Isaiah 65
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Righteousness of God’s Judgment
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.(A)
2 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;(B)
3 a people who provoke me
to my face continually,
sacrificing in gardens
and offering incense on bricks;(C)
4 who sit inside tombs
and spend the night in secret places;
who eat the flesh of pigs,
with broth of abominable things in their vessels;(D)
5 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.(E)
6 See, it is written before me:
I will not keep silent, but I will repay;
I will indeed repay into their laps(F)
7 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.(G)
8 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.
9 I will bring forth descendants from Jacob
and from Judah inheritors of my mountains;
my chosen shall inherit it,
and my servants shall settle there.(H)
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.(I)
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,(J)
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.(K)
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;(L)
14 my servants shall sing with gladness of heart,
but you shall cry out in pain of heart
and shall wail in anguish of spirit.(M)
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.(N)
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.(O)
The Glorious New Creation
17 For I am about to create new heavens
and a new earth;
the former things shall not be remembered
or come to mind.(P)
18 But be glad and rejoice forever
in what I am creating,
for I am about to create Jerusalem as a joy
and its people as a delight.(Q)
19 I will rejoice in Jerusalem
and delight in my people;
no more shall the sound of weeping be heard in it
or the cry of distress.(R)
20 No more shall there be in it
an infant who lives but a few days
or an old person who does not live out a lifetime,
for one who dies at a hundred years will be considered a youth,
and one who falls short of a hundred will be considered accursed.(S)
21 They shall build houses and inhabit them;
they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.(T)
22 They shall not build and another inhabit;
they shall not plant and another eat,
for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be,
and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands.(U)
23 They shall not labor in vain
or bear children for calamity,[c]
for they shall be offspring blessed by the Lord—
and their descendants as well.(V)
24 Before they call I will answer,
while they are yet speaking I will hear.(W)
25 The wolf and the lamb shall feed together;
the lion shall eat straw like the ox,
but the serpent—its food shall be dust!
They shall not hurt or destroy
on all my holy mountain,
says the Lord.(X)
Isaiah 65
Evangelical Heritage Version
The Lord’s Response
65
I was available to those who did not ask.
I let myself 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.
2 I reached out my hands all day to a stubborn people,
who are walking in a way that is not good,
who follow their own ideas.
3 This people continually provokes me to anger, right to my face,
by sacrificing in the groves,
by burning incense on the bricks.
4 They sit in tombs
and keep their vigils all night.
They eat the flesh of pigs,
and broth made from unclean meat is in their pots.
5 They say, “Keep to yourself.
Do not touch me because I am too holy for you.”
These people are smoke in my nostrils,
like a fire burning all day.
6 Look, I have put it in writing.
I will not be silent until I repay them.
I will repay into their lap
7 both their[a] guilt and the guilt of their fathers,
says the Lord.
Because they burned incense upon the mountains,
and upon the hills they ridiculed me,
so I will measure out their full pay into their lap.
8 This is what the Lord says.
Just as sweet wine is found in the grape cluster,
so that someone says, “Do not destroy it
because there is a blessing in it,”
so I will act in the same way for the sake of my servants,
in order not to destroy the whole people.
9 I will bring forth offspring from Jacob,
and from Judah those who will inherit my mountains,
so that my chosen ones will possess the land,
and my servants will dwell there.
10 Sharon will become a pasture for flocks,
and the Valley of Achor a resting place for herds,
for my people who seek me.
11 But you who are abandoning the Lord,
you who have forgotten my holy mountain,
who are setting a table for Fortune,
who are pouring out mixed wine for Destiny,
12 I will destine you for the sword.
All of you will bow down to be slaughtered,
because I called, but you did not answer.
I spoke, but you did not listen.
You committed evil in my eyes,
and you chose that which does not please me.
13 Therefore, this is what the Lord God says.
Watch! My servants will eat,
but you will go hungry.
Watch! My servants will drink,
but you will be thirsty.
Watch! My servants will rejoice,
but you will be ashamed.
14 Watch! My servants will shout because of the joy in their heart,
but you will cry out because of the pain in your heart,
and because of a broken spirit you will wail.
15 You will leave your name for my chosen ones to use as a curse,
and the Lord God will put you to death,
but he will call his servants by another name,
16 so that anyone on earth who blesses himself
will bless himself by the God of Amen,[b]
and anyone on the earth who swears
will swear by the God of Amen!
For the past troubles will be forgotten.
Yes, they are certainly hidden from my eyes.
The Lord’s New Creation
17 Watch this! I am about to create new heavens and a new earth.
The former things will not be remembered.
They will not come to mind.
18 Instead, rejoice and celebrate forever, because of what I am creating.
Watch this! I am about to create Jerusalem to be a source of gladness,
and her people will be a source of joy.
19 I also will be glad because of Jerusalem,
and I will rejoice over my people.
The sound of weeping will not be heard in her again,
nor will the sound of crying.
20 There will never again be an infant there who lives for only a few days,
or an elderly man who does not fill out all his days,
for one who dies at a hundred will be considered a young man,
and one who fails to attain the age of one hundred will be regarded
as cursed.
21 Then they will build houses and live in them.
They will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
22 They will not build a house and have another person live in it.
They will not plant and have another person eat the crop,
for the days of my people will be like the days of a tree,
and my chosen ones will enjoy all the work of their hands.
23 They will not labor only to receive nothing,
and they will not give birth to children doomed to disaster,
for they will be offspring who are blessed by the Lord,
and their descendants will be with them.
24 Then even before they call, I will answer.
While they are still speaking, I will hear.
25 The wolf and the lamb will graze together,
and lions will eat straw like cattle,
but the serpent will eat dust as its food.
They will not harm or destroy anywhere on my holy mountain,
says the Lord.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 65:7 Some Hebrew manuscripts read your.
- Isaiah 65:16 Amen is the literal rendering.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.