ישעיהו סה

I responded to those who did not ask,
I was at hand to those who did not seek Me;
I said, “Here I am, here I am,”
To a nation that did not invoke My name.

I constantly spread out My hands
To a disloyal people,
Who walk the way that is not good,
Following their own designs;

The people who provoke My anger,
Who continually, to My very face,
Sacrifice in gardens and burn incense on tiles;

Who sit inside tombs
And pass the night in secret places;
Who eat the flesh of swine,
With broth of unclean things in their bowls;

Who say, “Keep your distance! Don’t come closer!
For I would render you consecrated.” as equivalent to qiddashtikha, cf. Ezek. 44.19; trad. “I am holier than thou.”
Such things make My anger rage,
Like fire blazing all day long.

See, this is recorded before Me;
I will not stand idly by, but will repay,
Deliver their sins into their bosom,

And the sins of their ancestors as well
—said GOD—
For they made offerings upon the mountains
And affronted Me upon the hills.
I will count out their recompense in full, as equivalent to be-roʼshah; cf. Lev. 5.24; Jer. 16.18. Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
Into their bosoms.

Thus said GOD:
As, when new wine is present in the cluster,
One says, “Don’t destroy it; there’s good in it,”
So will I do for the sake of My servants,
And not destroy everything.

I will bring forth offspring from Jacob,
From Judah heirs to My mountains;
My chosen ones shall take possession,
My servants shall dwell thereon.

Sharon shall become a pasture for flocks,
And the Valley of Achor a place for cattle to lie down,
For My people who seek Me.

But as for you who forsake GOD,
Who ignore My holy mountain,
Who set a table for Luck
And fill a mixing bowl for Destiny:

I will destine you for the sword,
You will all kneel down, to be slaughtered—
Because, when I called, you did not answer,
When I spoke, you would not listen.
You did what I hold evil,
And chose what I do not want.

Assuredly, thus said my Sovereign GOD:
My servants shall eat, and you shall hunger;
My servants shall drink, and you shall thirst;
My servants shall rejoice, and you shall be shamed;

My servants shall shout in gladness,
And you shall cry out in anguish,
Howling in heartbreak.

You shall leave behind a name
By which My chosen ones shall curse:
“So may our Sovereign GOD slay you!”
But My servants shall be given a different name.

For whoever blesses themselves in the land
Shall bless themselves by the true God;
And whoever swears in the land
Shall swear by the true God.
The former troubles shall be forgotten,
Shall be hidden from My eyes.

For behold! I am creating
A new heaven and a new earth;
The former things shall not be remembered,
They shall never come to mind.

Be glad, then, and rejoice forever
In what I am creating.
For I shall create Jerusalem as a joy,
And her people as a delight;

And I will rejoice in Jerusalem
And delight in her people.
Never again shall be heard there
The sounds of weeping and wailing.

No more shall there be an infant or graybeard
Who does not live out their lifetime.
Someone who dies at a hundred years
Shall be reckoned a youth,
And one who fails to reach a hundred
Shall be reckoned accursed.

They shall build houses and dwell in them,
They shall plant vineyards and enjoy their fruit.

They shall not build for others to dwell in,
Or plant for others to enjoy.
For the days of My people shall be
As long as the days of a tree,
My chosen ones shall outlive
The work of their hands.

They shall not toil to no purpose;
They shall not bear children for terror,
But they shall be a people blessed by GOD,
And their offspring shall remain with them.

Before they pray, I will answer;
While they are still speaking, I will respond.

The wolf and the lamb shall graze together,
And the lion shall eat straw like the ox,
And the serpent’s food shall be earth.
In all My sacred mount
Nothing evil or vile shall be done
—said GOD.