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
International Standard Version
God’s Response
65 “I let myself be sought by those who didn’t ask for me;[a]
I let myself be found by those who didn’t seek me.
I said, ‘Here I am! Here I am!’
to a nation that didn’t call on my name.
2 I held out my hands all day long
to a disobedient[b] people,
who walk in a way that isn’t good,
following their own inclinations—
3 a people who continually provoke me to my face;
they[c] keep sacrificing in gardens
and waving their hands[d] over stone[e] altars;
4 who sit among graves,
and spend the night in secret places;
who eat pigs’ meat,
with the broth[f] of detestable things in[g] their pots;
5 who say, ‘Keep to yourself!’
‘Don’t touch[h] me!’ and ‘I am[i] too holy for you!’
“Such people are smoke in my nostrils,
a fire that keeps burning all day long.
6 Watch out! It stands written before me:
‘I won’t keep silent, but I will pay back in full;
I’ll indeed repay into[j] their laps
7 both your iniquities and your ancestors’[k] iniquities together,’’
says the Lord.
“Because they offered incense on the mountains
and insulted me on hills,[l]
I’ll measure into[m] their laps
full payment for their earlier actions.”
A Remnant will be Preserved
8 This is what the Lord says:
“Just as new wine is found in the cluster,
and people have said,[n] ‘Don’t destroy it,
for there is a gift in it,’
so I’ll act for my servants’ sake,
by not destroying them all.
9 I’ll bring forth descendants from Jacob,
and from Judah they[o] will inherit[p] my mountains;
my chosen people will inherit it,
and my servants will live there.
10 Sharon will become a pasture for flocks,
and the Valley of Achor a fold for herds,[q]
for my people who have sought me.
11 But as for you who forsake the Lord,
who forget my holy mountain,
who spread a table for Fortune[r]
and[s] fill drink offerings[t] for Destiny,[u]
12 I’ll consign[v] you to the sword,
and all of you will bend down for the slaughter—
because when I called, you didn’t answer,
when I spoke, you didn’t listen;
but you did what was evil in my sight,
and chose what I took no pleasure in.”
The Righteous and Wicked Contrasted
13 Therefore, this is what the Lord[w] says:
“See, my servants will eat,
but you’ll go hungry;
my servants will drink,
but you’ll go thirsty;
my servants will rejoice,
but you’ll be put to shame.
14 My servants will sing in gladness[x] of heart,
but you’ll cry for help[y] from anguish of heart,
and you’ll howl from brokenness of spirit.
15 You’ll leave your name to my chosen ones as a curse,
and the Lord God will put you to death permanently.[z]
16 Then whoever takes an oath[aa] by the God of faithfulness,
and whoever takes an oath in the land,
will swear by the God of faithfulness,
because the former troubles are forgotten
and are hidden from my eyes.
A New Universe
17 Take notice! I’m about to create new heavens
and a new earth;
the former things won’t be remembered,
nor will they come to mind.
18 But be glad[ab] and rejoice[ac] forever
in what I am creating,
for I am about to create Jerusalem as a joy,
and its people as a delight.
19 I’ll rejoice over Jerusalem,
and take delight in my people;
no longer will the sound of weeping be heard in it,
nor the cry of distress.
20 “And[ad] there will no longer be in it
a young boy[ae] who lives only a few days,
or an old person who does not live out his days;
for one who dies at a hundred years will be thought a mere youth,
and one who falls short of a hundred years will be considered accursed.
21 People[af] will build houses and live in them;
They’ll plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
22 They won’t build for others to inhabit;
they won’t plant for others to eat—
for like the lifetime[ag] of a tree,[ah] so will the lifetime[ai] of my people be,
and my chosen ones will long enjoy[aj] the work of their hands.
23 They won’t toil in vain
nor bear children doomed to misfortune,
for they will be offspring blessed[ak] by the Lord,
they and their descendants with them.
24 Before they call, I will answer,
while they are still speaking, I’ll hear.
25 “The wolf and the lamb will feed together,
and the lion will eat straw like the ox;
but as for the serpent—
its food will be dust!
They won’t harm or destroy
on my entire holy mountain,”
says the Lord.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 65:1 So 1QIsaa LXX; MT reads ask
- Isaiah 65:2 So 1QIsaa; MT reads an obstinate
- Isaiah 65:3 So 1QIsaa LXX; MT reads who
- Isaiah 65:3 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read and offering incense
- Isaiah 65:3 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read brick
- Isaiah 65:4 So 1QIsaa MTqere LXX Targ Vulg; MT reads violence; or crumbs
- Isaiah 65:4 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX lack in
- Isaiah 65:5 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read come near to
- Isaiah 65:5 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read for I am
- Isaiah 65:6 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read upon
- Isaiah 65:7 So 1QIsaa MT; LXX Syr read both their iniquities and their
- Isaiah 65:7 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read the hills
- Isaiah 65:7 So 1QIsaa MTqere; MT LXX read upon
- Isaiah 65:8 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read say
- Isaiah 65:9 Lit. he; so 1QIsaa LXX
- Isaiah 65:9 So 1QIsaa LXX; MT reads Judah, the one about to inherit
- Isaiah 65:10 So 1QIsaa LXX; MT reads a place for herds to lie down
- Isaiah 65:11 I.e. Fortune personified as a god
- Isaiah 65:11 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX reads and who
- Isaiah 65:11 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read cups of mixed wine, or mixing vessels
- Isaiah 65:11 I.e. Destiny personified as a god
- Isaiah 65:12 Lit. destine
- Isaiah 65:13 So 1QIsaa LXX; 1QIsaa reads Adonai; MT reads Lord God
- Isaiah 65:14 So 1QIsaa LXX; MT reads out of gladness
- Isaiah 65:14 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read cry out
- Isaiah 65:15 Or for good; so 1QIsaa; MT LXX reads but he will call his servants by a different name
- Isaiah 65:16 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read whoever invokes a blessing in the land will bless
- Isaiah 65:18 Sing. 1QIsaa; pl. MT
- Isaiah 65:18 Sing. 1QIsaa; pl. 1QIsab MT
- Isaiah 65:20 So 1QIsaa LXX; 1QIsab MT lack And
- Isaiah 65:20 So 1QIsaa; 1QIsab MT read an infant; cf. 49:15
- Isaiah 65:21 Lit. They
- Isaiah 65:22 Lit. days
- Isaiah 65:22 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read the tree
- Isaiah 65:22 Lit. days
- Isaiah 65:22 Lit. consume or wear out
- Isaiah 65:23 Sing. 1QIsaa LXX; pl. 1QIsab MT
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