(Romans 10:1–21)
1
Those who before were not asking for me have sought me. Those who have not sought me have found me. I said, “Behold, it is I! Behold, it is I!” to a nation which was not invoking my name.
2
I have extended my hands all day long to an unbelieving people, who advance along a way that is not good, following their own thoughts,
3
to a people who provoke me to anger before my face continually, who immolate in the gardens, and who sacrifice upon the bricks.
4
They live in sepulchers, and they sleep in the shrines of idols. They eat the flesh of swine, and a profane elixir is in their vessels.
5
They say: “Depart from me! Do not approach me, for you are unclean!” Such as these will be the smoke in my fury, a fire burning all day long.
6
Behold, it has been written in my sight; I will not be silent. Instead, I will render retribution into their sinews.
7
Your iniquities are joined with the iniquities of your fathers, says the Lord. For they have sacrificed upon the mountains, and they have offended me upon the hills. And so, I will measure back to them, from their first work, into their sinews.
8
Thus says the Lord: In the same way as it is said about a grain found in a cluster, “Do not destroy it, because it is a blessing,” so will I act for the sake of my servants, so that I may not destroy the whole.
9
And I will lead forth an offspring from Jacob, and a possessor of my mountains from Judah. And my elect shall inherit it, and my servants shall live there.
10
And the open plains will become sheepfolds for the flocks, and the valley of Achor will become a domicile for the herds, for my people who have sought me.
11
And you who have forsaken the Lord, who have forgotten my holy mountain, who set a table for Fortune, and who offer libations concerning her:
12
I will number you with the sword, and you will all fall by slaughter. For I called and you did not respond; I spoke, and you did not listen. And you did what is evil in my eyes; and what I did not will, you have chosen.
13
Because of this, thus says the Lord God: Behold, my servants will eat, and you will be hungry. Behold, my servants will drink, and you will be thirsty.
14
Behold, my servants will rejoice, and you will be confounded. Behold, my servants will give praise in exultation of heart, and you will cry out in sorrow of heart, and you will wail in contrition of spirit.
15
And you will leave behind your name to my elect as a curse. And the Lord God will put you to death, and he will call his servants by another name.
16
By that name, whoever is blessed on earth, will be blessed in God. Amen! And whoever swears on earth, will swear by God. Amen! For the past anguishes have been delivered into oblivion, and they have been hidden from my eyes.
A New Heaven and a New Earth
(Revelation 21:1–8)
17
For behold, I create the new heavens and the new earth. And the former things will not be in memory and will not enter into the heart.
18
But you will be glad and exult, even forever, in these things that I create. For behold, I create Jerusalem as an exultation, and its people as a joy.(a)
19
And I will exult in Jerusalem, and I will rejoice in my people. And neither a voice of weeping, nor a voice of outcry, will be heard in her anymore.
20
There will no longer be an infant of only a few days there, nor an elder who does not complete his days. For a mere child dies at a hundred years of age, and a sinner of a hundred years will be accursed.
21
And they will build houses, and will inhabit them. And they will plant vineyards, and will eat their fruits.
22
They will not build, so that another may inhabit. They will not plant, so that another may eat. For according to the days of a tree, so will be the days of my people. And the works of their hands will be long-standing.
23
My elect will not labor in vain, and they will not bring forth in disorder. For they are the offspring of the blessed of the Lord, and their posterity are with them.
24
And this shall be: before they call out, I will perceive; while they are still speaking, I will hear.
25
The wolf and the lamb will pasture together. The lion and the ox will eat hay. And dust will be the food of the serpent. They will not harm, and they will not kill, on all my holy mountain, says the Lord.(b)
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