Look up! Look all around you! All of your children are gathering together and coming to you.” The Lord says, “On my life, I promise you this: Your children will be like jewels that you tie around your neck. Your children will be like the necklace that a bride wears.

Israel Punished Because of Their Sin

This is what the Lord says: “People of Israel, you say that I divorced your mother, Jerusalem. But where is the legal paper that proves I divorced her? My children, did I owe money to someone? Did I sell you to pay a debt? No, you were sold because of the bad things you did. Your mother was sent away because of the bad things you did.

The Lord says, “Look, you people want to do whatever you want. So light your own fires and torches, but you will be punished. You will fall into your fires and torches and be burned. I will make that happen.”

The Lord says, “I am the one who comforts you. So why should you be afraid of people? They are only humans who live and die like the grass.

The Lord says, “You were not sold for money. So I will not use money to set you free.”

God’s Suffering Servant

The Lord says, “Look, my servant will succeed in what he has to do, and he will be raised to a position of high honor.

After his suffering he will see the light, and he will be satisfied with what he experienced. The Lord says, “My servant, who always does what is right, will make his people right with me; he will take away their sins.

God Brings His People Home

“Woman, be happy! You have not had any children, but you should be very happy. “Yes, the woman who is alone will have more children than the woman with a husband.” This is what the Lord says.

“People will make weapons to fight against you, but their weapons will not defeat you. Some people will say things against you, but anyone who speaks against you will be proved wrong.” The Lord says, “That is what my servants get! They get the good things that come from me, their Lord.

People Cannot Understand God

The Lord says, “My thoughts are not like yours. Your ways are not like mine.

They should not say that because the Lord says, “Some eunuchs obey the laws about the Sabbath. They choose to do what I want, and they follow my agreement.

The Lord says, “As for me, this is the agreement that I will make with these people. I promise my Spirit that I put on you and my words that I put in your mouth will never leave you. They will be with you and your children and your children’s children, for now and forever.

The Lord says, “When there is new wine in the grapes, people squeeze out the wine. But they don’t completely destroy the grapes because the grapes can still be used. I will do the same thing to my servants. I will not destroy them completely.

The Lord says, “People now ask blessings from the earth. But in the future they will ask blessings from the faithful God. People now trust in the power of the earth when they make a promise. But in the future they will trust in the God who is faithful. That’s because the troubles in the past will all be forgotten. They will be hidden from my sight.”

God Will Judge All Nations

This is what the Lord says: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is where I rest my feet. So do you think you can build a house for me? Do I need a place to rest?

In the same way, I will not cause pain without allowing something new to be born.” The Lord says this: “I promise that if I cause you the pain of birth, I will not stop you from having your new nation.” Your God said this.

This is what the Lord says: “Look, I will give Jerusalem peace that will flow in like a river. Wealth from all the nations will come flowing into her like a flood. And like little babies, you will drink that ‘milk.’ I will hold you in my arms, and bounce you on my knees.

The Lord says, “These are the people who wash themselves and make themselves pure so that they can go into their special gardens to worship their idols. They follow each other into the gardens to eat meat from pigs, rats, and other dirty things. But they will all be destroyed together.

The New Heavens and the New Earth

The Lord says, “I will make a new world—new heavens and a new earth—that will last forever. In the same way, your names and your children will always be with me.