Israel Speaks Arrogantly Against God

13 “You have spoken arrogantlyr against me,” says the Lord.

“Yet you ask,s ‘What have we said against you?’

14 “You have said, ‘It is futilet to serveu God. What do we gain by carrying out his requirementsv and going about like mournersw before the Lord Almighty? 15 But now we call the arrogantx blessed. Certainly evildoersy prosper,z and even when they put God to the test, they get away with it.’ ”

The Faithful Remnant

16 Then those who feared the Lord talked with each other, and the Lord listened and heard.a A scrollb of remembrance was written in his presence concerning those who fearedc the Lord and honored his name.

17 “On the day when I act,” says the Lord Almighty, “they will be myd treasured possession.e I will sparef them, just as a father has compassion and spares his song who serves him. 18 And you will again see the distinction between the righteoush and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.i

Judgment and Covenant Renewal

4 a “Surely the day is coming;j it will burn like a furnace.k All the arrogantl and every evildoer will be stubble,m and the day that is coming will set them on fire,n” says the Lord Almighty. “Not a root or a brancho will be left to them. 2 But for you who revere my name,p the sun of righteousnessq will rise with healingr in its rays. And you will go out and frolics like well-fed calves.