His people will be called the Holy People, the Saved People of the Lord, and Jerusalem will be called the City God Wants, the City God Has Not Rejected.
A road will be there; this highway will be called “The Road to Being Holy.” Evil people will not be allowed to walk on that road; only good people will walk on it. No fools will go on it.
“The poor and needy people look for water, but they can’t find any. Their tongues are dry with thirst. But I, the Lord, will answer their prayers; I, the God of Israel, will not leave them to die.
Then I will lead the blind along a way they never knew; I will guide them along paths they have not known. I will make the darkness become light for them, and the rough ground smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not leave my people.
All of your people will do what is right. They will receive the earth forever. They are the plant I have planted, the work of my own hands to show my greatness.
You will never again be called the People that God Left, nor your land the Land that God Destroyed. You will be called the People God Loves, and your land will be called the Bride of God, because the Lord loves you. And your land will belong to him as a bride belongs to her husband.
The Lord says, “I made myself known to people who were not looking for me. I was found by those who were not asking me for help. I said, ‘Here I am. Here I am,’ to a nation that was not praying to me.
The time is coming when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, and that time is here already. You see, the Father too is actively seeking such people to worship him.
He will make you greater than all the other nations he made. He will give you praise, fame, and honor, and you will be a holy people to the Lord your God, as he has said.
But you are a chosen people, royal priests, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession. You were chosen to tell about the wonderful acts of God, who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
And they all sang a new song to the Lamb: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were killed, and with the blood of your death you bought people for God from every tribe, language, people, and nation.