Read the Bible

¹ “I was sought by those who did not ask;² I spread out my hands all day long
to a rebellious people^(C1)
who walk in the path that is not good,
following their own thoughts.³ These people continually anger me
to my face,
sacrificing in gardens,^(C1)
burning incense on bricks,⁴ sitting among the graves,
spending nights in secret places,
eating the meat of pigs,^(C1)
and putting polluted broth in their bowls.^(F1)5 They say, ‘Keep to yourself,
don’t come near me, for I am too holy for you!’
These practices are smoke in my nostrils,
a fire that burns all day long.⁶ Look, it is written in front of me:
I will not keep silent,^(C1) but I will repay;^(C2)
I will repay them fully^(F1)7 for your iniquities and the iniquities^(C1)
of your^(F1) fathers together,”
says the Lord.
“Because they burned incense on the mountains
and reproached me on the hills,^(C2)
I will reward them fully^(F2)
for their former deeds.”

“As the new wine is found in a bunch of grapes,
and one says, ‘Don’t destroy it,
for there’s some good^(F1) in it,’
so I will act because of my servants
and not destroy them all.
⁹ I will produce descendants from Jacob,^(C1)
and heirs to my mountains from Judah;
my chosen^(C2) ones will possess it,
and my servants will dwell there.^(C3)10 Sharon will be a pasture for flocks,^(C1)
and the Valley of Achor a place for herds to lie down,^(C2)
for my people who have sought me.^(C3)11 But you who abandon the Lord,
who forget my holy mountain,
who prepare a table for Fortune
and fill bowls of mixed wine for Destiny,^(F1)12 I will destine you for the sword,
and all of you will kneel down to be slaughtered,
because I called and you did not answer,
I spoke and you did not hear;
you did what was evil in my sight
and chose what I did not delight in.”^(C1)

“My servants will eat,
but you will be hungry;
my servants will drink,
but you will be thirsty;
my servants will rejoice,
but you will be put to shame.
¹⁴ My servants will shout for joy from a glad heart,
but you will cry out from an anguished heart,
and you will lament out of a broken spirit.¹⁵ You will leave your name behind
as a curse for my chosen ones,^(C1)
and the Lord God will kill you;
but he will give his servants another name.^(C2)16 Whoever asks for a blessing in the land
will ask for a blessing by the God of truth,^(C1)
and whoever swears in the land
will swear by the God of truth.
For the former troubles will be forgotten
and hidden from my sight.

¹⁷ “For I will create a new heaven and a new earth;^(C1)
the past events will not be remembered or come to mind.¹⁸ Then be glad and rejoice forever
in what I am creating;
for I will create Jerusalem to be a joy
and its people to be a delight.¹⁹ I will rejoice in Jerusalem
and be glad in my people.
The sound of weeping and crying
will no longer be heard in her.^(C1)20 In her, a nursing infant will no longer live
only a few days,^(F1)
or an old man not live out his days.
Indeed, the one who dies at a hundred years old
will be mourned as a young man,^(F2)
and the one who misses a hundred years
will be considered cursed.^(C1)21 People will build houses and live in them;
they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.^(C1)22 They will not build and others live in them;
they will not plant and others eat.
For my people’s lives will be
like the lifetime of a tree.^(C1)
My chosen ones will fully enjoy
the work of their hands.²³ They will not labor without success^(C1)
or bear children destined for disaster,
for they will be a people blessed by the Lord
along with their descendants.^(C2)24 Even before they call, I will answer;^(C1)
while they are still speaking, I will hear.²⁵ The wolf and the lamb will feed together,^(F1)
and the lion will eat straw like cattle,^(C1)
but the serpent’s food will be dust!^(C2)
They will not do what is evil or destroy
on my entire holy mountain,”^(C3)
says the Lord.