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The Righteousness of God’s Judgment

65 I was ready to be sought by those who did not ask for me;
    I was ready to be found by those who did not seek me.
I said, “Here am I, here am I,”
    to a nation that did not call on my name.
I spread out my hands all the day
    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 burning incense upon bricks;
who sit in tombs,
    and spend the night in secret places;
who eat swine’s flesh,
    and broth of abominable things is in their vessels;
who say, “Keep to yourself,
    do not come near me, for I am set apart from you.”
These are a smoke in my nostrils,
    a fire that burns all the day.
Behold, it is written before me:
    “I will not keep silent, but I will repay,
yea, I will repay into their bosom
    their[a] iniquities and their[b] fathers’ iniquities together,
                says the Lord;
because they burned incense upon the mountains
    and reviled me upon the hills,
I will measure into their bosom
    payment for their former doings.”

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 65:7 Gk Syr: Heb your
  2. Isaiah 65:7 Gk Syr: Heb your

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.”

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