CHAPTER 65
“I revealed Myself
to 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 did not
call
My name.
All day long
I have held out
My hands
to
an obstinate
people,
who walk
in the wrong
path,
who follow
their own imaginations,
to a people
who continually
provoke Me
to
My face,
sacrificing
in the gardens
and burning incense
on
altars of brick,
sitting
among the graves,
spending nights
in secret places,
eating
the meat
of pigs
and polluted broth
from their bowls.
They say,
‘Keep
to yourself,
do not
come near me,
for
I am holier than you!’
Such people
are smoke
in My nostrils,
a fire
that burns
all day long.
Behold,
it is written
before Me:
I will not
keep silent,
but
I will repay;
I will pay it back
into
their laps
both
for your iniquities
and those
of your fathers,”
says
the LORD.
“Because
they burned incense
on
the mountains
and scorned Me
on
the hills,
I will measure
into
their laps
full payment for their former
deeds.”
This is what
the LORD
says:
“As
the new wine
is found
in a cluster of grapes,
and men say,
‘Do not
destroy it,
for
it contains
a blessing,’
so
I will act
on behalf
of My servants:
I will not
destroy
them all.
And I will bring forth
descendants
from Jacob,
and heirs
to My mountains
out of Judah;
My elect
will possess it,
and My servants
will dwell
there.
Sharon
will become
a pasture
for flocks,
and the Valley
of Achor
a resting place
for the herds,
for My people
who
seek Me.
But you
who forsake
the LORD,
who forget
My holy
mountain,
who set
a table
for Fortune
and fill
bowls of mixed wine
for Destiny,
I will destine
you
for the sword,
and you will all
kneel down
to be slaughtered,
because
I called
and you did not
answer,
I spoke
and you did not
listen;
you did
evil
in My sight
and chose
that in which
I did not
delight."
Therefore
this is what
the Lord
GOD
says:
“My servants
will eat,
but you
will go hungry;
My servants
will drink,
but you
will go thirsty;
My servants
will rejoice,
but you
will be put to shame.
My servants
will shout for joy
with a glad
heart,
but you
will cry out
with a heavy
heart
and wail
with a broken
spirit.
You will leave behind
your name
as a curse
for My chosen ones,
and the Lord
GOD
will slay you,
but to His servants
He will give
another
name.
Whoever
invokes a blessing
in the land
will do so
by the God
of truth,
and whoever takes an oath
in the land
will swear
by the God
of truth.
For
the former
troubles
will be forgotten
and hidden
from My sight.
For
behold,
I will create
new
heavens
and a new
earth.
The former things
will not
be remembered,
nor
will they come
to
mind.
But be glad
and rejoice
forever
in what
I
create;
for
I will create
Jerusalem
to be a joy
and its people
to be a delight.
I will rejoice
in Jerusalem
and take delight
in My people.
The sounds
of weeping
and crying
will no
longer
be heard
in her.
No
longer
will a nursing infant
live
but a few days,
or an old man
not
live out
his days.
For
the youth
will die
at a hundred
years,
and he who fails
to reach a hundred
will be considered accursed.
No longer
will they build houses
for others
to inhabit,
nor
plant
for others
to eat.
For
as is the lifetime
of a tree,
so will be the days
of My people,
and My chosen ones
will fully enjoy
the work
of their hands.
They will not
labor
in vain
or
bear children
doomed to disaster;
for
they
will be a people
blessed
by the LORD—
they and their descendants
with them.
The wolf
and the lamb
will feed together,
and the lion
will eat
straw
like the ox,
but the food
of the serpent
will be dust.
They will do no
harm
nor
destruction
on all My
holy
mountain,”
says
the LORD.