Isaiah 65:8–16

^8–10God’s Message:

“But just as one bad apple doesn’t ruin the whole bushel,

there are still plenty of good apples left.

So I’ll preserve those in Israel who obey me.

I won’t destroy the whole nation.

I’ll bring out my true children from Jacob

and the heirs of my mountains from Judah.

My chosen will inherit the land,

my servants will move in.

The lush valley of Sharon in the west

will be a pasture for flocks,

And in the east, the valley of Achor,

a place for herds to graze.

These will be for the people

who bothered to reach out to me, who wanted me in their lives,

who actually bothered to look for me.

^11–12“But you who abandon me, your God,

who forget the holy mountains,

Who hold dinners for Lady Luck

and throw cocktail parties for Sir Fate,

Well, you asked for it. Fate it will be:

your destiny, Death.

For when I invited you, you ignored me;

when I spoke to you, you brushed me off.

You did the very things I exposed as evil;

you chose what I hate.”

^13–16Therefore, this is the Message from the Master, God:

“My servants will eat,

and you’ll go hungry;

My servants will drink,

and you’ll go thirsty;

My servants will rejoice,

and you’ll hang your heads.

My servants will laugh from full hearts,

and you’ll cry out heartbroken,

yes, wail from crushed spirits.

Your legacy to my chosen

will be your name reduced to a cussword.

I, God, will put you to death

and give a new name to my servants.

Then whoever prays a blessing in the land

will use my faithful name for the blessing,

And whoever takes an oath in the land

will use my faithful name for the oath,

Because the earlier troubles are gone and forgotten,

banished far from my sight.