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The Righteousness of God’s Judgement

65 I was ready to be sought out by those who did not ask,
    to be found by those who did not seek me.
I said, ‘Here I am, here I am’,
    to a nation that did not call on my name.
I held out my hands all day long
    to a rebellious people,
who walk in a way that is not good,
    following their own devices;
a people who provoke me
    to my face continually,
sacrificing in gardens
    and offering incense on bricks;
who sit inside tombs,
    and spend the night in secret places;
who eat swine’s flesh,
    with broth of abominable things in their vessels;
who say, ‘Keep to yourself,
    do not come near me, for I am too holy for you.’
These are a smoke in my nostrils,
    a fire that burns all day long.
See, it is written before me:
    I will not keep silent, but I will repay;
I will indeed repay into their laps
    their[a] iniquities and their[b] ancestors’ iniquities together,
says the Lord;
because they offered incense on the mountains
    and reviled me on the hills,
I will measure into their laps
    full payment for their actions.
Thus says the Lord:
As the wine is found in the cluster,
    and they say, ‘Do not destroy it,
    for there is a blessing in it’,
so I will do for my servants’ sake,
    and not destroy them all.
I will bring forth descendants[c] from Jacob,
    and from Judah inheritors[d] of my mountains;
my chosen shall inherit it,
    and my servants shall settle there.
10 Sharon shall become a pasture for flocks,
    and the Valley of Achor a place for herds to lie down,
    for my people who have sought me.
11 But you who forsake the Lord,
    who forget my holy mountain,
who set a table for Fortune
    and fill cups of mixed wine for Destiny,
12 I will destine you to the sword,
    and all of you shall bow down to the slaughter;
because, when I called, you did not answer,
    when I spoke, you did not listen,
but you did what was evil in my sight,
    and chose what I did not delight in.
13 Therefore thus says the Lord God:
My servants shall eat,
    but you shall be hungry;
my servants shall drink,
    but you shall be thirsty;
my servants shall rejoice,
    but you shall be put to shame;
14 my servants shall sing for gladness of heart,
    but you shall cry out for pain of heart,
    and shall wail for anguish of spirit.
15 You shall leave your name to my chosen to use as a curse,
    and the Lord God will put you to death;
    but to his servants he will give a different name.
16 Then whoever invokes a blessing in the land
    shall bless by the God of faithfulness,
and whoever takes an oath in the land
    shall swear by the God of faithfulness;
because the former troubles are forgotten
    and are hidden from my sight.

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 65:7 Gk Syr: Heb your
  2. Isaiah 65:7 Gk Syr: Heb your
  3. Isaiah 65:9 Or a descendant
  4. Isaiah 65:9 Or an inheritor

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.

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