Isaiah - The Old Testament

¹ I have let myself be approached by those who did not consult me, I have let myself be found by those who did not seek me. I said, 'Here I am, here I am!' to a nation that did not invoke my name.

² Each day I stretched out my hands to a rebellious people who follow a way which is not good, as the fancy takes them;

³ a people constantly provoking me to my face by sacrificing in gardens, burning incense on bricks,

⁴ living in tombs, spending the night in dark corners, eating the meat of pigs, putting unclean foods on their plates.

⁵ 'Keep your distance,' they say, 'do not touch me, lest my sanctity come near you!' Such words are like stifling smoke to me, an ever-burning fire.

⁶ Look, it is inscribed before me: I shall not be silent until I have repaid them, repaid them in full,

⁷ punished your guilt and your ancestors' guilt together, Yahweh declares. For having burnt incense on the mountains and insulted me on the hills, I shall pay them back in full for what they have done.

⁸ Yahweh says this: As when a bunch of grapes is found still to have juice in it, people say, 'Do not destroy it, for it contains a blessing,' so I shall act for my servants' sake, I shall not destroy them all.

⁹ I shall produce descendants from Jacob and heirs to my mountains from Judah, my chosen ones will own them and my servants will live there.

¹⁰ Sharon will be a pasture for flocks, the Valley of Achor a feeding ground for cattle, for those of my people who have sought me.

¹¹ But as for those of you who abandon Yahweh, who forget my holy mountain, who lay the table for Gad, who fill cups of mixed wine for Meni,

¹² you I shall destine to the sword and all of you will stoop to be slaughtered, because I called and you would not answer, I spoke and you would not listen; you have done what I consider evil, you chose to do what displeases me.

¹³ Therefore Lord Yahweh says this: You will see my servants eating while you go hungry; you will see my servants drinking while you go thirsty; you will see my servants rejoicing while you are put to shame;

¹⁴ you will hear my servants shouting for joy of heart, while you shriek for sorrow of heart and howl with a broken spirit.

¹⁵ And you will leave your name behind as a curse for my chosen ones, 'May Lord Yahweh strike you dead!' But to his servants he will give another name.

¹⁶ Whoever blesses himself on earth will bless himself by the God of truth, and whoever swears an oath on earth will swear by the God of truth, for past troubles will be forgotten and hidden from my eyes.

¹⁷ For look, I am going to create new heavens and a new earth, and the past will not be remembered and will come no more to mind.

¹⁸ Rather be joyful, be glad for ever at what I am creating, for look, I am creating Jerusalem to be 'Joy' and my people to be 'Gladness'.

¹⁹ I shall be joyful in Jerusalem and I shall rejoice in my people. No more will the sound of weeping be heard there, nor the sound of a shriek;

²⁰ never again will there be an infant there who lives only a few days, nor an old man who does not run his full course; for the youngest will die at a hundred, and at a hundred the sinner will be accursed.

²¹ They will build houses and live in them, they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.

²² They will not build for others to live in, or plant for others to eat; for the days of my people will be like the days of a tree, and my chosen ones will themselves use what they have made.

²³ They will not toil in vain, nor bear children destined to disaster, for they are the race of Yahweh's blessed ones and so are their offspring.

²⁴ Thus, before they call I shall answer, before they stop speaking I shall have heard.

²⁵ The wolf and the young lamb will feed together, the lion will eat hay like the ox, and dust be the serpent's food. No hurt, no harm will be done on all my holy mountain, Yahweh says.