The Righteousness of God’s Judgment

65 “I was asought by those who did not ask for Me;

I was found by those who did not seek Me.

I said, ‘Here I am, here I am,’

To a nation that bwas not called by My name.

2 cI have stretched out My hands all day long to a drebellious people,

Who ewalk in a way that is not good,

According to their own thoughts;

3 A people fwho provoke Me to anger continually to My face;

gWho sacrifice in gardens,

And burn incense on altars of brick;

4 hWho sit among the graves,

And spend the night in the tombs;

iWho eat swine’s flesh,

And the broth of 1abominable things is in their vessels;

5 jWho say, ‘Keep to yourself,

Do not come near me,

For I am holier than you!’

These 2are smoke in My nostrils,

A fire that burns all the day.

6 “Behold, kit is written before Me:

lI will not keep silence, mbut will repay—

Even repay into their bosom—

7 Your iniquities and nthe iniquities of your fathers together,”

Says the Lord,

o“Who have burned incense on the mountains

pAnd blasphemed Me on the hills;

Therefore I will measure their former work into their bosom.”

8 Thus says the Lord:

“As the new wine is found in the cluster,

And one says, ‘Do not destroy it,

For qa blessing is in it,’

So will I do for My servants’ sake,

That I may not destroy them rall.

9 I will bring forth descendants from Jacob,

And from Judah an heir of My mountains;

My select shall inherit it,

And My servants shall dwell there.

10 tSharon shall be a fold of flocks,

And uthe Valley of Achor a place for herds to lie down,

For My people who have vsought Me.

11 “But you are those who forsake the Lord,

Who forget wMy holy mountain,

Who prepare xa table for 3Gad,

And who furnish a drink offering for 4Meni.

12 Therefore I will number you for the sword,

And you shall all bow down to the slaughter;

yBecause, when I called, you did not answer;

When I spoke, you did not hear,

But did evil before My eyes,

And chose that in which I do not delight.”

13 Therefore thus says the Lord God:

“Behold, My 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 ashamed;

14 Behold, My servants shall sing for joy of heart,

But you shall cry for sorrow of heart,

And zwail for 5grief of spirit.

15 You shall leave your name aas a curse to bMy chosen;

For the Lord God will slay you,

And ccall His servants by another name;

16 dSo that he who blesses himself in the earth

Shall bless himself in the God of truth;

And ehe who swears in the earth

Shall swear by the God of truth;

Because the former troubles are forgotten,

And because they are hidden from My eyes.

The Glorious New Creation

17 “For behold, I create fnew heavens and a new earth;

And the former shall not be remembered or 6come to mind.

18 But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create;

For behold, I create Jerusalem as a rejoicing,

And her people a joy.

19 gI will rejoice in Jerusalem,

And joy in My people;

The hvoice of weeping shall no longer be heard in her,

Nor the voice of crying.

20 “No more shall an infant from there live but a few days,

Nor an old man who has not fulfilled his days;

For the child shall die one hundred years old,

iBut the sinner being one hundred years old shall be accursed.

21 jThey shall build houses and inhabit them;

They shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.

22 They shall not build and another inhabit;

They shall not plant and kanother eat;

For las the days of a tree, so shall be the days of My people,

And mMy elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.

23 They shall not labor in vain,

nNor bring forth children for trouble;

For othey shall be the descendants of the blessed of the Lord,

And their offspring with them.

24 “It shall come to pass

That pbefore they call, I will answer;

And while they are still speaking, I will qhear.

25 The rwolf and the lamb shall feed together,

The lion shall eat straw like the ox,

sAnd dust shall be the serpent’s food.

They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain,”

Says the Lord.

Praise to God

25 O Lord, You are my God.

aI will exalt You,

I will praise Your name,

bFor You have done wonderful things;

cYour counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.

2 For You have made da city a ruin,

A fortified city a ruin,

A palace of foreigners to be a city no more;

It will never be rebuilt.

3 Therefore the strong people will eglorify You;

The city of the 1terrible nations will fear You.

4 For You have been a strength to the poor,

A strength to the needy in his distress,

fA refuge from the storm,

A shade from the heat;

For the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall.

5 You will reduce the noise of aliens,

As heat in a dry place;

As heat in the shadow of a cloud,

The song of the terrible ones will be 2diminished.

6 And in gthis mountain

hThe Lord of hosts will make for iall people

A feast of 3choice pieces,

A feast of 4wines on the lees,

Of fat things full of marrow,

Of well-refined wines on the lees.

7 And He will destroy on this mountain

The surface of the covering cast over all people,

And jthe veil that is spread over all nations.

8 He will kswallow up death forever,

And the Lord God will lwipe away tears from all faces;

The rebuke of His people

He will take away from all the earth;

For the Lord has spoken.

9 And it will be said in that day:

“Behold, this is our God;

mWe have waited for Him, and He will save us.

This is the Lord;

We have waited for Him;

nWe will be glad and rejoice in His salvation.”

10 For on this mountain the hand of the Lord will rest,

And oMoab shall be trampled down under Him,

As straw is trampled down for the refuse heap.

11 And He will spread out His hands in their midst

As a swimmer reaches out to swim,

And He will bring down their ppride

Together with the trickery of their hands.

12 The qfortress of the high fort of your walls

He will bring down, lay low,

And bring to the ground, down to the dust.

A Song of Salvation

26 In athat day this song will be sung in the land of Judah:

“We have a strong city;

bGod will appoint salvation for walls and bulwarks.

2 cOpen the gates,

That the righteous nation which 1keeps the truth may enter in.

3 You will keep him in perfect dpeace,

Whose mind is stayed on You,

Because he trusts in You.

4 Trust in the Lord forever,

eFor in Yah, the Lord, is 2everlasting strength.

5 For He brings 3down those who dwell on high,

fThe lofty city;

He lays it low,

He lays it low to the ground,

He brings it down to the dust.

6 The foot shall 4tread it down—

The feet of the poor

And the steps of the needy.”

7 The way of the just is uprightness;

gO Most Upright,

You 5weigh the path of the just.

8 Yes, hin the way of Your judgments,

O Lord, we have iwaited for You;

The desire of our soul is for Your name

And for the remembrance of You.

9 jWith my soul I have desired You in the night,

Yes, by my spirit within me I will seek You early;

For when Your judgments are in the earth,

The inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.

10 kLet grace be shown to the wicked,

Yet he will not learn righteousness;

In lthe land of uprightness he will deal unjustly,

And will not behold the majesty of the Lord.

11 Lord, when Your hand is lifted up, mthey will not see.

But they will see and be ashamed

For 6their envy of people;

Yes, the fire of Your enemies shall devour them.

12 Lord, You will establish peace for us,

For You have also done all our works 7in us.

13 O Lord our God, nmasters besides You

Have had dominion over us;

But by You only we make mention of Your name.

14 They are dead, they will not live;

They are deceased, they will not rise.

Therefore You have punished and destroyed them,

And made all their memory to operish.

15 You have increased the nation, O Lord,

You have pincreased the nation;

You are glorified;

You have expanded all the 8borders of the land.

16 Lord, qin trouble they have visited You,

They poured out a prayer when Your chastening was upon them.

17 As ra woman with child

Is in pain and cries out in her 9pangs,

When she draws near the time of her delivery,

So have we been in Your sight, O Lord.

18 We have been with child, we have been in pain;

We have, as it were, 1brought forth wind;

We have not accomplished any deliverance in the earth,

Nor have sthe inhabitants of the world fallen.

19 tYour dead shall live;

Together with 2my dead body they shall arise.

uAwake and sing, you who dwell in dust;

For your dew is like the dew of herbs,

And the earth shall cast out the dead.

Take Refuge from the Coming Judgment

20 Come, my people, venter your chambers,

And shut your doors behind you;

Hide yourself, as it were, wfor a little moment,

Until the indignation is past.

21 For behold, the Lord xcomes out of His place

To punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity;

The earth will also disclose her 3blood,

And will no more cover her slain.