Isaiah 65
Christian Standard Bible
The Lord’s Response
65 “I was sought by those who did not ask;
I was found by those who did not seek me.
I said, ‘Here I am, here I am,’
to a nation that did not call on[a] my name.(A)
2 I spread out my hands all day long
to a rebellious people(B)
who walk in the path that is not good,
following their own thoughts.
3 These people continually anger me
to my face,
sacrificing in gardens,(C)
burning incense on bricks,
4 sitting among the graves,
spending nights in secret places,
eating the meat of pigs,(D)
and putting polluted broth in their bowls.[b]
5 They say, ‘Keep to yourself,
don’t come near me, for I am too holy for you!’
These practices are smoke in my nostrils,
a fire that burns all day long.
6 Look, it is written in front of me:
I will not keep silent,(E) but I will repay;(F)
I will repay them fully[c]
7 for your iniquities and the iniquities(G)
of your[d] ancestors together,”
says the Lord.
“Because they burned incense on the mountains
and reproached me on the hills,(H)
I will reward them fully[e]
for their former deeds.”
8 The Lord says this:
“As the new wine is found in a bunch of grapes,
and one says, ‘Don’t destroy it,
for there’s some good[f] in it,’
so I will act because of my servants
and not destroy them all.
9 I will produce descendants from Jacob,(I)
and heirs to my mountains from Judah;
my chosen(J) ones will possess it,
and my servants will dwell there.(K)
10 Sharon will be a pasture for flocks,(L)
and the Valley of Achor a place for herds to lie down,(M)
for my people who have sought me.(N)
11 But you who abandon the Lord,
who forget my holy mountain,
who prepare a table for Fortune
and fill bowls of mixed wine for Destiny,[g]
12 I will destine you for the sword,
and all of you will kneel down to be slaughtered,
because I called and you did not answer,
I spoke and you did not hear;
you did what was evil in my sight
and chose what I did not delight in.”(O)
13 Therefore, this is what the Lord God says:
“Look! My servants will eat,
but you will be hungry.
Look! My servants will drink,
but you will be thirsty.
Look! My servants will rejoice,
but you will be put to shame.
14 Look! My servants will shout for joy from a glad heart,
but you will cry out from an anguished heart,
and you will lament out of a broken spirit.
15 You will leave your name behind
as a curse for my chosen ones,(P)
and the Lord God will kill you;
but he will give his servants another name.(Q)
16 Whoever asks for a blessing in the land
will ask for a blessing by the God of truth,(R)
and whoever swears in the land
will swear by the God of truth.
For the former troubles will be forgotten
and hidden from my sight.
A New Creation
17 “For I will create new heavens and a new earth;(S)
the past events will not be remembered or come to mind.
18 Then be glad and rejoice forever
in what I am creating;
for I will create Jerusalem to be a joy
and its people to be a delight.
19 I will rejoice in Jerusalem
and be glad in my people.
The sound of weeping and crying
will no longer be heard in her.(T)
20 In her, a nursing infant will no longer live
only a few days,[h]
or an old man not live out his days.
Indeed, the one who dies at a hundred years old
will be mourned as a young man,[i]
and the one who misses a hundred years
will be considered cursed.(U)
21 People will build houses and live in them;
they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.(V)
22 They will not build and others live in them;
they will not plant and others eat.
For my people’s lives will be
like the lifetime of a tree.(W)
My chosen ones will fully enjoy
the work of their hands.
23 They will not labor without success(X)
or bear children destined for disaster,
for they will be a people blessed by the Lord
along with their descendants.(Y)
24 Even before they call, I will answer;(Z)
while they are still speaking, I will hear.
25 The wolf and the lamb will feed together,[j]
and the lion will eat straw like cattle,(AA)
but the serpent’s food will be dust!(AB)
They will not do what is evil or destroy
on my entire holy mountain,”(AC)
says the Lord.
Footnotes
- 65:1 Or that was not called by
- 65:3–4 These vv. describe pagan worship.
- 65:6 Lit repay into their lap
- 65:7 LXX, Syr read for their iniquities and the iniquities of their
- 65:7 Lit reward into their lap
- 65:8 Or there’s a blessing
- 65:11 Pagan gods
- 65:20 Lit her, no longer infant of days
- 65:20 Lit the youth of a hundred years will die
- 65:25 Lit as one
Isaiah 65
Expanded Bible
All People Will Learn About God
65 The Lord says, “I ·made myself known to people [L allowed myself to be sought by those] who were not looking for me.
I was found by those who were not asking me for help.
I said, ‘Here I am. Here I am,’
to a nation that ·was not praying to me [did not call on my name; or called by my name].
2 All day long I ·stood ready to accept [L stretched out my hands to a]
people who ·turned [rebelled] against me,
but the way they continue to ·live [walk] is not good;
·they do anything they want to do [following their own thoughts/schemes].
3 ·Right in front of me [To my face]
they continue to do things that make me angry.
They offer sacrifices to their gods in their gardens [1:29],
and they burn incense on altars of brick.
4 They sit among the graves
and spend their nights ·waiting to get messages from the dead [or keeping vigil; or in secret places].
They eat the ·meat [flesh] of pigs [C unclean animal; Lev. 11:7; Deut. 14:8],
and their pots are full of soup made from ·meat that is wrong to eat [defiled/polluted things].
5 But they tell others, ‘Stay away, and don’t come near me.
I am too holy for you.’
These ·people [or practices] are like smoke in my ·nose [nostrils].
Like a fire that burns all ·the time [day long; C their sin never ceases and God’s anger grows].
6 “Look, it is written here before me.
I will not ·be quiet [keep silent]; instead, I will repay you in full.
I will ·punish you for what you have done [L pay it back into their laps/bosom].
7 I will punish you for your sins and your ·ancestors’ [fathers’] sins,”
says the Lord.
“They burned incense ·to gods on [L on] the mountains
and ·shamed [insulted; defied] me on those hills.
So I will ·punish them as they should be punished
for what they did [L measure into their laps/bosoms payment for their former deeds].”
8 This is what the Lord says:
“When there is ·juice left [new wine; or good grapes] in a bunch of grapes,
people say, “Don’t destroy it,
because there is ·good left [L blessing] in it.”
So I will do the same thing to my servants—
I will not destroy them all.
9 I will ·leave some of the children of [produce/bring forth offspring/seed from] Jacob,
and some of the people of Judah will ·receive [possess; inherit] my mountain.
·I will choose the people who [My chosen ones] will ·live there [possess/inherit it];
my servants will live there.
10 Then ·the Plain of Sharon [L Sharon; C a fertile plain in western Israel; 33:9] will be a field for flocks,
and the Valley of Achor [C located in eastern Israel, near Jericho] will be a place for herds to rest.
They will be for the people who ·want to follow [have sought] me.
11 “But as for you who ·left [abandoned; forsook] the Lord,
who forgot about my holy mountain,
who ·worship the god Luck [L spread a table for Fortune/Luck; C Hebrew Gad, a pagan god],
·who hold religious feasts for the god Fate [L fill bowls of mixed wine for Fate; C Hebrew Meni, a pagan god],
12 I ·decide your fate, and I will punish you with my sword [L destine/number you for the sword].
You will all ·be killed [fall in the slaughter; or bow to the executioner],
because I called you, but you refused to answer.
I spoke to you, but you wouldn’t listen.
You did ·the things I said were evil [L evil before my eyes]
and chose to do things ·that displease me [L I did not delight in].”
13 So this is what the Lord God says:
“My servants will eat,
but ·you evil people [L you] will be hungry.
My servants will drink,
but ·you evil people [L you] will be thirsty.
My servants will ·be happy [rejoice],
but ·you evil people [L you] will be shamed.
14 My servants will shout for joy
because of the ·goodness [joy] of their hearts,
but ·you evil people [L you] will ·cry [shout; cry out],
·because you will be sad [from an anguished heart].
You will ·cry loudly [wail; lament], because your spirits will be broken.
15 Your names will be ·like curses to [or used as a curse by; L left as a curse to] my ·servants [L chosen ones],
and the Lord God will put you to death.
But he will call his servants by another name.
16 People in the land who ask for blessings
will ·ask for them from [or be blessed by] the faithful God.
And people in the land who ·make a promise [swear an oath]
will ·promise [swear] ·in the name of the faithful God [or by the one true God],
because the troubles of the past will be forgotten.
·I will make those troubles go away [L …and are hidden from my eyes].
A New Time Is Coming
17 “·Look [T Behold], I will ·make [create] new heavens and a new earth,
and people will not remember the ·past [former things]
or ·think about those things [bring them to heart/mind].
18 My people will be happy and joyful forever
because of the things I will ·make [create].
I will make a Jerusalem that is full of joy,
and I will make her people a delight.
19 Then I will rejoice over Jerusalem
and be delighted with my people.
There will never again be heard in that city
the sounds of ·crying [weeping] and ·sadness [crying].
20 There will never be a ·baby [infant] from that city
who lives only a few days.
And there will never be an older person
who doesn’t ·have a long life [L live out his days].
A person who ·lives a hundred years will be called young [or dies at a hundred years will still be considered a child],
and a person who dies before he is a hundred will be thought of as a ·sinner [or accursed].
21 In that city those who build houses will live there.
Those who plant vineyards will get to eat their grapes [C as opposed to times of conquest, when homes are confiscated and crops are stolen].
22 No more will one person ·build a house and someone else live there [L build and another inhabit].
One person will not ·plant a garden and someone else eat its fruit [L plant and another eat].
·My people will live a long time,
as trees live long [L For like the days of a tree
shall be the days of my people].
My chosen people will live there
and enjoy the ·things they make [L work of their hands].
23 They will ·never again work for nothing [not labor in vain].
They will never again give birth to children ·who die young [L doomed for misfortune/disaster].
All my people will be blessed by the Lord;
they and their ·children [descendants; seed] will be blessed.
24 I will ·provide for their needs [L answer] before they ·ask [call],
and I will ·help them [L hear] while they are still ·asking for help [L speaking].
25 The wolf and the lamb will ·eat together in peace [feed/graze together].
The lion will eat hay like an ox,
and ·a snake on the ground will not hurt anyone [the serpent’s food will be dust; Gen. 3:14].
They will not hurt or destroy each other
on all my holy mountain,”
says the Lord.
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