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is what the Lord says:
“Heaven is My Throne,
and the earth is My footstool.
Where is the house you will build for Me?
Where is My place of rest?
2 For My hand made all these things,
so all these things exist,”
says the Lord.
“But this is the person that I will look favourably upon:
He who is humble and contrite in spirit,
and trembles at My word.
3 “One slaughters a bull,
one kills a man;
one sacrifices a lamb,
one breaks a dog’s neck;
one offers a grain offering,
one offers swine’s blood;
one burns memorial incense,
one worships an idol—
these have all chosen their own ways,
and their soul delights in their detestable practices.
4 So I also will choose delusion for them,
and I will bring on them all that they dread;
for when I called, no one answered;
when I spoke, they did not hear;
but they did what is evil in My eyes,
and chose what displeases Me.”
5 Hear the word of the Lord,
you who tremble at His word:
“Your brothers who hate you,
and exclude you because of My name have said,
‘Let the Lord be glorified,
that we may see your joy’.
Yet they will be put to shame.”
6 The sound of an uproar from the city!
A voice from the temple!
The voice of the Lord,
repaying His enemies what they deserve!
7 “Before she went into labour,
she gave birth;
before her pains came upon her,
she gave birth to a son.
8 Who has heard of such a thing?
Who has seen such things?
Can a land be born in one day,
or will a nation be brought forth in a moment?
Yet as soon as Zion was in labour,
she gave birth to her children.
9 Shall I bring on labour,
and not bring about birth?” declares the Lord.
“Shall I who cause birth,
shut up the womb?” says your God.
10 “Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad for her,
all you who love her;
rejoice greatly for her,
all you who mourn for her;
11 that you may nurse and be satisfied
from her comforting breast,
that you may drink deeply and be delighted
with her overflowing abundance.”
12 For this is what the Lord says:
“I will extend peace to her like a river,
and the wealth of the nations like an overflowing stream;
you will nurse and be carried on her hip,
and bounced on her lap.
13 As a mother comforts her son,
so I will comfort you,
and you will be comforted in Jerusalem.”
14 When you see this, you will rejoice,
and your body will flourish like grass;
then the hand of the Lord will be known to his servants,
but He will show His wrath against His enemies.
15 For behold, the Lord will come with fire,
and with His chariots, like the whirlwind,
to execute His anger with fury,
and His rebuke with flames of fire.
16 For with fire and with His sword
the Lord will execute judgment on all flesh;
and the slain of the Lord will be many.
17 “Those who consecrate and purify themselves to enter the groves, to follow after the idol in their midst, eating the flesh of pigs, vermin, and rats, will perish together,” declares the Lord.
18 “For I know their works and their thoughts. I am going to come and gather all nations and tongues; and they will come and see My glory.
19 “I will set a sign among them, and those who survive among them I will send to the nations—to Tarshish, Put, Lud (who draw the bow), to Tubal, Javan, and the islands far away who have not heard of My fame or seen My glory. And they will proclaim My glory among the nations. 20 Then they will bring all your brothers from all the nations as an offering to the Lord. They will come on horses and chariots, in wagons, on mules and on camels, to My holy mountain Jerusalem,” declares the Lord, “just as the Israelites bring a grain offering in a clean vessel to the House of the Lord. 21 And I will also choose some of them as priests and as Levites,” declares the Lord.
22 “For just as the new heavens and the new earth,
which I will make
will endure before Me,” declares the Lord,
“so will your offspring and your name also endure.
23And it will come to pass
that from New Moon to New Moon,
and from Sabbath to Sabbath,
all flesh will come to worship before Me,”
says the Lord.
24 “And they will go out and look upon the dead bodies of the men who have rebelled against Me—for their worm does not die, and their fire is not quenched, and they will be an abhorrence to all mankind.”