651 "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 !
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 .
651 I was ready to be sought by those who did not ask for me; I was ready to be found by those who did not seek me. I said, "Here am I, here am I," to a nation that was not called by[1] my name. 2 I spread out my hands all the day to a rebellious people, who walk in a way that is not good, following their own devices; 3 a people who provoke me to my face continually, sacrificing in gardens and making offerings on bricks; 4 who sit in tombs, and spend the night in secret places; who eat pig's flesh, and broth of tainted meat is in their vessels; 5 who say, "Keep to yourself, do not come near me, for I am too holy for you." These are a 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 indeed repay into their bosom 7 both your iniquities and your fathers' iniquities together, says the Lord; because they made offerings on the mountains and insulted me on the hills, I will measure into their bosom payment for their former deeds."[2]
8 Thus says the Lord: "As the new wine is found in the cluster, and they say, 'Do not destroy it, for there is a blessing in it,' so I will do for my servants' sake, and not destroy them all. 9 I will bring forth offspring from Jacob, and from Judah possessors of my mountains; my chosen shall possess it, and my servants shall dwell there. 10 Sharon shall become a pasture for flocks, and the Valley of Achor a place for herds to lie down, for my people who have sought me.
11 But you who forsake the Lord, who forget my holy mountain, who set a table for Fortune and fill cups of mixed wine for Destiny, 12 I will destine you to the sword, and all of you shall bow down to the slaughter, because, when I called, you did not answer; when I spoke, you did not listen, but you did what was evil in my eyes and chose what I did not delight in." 13 Therefore 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 put to shame; 14 behold, my servants shall sing for gladness of heart, but you shall cry out for pain of heart and shall wail for breaking of spirit. 15 You shall leave your name to my chosen for a curse, and the Lord GOD will put you to death, but his servants he will call by another name. 16 So that he who blesses himself in the land shall bless himself by the God of truth, and he who takes an oath in the land shall swear by the God of truth; because the former troubles are forgotten and are hidden from my eyes.
17 "For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind. 18 But be glad and rejoice forever in that which I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy, and her people to be a gladness. 19 I will rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in my people; no more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping and the cry of distress. 20 No more shall there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not fill out his days, for the young man shall die a hundred years old, and the sinner a hundred years old shall be accursed. 21 They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit. 22 They shall not build and another inhabit; they shall not plant and another eat; for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be, and my chosen shall long enjoy[3] the work of their hands. 23 They shall not labor in vain or bear children for calamity,[4] for they shall be the offspring of the blessed of the Lord, and their descendants with them. 24 Before they call I will answer; while they are yet speaking I will hear. 25 The wolf and the lamb shall graze together; the lion shall eat straw like the ox, and dust shall be the serpent's food. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain," says the Lord.
651 "I've made myself available to those who haven't bothered to ask. I'm here, ready to be found by those who haven't bothered to look. I kept saying 'I'm here, I'm right here' to a nation that ignored me. 2 I reached out day after day to a people who turned their backs on me, People who make wrong turns, who insist on doing things their own way. 3 They get on my nerves, are rude to my face day after day, Make up their own kitchen religion, a potluck religious stew. 4 They spend the night in tombs to get messages from the dead, Eat forbidden foods and drink a witch's brew of potions and charms. 5 They say, 'Keep your distance. Don't touch me. I'm holier than thou.' These people gag me. I can't stand their stench. 6 Look at this! Their sins are all written out - I have the list before me. I'm not putting up with this any longer. I'll pay them the wages 7 They have coming for their sins. And for the sins of their parents lumped in, a bonus." God says so. "Because they've practiced their blasphemous worship, mocking me at their hillside shrines, I'll let loose the consequences and pay them in full for their actions."
8 God's Message: "But just as one bad apple doesn't ruin the whole bushel, there are still plenty of good apples left. So I'll preserve those in Israel who obey me. I won't destroy the whole nation. 9 I'll bring out my true children from Jacob and the heirs of my mountains from Judah. My chosen will inherit the land, my servants will move in. 10 The lush valley of Sharon in the west will be a pasture for flocks, And in the east, the valley of Achor, a place for herds to graze. These will be for the people who bothered to reach out to me, who wanted me in their lives, who actually bothered to look for me.
11 "But you who abandon me, your God, who forget the holy mountains, Who hold dinners for Lady Luck and throw cocktail parties for Sir Fate, 12 Well, you asked for it. Fate it will be: your destiny, Death. For when I invited you, you ignored me; when I spoke to you, you brushed me off. You did the very things I exposed as evil; you chose what I hate." 13 Therefore, this is the Message from the Master, God: "My servants will eat, and you'll go hungry; My servants will drink, and you'll go thirsty; My servants will rejoice, and you'll hang your heads. 14 My servants will laugh from full hearts, and you'll cry out heartbroken, yes, wail from crushed spirits. 15 Your legacy to my chosen will be your name reduced to a cussword. I, God, will put you to death and give a new name to my servants. 16 Then whoever prays a blessing in the land will use my faithful name for the blessing, And whoever takes an oath in the land will use my faithful name for the oath, Because the earlier troubles are gone and forgotten, banished far from my sight. New Heavens and a New Earth
17 "Pay close attention now: I'm creating new heavens and a new earth. All the earlier troubles, chaos, and pain are things of the past, to be forgotten. 18 Look ahead with joy. Anticipate what I'm creating: I'll create Jerusalem as sheer joy, create my people as pure delight. 19 I'll take joy in Jerusalem, take delight in my people: No more sounds of weeping in the city, no cries of anguish; 20 No more babies dying in the cradle, or old people who don't enjoy a full lifetime; One-hundredth birthdays will be considered normal - anything less will seem like a cheat. 21 They'll build houses and move in. They'll plant fields and eat what they grow. 22 No more building a house that some outsider takes over, No more planting fields that some enemy confiscates, For my people will be as long-lived as trees, my chosen ones will have satisfaction in their work. 23 They won't work and have nothing come of it, they won't have children snatched out from under them. For they themselves are plantings blessed by God, with their children and grandchildren likewise God-blessed. 24 Before they call out, I'll answer. Before they've finished speaking, I'll have heard. 25 Wolf and lamb will graze the same meadow, lion and ox eat straw from the same trough, but snakes - they'll get a diet of dirt! Neither animal nor human will hurt or kill anywhere on my Holy Mountain," says God.
