Add parallel Print Page Options

65 “I am inquired of by those who didn’t ask.
    I am found by those who didn’t seek me.
    I said, ‘See me, see me,’ to a nation that was not called by my name.
I have spread out my hands all day to a rebellious people,
    who walk in a way that is not good,
    after their own thoughts;
a people who provoke me to my face continually,
    sacrificing in gardens,
    and burning incense on bricks;
who sit among the graves,
    and spend nights in secret places;
who eat pig’s meat,
    and broth of abominable things is in their vessels;
who say, ‘Stay by yourself,
    don’t come near to me,
    for I am holier than you.’
These are smoke in my nose,
    a fire that burns all day.

“Behold, it is written before me:
    I will not keep silence,
    but will repay,
    yes, I will repay into their bosom,
your own iniquities, and the iniquities of your fathers together”, says Yahweh,
    “who have burned incense on the mountains,
    and blasphemed me on the hills.
    Therefore I will first measure their work into their bosom.”

Yahweh says,

“As the new wine is found in the cluster,
    and one says, ‘Don’t destroy it, for a blessing is in it:’
so I will do for my servants’ sake,
    that I may not destroy them all.
I will bring offspring out of Jacob,
    and out of Judah an inheritor of my mountains.
My chosen will inherit it,
    and my servants will dwell there.
10 Sharon will be a fold of flocks,
    and the valley of Achor a place for herds to lie down in,
    for my people who have sought me.

11 “But you who forsake Yahweh,
    who forget my holy mountain,
    who prepare a table for Fortune,
    and who fill up mixed wine to Destiny;
12 I will destine you to the sword,
    and you will all bow down to the slaughter;
because when I called, you didn’t answer.
    When I spoke, you didn’t listen;
but you did that which was evil in my eyes,
    and chose that in which I didn’t delight.”

13 Therefore the Lord Yahweh says,

“Behold, my servants will eat,
    but you will be hungry;
behold, my servants will drink,
    but you will be thirsty.
Behold, my servants will rejoice,
    but you will be disappointed;
14 Behold, my servants will sing for joy of heart,
    but you will cry for sorrow of heart,
    and will wail for anguish of spirit.
15 You will leave your name for a curse to my chosen;
    and the Lord Yahweh will kill you.
He will call his servants by another name,
16     so that he who blesses himself in the earth will bless himself in the God of truth;
    and he who swears in the earth will swear by the God of truth;
because the former troubles are forgotten,
    and because they are hidden from my eyes.

17 “For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth;
    and the former things will not be remembered,
    nor come into mind.
18 But be glad and rejoice forever in that which I create;
    for, behold, I create Jerusalem to be a delight,
    and her people a joy.
19 I will rejoice in Jerusalem,
    and delight in my people;
and the voice of weeping and the voice of crying
    will be heard in her no more.

20 “No more will there be an infant who only lives a few days,
    nor an old man who has not filled his days;
for the child will die one hundred years old,
    and the sinner being one hundred years old will be accursed.
21 They will build houses and inhabit them.
    They will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
22 They will not build and another inhabit.
    They will not plant and another eat:
for the days of my people will be like the days of a tree,
    and my chosen will long enjoy the work of their hands.
23 They will not labor in vain
    nor give birth for calamity;
for they are the offspring of Yahweh’s blessed
    and their descendants with them.
24 It will happen that before they call, I will answer;
    and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.
25 The wolf and the lamb will feed together.
    The lion will eat straw like the ox.
    Dust will be the serpent’s food.
They will not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain,”
    says Yahweh.

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)
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)
a people who provoke me
    to my face continually,
sacrificing in gardens
    and offering incense on bricks;(C)
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)
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)
See, it is written before me:
    I will not keep silent, but I will repay;
I will indeed repay into their laps(F)
    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)
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 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)

Footnotes

  1. 65.7 Gk Syr: Heb your
  2. 65.7 Gk Syr: Heb your
  3. 65.23 Or sudden terror