  |   |   |
| | |
“Heaven is my throne
and the earth is my footstool;
what kind of house will you build to me?
And what place could be my rest?
2 For all these things my hand has made,
and so all these things came to be,”
“but this is the person I will look upon with favor,
even to him who is of a humble and contrite spirit
3 He who kills an ox is as he who kills a man;
he who sacrifices a lamb as he who breaks a dog’s neck;
he who offers an offering as he who offers pig’s blood;
he who burns frankincense as he who blesses an idol.
Yes, they have chosen their own ways,
and their soul delights in their abominations.
4 I also will choose their delusions
and will bring their fears on them,
because when I called, no one answered;
when I spoke, they did not listen,
but they did what was evil in my eyes
and chose what I did not delight in.”
you who tremble at his word:
“Your brothers who hate you,
who cast you out for my name’s sake, have said,
‘Let Yahweh be glorified,
that we may see your joy!’
But it is those people who will be disappointed.
6 A voice of tumult from the city,
a voice from the temple,
a voice of Yahweh
who is paying back his enemies what they deserve.
7 “Before she travailed, she brought forth;
before her pain came, she delivered a son.
Can a land be born in one day?
Can a nation be brought forth all at once?
For as soon as Zion was in labor,
she brought forth her children.
and not cause to bring forth?”
says Yahweh.
“Will I who cause to bring forth shut the womb?”
says your God.
10 “Rejoice with Jerusalem and be glad for her,
11 that you may nurse and be satisfied
at the comforting breasts;
that you may drink deeply and be delighted
with the abundance of her glory.”
12For this is what Yahweh says,
“Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river,
and the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream;
and you will nurse. You will be carried on her side
and will be dandled on her knees.
13 As one whom his mother comforts,
so I will comfort you,
and you will be comforted in Jerusalem.”
14 You will see it, and your heart will rejoice,
and your bones will flourish like the tender grass,
and the hand of Yahweh will be known to his servants
and he will have indignation against his enemies.
15 For behold, Yahweh will come with fire,
and his chariots will be like the whirlwind,
to render his anger with wrath
and his rebuke with flames of fire.
16 For by fire Yahweh will execute judgment,
and by his sword on all flesh,
and the slain of Yahweh will be many.
17“Those who sanctify themselves and purify themselves to go to the gardens, following one in the middle, eating pig’s flesh and the abomination and mice, will come to an end together,” says Yahweh.
18“For I know their works and their thoughts; the time is coming that I will gather all nations and languages, and they will come and will see my glory.
19I will set a sign among them, and I will send such as escape of them to the nations, to Tarshish, Pul and Lud, who draw the bow, to Tubal and Javan, to the islands afar off who have not heard my fame or seen my glory; and they will declare my glory among the nations.
20They will bring all your brothers out of all the nations for an offering to Yahweh, on horses and in chariots, and in litters and on mules and on dromedaries to my holy mountain Jerusalem,” says Yahweh, “as the children of Israel bring their offering in a clean vessel into the house of Yahweh.
21I will also take some of them as priests and Levites,” says Yahweh.
22 “For as the new heavens and the new earth
that I will make will remain before me,”
says Yahweh,
“so your seed and your name will remain.
all flesh will come to worship before me,”
24“They will go out and look on the dead bodies of the men who have transgressed against me; for their worm will not die, neither will their fire be quenched, and they will be loathsome to all mankind.”
| top | |