But look, the people are happy and are having wild parties. They kill the cattle and the sheep; they eat the food and drink the wine. They say, “Let us eat and drink, because tomorrow we will die.”
Evil people will not learn to do good even if you show them kindness. They will continue doing evil, even if they live in a good world; they never see the Lord’s greatness.
“Now, listen, you lover of pleasure. You think you are safe. You tell yourself, ‘I am the only important person. I will never be a widow or lose my children.’
They say, “Come, let’s drink some wine; let’s drink all the beer we want. And tomorrow we will do this again, or, maybe we will have an even better time.”
They say, ‘To honor you we had special days when we fasted, but you didn’t see. We humbled ourselves to honor you, but you didn’t notice.’ ” But the Lord says, “You do what pleases yourselves on these special days, and you are unfair to your workers.
“ ‘This was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were proud and had plenty of food and lived in great comfort, but she did not help the poor and needy.
Israel, do not rejoice; don’t shout for joy as the other nations do. You have been like a prostitute against your God. You love the pay of prostitutes on every threshing floor.
If I fought wild animals in Ephesus only with human hopes, I have gained nothing. If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, because tomorrow we will die.”
Your life on earth was full of rich living and pleasing yourselves with everything you wanted. You made yourselves fat, like an animal ready to be killed.