64 If only you would tear the heavens open
and come down,(A)
so that mountains would quake at your presence(B)
just as fire kindles brushwood,
and fire boils water—
to make your name known to your enemies,
so that nations would tremble at your presence!
When you did awesome works(C)
that we did not expect,
you came down,(D)
and the mountains quaked at your presence.
From ancient times no one has heard,
no one has listened to,
no eye has seen any God except you
who acts on behalf of the one who waits for him.(E)
You welcome the one who joyfully does what is right;
they remember you in your ways.
But we have sinned, and you were angry.
How can we be saved if we remain in our sins?[a]
All of us have become like something unclean,
and all our righteous acts are like a polluted[b] garment;(F)
all of us wither like a leaf,(G)
and our iniquities(H) carry us away like the wind.
No one calls on your name,
striving to take hold of you.
For you have hidden your face from us(I)
and made us melt because of[c][d] our iniquity.
Yet Lord, you are our Father;(J)
we are the clay, and you are our potter;
we all are the work of your hands.(K)
Lord, do not be terribly angry
or remember our iniquity forever.(L)
Please look—all of us are your people!
10 Your holy cities have become a wilderness;
Zion has become a wilderness,
Jerusalem a desolation.(M)
11 Our holy and beautiful[e] temple,
where our ancestors praised you,
has been burned down,
and all that was dear to us lies in ruins.(N)
12 Lord, after all this, will you restrain yourself?
Will you keep silent and afflict us severely?(O)

The Lord’s Response

65 “I was sought by those who did not ask;
I was found by those who did not seek me.
I said, ‘Here I am, here I am,’
to a nation that did not call on[f] my name.(P)
I spread out my hands all day long
to a rebellious people(Q)
who walk in the path that is not good,
following their own thoughts.
These people continually anger me
to my face,
sacrificing in gardens,(R)
burning incense on bricks,
sitting among the graves,
spending nights in secret places,
eating the meat of pigs,(S)
and putting polluted broth in their bowls.[g]
They say, ‘Keep to yourself,
don’t come near me, for I am too holy for you!’
These practices are smoke in my nostrils,
a fire that burns all day long.
Look, it is written in front of me:
I will not keep silent,(T) but I will repay;(U)
I will repay them fully[h]
for your iniquities and the iniquities(V)
of your[i] ancestors together,”
says the Lord.
“Because they burned incense on the mountains
and reproached me on the hills,(W)
I will reward them fully[j]
for their former deeds.”

The Lord says this:

“As the new wine is found in a bunch of grapes,
and one says, ‘Don’t destroy it,
for there’s some good[k] in it,’
so I will act because of my servants
and not destroy them all.
I will produce descendants from Jacob,(X)
and heirs to my mountains from Judah;
my chosen(Y) ones will possess it,
and my servants will dwell there.(Z)
10 Sharon will be a pasture for flocks,(AA)
and the Valley of Achor a place for herds to lie down,(AB)
for my people who have sought me.(AC)
11 But you who abandon the Lord,
who forget my holy mountain,
who prepare a table for Fortune
and fill bowls of mixed wine for Destiny,[l]
12 I will destine you for the sword,
and all of you will kneel down to be slaughtered,
because I called and you did not answer,
I spoke and you did not hear;
you did what was evil in my sight
and chose what I did not delight in.”(AD)

13 Therefore, this is what the Lord God says:

“Look! My servants will eat,
but you will be hungry.
Look! My servants will drink,
but you will be thirsty.
Look! My servants will rejoice,
but you will be put to shame.
14 Look! My servants will shout for joy from a glad heart,
but you will cry out from an anguished heart,
and you will lament out of a broken spirit.
15 You will leave your name behind
as a curse for my chosen ones,(AE)
and the Lord God will kill you;
but he will give his servants another name.(AF)
16 Whoever asks for a blessing in the land
will ask for a blessing by the God of truth,(AG)
and whoever swears in the land
will swear by the God of truth.
For the former troubles will be forgotten
and hidden from my sight.

A New Creation

17 “For I will create new heavens and a new earth;(AH)
the past events will not be remembered or come to mind.
18 Then be glad and rejoice forever
in what I am creating;
for I will create Jerusalem to be a joy
and its people to be a delight.
19 I will rejoice in Jerusalem
and be glad in my people.
The sound of weeping and crying
will no longer be heard in her.(AI)
20 In her, a nursing infant will no longer live
only a few days,[m]
or an old man not live out his days.
Indeed, the one who dies at a hundred years old
will be mourned as a young man,[n]
and the one who misses a hundred years
will be considered cursed.(AJ)
21 People will build houses and live in them;
they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.(AK)
22 They will not build and others live in them;
they will not plant and others eat.
For my people’s lives will be
like the lifetime of a tree.(AL)
My chosen ones will fully enjoy
the work of their hands.
23 They will not labor without success(AM)
or bear children destined for disaster,
for they will be a people blessed by the Lord
along with their descendants.(AN)
24 Even before they call, I will answer;(AO)
while they are still speaking, I will hear.
25 The wolf and the lamb will feed together,[o]
and the lion will eat straw like cattle,(AP)
but the serpent’s food will be dust!(AQ)
They will not do what is evil or destroy
on my entire holy mountain,”(AR)
says the Lord.

Footnotes

  1. 64:5 Lit angry; in them continually and we will be saved; Hb obscure
  2. 64:6 Lit menstrual
  3. 64:7 LXX, Syr, Vg, Tg read and delivered us into the hand of
  4. 64:7 Lit melt by the hand of
  5. 64:11 Or glorious; Is 60:7
  6. 65:1 Or that was not called by
  7. 65:3–4 These vv. describe pagan worship.
  8. 65:6 Lit repay into their lap
  9. 65:7 LXX, Syr read for their iniquities and the iniquities of their
  10. 65:7 Lit reward into their lap
  11. 65:8 Or there’s a blessing
  12. 65:11 Pagan gods
  13. 65:20 Lit her, no longer infant of days
  14. 65:20 Lit the youth of a hundred years will die
  15. 65:25 Lit as one

64 [a]Oh, that you would rend the heavens(A) and come down,(B)
    that the mountains(C) would tremble before you!
As when fire sets twigs ablaze
    and causes water to boil,
come down to make your name(D) known to your enemies
    and cause the nations to quake(E) before you!
For when you did awesome(F) things that we did not expect,
    you came down, and the mountains trembled(G) before you.
Since ancient times no one has heard,
    no ear has perceived,
no eye has seen any God besides you,(H)
    who acts on behalf of those who wait for him.(I)
You come to the help of those who gladly do right,(J)
    who remember your ways.
But when we continued to sin against them,
    you were angry.(K)
    How then can we be saved?
All of us have become like one who is unclean,(L)
    and all our righteous(M) acts are like filthy rags;
we all shrivel up like a leaf,(N)
    and like the wind our sins sweep us away.(O)
No one(P) calls on your name(Q)
    or strives to lay hold of you;
for you have hidden(R) your face from us
    and have given us over(S) to[b] our sins.

Yet you, Lord, are our Father.(T)
    We are the clay, you are the potter;(U)
    we are all the work of your hand.(V)
Do not be angry(W) beyond measure, Lord;
    do not remember our sins(X) forever.
Oh, look on us, we pray,
    for we are all your people.(Y)
10 Your sacred cities(Z) have become a wasteland;
    even Zion is a wasteland, Jerusalem a desolation.(AA)
11 Our holy and glorious temple,(AB) where our ancestors praised you,
    has been burned with fire,
    and all that we treasured(AC) lies in ruins.
12 After all this, Lord, will you hold yourself back?(AD)
    Will you keep silent(AE) and punish us beyond measure?

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.(AF)
To a nation(AG) that did not call on my name,(AH)
    I said, ‘Here am I, here am I.’
All day long I have held out my hands
    to an obstinate people,(AI)
who walk in ways not good,
    pursuing their own imaginations(AJ)
a people who continually provoke me
    to my very face,(AK)
offering sacrifices in gardens(AL)
    and burning incense(AM) on altars of brick;
who sit among the graves(AN)
    and spend their nights keeping secret vigil;
who eat the flesh of pigs,(AO)
    and whose pots hold broth of impure meat;
who say, ‘Keep away; don’t come near me,
    for I am too sacred(AP) for you!’
Such people are smoke(AQ) in my nostrils,
    a fire that keeps burning all day.

“See, it stands written before me:
    I will not keep silent(AR) but will pay back(AS) in full;
    I will pay it back into their laps(AT)
both your sins(AU) and the sins of your ancestors,”(AV)
    says the Lord.
“Because they burned sacrifices on the mountains
    and defied me on the hills,(AW)
I will measure into their laps
    the full payment(AX) for their former deeds.”

This is what the Lord says:

“As when juice is still found in a cluster of grapes(AY)
    and people say, ‘Don’t destroy it,
    there is still a blessing in it,’
so will I do in behalf of my servants;(AZ)
    I will not destroy them all.
I will bring forth descendants(BA) from Jacob,
    and from Judah those who will possess(BB) my mountains;
my chosen(BC) people will inherit them,
    and there will my servants live.(BD)
10 Sharon(BE) will become a pasture for flocks,(BF)
    and the Valley of Achor(BG) a resting place for herds,
    for my people who seek(BH) me.

11 “But as for you who forsake(BI) the Lord
    and forget my holy mountain,(BJ)
who spread a table for Fortune
    and fill bowls of mixed wine(BK) for Destiny,
12 I will destine you for the sword,(BL)
    and all of you will fall in the slaughter;(BM)
for I called but you did not answer,(BN)
    I spoke but you did not listen.(BO)
You did evil in my sight
    and chose what displeases me.”(BP)

13 Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“My servants will eat,(BQ)
    but you will go hungry;(BR)
my servants will drink,(BS)
    but you will go thirsty;(BT)
my servants will rejoice,(BU)
    but you will be put to shame.(BV)
14 My servants will sing(BW)
    out of the joy of their hearts,
but you will cry out(BX)
    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;(BY)
the Sovereign Lord will put you to death,
    but to his servants he will give another name.(BZ)
16 Whoever invokes a blessing(CA) in the land
    will do so by the one true God;(CB)
whoever takes an oath in the land
    will swear(CC) by the one true God.
For the past troubles(CD) 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.(CE)
The former things will not be remembered,(CF)
    nor will they come to mind.
18 But be glad and rejoice(CG) forever
    in what I will create,
for I will create Jerusalem(CH) to be a delight
    and its people a joy.
19 I will rejoice(CI) over Jerusalem
    and take delight(CJ) in my people;
the sound of weeping and of crying(CK)
    will be heard in it no more.

20 “Never again will there be in it
    an infant(CL) who lives but a few days,
    or an old man who does not live out his years;(CM)
the one who dies at a hundred
    will be thought a mere child;
the one who fails to reach[c] a hundred
    will be considered accursed.
21 They will build houses(CN) and dwell in them;
    they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.(CO)
22 No longer will they build houses and others live in them,(CP)
    or plant and others eat.
For as the days of a tree,(CQ)
    so will be the days(CR) of my people;
my chosen(CS) ones will long enjoy
    the work of their hands.
23 They will not labor in vain,(CT)
    nor will they bear children doomed to misfortune;(CU)
for they will be a people blessed(CV) by the Lord,
    they and their descendants(CW) with them.
24 Before they call(CX) I will answer;(CY)
    while they are still speaking(CZ) I will hear.
25 The wolf and the lamb(DA) will feed together,
    and the lion will eat straw like the ox,(DB)
    and dust will be the serpent’s(DC) food.
They will neither harm nor destroy
    on all my holy mountain,”(DD)
says the Lord.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 64:1 In Hebrew texts 64:1 is numbered 63:19b, and 64:2-12 is numbered 64:1-11.
  2. Isaiah 64:7 Septuagint, Syriac and Targum; Hebrew have made us melt because of
  3. Isaiah 65:20 Or the sinner who reaches

Paul’s Sufferings for Christ

16 I repeat: Let no one consider me a fool. But if you do, at least accept me as a fool so that I can also boast a little. 17 What I am saying in this matter[a] of boasting, I don’t speak as the Lord would, but as it were, foolishly. 18 Since many boast according to the flesh, I will also boast. 19 For you, being so wise, gladly put up with fools!(A) 20 In fact, you put up with it if someone enslaves you, if someone exploits(B) you, if someone takes advantage of you, if someone is arrogant toward you, if someone slaps(C) you in the face. 21 I say this to our shame: We have been too weak for that!

But in whatever anyone dares to boast—I am talking foolishly—I also dare: 22 Are they Hebrews?(D) So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they the descendants of Abraham?(E) So am I. 23 Are they servants of Christ? I’m talking like a madman—I’m a better one: with far more labors, many more imprisonments, far worse beatings, many times near death.

24 Five times I received the forty lashes minus one from the Jews.(F) 25 Three times I was beaten with rods.(G) Once I received a stoning.(H) Three times I was shipwrecked.(I) I have spent a night and a day in the open sea. 26 On frequent journeys, I faced dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers,(J) dangers from my own people,(K) dangers from Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers at sea, and dangers among false brothers; 27 toil and hardship, many sleepless nights, hunger and thirst, often without food, cold, and without clothing.(L) 28 Not to mention[b] other things, there is the daily pressure on me: my concern for all the churches. 29 Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to stumble,(M) and I do not burn with indignation?

30 If boasting is necessary, I will boast about my weaknesses. 31 The God and Father(N) of the Lord Jesus, who is blessed forever, knows I am not lying. 32 In Damascus,(O) a ruler[c] under King Aretas guarded the city of Damascus in order to arrest me. 33 So I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall and escaped from his hands.(P)

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Footnotes

  1. 11:17 Or business, or confidence
  2. 11:28 Lit Apart from
  3. 11:32 Gk ethnarches; a leader of an ethnic community

Paul Boasts About His Sufferings

16 I repeat: Let no one take me for a fool.(A) But if you do, then tolerate me just as you would a fool, so that I may do a little boasting. 17 In this self-confident boasting I am not talking as the Lord would,(B) but as a fool.(C) 18 Since many are boasting in the way the world does,(D) I too will boast.(E) 19 You gladly put up with(F) fools since you are so wise!(G) 20 In fact, you even put up with(H) anyone who enslaves you(I) or exploits you or takes advantage of you or puts on airs or slaps you in the face. 21 To my shame I admit that we were too weak(J) for that!

Whatever anyone else dares to boast about—I am speaking as a fool—I also dare to boast about.(K) 22 Are they Hebrews? So am I.(L) Are they Israelites? So am I.(M) Are they Abraham’s descendants? So am I.(N) 23 Are they servants of Christ?(O) (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder,(P) been in prison more frequently,(Q) been flogged more severely,(R) and been exposed to death again and again.(S) 24 Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes(T) minus one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods,(U) once I was pelted with stones,(V) three times I was shipwrecked,(W) I spent a night and a day in the open sea, 26 I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews,(X) in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city,(Y) in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers.(Z) 27 I have labored and toiled(AA) and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food;(AB) I have been cold and naked. 28 Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches.(AC) 29 Who is weak, and I do not feel weak?(AD) Who is led into sin,(AE) and I do not inwardly burn?

30 If I must boast, I will boast(AF) of the things that show my weakness.(AG) 31 The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, who is to be praised forever,(AH) knows(AI) that I am not lying. 32 In Damascus the governor under King Aretas had the city of the Damascenes guarded in order to arrest me.(AJ) 33 But I was lowered in a basket from a window in the wall and slipped through his hands.(AK)

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Save with your right hand and answer me
so that those you love may be rescued.(A)

God has spoken in his sanctuary:[a]
“I will celebrate!
I will divide up Shechem.(B)
I will apportion the Valley of Succoth.(C)
Gilead is mine, Manasseh is mine,
and Ephraim is my helmet;(D)
Judah is my scepter.(E)
Moab is my washbasin;(F)
I throw my sandal on Edom.(G)
I shout in triumph over Philistia.”(H)

10 Who will bring me to the fortified city?
Who will lead me to Edom?(I)
11 God, haven’t you rejected us?
God, you do not march out with our armies.(J)
12 Give us aid against the foe,
for human help is worthless.(K)
13 With God we will perform valiantly;(L)
he will trample our foes.(M)

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Footnotes

  1. 108:7 Or has promised by his holy nature

Save us and help us with your right hand,(A)
    that those you love may be delivered.
God has spoken(B) from his sanctuary:(C)
    “In triumph I will parcel out Shechem(D)
    and measure off the Valley of Sukkoth.(E)
Gilead is mine, Manasseh is mine;
    Ephraim is my helmet,
    Judah(F) is my scepter.
Moab(G) is my washbasin,
    on Edom(H) I toss my sandal;
    over Philistia(I) I shout in triumph.”

10 Who will bring me to the fortified city?
    Who will lead me to Edom?
11 Is it not you, God, you who have rejected us
    and no longer go out with our armies?(J)
12 Give us aid against the enemy,
    for human help is worthless.(K)
13 With God we will gain the victory,
    and he will trample down(L) our enemies.

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31 Don’t gaze at wine because it is red,(A)
because it gleams in the cup
and goes down smoothly.(B)
32 In the end it bites like a snake
and stings like a viper.
33 Your eyes will see strange things,
and you will say absurd things.[a](C)

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Footnotes

  1. 23:33 Or will speak perversities, or inverted things

31 Do not gaze at wine when it is red,
    when it sparkles in the cup,
    when it goes down smoothly!
32 In the end it bites like a snake
    and poisons like a viper.
33 Your eyes will see strange sights,
    and your mind will imagine confusing things.

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