Isaiah 65:1-7

The Voice

65 Eternal One: I was ready and willing to help before anyone even asked.
        I was found by people who did not seek Me;
    I showed My face and said, “Here I am! I am right here!”
        to a nation which did not call on Me.^[a]
²    I kept extending Myself to a people who don’t care a whit.
        All day long I opened my hands to those who constantly work against Me,
    Those busy pursuing their own rotten path, inspired by their own rotten schemes.^[b]
³    These people continue to insult Me, right to My face,
        pursuing other gods, sacrificing in gardens
    And offering incense on altars made of bricks.
⁴    They sit among the graves and spend their nights in secret rituals;
        they eat the flesh of pigs and pollute their pots with unclean meats.
⁵    They have the gall to say, “Oooh, not so close! I am holier than you!”
        These unholy people are smoke in My nostrils,
    A fire that burns and burns all day.
⁶    Look and see what stands written before Me:
        “I will not remain silent and watch this disgrace;
    But I will pay them back for what they have done.
        I will pour their pay directly into their laps.
⁷    They will pay for their sins and the sins of their parents too.
        For they turned to other gods, burned incense on the mountains
    And insulted Me on the hillsides.
        I will bring everything they deserve back to them, to their very core.”