New Heavens and a New Earth

17 “See, I will create
    new heavens and a new earth.(A)
The former things will not be remembered,(B)
    nor will they come to mind.
18 But be glad and rejoice(C) forever
    in what I will create,
for I will create Jerusalem(D) to be a delight
    and its people a joy.
19 I will rejoice(E) over Jerusalem
    and take delight(F) in my people;
the sound of weeping and of crying(G)
    will be heard in it no more.

20 “Never again will there be in it
    an infant(H) who lives but a few days,
    or an old man who does not live out his years;(I)
the one who dies at a hundred
    will be thought a mere child;
the one who fails to reach[a] a hundred
    will be considered accursed.
21 They will build houses(J) and dwell in them;
    they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.(K)
22 No longer will they build houses and others live in them,(L)
    or plant and others eat.
For as the days of a tree,(M)
    so will be the days(N) of my people;
my chosen(O) ones will long enjoy
    the work of their hands.
23 They will not labor in vain,(P)
    nor will they bear children doomed to misfortune;(Q)
for they will be a people blessed(R) by the Lord,
    they and their descendants(S) with them.
24 Before they call(T) I will answer;(U)
    while they are still speaking(V) I will hear.
25 The wolf and the lamb(W) will feed together,
    and the lion will eat straw like the ox,(X)
    and dust will be the serpent’s(Y) food.
They will neither harm nor destroy
    on all my holy mountain,”(Z)
says the Lord.

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 65:20 Or the sinner who reaches

New Heavens and a New Earth

17-25 “Pay close attention now:
    I’m creating new heavens and a new earth.
All the earlier troubles, chaos, and pain
    are things of the past, to be forgotten.
Look ahead with joy.
    Anticipate what I’m creating:
I’ll create Jerusalem as sheer joy,
    create my people as pure delight.
I’ll take joy in Jerusalem,
    take delight in my people:
No more sounds of weeping in the city,
    no cries of anguish;
No more babies dying in the cradle,
    or old people who don’t enjoy a full lifetime;
One-hundredth birthdays will be considered normal—
    anything less will seem like a cheat.
They’ll build houses
    and move in.
They’ll plant fields
    and eat what they grow.
No more building a house
    that some outsider takes over,
No more planting fields
    that some enemy confiscates,
For my people will be as long-lived as trees,
    my chosen ones will have satisfaction in their work.
They won’t work and have nothing come of it,
    they won’t have children snatched out from under them.
For they themselves are plantings blessed by God,
    with their children and grandchildren likewise God-blessed.
Before they call out, I’ll answer.
    Before they’ve finished speaking, I’ll have heard.
Wolf and lamb will graze the same meadow,
    lion and ox eat straw from the same trough,
    but snakes—they’ll get a diet of dirt!
Neither animal nor human will hurt or kill
    anywhere on my Holy Mountain,” says God.

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17 Eternal One: Now look here!
        I am creating new heavens and a new earth.
    The weary and painful past will be as if it never happened.
        No one will talk or even think about it anymore.
18     So take joy and celebrate with unending gladness
        on account of what I am creating.
    Look carefully! I am making this place I’ve chosen, this Jerusalem, a city of joy.
        I’m making her citizens, My people, a people of gladness.
19     This Jerusalem, My pride and joy, and her people will be a delight to Me.
        Though you listen at every corner,
    You will never hear crying, never hear despair or grief.

20     Never again will a person not live a full life,
        for the young will live to be a hundred
    And any who die earlier will be considered cursed.

21     People will confidently build houses and make them their homes;
        they will plant vineyards and enjoy their fruit for years to come.
22     They won’t worry that someone else will come along, drive them out,
        and take it all away.
    For My people will live as long as these age-old trees;
        My chosen will use up and wear out whatever they make.
23     They will not work hard for what others take away;
        they will not lose children to sudden terror and death.
    For they are the offspring of those blessed by the Eternal;
        they and their descendants will enjoy God’s blessings.
24     I’ll anticipate their prayers and respond before they know it;
        even as they speak, I will hear.
25     But they’ll all eat together like friends—wolf and lamb, lion and ox,
        and the biting snake will feed on dust.
    When that day arrives, there will be no evil, no violence, no hurt or wrong
        in all My sacred mountain.

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