Yeshayah 64-66

Orthodox Jewish Bible

64 O, that Thou wouldest rend Shomayim, that Thou wouldest come down, so that the harim might shake at Thy presence,

^2 (64:1) As eish burneth brushwood, eish causeth the mayim to boil, [O, that Thou wouldst come down] to make Thy Shem known to Thine adversaries, that the Goyim might tremble at Thy presence!

^3 (2) When Thou didst terrible things which we looked not for, Thou camest down, the harim shook at Thy presence.

^4 (3) For me’olam (since ancient times) no one hath heard, nor perceived by the ozen, neither hath the ayin seen any Elohim besides Thee, Who acts on behalf of him that waiteth for Him.

^5 (4) Thou meetest with him that rejoiceth to work tzedek, those that remember Thee in Thy drakhim; see, Thou art in wrath; for we have been in sins; in them a long time, and shall we be saved?

^6 (5) But we are all as the tameh (unclean thing), and kol tzidkoteinu (all our righteousness, our righteous deeds, works) are like beged iddim (filthy rags, a garment of menstruation); and we all do fade like the aleh (leaf); and avoneinu (our iniquities), like the ruach, have taken us away.

^7 (6) And there is none that calleth upon Thy Shem, that stirreth up himself to take hold of Thee; for Thou hast hid Thy face from us, and hast consumed us, because of avoneinu.

^8 (7) But now, Hashem, Thou art Avinu (Our Father); we are the chomer (clay), and Thou, Yotzreinu (our Potter, Maker, Creator); and we all are the ma’aseh (work) of Thy yad.

^9 (8) Be not in wrath ad me’od, Hashem, neither remember avon forever; behold, see, we beseech thee, we are all Thy people.

^10 (9) Arei Kadsheicha (Thy holy cities) are a midbar, Tziyon is a midbar, Yerushalayim, a desolation.

^11 (10) Beis Kadsheinu v’Tifarteinu, where Avoteinu praised Thee, is burned up with eish; and kol machamadeinu (all our desiring) is in ruins.

^12 (11) Wilt Thou refrain Thyself after these things, Hashem? Wilt Thou hold Thy peace, and afflict us ad me’od?

65 I let Myself be sought of them that asked not for Me; I let Myself be found of them that sought me not; I said, Hineni, behold Me, unto a Goy (Nation, People) that was not called by My Shem.

² I have spread out My yad kol hayom unto an Am Sorer (stubbornly rebellious people), which walketh in a derech lo tov, after their own machshevot (thoughts);

³ HaAm that provoketh Me to anger continually to My face; that sacrificeth in ganot (gardens), and burneth sacrifices upon brick;

⁴ Which remain among the kevarim, and spend the night in closed places, which eat basar hachazir, and broth of piggulim (unclean meat, Lv.7:18) in their vessels;

⁵ Which say, Stand by thyself, come not near to me; for I am kadosh to thee (holier than thou). These are a smoke in My nose, an eish that burneth kol hayom.

⁶ Hinei, it is written before Me: I will not keep silent, but will recompense fully, even recompense into their kheyk,

⁷ Your avonot, and the iniquities of your avot together, saith Hashem, because they burned sacrifices upon the mountains, and insulted Me upon the hills; therefore will I measure their former peulot into their kheyk.

⁸ Thus saith Hashem, As the tirosh is found in the cluster, and one saith, Destroy it not; for a brocha is in it; so will I do in behalf of My Servants, that I may not destroy them all.

⁹ And I will bring forth a zera out of Ya’akov, and out of Yehudah a yoresh (inheritor) of My mountains; and Mine Bechir (Chosen ones) shall inherit it, and My Servants shall dwell there.

¹⁰ And Sharon shall be a meadow for tzon, and the valley of Achor a place for the flock to lie down, for Ami (My People) who seek Me.

¹¹ But ye are they that forsake Hashem, that forget My Har Kadosh, that prepare a shulchan for Fortune, and that furnish the drink offering for Destiny.

¹² Therefore will I destine you for the cherev, and ye shall all bow down to the slaughtering place; because when I called, ye did not answer; when I spoke, ye did not hear; but did the rah before Mine eyes, and did choose that wherein I delighted not.

¹³ Therefore thus saith Adonoi Hashem, Hinei, My Servants shall eat, but ye shall be hungry; hinei, My Servants shall drink, but ye shall be thirsty; hinei, My Servants shall rejoice, but ye shall be ashamed;

¹⁴ Hinei, My Servants shall sing for joy of lev, but ye shall cry out from anguish of lev, and shall wail from brokenness of ruach.

¹⁵ And ye shall leave your shem for a curse unto My Bechir; for Adonoi Hashem shall put thee to death, and call His Avadim by another shem;

¹⁶ That he who blesseth himself in ha’aretz shall bless himself by Elohei Omein (the G-d of [the] Amen, the G-d of Truth); and he that taketh an oath in ha’aretz shall take the oath by Elohei Omein; because the former tzoros are forgotten, and because they are hid from Mine eyes.

¹⁷ For, hinei, I create Shomayim Chadashim and eretz Chadashah; and the rishonot shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.

¹⁸ But be ye glad and rejoice forever in that which I create; for, hinei, I create Yerushalayim a rejoicing, and her people a joy.

¹⁹ And I will rejoice in Yerushalayim, and joy in Ami; and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying out.

²⁰ There shall be no more in there an infant of days, nor a zaken (old man) that hath not filled his days; for he that shall die a hundred years old will be regarded a na’ar; but the choteh (sinner), a hundred years old, will be accursed.

²¹ And they shall build batim (houses), and inhabit them; and they shall plant kramim (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 HaEtz are the days of Ami, and Mine Bechir shall long enjoy the ma’aseh of their hands.

²³ They shall not labor in vain, nor bring forth for misfortune; for they are the Zera Beruchei Hashem (Seed of the Blessed ones of Hashem), and their offspring with them.

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

²⁵ The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox; and aphar shall be the lechem of the nachash. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My Har Kadosh, saith Hashem. [T.N. This last chapter makes a reference to Gehinnom and the just retribution coming.]

66 Thus saith Hashem, HaShomayim is My kisse, and ha’aretz is My footstool; where is the Beis that ye build for Me? And where is the Makom of My Menuchah?

² For all those things hath Mine hand made, and so came they all into being, saith Hashem; but to this man will I look, even to him that is oni and of a contrite ruach, and trembleth at My Devar.

³ He that slaughtereth the bull is the slayer of a man; he that sacrificeth a seh, is a strangler of dogs; he that offereth a minchah, it is dahm chazir; he that burneth incense, blesseth idols. As they have chosen their own ways, and their nefesh delighteth in their shikkutzim (abominations),

⁴ I also will choose their illtreatments, and will bring their terrors upon them; because when I called, no one did answer; when I spoke, they did not hear; but they did the rah before Mine eyes, and chose that in which I took no pleasure.

⁵ Hear the Devar Hashem, ye that tremble at His word; Your achim that hated you, that cast you out from them l’ma’an Shemi, said, Let Hashem get honor, that we may see your simcha; they shall be ashamed.

⁶ Sound of tumult from the Ir, a sound from the Heikhal, a sound of Hashem that rendereth gemul (retribution) to His enemies.

⁷ Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her chevel (pain) came, she was delivered of a zachar (man child).

⁸ Who hath heard such a thing? Who hath seen such things? Shall Eretz be born in yom echad? Or shall a nation be born in a moment? For as soon as Tziyon travailed in labor, she gave birth to her banim.

⁹ Shall I bring to the moment of birth, and not cause to bring delivery? saith Hashem. Shall I cause to bring forth, and shut the womb? saith thy G-d.

¹⁰ Rejoice ye with Yerushalayim, and be glad with her, all ye that love her; rejoice for joy with her, all ye that mourn for her;

¹¹ That ye may nurse, and be satisfied with the breasts of her consolations; that ye may drink in, be delighted with the abundance of her kavod.

¹² For thus saith Hashem, Hineni, I will extend shalom to her like a river, and the kavod of the Goyim like an overflowing stream; then shall ye nurse, ye shall be borne upon arms, and be fondled upon her knees.

¹³ As one whom his em comforteth, so will I comfort you; and ye shall be comforted in Yerushalayim.

¹⁴ And when ye see this, your lev shall rejoice, and your atzmot shall flourish like herbage; and the yad Hashem shall be made known to His avadim, and His indignation toward His enemies.

¹⁵ For, hinei, Hashem will come with eish, with His merkavot like the whirlwind, to render His anger in fury, His rebuke in flames of eish.

¹⁶ For by eish and by His cherev will Hashem execute judgment on kol basar; and the slain of Hashem shall be many.

¹⁷ They that set themselves apart as kodesh, and purify themselves to go into the ganot, following the one in the midst, eating basar hachazir, and the sheketz, and the akhbar (mouse), shall be consumed together, saith Hashem.

¹⁸ For I know their ma’asim and their machshevot; it shall come to pass, that I will gather kol Goyim and leshonot; they shall come, and see My kavod.

¹⁹ And I will set an ot (sign) among them, and I will send away those that escape of them unto the Goyim, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud (that draw the bow), to Tuval, and Yavan [Greece], to the isles afar off, that have not heard My fame, neither have seen My kavod; and they shall declare My kavod among the Goyim.

²⁰ And they shall bring all your achim out of all heathen nations for a minchah unto Hashem upon susim, and in chariots, and in wagons, and upon mules, and upon camels, to My Har Kodesh, to Yerushalayim, saith Hashem, as the Bnei Yisroel bring the minchah in a keli tahor into the Beis Hashem.

²¹ And I will also take of them for kohanim and for Levi’im, saith Hashem.

²² For as the Shomayim HaChadashim and HaAretz HaChadashah, which I will make, shall continue before Me, saith Hashem, so shall your zera and your shem remain.

²³ And it shall come to pass, that from one Rosh Chodesh to another, and from one Shabbos to another, kol basar shall come to bow down before Me, saith Hashem.

²⁴ And they shall go forth, and look upon the pigrei ha’anashim that have rebelled against Me; for their tola’at (worm) shall not die, neither shall their eish be quenched; and they shall be dera’on (loathsome, an abomination) to kol basar [See also on Gehinnom Dan 12:2].