All People Will Learn About God
65 The Lord says, “I ·made myself known to people [L allowed myself to be sought by those] who were not looking for me.
I was found by those who were not asking me for help.
I said, ‘Here I am. Here I am,’
to a nation that ·was not praying to me [did not call on my name; or called by my name].
2 All day long I ·stood ready to accept [L stretched out my hands to a]
people who ·turned [rebelled] against me,
but the way they continue to ·live [walk] is not good;
·they do anything they want to do [following their own thoughts/schemes].
3 ·Right in front of me [To my face]
they continue to do things that make me angry.
They offer sacrifices to their gods in their gardens [1:29],
and they burn incense on altars of brick.
4 They sit among the graves
and spend their nights ·waiting to get messages from the dead [or keeping vigil; or in secret places].
They eat the ·meat [flesh] of pigs [C unclean animal; Lev. 11:7; Deut. 14:8],
and their pots are full of soup made from ·meat that is wrong to eat [defiled/polluted things].
5 But they tell others, ‘Stay away, and don’t come near me.
I am too holy for you.’
These ·people [or practices] are like smoke in my ·nose [nostrils].
Like a fire that burns all ·the time [day long; C their sin never ceases and God’s anger grows].
6 “Look, it is written here before me.
I will not ·be quiet [keep silent]; instead, I will repay you in full.
I will ·punish you for what you have done [L pay it back into their laps/bosom].
7 I will punish you for your sins and your ·ancestors’ [fathers’] sins,”
says the Lord.
“They burned incense ·to gods on [L on] the mountains
and ·shamed [insulted; defied] me on those hills.
So I will ·punish them as they should be punished
for what they did [L measure into their laps/bosoms payment for their former deeds].”
8 This is what the Lord says:
“When there is ·juice left [new wine; or good grapes] in a bunch of grapes,
people say, “Don’t destroy it,
because there is ·good left [L blessing] in it.”
So I will do the same thing to my servants—
I will not destroy them all.
9 I will ·leave some of the children of [produce/bring forth offspring/seed from] Jacob,
and some of the people of Judah will ·receive [possess; inherit] my mountain.
·I will choose the people who [My chosen ones] will ·live there [possess/inherit it];
my servants will live there.
10 Then ·the Plain of Sharon [L Sharon; C a fertile plain in western Israel; 33:9] will be a field for flocks,
and the Valley of Achor [C located in eastern Israel, near Jericho] will be a place for herds to rest.
They will be for the people who ·want to follow [have sought] me.
11 “But as for you who ·left [abandoned; forsook] the Lord,
who forgot about my holy mountain,
who ·worship the god Luck [L spread a table for Fortune/Luck; C Hebrew Gad, a pagan god],
·who hold religious feasts for the god Fate [L fill bowls of mixed wine for Fate; C Hebrew Meni, a pagan god],
12 I ·decide your fate, and I will punish you with my sword [L destine/number you for the sword].
You will all ·be killed [fall in the slaughter; or bow to the executioner],
because I called you, but you refused to answer.
I spoke to you, but you wouldn’t listen.
You did ·the things I said were evil [L evil before my eyes]
and chose to do things ·that displease me [L I did not delight in].”
13 So this is what the Lord God says:
“My servants will eat,
but ·you evil people [L you] will be hungry.
My servants will drink,
but ·you evil people [L you] will be thirsty.
My servants will ·be happy [rejoice],
but ·you evil people [L you] will be shamed.
14 My servants will shout for joy
because of the ·goodness [joy] of their hearts,
but ·you evil people [L you] will ·cry [shout; cry out],
·because you will be sad [from an anguished heart].
You will ·cry loudly [wail; lament], because your spirits will be broken.
15 Your names will be ·like curses to [or used as a curse by; L left as a curse to] my ·servants [L chosen ones],
and the Lord God will put you to death.
But he will call his servants by another name.
16 People in the land who ask for blessings
will ·ask for them from [or be blessed by] the faithful God.
And people in the land who ·make a promise [swear an oath]
will ·promise [swear] ·in the name of the faithful God [or by the one true God],
because the troubles of the past will be forgotten.
·I will make those troubles go away [L …and are hidden from my eyes].
A New Time Is Coming
17 “·Look [T Behold], I will ·make [create] new heavens and a new earth,
and people will not remember the ·past [former things]
or ·think about those things [bring them to heart/mind].
18 My people will be happy and joyful forever
because of the things I will ·make [create].
I will make a Jerusalem that is full of joy,
and I will make her people a delight.
19 Then I will rejoice over Jerusalem
and be delighted with my people.
There will never again be heard in that city
the sounds of ·crying [weeping] and ·sadness [crying].
20 There will never be a ·baby [infant] from that city
who lives only a few days.
And there will never be an older person
who doesn’t ·have a long life [L live out his days].
A person who ·lives a hundred years will be called young [or dies at a hundred years will still be considered a child],
and a person who dies before he is a hundred will be thought of as a ·sinner [or accursed].
21 In that city those who build houses will live there.
Those who plant vineyards will get to eat their grapes [C as opposed to times of conquest, when homes are confiscated and crops are stolen].
22 No more will one person ·build a house and someone else live there [L build and another inhabit].
One person will not ·plant a garden and someone else eat its fruit [L plant and another eat].
·My people will live a long time,
as trees live long [L For like the days of a tree
shall be the days of my people].
My chosen people will live there
and enjoy the ·things they make [L work of their hands].
23 They will ·never again work for nothing [not labor in vain].
They will never again give birth to children ·who die young [L doomed for misfortune/disaster].
All my people will be blessed by the Lord;
they and their ·children [descendants; seed] will be blessed.
24 I will ·provide for their needs [L answer] before they ·ask [call],
and I will ·help them [L hear] while they are still ·asking for help [L speaking].
25 The wolf and the lamb will ·eat together in peace [feed/graze together].
The lion will eat hay like an ox,
and ·a snake on the ground will not hurt anyone [the serpent’s food will be dust; Gen. 3:14].
They will not hurt or destroy each other
on all my holy mountain,”
says the Lord.