Isaiah 65:1-16

1“I was sought by those who did not ask; I was found by those who did not seek me. I said, ‘Here I am, here I am,’ to a nation that did not call on my name.

2I spread out my hands all day long to a rebellious people who walk in the path that is not good, following their own thoughts.

3These people continually anger me to my face, sacrificing in gardens, burning incense on bricks,

4sitting among the graves, spending nights in secret places, eating the meat of pigs, and putting polluted broth in their bowls.

5They say, ‘Keep to yourself, don’t come near me, for I am too holy for you!’ These practices are smoke in my nostrils, a fire that burns all day long.

6Look, it is written in front of me: I will not keep silent, but I will repay; I will repay them fully

7for your iniquities and the iniquities of your ancestors together,” says the Lord. “Because they burned incense on the mountains and reproached me on the hills, I will reward them fully for their former deeds.”

8The Lord says this: “As the new wine is found in a bunch of grapes, and one says, ‘Don’t destroy it, for there’s some good in it,’ so I will act because of my servants and not destroy them all.

9I will produce descendants from Jacob, and heirs to my mountains from Judah; my chosen ones will possess it, and my servants will dwell there.

10Sharon will be a pasture for flocks, and the Valley of Achor a place for herds to lie down, for my people who have sought me.

11But you who abandon the Lord, who forget my holy mountain, who prepare a table for Fortune and fill bowls of mixed wine for Destiny,

12I will destine you for the sword, and all of you will kneel down to be slaughtered, because I called and you did not answer, I spoke and you did not hear; you did what was evil in my sight and chose what I did not delight in.”

13Therefore, this is what the Lord God 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 put to shame.

14Look! My servants will shout for joy from a glad heart, but you will cry out from an anguished heart, and you will lament out of a broken spirit.

15You will leave your name behind as a curse for my chosen ones, and the Lord God will kill you; but he will give his servants another name.

16Whoever asks for a blessing in the land will ask for a blessing by the God of truth, and whoever swears in the land will swear by the God of truth. For the former troubles will be forgotten and hidden from my sight.