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65 “I am inquired of by those who didn’t ask.
    I am found by those who didn’t seek me.
    I said, ‘See me, see me,’ to a nation that was not called by my name.
I have spread out my hands all day to a rebellious people,
    who walk in a way that is not good,
    after their own thoughts;
a people who provoke me to my face continually,
    sacrificing in gardens,
    and burning incense on bricks;
who sit among the graves,
    and spend nights in secret places;
who eat pig’s meat,
    and broth of abominable things is in their vessels;
who say, ‘Stay by yourself,
    don’t come near to me,
    for I am holier than you.’
These are smoke in my nose,
    a fire that burns all day.

“Behold, it is written before me:
    I will not keep silence,
    but will repay,
    yes, I will repay into their bosom,
your own iniquities, and the iniquities of your fathers together”, says Yahweh,
    “who have burned incense on the mountains,
    and blasphemed me on the hills.
    Therefore I will first measure their work into their bosom.”

Yahweh says,

“As the new wine is found in the cluster,
    and one says, ‘Don’t destroy it, for a blessing is in it:’
so I will do for my servants’ sake,
    that I may not destroy them all.
I will bring offspring out of Jacob,
    and out of Judah an inheritor of my mountains.
My chosen will inherit it,
    and my servants will dwell there.
10 Sharon will be a fold of flocks,
    and the valley of Achor a place for herds to lie down in,
    for my people who have sought me.

11 “But you who forsake Yahweh,
    who forget my holy mountain,
    who prepare a table for Fortune,
    and who fill up mixed wine to Destiny;
12 I will destine you to the sword,
    and you will all bow down to the slaughter;
because when I called, you didn’t answer.
    When I spoke, you didn’t listen;
but you did that which was evil in my eyes,
    and chose that in which I didn’t delight.”

13 Therefore the Lord Yahweh says,

“Behold, my servants will eat,
    but you will be hungry;
behold, my servants will drink,
    but you will be thirsty.
Behold, my servants will rejoice,
    but you will be disappointed;
14 Behold, my servants will sing for joy of heart,
    but you will cry for sorrow of heart,
    and will wail for anguish of spirit.
15 You will leave your name for a curse to my chosen;
    and the Lord Yahweh will kill you.
He will call his servants by another name,
16     so that he who blesses himself in the earth will bless himself in the God of truth;
    and he who swears in the earth will swear by the God of truth;
because the former troubles are forgotten,
    and because they are hidden from my eyes.

17 “For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth;
    and the former things will not be remembered,
    nor come into mind.
18 But be glad and rejoice forever in that which I create;
    for, behold, I create Jerusalem to be a delight,
    and her people a joy.
19 I will rejoice in Jerusalem,
    and delight in my people;
and the voice of weeping and the voice of crying
    will be heard in her no more.

20 “No more will there be an infant who only lives a few days,
    nor an old man who has not filled his days;
for the child will die one hundred years old,
    and the sinner being one hundred years old will be accursed.
21 They will build houses and inhabit them.
    They will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
22 They will not build and another inhabit.
    They will not plant and another eat:
for the days of my people will be like the days of a tree,
    and my chosen will long enjoy the work of their hands.
23 They will not labor in vain
    nor give birth for calamity;
for they are the offspring of Yahweh’s blessed
    and their descendants with them.
24 It will happen that before they call, I will answer;
    and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.
25 The wolf and the lamb will feed together.
    The lion will eat straw like the ox.
    Dust will be the serpent’s food.
They will not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain,”
    says Yahweh.

Judgment and Salvation

65 “I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me;
    I was found by those who did not seek me.(A)
To a nation(B) that did not call on my name,(C)
    I said, ‘Here am I, here am I.’
All day long I have held out my hands
    to an obstinate people,(D)
who walk in ways not good,
    pursuing their own imaginations(E)
a people who continually provoke me
    to my very face,(F)
offering sacrifices in gardens(G)
    and burning incense(H) on altars of brick;
who sit among the graves(I)
    and spend their nights keeping secret vigil;
who eat the flesh of pigs,(J)
    and whose pots hold broth of impure meat;
who say, ‘Keep away; don’t come near me,
    for I am too sacred(K) for you!’
Such people are smoke(L) in my nostrils,
    a fire that keeps burning all day.

“See, it stands written before me:
    I will not keep silent(M) but will pay back(N) in full;
    I will pay it back into their laps(O)
both your sins(P) and the sins of your ancestors,”(Q)
    says the Lord.
“Because they burned sacrifices on the mountains
    and defied me on the hills,(R)
I will measure into their laps
    the full payment(S) for their former deeds.”

This is what the Lord says:

“As when juice is still found in a cluster of grapes(T)
    and people say, ‘Don’t destroy it,
    there is still a blessing in it,’
so will I do in behalf of my servants;(U)
    I will not destroy them all.
I will bring forth descendants(V) from Jacob,
    and from Judah those who will possess(W) my mountains;
my chosen(X) people will inherit them,
    and there will my servants live.(Y)
10 Sharon(Z) will become a pasture for flocks,(AA)
    and the Valley of Achor(AB) a resting place for herds,
    for my people who seek(AC) me.

11 “But as for you who forsake(AD) the Lord
    and forget my holy mountain,(AE)
who spread a table for Fortune
    and fill bowls of mixed wine(AF) for Destiny,
12 I will destine you for the sword,(AG)
    and all of you will fall in the slaughter;(AH)
for I called but you did not answer,(AI)
    I spoke but you did not listen.(AJ)
You did evil in my sight
    and chose what displeases me.”(AK)

13 Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“My servants will eat,(AL)
    but you will go hungry;(AM)
my servants will drink,(AN)
    but you will go thirsty;(AO)
my servants will rejoice,(AP)
    but you will be put to shame.(AQ)
14 My servants will sing(AR)
    out of the joy of their hearts,
but you will cry out(AS)
    from anguish of heart
    and wail in brokenness of spirit.
15 You will leave your name
    for my chosen ones to use in their curses;(AT)
the Sovereign Lord will put you to death,
    but to his servants he will give another name.(AU)
16 Whoever invokes a blessing(AV) in the land
    will do so by the one true God;(AW)
whoever takes an oath in the land
    will swear(AX) by the one true God.
For the past troubles(AY) will be forgotten
    and hidden from my eyes.

New Heavens and a New Earth

17 “See, I will create
    new heavens and a new earth.(AZ)
The former things will not be remembered,(BA)
    nor will they come to mind.
18 But be glad and rejoice(BB) forever
    in what I will create,
for I will create Jerusalem(BC) to be a delight
    and its people a joy.
19 I will rejoice(BD) over Jerusalem
    and take delight(BE) in my people;
the sound of weeping and of crying(BF)
    will be heard in it no more.

20 “Never again will there be in it
    an infant(BG) who lives but a few days,
    or an old man who does not live out his years;(BH)
the one who dies at a hundred
    will be thought a mere child;
the one who fails to reach[a] a hundred
    will be considered accursed.
21 They will build houses(BI) and dwell in them;
    they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.(BJ)
22 No longer will they build houses and others live in them,(BK)
    or plant and others eat.
For as the days of a tree,(BL)
    so will be the days(BM) of my people;
my chosen(BN) ones will long enjoy
    the work of their hands.
23 They will not labor in vain,(BO)
    nor will they bear children doomed to misfortune;(BP)
for they will be a people blessed(BQ) by the Lord,
    they and their descendants(BR) with them.
24 Before they call(BS) I will answer;(BT)
    while they are still speaking(BU) I will hear.
25 The wolf and the lamb(BV) will feed together,
    and the lion will eat straw like the ox,(BW)
    and dust will be the serpent’s(BX) food.
They will neither harm nor destroy
    on all my holy mountain,”(BY)
says the Lord.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 65:20 Or the sinner who reaches