⁶ So you should look for the Lord before it is too late;
    you should call to him while he is near.
⁷ The wicked should stop doing wrong,
    and they should stop their evil thoughts.
They should return to the Lord so he may have mercy on them.
    They should come to our God, because he will freely forgive them.

⁸ The Lord says, “My thoughts are not like your thoughts.
    Your ways are not like my ways.
⁹ Just as the heavens are higher than the earth,
    so are my ways higher than your ways
    and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.
¹⁰ Rain and snow fall from the sky
    and don’t return without watering the ground.
They cause the plants to sprout and grow,
    making seeds for the farmer
    and bread for the people.
¹¹ The same thing is true of the words I speak.
    They will not return to me empty.
They make the things happen that I want to happen,
    and they succeed in doing what I send them to do.

¹² “So you will go out with joy
    and be led out in peace.
The mountains and hills will burst into song before you,
    and all the trees in the fields will clap their hands.
¹³ Large cypress trees will grow where thornbushes were.
    Myrtle trees will grow where weeds were.
These things will be a reminder of the Lord’s promise,
    and this reminder will never be destroyed.”