Isaiah 66:4-6

The Voice

⁴    But I have a choice, too, and I choose to punish them;
        I will bring on them what they fear most.
    For when I called, no one answered;
        when I spoke, they refused to listen.
    Instead they did all the wrong things and made terrible choices—
        what I expressly said that I hate.

God desires to bring people like these close and make them safe, but He cannot if they refuse. His loving purpose is for them to live well, to be well, but He cannot make it so if they choose badly and do what He hates.

⁵So, if you are one who trembles at His word,
listen closely to what the Eternal One has to say:

Eternal One: I know that some people, even your own family,
        reject you because you accept Me,
    And they’re saying, “Let the Eternal receive the honor He deserves,
        so that we, too, can know your joy.” But they’ll only know sorrow and shame.
⁶    Can you hear it? There’s a commotion in the city,
        great rumbling coming from the temple area!
    Ah, it is the Eternal thundering in to take on His foes.