Study Desk

"I permitted Myself to be sought by ^(a)those who did not ask for Me; I permitted Myself to be found by those who did not seek Me. I said, ‘Here am I, here am I,' To a nation which ^(b)did not call on My name.

"^(c)I have spread out My hands all day long to a ^(d)rebellious people, Who walk in the way which is not good, ^[a]following their own ^(e)thoughts,

A people who continually ^(f)provoke Me to My face, Offering sacrifices in ^(g)gardens and ^(h)burning incense on bricks;

Who sit among graves and spend the night in secret places; Who ⁽ⁱ⁾eat swine's flesh, And the broth of unclean meat is in their pots.

"Who say, ‘^(j)Keep to yourself, do not come near me, For I am holier than you!' These are smoke in My ^[b]nostrils, A fire that burns all the day.

"Behold, it is written before Me, I will ^(k)not keep silent, but ^(l)I will repay; I will even repay into their bosom,

Both ^[c]their own ^(m)iniquities and the iniquities of their fathers together," says the Lord . "Because they have ⁽ⁿ⁾burned incense on the mountains And ^(o)scorned Me on the hills, Therefore I will ^(p)measure their former work into their bosom."

Thus says the Lord , "As the new wine is found in the cluster, And one says, ‘Do not destroy it, for there is ^[d]benefit in it,' So I will act on behalf of My servants In order ^(q)not to destroy ^[e]all of them.

"I will bring forth ^(r)offspring from Jacob, And an ^(s)heir of My mountains from Judah; Even ^(t)My chosen ones shall inherit it, And ^(u)My servants will dwell there.

"^(v)Sharon will be a pasture land for flocks, And the ^(w)valley of Achor a resting place for herds, For My people who ^(x)seek Me.

"But you who ^(y)forsake the Lord , Who forget My ^(z)holy mountain, Who set a table for ^[f]Fortune, And who fill cups with mixed wine for ^[g]Destiny,

I will destine you for the ^(aa)sword, And all of you will bow down to the ^(ab)slaughter. Because I called, but you ^(ac)did not answer; I spoke, but you did not hear. And you did evil in My sight And chose that in which I did not delight."

Therefore, thus says the Lord ^[h] God , "Behold, My servants will ^(ad)eat, but you will be ^(ae)hungry. Behold, My servants will ^(af)drink, but you will be ^(ag)thirsty. Behold, My servants will ^(ah)rejoice, but you will be ^(ai)put to shame.

"Behold, My servants will ^(aj)shout joyfully with a glad heart, But you will ^(ak)cry out with a ^[i]heavy heart, And you will wail with a broken spirit.

"You will leave your name for a ^(al)curse to My chosen ones, And the Lord ^[j] God will slay you. But ^[k]My servants will be called by ^(am)another name.

"Because he who ^[l]is blessed in the earth Will ^[m]be blessed by the ^(an)God of truth; And he who swears in the earth Will ^(ao)swear by the God of truth; Because the former troubles are forgotten, And because they are hidden from My sight!

"For behold, I create ^(ap)new heavens and a new earth; And the ^(aq)former things will not be remembered or come to ^[n]mind.

"But be ^(ar)glad and rejoice forever in what I create; For behold, I create Jerusalem for rejoicing And her people for gladness.

"I will also ^(as)rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in My people; And there will no longer be heard in her The voice of ^(at)weeping and the sound of crying.

"No longer will there be ^[o]in it an infant who lives but a few days, Or an old man who does ^(au)not ^[p]live out his days; For the youth will die at the age of one hundred And the ^[q](av)one who does not reach the age of one hundred Will be thought accursed.

"They will ^(aw)build houses and inhabit them; They will also ^(ax)plant vineyards and eat their fruit.

"They will not build and ^(ay)another inhabit, They will not plant and another eat; For ^(az)as the ^[r]lifetime of a tree, so will be the days of My people, And My chosen ones will ^(ba)wear out the work of their hands.

"They will ^(bb)not labor in vain, Or bear children for calamity; For they are the ^[s](bc)offspring of those blessed by the Lord , And their descendants with them.

It will also come to pass that before they call, I will ^(bd)answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear.

The ^(be)wolf and the lamb will graze together, and the ^(bf)lion will eat straw like the ox; and ^(bg)dust will be the serpent's food. They will ^(bh)do no evil or harm in all My ^(bi)holy mountain," says the Lord .

Thus says the Lord , "^(a)Heaven is My throne and the earth is My footstool. Where then is a ^(b)house you could build for Me? And where is a place that ^[a]I may rest?

"For ^(c)My hand made all these things, Thus all these things came into being," declares the Lord . "But to this one I will look, To him who is humble and ^(d)contrite of spirit, and who ^(e)trembles at My word.

"But he who kills an ox is like one who slays a man; He who sacrifices a lamb is like the one who breaks a dog's neck; He who offers a grain offering is like one who offers ^(f)swine's blood; He who ^[b](g)burns incense is like the one who blesses an idol. As they have chosen their ^(h)own ways, And their soul delights in their ⁽ⁱ⁾abominations,

So I will ^(j)choose their ^[c]punishments And will ^(k)bring on them what they dread. Because I called, but ^(l)no one answered; I spoke, but they did not listen. And they did ^(m)evil in My sight And chose that in which I did not delight."

Hear the word of the Lord , you who ⁽ⁿ⁾tremble at His word: "Your brothers who ^(o)hate you, who ^(p)exclude you for My name's sake, Have said, ‘Let the Lord be glorified, that we may see your joy.' But ^(q)they will be put to shame.

"A voice of uproar from the city, a voice from the temple, The voice of the Lord who is ^(r)rendering recompense to His enemies.

"Before she travailed, ^(s)she brought forth; Before her pain came, ^(t)she gave birth to a boy.

"^(u)Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Can a land be ^[d]born in one day? Can a nation be brought forth all at once? As soon as Zion travailed, she also brought forth her sons.

"Shall I bring to the point of birth and ^(v)not give delivery?" says the Lord . "Or shall I who gives delivery shut the womb?" says your God.

"Be ^(w)joyful with Jerusalem and rejoice for her, all you who ^(x)love her; Be exceedingly ^(y)glad with her, all you who mourn over her,

That you may nurse and ^(z)be satisfied with her comforting breasts, That you may suck and be delighted with her ^(aa)bountiful bosom."

For thus says the Lord , "Behold, I extend ^(ab)peace to her like a river, And the ^(ac)glory of the nations like an overflowing stream; And you will ^[e]be nursed, you will be ^(ad)carried on the ^[f]hip and fondled on the knees.

"As one whom his mother comforts, so I will ^(ae)comfort you; And you will be comforted in Jerusalem."

Then you will ^(af)see this, and your ^(ag)heart will be glad, And your ^(ah)bones will flourish like the new grass; And the ^(ai)hand of the Lord will be made known to His servants, But He will be ^(aj)indignant toward His enemies.

For behold, the Lord will come in ^(ak)fire And His ^(al)chariots like the whirlwind, To render His anger with fury, And His rebuke with flames of fire.

For the Lord will execute judgment by ^(am)fire And by His ^(an)sword on all flesh, And those slain by the Lord will be many.

"Those who sanctify and purify themselves to go to the ^(ao)gardens, ^[g]Following one in the center, Who eat ^(ap)swine's flesh, detestable things and mice, Will ^(aq)come to an end altogether," declares the Lord .

"For I ^[h]know their works and their ^(ar)thoughts; ^[i]the time is coming to ^(as)gather all nations and tongues. And they shall come and see My glory.

I will set a ^(at)sign among them and will send survivors from them to the nations: ^(au)Tarshish, ^[j]Put, ^(av)Lud, ^[k]Meshech, ^(aw)Tubal and ^[l]Javan, to the distant ^(ax)coastlands that have neither heard My fame nor seen My glory. And they will ^(ay)declare My glory among the nations.

Then they shall ^(az)bring all your brethren from all the nations as a grain offering to the Lord , on horses, in chariots, in litters, on mules and on camels, to My ^(ba)holy mountain Jerusalem," says the Lord , "just as the sons of Israel bring their grain offering in a ^(bb)clean vessel to the house of the Lord .

I will also take some of them for ^(bc)priests and for Levites," says the Lord .

"For just as the ^(bd)new heavens and the new earth Which I make will endure before Me," declares the Lord , "So your ^(be)offspring and your ^(bf)name will endure.

"And it shall be from ^(bg)new moon to new moon And from sabbath to sabbath, All ^[m]mankind will come to ^(bh)bow down before Me," says the Lord .

"Then they will go forth and look On the ^(bi)corpses of the men Who have ^[n](bj)transgressed against Me. For their ^(bk)worm will not die ^(bl)And their fire will not be quenched; And they will be an ^(bm)abhorrence to all ^[o]mankind."