Judgments and Promises
(Romans 10:1–21)
1“I revealed Myself to those who did not ask for Me;
I was found by those who did not seek Me.
To a nation that did not call My name,
I said, ‘Here I am! Here I am!’
2All day long I have held out My hands
to an obstinate people
who walk in the wrong path,
who follow their own imaginations,
3to a people who continually provoke Me to My face,
sacrificing in the gardens
and burning incense on altars of brick,
4sitting among the graves,
spending nights in secret places,
eating the meat of pigs
and polluted broth from their bowls.
5They say, ‘Keep to yourself;
do not come near me, for I am holier than you!’
Such people are smoke in My nostrils,
a fire that burns all day long.
6Behold, it is written before Me:
I will not keep silent, but I will repay;
I will pay it back into their laps,
7both for your iniquities
and for those of your fathers,”
says the LORD.
“Because they burned incense on the mountains
and scorned Me on the hills,
I will measure into their laps
full payment for their former deeds.”
8This is what the LORD says:
“As the new wine is found in a cluster of grapes,
and men say, ‘Do not destroy it, for it contains a blessing,’
so I will act on behalf of My servants;
I will not destroy them all.
9And I will bring forth descendants from Jacob,
and heirs from Judah;
My elect will possess My mountains,
and My servants will dwell there.
10Sharon will become a pasture for flocks,
and the Valley of Achor a resting place for herds,
for My people who seek Me.
11But you who forsake the LORD,
who forget My holy mountain,
who set a table for Fortune
and fill bowls of mixed wine for Destiny,
12I will destine you for the sword,
and you will all kneel down to be slaughtered,
because I called and you did not answer,
I spoke and you did not listen;
you did evil in My sight
and chose that in which I did not delight.”
13Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says:
“My servants will eat,
but you will go hungry;
My servants will drink,
but you will go thirsty;
My servants will rejoice,
but you will be put to shame.
14 My servants will shout for joy with a glad heart,
but you will cry out with a heavy heart
and wail with a broken spirit.
15You will leave behind your name
as a curse for My chosen ones,
and the Lord GOD will slay you;
but to His servants He will give another name.
16Whoever invokes a blessing in the land
will do so by the God of truth,
and whoever takes an oath in the land
will swear by the God of truth.
For the former troubles will be forgotten
and hidden from My sight.
A New Heaven and a New Earth
(Revelation 21:1–8)
17For behold, I will create
new heavens and a new earth.
The former things will not be remembered,
nor will they come to mind.
18 But be glad and rejoice forever
in what I create;
for I will create Jerusalem to be a joy
and its people to be a delight.
19I will rejoice in Jerusalem
and take delight in My people.
The sounds of weeping and crying
will no longer be heard in her.
20No longer will a nursing infant live but a few days,
or an old man fail to live out his years.
For the youth will die at a hundred years,
and he who fails to reach a hundred
will be considered accursed.
21They will build houses and dwell in them;
they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
22No longer will they build houses for others to inhabit,
nor plant for others to eat.
For as is the lifetime of a tree,
so will be the days of My people,
and My chosen ones will fully enjoy
the work of their hands.
23They will not labor in vain
or bear children doomed to disaster;
for they will be a people blessed by the LORD—
they and their descendants with them.
24 Even before they call, I will answer,
and while they are still speaking, I will hear.
25The wolf and the lamb will feed together,
and the lion will eat straw like the ox,
but the food of the serpent will be dust.
They will neither harm nor destroy
on all My holy mountain,”
says the LORD.
