will be hungry;
Indeed, My servants will drink, but you will be thirsty;
Indeed, My servants will rejoice, but you will be put to shame.
14 “Indeed, My servants will shout for joy from a happy heart,
But you will cry out with a heavy heart,
And you shall wailandhowl from a broken spirit.
15 “And you will leave your name behind to My chosen ones [who will use it] as a curse,
And the Lord Godwill put you to death,
But He will call His servants by another name [a much greater name, just as the name Israel was greater than the name Jacob].
16 “Because he who blesses himself on the earth
Will bless himself by the God of truthandfaithfulness;
And he who swears [an oath] on the earth
Will swear by the God of truthandfaithfulness;
Because the former troubles are forgotten,
And because they are hidden from My sight.
New Heavens and a New Earth
17 “Behold, I am creating new heavens and a new earth;
And the former things [of life] will not be remembered or come to mind.
18 “But be glad and rejoice forever over what I create;
Behold, I am creating Jerusalem to be asource ofrejoicing
And her people a joy.
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 shall there bein it an infantwho lives only a fewdays,
Or an old man who does not finish his days;
For the youth who dies at the age of a hundred,
And the one who does not reach the age of a hundred
Will bethought of asaccursed.
21 “They will build houses and livein them;
They will plant vineyards and eat the fruit.
22 “They will not build and another occupy;
They will not plant and another eat [the fruit].
For as the lifetime of a tree,so will bethe days of My people,
And My chosen [people] will fully enjoy [and long make use of] the work of their hands.
23 “They will not labor in vain,
Or bearchildrenfor disaster;
For they are the descendants of those blessed by the Lord,
And their offspring with them.
24 “It shall 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 [there will no longer be predator and prey]; and dust will be the serpent’s food. They will do no evil or harm in all My holy mountain (Zion),” says the Lord.