Isaiah 65:1-16

New King James Version

The Righteousness of God’s Judgment

65 “I was ^(A)sought by those who did not ask for Me;
I was found by those who did not seek Me.
I said, ‘Here I am, here I am,’
To a nation that ^(B)was not called by My name.
²^(C)I have stretched out My hands all day long to a ^(D)rebellious people,
Who ^(E)walk in a way that is not good,
According to their own thoughts;
³A people ^(F)who provoke Me to anger continually to My face;
^(G)Who sacrifice in gardens,
And burn incense on altars of brick;
⁴^(H)Who sit among the graves,
And spend the night in the tombs;
^(I)Who eat swine’s flesh,
And the broth of ^[a]abominable things is in their vessels;
⁵^(J)Who say, ‘Keep to yourself,
Do not come near me,
For I am holier than you!’
These ^[b]are smoke in My nostrils,
A fire that burns all the day.

⁶“Behold, ^(K)it is written before Me:
^(L)I will not keep silence, ^(M)but will repay—
Even repay into their bosom—
⁷Your iniquities and ^(N)the iniquities of your fathers together,”
Says the Lord,
^(O)“Who have burned incense on the mountains
^(P)And blasphemed Me on the hills;
Therefore I will measure their former work into their bosom.”

⁸Thus says the Lord:

“As the new wine is found in the cluster,
And one says, ‘Do not destroy it,
For ^(Q)a blessing is in it,’
So will I do for My servants’ sake,
That I may not destroy them ^(R)all.
⁹I will bring forth descendants from Jacob,
And from Judah an heir of My mountains;
My ^(S)elect shall inherit it,
And My servants shall dwell there.
¹⁰^(T)Sharon shall be a fold of flocks,
And ^(U)the Valley of Achor a place for herds to lie down,
For My people who have ^(V)sought Me.

¹¹“But you are those who forsake the Lord,
Who forget ^(W)My holy mountain,
Who prepare ^(X)a table for ^[c]Gad,
And who furnish a drink offering for ^[d]Meni.
¹²Therefore I will number you for the sword,
And you shall all bow down to the slaughter;
^(Y)Because, when I called, you did not answer;
When I spoke, you did not hear,
But did evil before My eyes,
And chose that in which I do not delight.”

¹³Therefore 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 ashamed;
¹⁴Behold, My servants shall sing for joy of heart,
But you shall cry for sorrow of heart,
And ^(Z)wail for ^[e]grief of spirit.
¹⁵You shall leave your name ^(AA)as a curse to ^(AB)My chosen;
For the Lord God will slay you,
And ^(AC)call His servants by another name;
¹⁶^(AD)So that he who blesses himself in the earth
Shall bless himself in the God of truth;
And ^(AE)he who swears in the earth
Shall swear by the God of truth;
Because the former troubles are forgotten,
And because they are hidden from My eyes.