55
The future glory of Jerusalem
1 “All you people who are in exile,
listen to me!
It is as though [MET] you are thirsty,
so come and get water from me!
It is as though you have no money,
but you can come and get things from me that are like wine and milk!
You can get what you need from me,
and you will not need to give me any money for them!
2 What you really need is to have a close relationship with me,
so ◄why do you spend money to buy things that do not supply what you really need?/you should not spend money to buy things that do not supply what you really need.► [RHQ]
◄Why do you work hard to get money to buy things that do not <satisfy your inner beings/cause you to be happy>?► [RHQ]
Pay attention to what I say
and acquire what is really good [MET]!
If you do that, then you will truly be happy [MET].
3 Listen to me and come to me;
pay attention to me, and if you do that, you will have new life in your souls.
I will make an agreement with you that will last forever
to faithfully love you like I loved King David.
4 By what he did, I showed my power to many people-groups;
I caused him to be a leader and commander [DOU] over the people of many nations.
5 And similarly, you will summon people of other nations to come to you,
nations that previously you have not heard about,
and they had not heard about you;
and they will come to you quickly
because they will have heard that I, Yahweh, your God, the Holy One of Israel, have honored you.
6 Seek to know me while it is still possible for you to do that;
call to me while I am near!
7 Wicked people should abandon their wicked behavior,
and evil people should stop thinking what is evil.
They should turn to me,
and if they do that, I will act mercifully toward them;
they should turn to me, their God,
because I will fully pardon them for all the wicked things that they have done.
8 I, Yahweh, declare that what I think is not the same as what you think,
and what I do is very different from what you do.
9 Just as the sky is far above the earth,
what I do is far greater than what you do,
and what I think is much greater than what you think.
10 Rain and snow come down from the sky,
and they cause the ground to be moist before the moisture returns to the sky and produces more clouds.
When the ground becomes moist, it causes plants to sprout and grow,
with the result that the soil produces seed for the farmer to plant and grain to produce flour to make bread for people to eat.
11 And similarly the things that I promise to do, I will always cause to happen;
my promises will always be fulfilled [LIT].
They will accomplish the things that I gave them to accomplish [DOU].
12 You will leave Babylon joyfully,
you will have peace as I lead you out.
It will be as though the hills and mountains will sing joyfully,
and the trees in the fields will clap their hands.
13 Instead of thornbushes and briers,
pine/cypress trees and myrtle trees will grow in your land.
As a result of that, people will honor me much more;
and what I do will remind everyone that I do what I have promised.”