1 “I helped people who had not come to me for advice. Those who found me were not looking for me.* I helped … me Or “I was ready to answer those who did not come to me for advice. I was ready to be found by those who did not look for me.” I spoke to a nation that does not use my name. I said, ‘Here I am! Here I am!’

2 “All day long I stood ready to accept those who turned against me. But they kept doing whatever they wanted to do, and all they did was wrong. 3 They keep doing things, right in front of me, that make me angry. They offer sacrifices and burn incense in their special gardens.† special gardens Gardens where people worshiped false gods. 4 They sit among the graves, waiting to get messages from the dead. They eat the meat of pigs, and their pots are full of soup made from unclean meat. 5 But they tell others, ‘Don’t come near me! Don’t touch me because I am holy!’ They are like smoke in my eyes, and their fire burns all the time.”

6 “Look, here is a letter that lists all your sins. I will not be quiet until I pay you back for these sins. I will do it by punishing you. 7 I, the LORD, am doing this because of your sins and the sins of your ancestors. They did these sins when they burned incense in the mountains. They shamed me on those hills, and I punished them first.”

8 The LORD says, “When there is new wine in the grapes, people squeeze out the wine. But they don’t completely destroy the grapes because the grapes can still be used. I will do the same thing to my servants. I will not destroy them completely. 9 I will keep some of the people of Jacob. Some of the people of Judah will get my mountains. I will choose the people who will get the land. My servants will live there. 10 Then Sharon Valley will be a field for sheep. The Valley of Achor‡ Valley of Achor A valley about ten miles north of Jerusalem. will be a place for cattle to rest. All this will be for my people—for the people who come to me for help.

11 “But you people left the LORD, so you will be punished. You forgot about my holy mountain.§ my holy mountain Mount Zion, the mountain Jerusalem is built on. You began to worship Luck. You held feasts for the false god, Fate.* Luck … Fate Two false gods. The people thought these gods controlled their futures. 12 But I decided what would happen to you: you will be killed with a sword. You will all be killed because I called to you, but you refused to answer me. I spoke to you, but you would not listen. You did what I said is evil and chose to do what I did not like.”