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God’s Response

65 “I let myself be sought by those who didn’t ask for me;[a]
    I let myself be found by those who didn’t seek me.
I said, ‘Here I am! Here I am!’
    to a nation that didn’t call on my name.
I held out my hands all day long
    to a disobedient[b] people,
who walk in a way that isn’t good,
    following their own inclinations—
a people who continually provoke me to my face;
    they[c] keep sacrificing in gardens
        and waving their hands[d] over stone[e] altars;
who sit among graves,
    and spend the night in secret places;
who eat pigs’ meat,
    with the broth[f] of detestable things in[g] their pots;
who say, ‘Keep to yourself!’
    ‘Don’t touch[h] me!’ and ‘I am[i] too holy for you!’

“Such people are smoke in my nostrils,
    a fire that keeps burning all day long.
Watch out! It stands written before me:
    ‘I won’t keep silent, but I will pay back in full;
        I’ll indeed repay into[j] their laps
both your iniquities and your ancestors’[k] iniquities together,’’
    says the Lord.
“Because they offered incense on the mountains
    and insulted me on hills,[l]
I’ll measure into[m] their laps
    full payment for their earlier actions.”

A Remnant will be Preserved

This is what the Lord says:
    “Just as new wine is found in the cluster,
and people have said,[n] ‘Don’t destroy it,
    for there is a gift in it,’
so I’ll act for my servants’ sake,
    by not destroying them all.
I’ll bring forth descendants from Jacob,
    and from Judah they[o] will inherit[p] my mountains;
my chosen people will inherit it,
    and my servants will live there.
10 Sharon will become a pasture for flocks,
    and the Valley of Achor a fold for herds,[q]
        for my people who have sought me.
11 But as for you who forsake the Lord,
    who forget my holy mountain,
who spread a table for Fortune[r]
    and[s] fill drink offerings[t] for Destiny,[u]
12 I’ll consign[v] you to the sword,
    and all of you will bend down for the slaughter—
because when I called, you didn’t answer,
    when I spoke, you didn’t listen;
but you did what was evil in my sight,
    and chose what I took no pleasure in.”

The Righteous and Wicked Contrasted

13 Therefore, this is what the Lord[w] says:
“See, my servants will eat,
    but you’ll go hungry;
my servants will drink,
    but you’ll go thirsty;
my servants will rejoice,
    but you’ll be put to shame.
14 My servants will sing in gladness[x] of heart,
    but you’ll cry for help[y] from anguish of heart,
        and you’ll howl from brokenness of spirit.
15 You’ll leave your name to my chosen ones as a curse,
    and the Lord God will put you to death permanently.[z]
16 Then whoever takes an oath[aa] by the God of faithfulness,
    and whoever takes an oath in the land,
        will swear by the God of faithfulness,
because the former troubles are forgotten
    and are hidden from my eyes.

A New Universe

17 Take notice! I’m about to create new heavens
    and a new earth;
the former things won’t be remembered,
    nor will they come to mind.
18 But be glad[ab] and rejoice[ac] forever
    in what I am creating,
for I am about to create Jerusalem as a joy,
    and its people as a delight.
19 I’ll rejoice over Jerusalem,
    and take delight in my people;
no longer will the sound of weeping be heard in it,
    nor the cry of distress.

20 “And[ad] there will no longer be in it
    a young boy[ae] who lives only a few days,
        or an old person who does not live out his days;
for one who dies at a hundred years will be thought a mere youth,
    and one who falls short of a hundred years will be considered accursed.
21 People[af] will build houses and live in them;
    They’ll plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
22 They won’t build for others to inhabit;
    they won’t plant for others to eat—
for like the lifetime[ag] of a tree,[ah] so will the lifetime[ai] of my people be,
    and my chosen ones will long enjoy[aj] the work of their hands.
23 They won’t toil in vain
    nor bear children doomed to misfortune,
for they will be offspring blessed[ak] by the Lord,
    they and their descendants with them.
24 Before they call, I will answer,
    while they are still speaking, I’ll hear.

25 “The wolf and the lamb will feed together,
    and the lion will eat straw like the ox;
but as for the serpent—
    its food will be dust!
They won’t harm or destroy
    on my entire holy mountain,”

says the Lord.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 65:1 So 1QIsaa LXX; MT reads ask
  2. Isaiah 65:2 So 1QIsaa; MT reads an obstinate
  3. Isaiah 65:3 So 1QIsaa LXX; MT reads who
  4. Isaiah 65:3 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read and offering incense
  5. Isaiah 65:3 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read brick
  6. Isaiah 65:4 So 1QIsaa MTqere LXX Targ Vulg; MT reads violence; or crumbs
  7. Isaiah 65:4 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX lack in
  8. Isaiah 65:5 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read come near to
  9. Isaiah 65:5 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read for I am
  10. Isaiah 65:6 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read upon
  11. Isaiah 65:7 So 1QIsaa MT; LXX Syr read both their iniquities and their
  12. Isaiah 65:7 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read the hills
  13. Isaiah 65:7 So 1QIsaa MTqere; MT LXX read upon
  14. Isaiah 65:8 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read say
  15. Isaiah 65:9 Lit. he; so 1QIsaa LXX
  16. Isaiah 65:9 So 1QIsaa LXX; MT reads Judah, the one about to inherit
  17. Isaiah 65:10 So 1QIsaa LXX; MT reads a place for herds to lie down
  18. Isaiah 65:11 I.e. Fortune personified as a god
  19. Isaiah 65:11 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX reads and who
  20. Isaiah 65:11 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read cups of mixed wine, or mixing vessels
  21. Isaiah 65:11 I.e. Destiny personified as a god
  22. Isaiah 65:12 Lit. destine
  23. Isaiah 65:13 So 1QIsaa LXX; 1QIsaa reads Adonai; MT reads Lord God
  24. Isaiah 65:14 So 1QIsaa LXX; MT reads out of gladness
  25. Isaiah 65:14 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read cry out
  26. Isaiah 65:15 Or for good; so 1QIsaa; MT LXX reads but he will call his servants by a different name
  27. Isaiah 65:16 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read whoever invokes a blessing in the land will bless
  28. Isaiah 65:18 Sing. 1QIsaa; pl. MT
  29. Isaiah 65:18 Sing. 1QIsaa; pl. 1QIsab MT
  30. Isaiah 65:20 So 1QIsaa LXX; 1QIsab MT lack And
  31. Isaiah 65:20 So 1QIsaa; 1QIsab MT read an infant; cf. 49:15
  32. Isaiah 65:21 Lit. They
  33. Isaiah 65:22 Lit. days
  34. Isaiah 65:22 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read the tree
  35. Isaiah 65:22 Lit. days
  36. Isaiah 65:22 Lit. consume or wear out
  37. Isaiah 65:23 Sing. 1QIsaa LXX; pl. 1QIsab MT

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

65 I am sought of them that asked not for me; I am found of them that sought me not: I said, Behold me, behold me, unto a nation that was not called by my name.

I have spread out my hands all the day unto a rebellious people, which walketh in a way that was not good, after their own thoughts;

A people that provoketh me to anger continually to my face; that sacrificeth in gardens, and burneth incense upon altars of brick;

Which remain among the graves, and lodge in the monuments, which eat swine's flesh, and broth of abominable things is in their vessels;

Which say, Stand by thyself, come not near to me; for I am holier than thou. These are a smoke in my nose, a fire that burneth all the day.

Behold, it is written before me: I will not keep silence, but will recompense, even recompense into their bosom,

Your iniquities, and the iniquities of your fathers together, saith the Lord, which have burned incense upon the mountains, and blasphemed me upon the hills: therefore will I measure their former work into their bosom.

Thus saith the Lord, As the new wine is found in the cluster, and one saith, Destroy it not; for a blessing is in it: so will I do for my servants' sakes, that I may not destroy them all.

And I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah an inheritor of my mountains: and mine elect shall inherit it, and my servants shall dwell there.

10 And Sharon shall be a fold of flocks, and the valley of Achor a place for the herds to lie down in, for my people that have sought me.

11 But ye are they that forsake the Lord, that forget my holy mountain, that prepare a table for that troop, and that furnish the drink offering unto that number.

12 Therefore will I number you to the sword, and ye shall all bow down to the slaughter: because when I called, ye did not answer; when I spake, ye did not hear; but did evil before mine eyes, and did choose that wherein I delighted not.

13 Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, my servants shall eat, but ye shall be hungry: behold, my servants shall drink, but ye shall be thirsty: behold, my servants shall rejoice, but ye shall be ashamed:

14 Behold, my servants shall sing for joy of heart, but ye shall cry for sorrow of heart, and shall howl for vexation of spirit.

15 And ye shall leave your name for a curse unto my chosen: for the Lord God shall slay thee, and call his servants by another name:

16 That he who blesseth himself in the earth shall bless himself in the God of truth; and he that sweareth in the earth shall swear by the God of truth; because the former troubles are forgotten, and because they are hid from mine eyes.

17 For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.

18 But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy.

19 And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying.

20 There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed.

21 And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them.

22 They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.

23 They shall not labour in vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for they are the seed of the blessed of the Lord, and their offspring with them.

24 And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.

25 The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the Lord.