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Old Testament Reading -The Glorious New Creation

¹⁷For see, I am creating new heavens and a new earth—so wonderful that no one will even think about the old ones anymore. ¹⁸Be glad; rejoice forever in my creation. Look! I will re-create Jerusalem as a place of happiness, and her people shall be a joy! ¹⁹And I will rejoice in Jerusalem and in my people; and the voice of weeping and crying shall not be heard there anymore.

²⁰No longer will babies die when only a few days old; no longer will men be considered old at 100! Only sinners will die that young! ^21-22 In those days, when a man builds a house, he will keep on living in it — it will not be destroyed by invading armies as in the past. My people will plant vineyards and eat the fruit themselves — their enemies will not confiscate it. For my people will live as long as trees and will long enjoy their hard-won gains. ²³Their harvests will not be eaten by their enemies; their children will not be born to be cannon fodder. For they are the children of those the Lord has blessed; and their children, too, shall be blessed. ²⁴I will answer them before they even call to me. While they are still talking to me about their needs, I will go ahead and answer their prayers! ²⁵The wolf and lamb shall feed together, the lion shall eat straw as the ox does, and poisonous snakes shall strike no more!^a In those days nothing and no one shall be hurt or destroyed in all my holy mountain, says the Lord.

1. Literally, “dust [not men!] shall be the serpent’s food.”