Isaiah 65

1 I became visible to those who were not seeking me and was found by those who were not asking for me. I said, ‘Look, I am here,’ to a nation that did not call on my name.

2 All day I stretched out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people, to those who did not walk in the true path but followed their own sins.

3 These people continually provoke me in my presence. They sacrifice in gardens and burn incense on bricks to demons that do not exist.

4 They sleep in tombs and caves in pursuit of dreams. They eat pig’s flesh and the broth of their sacrifices, and all their containers are defiled.

5 They say, ‘Stay away and do not come near me, because I am pure.’ They are the smoke of my wrath, and a fire burns in it continually.

6 Look, it is written before me. I will not remain silent until I have repaid them directly,

7 both their sins and their ancestors’ sins, says the Lord. They burned incense on the mountains and insulted me on the hills, so I will repay their works directly.

8 This is what the Lord says: When a grape is found in a cluster, people say, ‘Do not destroy it, because the Lord’s blessing is in it.’ In the same way, for my servant’s sake, I will not destroy them all.

9 I will bring out offspring from Jacob and Judah. They will inherit my holy mountain; my chosen people and my servants will inherit it and live there.

10 The forest will contain sheepfolds, and the valley of Achor will become a resting place for the herds of my people who sought me.

11 But you abandoned me, forgot my holy mountain, prepared a table for the demon, and filled a drink offering for Fortune.

12 I will hand you over to the sword, and all of you will fall in slaughter, because I called and you did not listen. I spoke and you refused to hear. You did evil before me and chose what did not please me.

13 Therefore this is what the Lord says: Look, my servants will eat, but you will hunger. My servants will drink, but you will thirst. My servants will rejoice, but you will be ashamed.

14 Look, my servants will celebrate with joy, but you will cry from the sorrow in your heart and wail from the anguish in your spirit.

15 You will leave your name as something hated by my chosen people, and the Lord will destroy you. But my servants will be called by a new name,

16 which will be blessed on the earth. They will bless the true God, and those who swear on the earth will swear by the true God. They will forget the former affliction, and it will not enter their minds.

17 There will be a new heaven and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered or enter anyone’s mind.

18 Instead, people will find joy and celebration in her. Look, I make Jerusalem a source of rejoicing and my people a source of joy.

19 I will rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in my people. The sound of weeping or crying will no longer be heard in her.

20 No infant will die there prematurely, and no old person will fail to complete his time. A young person will be a hundred years old, and the sinner who dies at one hundred will also be cursed.

21 They will build houses and live in them themselves. They will plant vineyards and eat their fruit themselves.

22 They will never build for others to inhabit or plant for others to eat. My people’s days will be like the days of the tree of life, and they will enjoy the fruits of their labor for a long time.

23 My chosen people will not labor in vain or bear children for a curse. They are offspring blessed by God, and their descendants will be with them.

24 Before they call, I will listen to them. While they are still speaking, I will say, ‘What is it?’

25 Then wolves and lambs will feed together, the lion will eat chaff like an ox, and the serpent will eat earth like bread. They will neither harm nor destroy on my holy mountain, says the Lord.