The cry from my dear people comes from a distant land: “Isn’t the Lord in Zion? Isn’t Zion’s king still there?” They make me furious with their idols, with their foreign gods.
“How horrible it will be for a nation that sins. ⌞Its⌟ people are loaded down with guilt. They are descendants of evildoers and destructive children. They have abandoned the Lord. They have despised the Holy One of Israel. They have turned their backs on him.
Then the prophet Isaiah came to King Hezekiah and asked, “What did these men say? And where did they come from?” Hezekiah answered, “They came to me from the distant country of Babylon.”
Wake up! Wake up! Clothe yourself with strength, Zion! Put on your beautiful clothes, holy city of Jerusalem. Godless and evil people will no longer come to you.
Have you completely rejected Judah? Do you despise Zion? Why have you struck us so hard that we cannot heal? We hope for peace, but no good comes from it. We hope for a time of healing, but there’s only terror.
Why should you be like someone taken by surprise, like a strong man who cannot help? You, O Lord, are among us. We are called by your name. Don’t leave us!
This is what the Lord says: What did your ancestors find wrong with me that they went so far away from me? They followed worthless idols and became worthless themselves.
Ever since they were young, the people of Israel and Judah have done what I consider evil. The people of Israel have made me furious by what they’ve done,” declares the Lord.
Then whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Those who escape will be on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem. Among the survivors will be those whom the Lord calls, as the Lord has promised.
The Lord has reversed the judgments against you. He has forced out your enemies. The king of Israel, the Lord, is with you. You will never fear disaster again.
and said, “Men, what are you doing? We’re human beings like you. We’re spreading the Good News to you to turn you away from these worthless gods to the living God. The living God made the sky, the land, the sea, and everything in them.
On that day I will become angry with them. I will abandon them and turn away from them. They will be destroyed, and many terrible disasters will happen to them. On that day they will ask, ‘Haven’t these disasters happened to us because our God isn’t with us?’
“To the messenger of the church in Ephesus, write: The one who holds the seven stars in his right hand, the one who walks among the seven gold lamp stands, says: