1 ARST This is what Yahweh said:“I was ready to reply to my people, but no one requested me to help them. I was ready to help even those who did not call out to me. I continued to say,‘I am here to help you!’ BSB BSB: “I revealed Myself to those who did not ask for Me; I was found by those who did not seek Me. To a nation that did not call My name, I said, ‘Here I am! Here I am!’
2 ARST It is as though I had continually held out my arms to show that I was ready to help my people who rebelled against me, and who continually did the evil things that they wanted to do. BSB BSB: All day long I have held out My hands to an obstinate people who walk in the wrong path, who follow their own imaginations,
3 ARST They boldly continue to do things that cause me to be angry: they offer sacrifices to their idols in their gardens, and they burn incense to them on altars made of bricks and tiles. BSB BSB: to a people who continually provoke Me to My face, sacrificing in the gardens and burning incense on altars of brick,
4 ARST They remain awake at night in cemeteries, talking with the spirits of dead people. They eat the meat of pigs, and their pots are full of the broth of meat that is unacceptable to me. BSB BSB: sitting among the graves, spending nights in secret places, eating the meat of pigs and polluted broth from their bowls.
5 ARST Then they say to others,‘Stay away from me; do not come near me, because I am very holy, with the result that you should not touch me.’ People like that are like smoke in my nose from a fire that burns continually. BSB BSB: 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.
6 ARST I have written a record of all the evil things that they have done. And I will not remain silent about all those things; I will certainly punish these people BSB BSB: Behold, it is written before Me: I will not keep silent, but I will repay; I will pay it back into their laps,
7 ARST for the sins that they and their ancestors have committed. They have mocked me by burning incense to their idols on the hilltops. So I will punish them like they deserve for doing those things.” BSB BSB: both for your iniquities and for 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.”
8 ARST This is also what Yahweh said:“When there is a cluster of nice grapes on a vine, people do not throw them away, because they know that there is good juice in those grapes. Similarly, because there are some people in Judah who faithfully serve me, I will not get rid of all of them. BSB BSB: 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.
9 ARST I will spare some of the descendants of Jacob who are living on the hills of Judah. I have chosen them, and they will possess that land; they will worship me, and they will live there. BSB BSB: And I will bring forth descendants from Jacob, and heirs from Judah; My elect will possess My mountains, and My servants will dwell there.
10 ARST Then all the land from the Plain of Sharon near the Mediterranean Sea and as far east as the Valley of Achor near Jericho will become pastureland, where their cattle and sheep will rest. BSB BSB: Sharon will become a pasture for flocks, and the Valley of Achor a resting place for herds, for My people who seek Me.
11 ARST But it will be different for you who have abandoned me, you who do not worship me on Zion, my sacred hill, you who worship Gad and Meni, the gods who you say will bring you good luck and good fortune. BSB BSB: 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,
12 ARST It is I, not Meni, who will decide what will happen to you; you will all be slaughtered by swords. That will happen because you did not answer when I called out to you. I spoke to you, but you did not pay attention. Instead, you did things that I said are evil; you chose to do things that do not please me. BSB BSB: 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.”
13 ARST I, Yahweh the Lord, will give to those who worship and obey me things to eat and drink, and they will be happy; but all you evil people will be hungry and thirsty, and you will be sad and disgraced. BSB BSB: 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.
14 ARST Those who worship and obey me will sing joyfully, but you evil people will wail loudly because you will be suffering in your inner beings. BSB BSB: 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.
15 ARST Those whom I have chosen will use your names when they curse people; I, Yahweh the Lord, will get rid of you. But I will give to those who worship and obey me a new name. BSB BSB: 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.
16 ARST The people in this land have had many troubles, but I will cause those troubles to occur no more. Therefore those who request me to bless them and those who solemnly promise to do something should never forget that I am God, who faithfully do what I promise to do. BSB BSB: 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.
17 ARST Note this: Some day I will create a new heaven and a new earth. They will be very wonderful, with the result that you will no longer think about all the troubles you had previously. BSB BSB: For behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind.
18 ARST Be glad and always rejoice because of what I will do: Jerusalem will be a place where people rejoice; the people who live there will always be happy. BSB BSB: 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.
19 ARST I will rejoice about Jerusalem, and I will be delighted with my people. People will no longer weep or cry because of being distressed. BSB BSB: I will rejoice in Jerusalem and take delight in My people. The sounds of weeping and crying will no longer be heard in her.
20 ARST No child will die when it is still an infant; all people will live until they are very old. People will consider that anyone who is a hundred years old is still young; they will consider that anyone who dies who is younger than that has been cursed. BSB BSB: No longer will a nursing infant live but a few days, or an old man fail to live out his years. For the youth will die at a hundred years, and he who fails to reach a hundred will be considered accursed.
21 ARST My people will build houses and then live in them. They will plant vineyards and then eat grapes from those vineyards. BSB BSB: They will build houses and dwell in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
22 ARST The houses that they build, no one will take those houses away from them and live in them. No one will take a vineyard away from its owner. My chosen people will live a long time, like trees do, and they will enjoy the things that they have done— the houses that they have built and the crops that they have planted. BSB BSB: 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.
23 ARST They will not work hard in vain, and their children will not die from some calamity. I will certainly bless their children and their grandchildren. BSB BSB: 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.
24 ARST Before they call to me to help them, I will answer; I will answer their prayers while they are still praying for me to do something for them. BSB BSB: Even before they call, I will answer, and while they are still speaking, I will hear.
25 ARST No one will be harmed or injured anywhere on Zion, my sacred hill: wolves and lambs will eat grass together peacefully; lions will eat hay like oxen do, and they will not attack people. Snakes will not hurt anyone; they will lie on the ground and eat only dirt. That is surely what it will be like because I, Yahweh, have said it.” BSB BSB: 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 neither harm nor destroy on all My holy mountain,” says the LORD.
Select verses for actions: Enter goes to them and Escape comes back.