For I, Yahweh, say to you who were once called ‘Outcast,’ I will heal your wounds. And to you who were once called ‘Forgotten Zion,’ I will restore your health.”
But the Lord says, “Now I will arise! I will defend the poor, those who were plundered, the oppressed, and the needy who groan for help. I will spring into action to rescue and protect them!”
I look to my left and right to see if there is anyone who will help, but there’s no one who takes notice of me. I have no hope of escape, and no one cares whether I live or die.
That’s where he restores and revives my life. He opens before me the right path and leads me along in his footsteps of righteousness so that I can bring honor to his name.
Moonlight will shine as bright as sunlight, and the sun’s glare will become seven times brighter, like the light of seven days rolled into one. That will be the day when the Lord Yahweh heals the bruises and wounds that he has inflicted.
For I, Yahweh, have invited you to come back like a depressed, deserted wife. Like a young wife who has experienced rejection, I am drawing you back to me,” says Yahweh.
The Lord God Almighty, who brings home the outcasts of Israel, says, “There are many others I will gather, and I will add them to those who are already gathered.”
Then my favor will bathe you in sunlight until you are like the dawn bursting through a dark night. And then suddenly your healing will manifest. You will see your righteousness march out before you, and the glory of Yahweh will protect you from all harm!
“Although once you were rejected and despised, undesirable for anyone to pass through you, I will make you majestic forever, a source of joy for every generation.
But my tent has been torn down, and all my cords are severed. I’ll never see my children again, for they have left me. There is no one left to stretch out my tent and no one who can hang my curtains.
“Come back to me, you unfaithful ones! Let me heal your waywardness and restore your faithfulness.” “We’re here! We’re coming back to you, Yahweh, because you are our God.
“Have you heard that these people are saying, ‘Yahweh has forsaken Judah and Israel, whom he chose for himself’? They despise my people and no longer consider them as a nation.
All who pass your way applaud in mockery. They wag their heads with contempt, saying over beloved Jerusalem, “Is this really the city called The Perfection of Beauty, The Joy of All the Earth?”
And you will know that I, Yahweh, have heard all the vile insults that you have uttered against the mountains of Israel, saying, “Look! They have been ruined and left desolate. Let’s wipe them out!”
When my people were scattered to other lands, they dishonored my holy name in front of those nations. The people said of them, ‘Look! These are the people of Yahweh who have been forced out of his land.’
He himself carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we would be dead to sin and live for righteousness. Our instant healing flowed from his wounding.
The river was flowing in the middle of the street of the city, and on either side of the river was the Tree of Life, with its twelve kinds of ripe fruit according to each month of the year. The leaves of the Tree of Life are for the healing of the nations.