1“I was sought by those who did not ask for me; I was found by those who did not look for me. I said, ‘Here I am, here I am,’ to a nation that did not call on my name.
2All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient people, who walk in a way that is not good, following their own thoughts.
3They are a people who constantly provoke me to my face, offering sacrifices in gardens and burning incense on bricks.
4They sit among graves and spend nights in secret places. They eat pork, and their pots contain broth made from detestable things.
5They say, ‘Stay away! Don’t come near me, because I am holier than you.’ These people are like smoke in my nose, a fire that burns all day long.
6“Look, it is written before me: I will not stay silent, but I will repay them; yes, I will pay them back fully.
7I will repay both your wrongdoings and the wrongdoings of your ancestors together,” says Yahweh. “They have burned incense on the mountains and insulted me on the hills. Therefore, I will first measure out their punishment and pay them back fully.”
8Yahweh says, “Just as new wine is found in a cluster of grapes and someone says, ‘Don’t destroy it, for there is a blessing in it,’ so I will do for the sake of my servants and not destroy them all.
9I will bring descendants from Jacob and an heir to my mountains from Judah. My chosen people will inherit it, and my servants will live there.
10The plain of Sharon will be a pasture for flocks, and the Valley of Achor a resting place for herds, for my people who have sought me.
11“But you who abandon Yahweh, who forget my holy mountain, who prepare a table for the god Fortune, and who fill cups of mixed wine for the god Destiny—
12I will destine you to the sword, and all of you will bend down for slaughter, because when I called, you did not answer; when I spoke, you did not listen. Instead, you did what was evil in my eyes and chose what I did not delight in.”
13Therefore, the Lord Yahweh says, “Look, my servants will eat, but you will be hungry. Look, my servants will drink, but you will be thirsty. Look, my servants will rejoice, but you will be ashamed.
14My servants will sing with joyful hearts, but you will cry out of sadness and wail from anguish of spirit.
15You will leave your name as a curse for my chosen people, and the Lord Yahweh will kill you. He will call his servants by another name.
16Then anyone on earth who asks for a blessing will do so by relying on the God of truth. Anyone on earth who makes a promise will do so by the God of truth. This is because the past troubles will be forgotten and hidden from my sight.
17“Look, I am creating new heavens and a new earth. People will not remember or even think about the old things.
18Instead, be glad and rejoice forever in what I am creating. For look, I am creating Jerusalem to be a delight and its people a joy.
19I will rejoice in Jerusalem and delight in my people. The sound of crying and weeping will never be heard there again.
20“There will no longer be an infant who lives only a few days, nor an old person who hasn’t lived a full life. For a child will die at one hundred years old, and a wicked person who dies at one hundred years old will still be seen as cursed.
21They will build houses and live in them. They will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
22They will not build homes for others to live in, nor plant for others to eat. For my people will live as long as trees, and my chosen ones will fully enjoy what they have worked for.
23They will not work in vain or give birth to children who face disaster. For they are the descendants of Yahweh’s blessed ones, and their children will be blessed with them.
24It will happen that before they call, I will answer. While they are still speaking, I will hear.
25The wolf and the lamb will feed together. The lion will eat straw like the ox, and dust will be the serpent’s food. They will not hurt or destroy anywhere on my holy mountain,” says Yahweh.