Judgment and Salvation

65 gI was ready to be sought by hthose who did not ask for me;

I was ready to be found by those who did not seek me.

I said, “Here I am, here I am,”

to a nation that was not called by1 my name.

2  iI spread out my hands all the day

to a rebellious people,

who walk in a way that is not good,

following their own devices;

3  a people who provoke me

to my face continually,

jsacrificing in gardens

and making offerings on bricks;

4  who sit in tombs,

and spend the night in secret places;

kwho eat pig’s flesh,

and broth of tainted meat is in their vessels;

5  who say, “Keep to yourself,

do not come near me, for I am too holy for you.”

lThese are a smoke in my nostrils,

a fire that burns all the day.

6  Behold, mit is written before me:

n“I will not keep silent, but I will repay;

oI will indeed repay into their lap

7  both your iniquities pand your fathers’ iniquities together,

says the Lord;

qbecause they made offerings on the mountains

qand insulted me on the hills,

I will measure into their lap

payment for their former deeds.”2

8  Thus says the Lord:

r“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,

sand not destroy them all.

9  tI will bring forth offspring from Jacob,

and from Judah possessors of my mountains;

my chosen shall possess it,

and my servants shall dwell there.

10  uSharon shall become a pasture for flocks,

and vthe Valley of Achor a place for herds to lie down,

for my people wwho have sought me.

11  But xyou who forsake the Lord,

who forget ymy holy mountain,

who zset a table for Fortune

and zfill cups of mixed wine for Destiny,

12  I will destine you to the sword,

and all of you shall bow down to the slaughter,

abecause, when I called, you did not answer;

when I spoke, you did not listen,

bbut you did what was evil in my eyes

and chose what I did not delight in.”

13  Therefore thus says the Lord God:

“Behold, cmy 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;

14  behold, dmy servants shall sing for gladness of heart,

but you shall cry out for pain of heart

and shall wail for breaking of spirit.

15  You shall leave your name to emy chosen ffor a curse,

and the Lord God will put you to death,

but his servants ghe will call by another name,

16  so that he who hblesses himself in the land

shall bless himself by hthe God of truth,

and he who takes an oath in the land

shall swear by ithe God of truth;

jbecause the former troubles are forgotten

and are hidden from my eyes.