Isaiah 65
New Living Translation
Judgment and Final Salvation
65 The Lord says,
“I was ready to respond, but no one asked for help.
I was ready to be found, but no one was looking for me.
I said, ‘Here I am, here I am!’
to a nation that did not call on my name.[a]
2 All day long I opened my arms to a rebellious people.[b]
But they follow their own evil paths
and their own crooked schemes.
3 All day long they insult me to my face
by worshiping idols in their sacred gardens.
They burn incense on pagan altars.
4 At night they go out among the graves,
worshiping the dead.
They eat the flesh of pigs
and make stews with other forbidden foods.
5 Yet they say to each other,
‘Don’t come too close or you will defile me!
I am holier than you!’
These people are a stench in my nostrils,
an acrid smell that never goes away.
6 “Look, my decree is written out[c] in front of me:
I will not stand silent;
I will repay them in full!
Yes, I will repay them—
7 both for their own sins
and for those of their ancestors,”
says the Lord.
“For they also burned incense on the mountains
and insulted me on the hills.
I will pay them back in full!
8 “But I will not destroy them all,”
says the Lord.
“For just as good grapes are found among a cluster of bad ones
(and someone will say, ‘Don’t throw them all away—
some of those grapes are good!’),
so I will not destroy all Israel.
For I still have true servants there.
9 I will preserve a remnant of the people of Israel[d]
and of Judah to possess my land.
Those I choose will inherit it,
and my servants will live there.
10 The plain of Sharon will again be filled with flocks
for my people who have searched for me,
and the valley of Achor will be a place to pasture herds.
11 “But because the rest of you have forsaken the Lord
and have forgotten his Temple,
and because you have prepared feasts to honor the god of Fate
and have offered mixed wine to the god of Destiny,
12 now I will ‘destine’ you for the sword.
All of you will bow down before the executioner.
For when I called, you did not answer.
When I spoke, you did not listen.
You deliberately sinned—before my very eyes—
and chose to do what you know I despise.”
13 Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“My servants will eat,
but you will starve.
My servants will drink,
but you will be thirsty.
My servants will rejoice,
but you will be sad and ashamed.
14 My servants will sing for joy,
but you will cry in sorrow and despair.
15 Your name will be a curse word among my people,
for the Sovereign Lord will destroy you
and will call his true servants by another name.
16 All who invoke a blessing or take an oath
will do so by the God of truth.
For I will put aside my anger
and forget the evil of earlier days.
17 “Look! I am creating new heavens and a new earth,
and no one will even think about the old ones anymore.
18 Be glad; rejoice forever in my creation!
And look! I will create Jerusalem as a place of happiness.
Her people will be a source of joy.
19 I will rejoice over Jerusalem
and delight in my people.
And the sound of weeping and crying
will be heard in it no more.
20 “No longer will babies die when only a few days old.
No longer will adults die before they have lived a full life.
No longer will people be considered old at one hundred!
Only the cursed will die that young!
21 In those days people will live in the houses they build
and eat the fruit of their own vineyards.
22 Unlike the past, invaders will not take their houses
and confiscate their vineyards.
For my people will live as long as trees,
and my chosen ones will have time to enjoy their hard-won gains.
23 They will not work in vain,
and their children will not be doomed to misfortune.
For they are people blessed by the Lord,
and their children, too, will be blessed.
24 I will answer them before they even call to me.
While they are still talking about their needs,
I will go ahead and answer their prayers!
25 The wolf and the lamb will feed together.
The lion will eat hay like a cow.
But the snakes will eat dust.
In those days no one will be hurt or destroyed on my holy mountain.
I, the Lord, have spoken!”
Footnotes
- 65:1 Or to a nation that did not bear my name.
- 65:1-2 Greek version reads I was found by people who were not looking for me. / I showed myself to those who were not asking for me. / All day long I opened my arms to them, / but they were disobedient and rebellious. Compare Rom 10:20-21.
- 65:6 Or their sins are written out; Hebrew reads it stands written.
- 65:9 Hebrew remnant of Jacob. See note on 14:1.
Isaiah 65
Common English Bible
Judgment for idolators
65 I was ready to respond to those who didn’t ask.
I was ready to be found by those who didn’t look for me.
I said, “I’m here! I’m here!” to a nation
that didn’t call on my name.
2 I extended my hands all day
to a rebellious people
walking in a way that isn’t good,
following their own plans;
3 people who provoke me to my face continually,
sacrificing in gardens and burning incense on bricks,
4 who sit in tombs
and spend the night among rocks;[a]
who eat swine’s flesh
with broth of unclean meat in their bowls;
5 who say, “Keep to yourself!
Keep away from me! I’m too holy for you.”
These people ignite my anger
like a fire that burns all day.
6 Look, this stands written before me.
I won’t be silent, but I will repay;
I will repay in full measure
7 your sins and the sins of your ancestors as well,
says the Lord.
Since they burned incense on the mountains,
and mocked me in the hills,
I will count out to them
full payment for their actions.
8 The Lord proclaims:
As new wine is found in the grape cluster,
and someone says, “Don’t destroy it, for there is a blessing in it,”
so I will do for the sake of my servants
and not destroy everything:
9 I will bring out offspring from Jacob,
and from Judah, heirs to my mountains.
My chosen ones will take possession;
my servants will dwell there.
10 Sharon will become a pasture for sheep,
and the Achor Valley a resting place for cattle,
for my people who seek me.
11 But you who abandon the Lord,
who forget my holy mountain,
who set a table for a god of good fortune,
and fill cups of mixed wine for a god of fate:
12 I will offer you to the sword.
You will all bow down for slaughter,
because I called and you didn’t answer;
I spoke and you wouldn’t hear.
You did what I considered evil,
and chose what I didn’t want.
13 Therefore, the Lord God says:
Look, my servants will eat, but you will hunger.
My servants will drink, but you will thirst.
My servants will rejoice, but you will be ashamed.
14 My servants will sing with contented hearts,
but you will cry out from heartache;
with broken spirits you will wail.
15 You will leave your name behind for my chosen ones to curse:
“May the Lord God kill you!
May he call his servants by a different name!”
16 Those who pronounce a blessing in the land
will do so by the God called Amen;
those who make a solemn pledge in the land will do so by the God called Amen.[b]
Past troubles will be forgotten
and hidden from my sight.
New creation and new Jerusalem
17 Look! I’m creating a new heaven and a new earth:
past events won’t be remembered;
they won’t come to mind.
18 Be glad and rejoice forever
in what I’m creating,
because I’m creating Jerusalem as a joy
and her people as a source of gladness.
19 I will rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad about my people.
No one will ever hear the sound of weeping or crying in it again.
20 No more will babies live only a few days,
or the old fail to live out their days.
The one who dies at a hundred will be like a young person,
and the one falling short of a hundred will seem cursed.
21 They will build houses and live in them;
they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
22 They won’t build for others to live in,
nor plant for others to eat.
Like the days of a tree will be the days of my people;
my chosen will make full use of their handiwork.
23 They won’t labor in vain,
nor bear children to a world of horrors,
because they will be people blessed by the Lord,
they along with their descendants.
24 Before they call, I will answer;
while they are still speaking, I will hear.
25 Wolf and lamb will graze together,
and the lion will eat straw like the ox,
but the snake—its food will be dust.
They won’t hurt or destroy at any place on my holy mountain,
says the Lord.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 65:4 Or in guarded places
- Isaiah 65:16 Or so be it
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible