Judgment and Salvation
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1I was ready to be sought by 2those 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 bya my name.
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3I spread out my hands all the day to a rebellious people, who walk in a way that is not good, following their own devices;
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a people who provoke me to my face continually, 4sacrificing in gardens and making offerings on bricks;
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who sit in tombs, and spend the night in secret places; 5who eat pig's flesh, and broth of tainted meat is in their vessels;
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who say, "Keep to yourself, do not come near me, for I am too holy for you." 6These are a smoke in my nostrils, a fire that burns all the day.
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Behold, 7it is written before me: 8"I will not keep silent, but I will repay; 9I will indeed repay into their bosom
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both your iniquities 10and your fathers' iniquities together, says the LORD; 11because they made offerings on the mountains 12and insulted me on the hills, I will measure into their bosom payment for their former deeds."b
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Thus says the LORD: 13"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, 14and not destroy them all.
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15I will bring forth offspring from Jacob, and from Judah possessors of my mountains; my chosen shall possess it, and my servants shall dwell there.
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16Sharon shall become a pasture for flocks, and 17the Valley of Achor a place for herds to lie down, for my people 18who have sought me.
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But 19you who forsake the LORD, who forget 20my holy mountain, who 21set a table for Fortune and 22fill cups of mixed wine for Destiny,
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I will destine you to the sword, and all of you shall bow down to the slaughter, 23because, when I called, you did not answer; when I spoke, you did not listen, 24but you did what was evil in my eyes and chose what I did not delight in."
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Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: "Behold, 25my 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;
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behold, 26my servants shall sing for gladness of heart, but you shall cry out for pain of heart and shall wail for breaking of spirit.
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You shall leave your name to 27my chosen 28for a curse, and the Lord GOD will put you to death, but his servants 29he will call by another name.
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So that he who 30blesses himself in the land shall bless himself by 31the God of truth, and he who takes an oath in the land shall swear by 32the God of truth; 33because the former troubles are forgotten and are hidden from my eyes.
New Heavens and a New Earth
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"For behold, 34I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind.
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But be glad and rejoice forever in that which I create; for behold, 35I create Jerusalem to be a joy, and her people to be a gladness.
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36I will rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in my people; 37no more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping and the cry of distress.
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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 38the young man shall die a hundred years old, and 39the sinner a hundred years old shall be accursed.
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41They shall not build and another inhabit; they shall not plant and another eat; 42for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be, and my chosen shall long enjoyc the work of their hands.
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.
(English Standard Version - The Holy Bible Online)