Isaiah 64-66

Revised Standard Version

64 O that thou wouldst rend the heavens and come down,
    that the mountains might quake at thy presence—
^2 [a]as when fire kindles brushwood
    and the fire causes water to boil—
to make thy name known to thy adversaries,
    and that the nations might tremble at thy presence!
³ When thou didst terrible things which we looked not for,
    thou camest down, the mountains quaked at thy presence.
⁴ From of old no one has heard
    or perceived by the ear,
no eye has seen a God besides thee,
    who works for those who wait for him.
⁵ Thou meetest him that joyfully works righteousness,
    those that remember thee in thy ways.
Behold, thou wast angry, and we sinned;
    in our sins we have been a long time, and shall we be saved?^[b]
6 We have all become like one who is unclean,
    and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.
We all fade like a leaf,
    and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
⁷ There is no one that calls upon thy name,
    that bestirs himself to take hold of thee;
for thou hast hid thy face from us,
    and hast delivered^[c] us into the hand of our iniquities.

⁸ Yet, O Lord, thou art our Father;
    we are the clay, and thou art our potter;
    we are all the work of thy hand.
⁹ Be not exceedingly angry, O Lord,
    and remember not iniquity for ever.
    Behold, consider, we are all thy people.
¹⁰ Thy holy cities have become a wilderness,
    Zion has become a wilderness,
    Jerusalem a desolation.
¹¹ Our holy and beautiful house,
    where our fathers praised thee,
has been burned by fire,
    and all our pleasant places have become ruins.
¹² Wilt thou restrain thyself at these things, O Lord?
    Wilt thou keep silent, and afflict us sorely?

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 dwell there.
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.
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;
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 eyes,
    and chose what I did not delight in.”

¹³ Therefore thus says the Lord God:
“Behold, my servants shall eat,
    but you shall be hungry;
behold, my servants shall drink,
    but you shall be thirsty;
behold, my servants shall rejoice,
    but you shall be put to shame;
¹⁴ behold, my servants shall sing for gladness of heart,
    but you shall cry out for pain of heart,
    and shall wail for anguish of spirit.
¹⁵ You shall leave your name to my chosen for a curse,
    and the Lord God will slay you;
    but his servants he will call by a different name.
¹⁶ So that he who blesses himself in the land
    shall bless himself by the God of truth,
and he who takes an oath in the land
    shall swear by the God of truth;
because the former troubles are forgotten
    and are hid from my eyes.

³ “He who slaughters an ox is like him who kills a man;
    he who sacrifices a lamb, like him who breaks a dog’s neck;
he who presents a cereal offering, like him who offers swine’s blood;
    he who makes a memorial offering of frankincense, like him who blesses an idol.
These have chosen their own ways,
    and their soul delights in their abominations;
⁴ I also will choose affliction for them,
    and bring their fears upon them;
because, when I called, no one answered,
    when I spoke they did not listen;
but they did what was evil in my eyes,
    and chose that in which I did not delight.”

⁶ “Hark, an uproar from the city!
    A voice from the temple!
The voice of the Lord,
    rendering recompense to his enemies!

⁷ “Before she was in labor
    she gave birth;
before her pain came upon her
    she was delivered of a son.
⁸ Who has heard such a thing?
    Who has seen such things?
Shall a land be born in one day?
    Shall a nation be brought forth in one moment?
For as soon as Zion was in labor
    she brought forth her sons.
⁹ Shall I bring to the birth and not cause to bring forth?
    says the Lord;
shall I, who cause to bring forth, shut the womb?
    says your God.

¹⁰ “Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad for her,
    all you who love her;
rejoice with her in joy,
    all you who mourn over her;
¹¹ that you may suck and be satisfied
    with her consoling breasts;
that you may drink deeply with delight
    from the abundance of her glory.”

¹² For thus says the Lord:
“Behold, I will extend prosperity to her like a river,
    and the wealth of the nations like an overflowing stream;
and you shall suck, you shall be carried upon her hip,
    and dandled upon her knees.
¹³ As one whom his mother comforts,
    so I will comfort you;
    you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.

¹⁵ “For behold, the Lord will come in fire,
    and his chariots like the stormwind,
to render his anger in fury,
    and his rebuke with flames of fire.
¹⁶ For by fire will the Lord execute judgment,
    and by his sword, upon all flesh;
    and those slain by the Lord shall be many.

²² “For as the new heavens and the new earth
    which I will make
shall remain before me, says the Lord;
    so shall your descendants and your name remain.
²³ From new moon to new moon,
    and from sabbath to sabbath,
all flesh shall come to worship before me,
says the Lord.