11. “But it will be different for you that forsake me, who ignore Zion, my sacred hill, and worship Gad and Meni, the gods of luck and fate.
12. It will be your fate to die a violent death, because you did not answer when I called you or listen when I spoke. You chose to disobey me and do evil.
13. And so I tell you that those who worship and obey me will have plenty to eat and drink, but you will be hungry and thirsty. They will be happy, but you will be disgraced.
14. They will sing for joy, but you will cry with a broken heart.
15. My chosen people will use your name as a curse. I, the Sovereign Lord, will put you to death. But I will give a new name to those who obey me.
16. Anyone in the land who asks for a blessing will ask to be blessed by the Faithful God. Whoever takes an oath will swear by the name of the Faithful God. The troubles of the past will be gone and forgotten.”
17. The Lord says, “I am making a new earth and new heavens. The events of the past will be completely forgotten.
18. Be glad and rejoice for ever in what I create. The new Jerusalem I make will be full of joy, and her people will be happy.
19. I myself will be filled with joy because of Jerusalem and her people. There will be no weeping there, no calling for help.
20. Babies will no longer die in infancy, and all people will live out their life span. Those who live to be a hundred will be considered young. To die before that would be a sign that I had punished them.
21-22. People will build houses and live in them themselves — they will not be used by someone else. They will plant vineyards and enjoy the wine — it will not be drunk by others. Like trees, my people will live long lives. They will fully enjoy the things that they have worked for.
23. The work they do will be successful, and their children will not meet with disaster. I will bless them and their descendants for all time to come.
24. Even before they finish praying to me, I will answer their prayers.