The Lord Will Distinguish Between Sinners and the Godly

¹“I made myself available to those who did not ask for me;[#tn Heb “I allowed myself to be sought by those who did not ask.”]

I appeared to those who did not look for me.

I said, ‘Here I am! Here I am!’

to a nation that did not invoke my name.

²I spread out my hands all day long

to my rebellious people,

who lived in a way that is morally unacceptable,

and who did what they desired.

³These people continually and blatantly offend me[#tn Heb “the people who provoke me to anger to my face continually.”]

as they sacrifice in their sacred orchards

and burn incense on brick altars.

⁴They sit among the tombs[#sn Perhaps the worship of underworld deities or dead spirits is in view.]

and keep watch all night long.

They eat pork,

and broth from unclean sacrificial meat is in their pans.

⁵They say, ‘Keep to yourself!

Don’t get near me, for I am holier than you!’

These people are like smoke in my nostrils,

like a fire that keeps burning all day long.

⁶Look, I have decreed:[#tn Heb “Look, it is written before me.”]

I will not keep silent, but will pay them back;

I will pay them back exactly what they deserve,

⁷for your sins and your ancestors’ sins,” says the Lord .[#tn Heb “the iniquities of your fathers.”]

“Because they burned incense on the mountains

and offended me on the hills,

I will punish them in full measure.”

⁸This is what the Lord says:

“When juice is discovered in a cluster of grapes,

someone says, ‘Don’t destroy it, for it contains juice.’

So I will do for the sake of my servants –

I will not destroy everyone.

⁹I will bring forth descendants from Jacob,

and from Judah people to take possession of my mountains.

My chosen ones will take possession of the land;

my servants will live there.

¹⁰Sharon will become a pasture for sheep,[#sn Sharon was a plain located to the west, along the Mediterranean coast north of Joppa and south of Carmel.]

and the Valley of Achor a place where cattle graze;

they will belong to my people, who seek me.

¹¹But as for you who abandon the Lord

and forget about worshiping at my holy mountain,

who prepare a feast for the god called ‘Fortune,’

and fill up wine jugs for the god called ‘Destiny’ –

¹²I predestine you to die by the sword,[#tn Heb “I assign you to the sword.” Some emend the Qal verb form מָנִיתִי (maniti, “I assign”) to the Piel מִנִּיתִי (minniti, “ I ordain”). The verb sounds like the name of the god Meni (מְנִי, mÿni, “Destiny, Fate”). The sound play draws attention to the irony of the statement. The sinners among God’s people worship the god Meni, apparently in an effort to ensure a bright destiny for themselves. But the Lord is the one who really determines their destiny and he has decreed their demise.]

all of you will kneel down at the slaughtering block,

because I called to you, and you did not respond,

I spoke and you did not listen.

You did evil before me;

you chose to do what displeases me.”

¹³So this is what the sovereign Lord says:

“Look, my servants will eat, but you will be hungry!

Look, my servants will drink, but you will be thirsty!

Look, my servants will rejoice, but you will be humiliated!

¹⁴Look, my servants will shout for joy as happiness fills their hearts![#tn Heb “from the good of the heart.”]

But you will cry out as sorrow fills your hearts;

you will wail because your spirits will be crushed.

¹⁵Your names will live on in the curse formulas of my chosen ones.[#tn Heb “you will leave your name for an oath to my chosen ones.”sn For an example of such a curse formula see Jer 29:22.]

The sovereign Lord will kill you,

but he will give his servants another name.

¹⁶Whoever pronounces a blessing in the earth[#tn Or “in the land” (NIV, NCV, NRSV). The same phrase occurs again later in this verse, with the same options.]

will do so in the name of the faithful God;

whoever makes an oath in the earth

will do so in the name of the faithful God.

For past problems will be forgotten;

I will no longer think about them.

¹⁷For look, I am ready to create

new heavens and a new earth!

The former ones will not be remembered;

no one will think about them anymore.

¹⁸But be happy and rejoice forevermore

over what I am about to create!

For look, I am ready to create Jerusalem to be a source of joy,

and her people to be a source of happiness.

¹⁹Jerusalem will bring me joy,

and my people will bring me happiness.

The sound of weeping or cries of sorrow

will never be heard in her again.

²⁰Never again will one of her infants live just a few days[#tn Heb “and there will not be from there again a nursing infant of days,” i.e., one that lives just a few days.]

or an old man die before his time.

Indeed, no one will die before the age of a hundred,

anyone who fails to reach the age of a hundred will be considered cursed.

²¹They will build houses and live in them;

they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.

²²No longer will they build a house only to have another live in it,[#tn Heb “they will not build, and another live [in it].”]

or plant a vineyard only to have another eat its fruit,

for my people will live as long as trees,

and my chosen ones will enjoy to the fullest what they have produced.

²³They will not work in vain,

or give birth to children that will experience disaster.

For the Lord will bless their children

and their descendants.

²⁴Before they even call out, I will respond;[#tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.]

while they are still speaking, I will hear.

²⁵A wolf and a lamb will graze together;[#sn A similar statement appears in 11:6.]

a lion, like an ox, will eat straw,

and a snake’s food will be dirt.

They will no longer injure or destroy

on my entire royal mountain,” says the Lord .