Isaiah 65:17-25

The Voice

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.