65
The Righteousness of God’s Judgment
1“I was ⚓sought by those who did not ask for Me;
I was found by those who did not seek Me.
I said, ‘Here I am, here I am,’
To a nation that⚓was not called by My name.
2⚓I have stretched out My hands all day long to a ⚓rebellious people,
Who ⚓walk in a way that is not good,
According to their own thoughts;
3A people ⚓who provoke Me to anger continually to My face;
⚓Who sacrifice in gardens,
And burn incense on altars of brick;
4⚓Who sit among the graves,
And spend the night in the tombs;
⚓Who eat swine’s flesh,
And the broth of abominable things is in their vessels;
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 silence, ⚓but will repay—
Even repay into their bosom—
7Your iniquities and ⚓the iniquities of your fathers together,”
Says the Lord,
⚓“Who have burned incense on the mountains
⚓And blasphemed Me on the hills;
Therefore I will measure their former work into their bosom.”
8Thus says the Lord:
“As the new wine is found in the cluster,
And one says, ‘Do not destroy it,
For ⚓a blessing is in it,’
So will I do for My servants’ sake,
That I may not destroy them ⚓all.
9I will bring forth descendants from Jacob,
And from Judah an heir of My mountains;
My ⚓elect shall inherit it,
And My servants shall dwell there.
10⚓Sharon shall be a fold of flocks,
And ⚓the Valley of Achor a place for herds to lie down,
For My people who have ⚓sought Me.
11“But you are those who forsake the Lord,
Who forget ⚓My holy mountain,
Who prepare ⚓a table for Gad,
And who furnish a drink offering for Meni.
12Therefore I will number you for the sword,
And you shall all bow down to the slaughter;
⚓Because, when I called, you did not answer;
When I spoke, you did not hear,
But did evil before My eyes,
And chose that in which I do not delight.”
13Therefore thus says the Lord God:
“Behold, My servants shall eat,
But you shall be hungry;
Behold, My servants shall drink,
But you shall be thirsty;
Behold, My servants shall rejoice,
But you shall be ashamed;
14Behold, My servants shall sing for joy of heart,
But you shall cry for sorrow of heart,
And ⚓wail for grief of spirit.
15You shall leave your name ⚓as a curse to ⚓My chosen;
For the Lord God will slay you,
And ⚓call His servants by another name;
16⚓So that he who blesses himself in the earth
Shall bless himself in the God of truth;
And ⚓he who swears in the earth
Shall swear by the God of truth;
Because the former troubles are forgotten,
And because they are hidden from My eyes.
The Glorious New Creation
17“For behold, I create ⚓new heavens and a new earth;
And the former shall not be remembered or come to mind.
18But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create;
For behold, I create Jerusalem as a rejoicing,
And her people a joy.
19⚓I will rejoice in Jerusalem,
And joy in My people;
The ⚓voice of weeping shall no longer be heard in her,
Nor the voice of crying.
20“No more shall an infant from there live but a few days,
Nor an old man who has not fulfilled his days;
For the child shall die one hundred years old,
⚓But the sinner being one hundred years old shall be accursed.
21⚓They shall build houses and inhabit them;
They shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
22They shall not build and another inhabit;
They shall not plant and ⚓another eat;
For ⚓as the days of a tree, so shall be the days of My people,
And ⚓My elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.
23They shall not labor in vain,
⚓Nor bring forth children for trouble;
For ⚓they shall be the descendants of the blessed of the Lord,
And their offspring with them.
24“It shall come to pass
That ⚓before they call, I will answer;
And while they are still speaking, I will ⚓hear.
25The ⚓wolf and the lamb shall feed together,
The lion shall eat straw like the ox,
⚓And dust shall be the serpent’s food.
They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain,”
Says the Lord.