Isaiah 65-66

New American Standard Bible

A Rebellious People

65 “I permitted Myself to be sought by ^(A)those who did not ask for Me;
I permitted Myself to be found by those who did not seek Me.
I said, ‘Here am I, here am I,’
To a nation which ^(B)did not call on My name.
²^(C)I have spread out My hands all day long to a ^(D)rebellious people,
Who walk in the way which is not good, ^[a]following their own ^(E)thoughts,
³A people who continually ^(F)provoke Me to My face,
Offering sacrifices in ^(G)gardens and ^(H)burning incense on bricks;
⁴Who sit among graves and spend the night in secret places;
Who ^(I)eat pig’s flesh,
And the broth of unclean meat is in their pots.
⁵Who say, ‘^(J)Keep to yourself, do not come near me,
For I am holier than you!’
These are smoke in My ^[b]nostrils,
A fire that burns all the day.
⁶Behold, it is written before Me:
I will ^(K)not keep silent, but ^(L)I will repay;
I will even repay ^[c]into their laps,
⁷Both your own ^(M)wrongdoings and the wrongdoings of your fathers together,” says the Lord.
“Because they have ^(N)burned incense on the mountains
And ^(O)scorned Me on the hills,
Therefore I will ^(P)measure their former work ^[d]into their laps.”

⁸This is what the Lord says:

“Just as the new wine is found in the cluster,
And one says, ‘Do not destroy it, for there is ^[e]benefit in it,’
So I will act in behalf of My servants
In order ^(Q)not to destroy ^[f]all of them.
⁹I will bring forth ^[g]^(R)offspring from Jacob,
And an ^(S)heir of My mountains from Judah;
^(T)My chosen ones shall inherit it,
And ^(U)My servants will live there.
¹⁰^(V)Sharon will be a pasture land for flocks,
And the ^(W)Valley of Achor a resting place for herds,
For My people who ^(X)seek Me.
¹¹But as for you who ^(Y)abandon the Lord,
Who forget My ^(Z)holy mountain,
Who set a table for ^[h]Fortune,
And fill a jug of mixed wine for ^[i]Destiny,
¹²I will destine you for the ^(AA)sword,
And all of you will bow down to the ^(AB)slaughter.
Because I called, but you ^(AC)did not answer;
I spoke, but you did not listen.
Instead, you did evil in My sight
And chose that in which I did not delight.”

¹³Therefore, this is what the Lord ^[j]God says:
“Behold, My servants will ^(AD)eat, but you will be ^(AE)hungry.
Behold, My servants will ^(AF)drink, but you will be ^(AG)thirsty.
Behold, My servants will ^(AH)rejoice, but you will be ^(AI)put to shame.
¹⁴Behold, My servants will ^(AJ)shout joyfully with a glad heart,
But you will ^(AK)cry out from a painful heart,
And you will wail from a broken spirit.
¹⁵You will leave your name as a ^(AL)curse to My chosen ones,
And the Lord ^[k]God will put you to death.
But ^[l]My servants will be called by ^(AM)another name.
¹⁶Because the one who ^[m]is blessed on the earth
Will ^[n]be blessed by the ^(AN)God of truth;
And the one who swears an oath on the earth
Will ^(AO)swear by the God of truth;
Because the former troubles are forgotten,
And because they are hidden from My sight!

New Heavens and a New Earth

¹⁷“For behold, I create ^(AP)new heavens and a new earth;
And the ^(AQ)former things will not be remembered or come to ^[o]mind.
¹⁸But be ^(AR)glad and rejoice forever in what I create;
For behold, I create Jerusalem for rejoicing
And her people for gladness.
¹⁹I will also ^(AS)rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in My people;
And there will no longer be heard in her
The voice of ^(AT)weeping and the sound of crying.
²⁰No longer will there be ^[p]in it an infant who lives only a few days,
Or an old person who does ^(AU)not ^[q]live out his days;
For the youth will die at the age of a hundred,
And the ^[r]^(AV)one who does not reach the age of a hundred
Will be thought accursed.
²¹They will ^(AW)build houses and inhabit them;
They will also ^(AX)plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
²²They will not build and ^(AY)another inhabit,
They will not plant and another eat;
For ^(AZ)as the ^[s]lifetime of a tree, so will be the days of My people,
And My chosen ones will ^(BA)fully enjoy the work of their hands.
²³They will ^(BB)not labor in vain,
Or give birth to children for disaster;
For they are the ^[t]^(BC)descendants of those blessed by the Lord,
And their descendants with them.

²⁴It will also come to pass that before they call, I will ^(BD)answer; while they are still speaking, I will listen. ²⁵The ^(BE)wolf and the lamb will graze together, and the ^(BF)lion will eat straw like the ox; and ^(BG)dust will be the serpent’s food. They will ^(BH)do no evil or harm on all My ^(BI)holy mountain,” says the Lord.

Heaven Is God’s Throne

66 This is what the Lord says:

“^(BJ)Heaven is My throne and the earth is the footstool for My feet.
Where then is a ^(BK)house you could build for Me?
And where is a place that ^[u]I may rest?
²For ^(BL)My hand made all these things,
So all these things came into being,” declares the Lord.
“But I will look to this one,
At one who is humble and ^(BM)contrite in spirit, and who ^(BN)trembles at My word.

Hypocrisy Rebuked

³“But the one who slaughters an ox is like one who kills a person;
The one who sacrifices a lamb is like one who breaks a dog’s neck;
One who offers a grain offering is like one who offers ^(BO)pig’s blood;
One who ^[v]^(BP)burns incense is like one who blesses an idol.
As they have chosen their ^(BQ)own ways,
And their souls delight in their ^(BR)abominations,
⁴So I will ^(BS)choose their ^[w]punishments
And ^(BT)bring on them what they dread.
Because I called, but ^(BU)no one answered;
I spoke, but they did not listen.
Instead, they did ^(BV)evil in My sight
And chose that in which I did not delight.”
⁵Hear the word of the Lord, you who ^(BW)tremble at His word:
“Your brothers who ^(BX)hate you, who ^(BY)exclude you on account of My name,
Have said, ‘Let the Lord be glorified, so that we may see your joy.’
But ^(BZ)they will be put to shame.
⁶A sound of uproar from the city, a voice from the temple,
The voice of the Lord who is ^(CA)dealing retribution to His enemies.

⁷“Before she was in labor, ^(CB)she delivered;
Before her pain came, ^(CC)she gave birth to a boy.
⁸^(CD)Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things?
Can a land be ^[x]born in one day?
Can a nation be given birth all at once?
As soon as Zion was in labor, she also delivered her sons.
⁹Shall I bring to the point of birth but ^(CE)not give delivery?” says the Lord.
“Or shall I who gives delivery shut the womb?” says your God.

Joy in Jerusalem’s Future

¹⁰“Be ^(CF)joyful with Jerusalem and rejoice for her, all you who ^(CG)love her;
Be exceedingly ^(CH)glad with her, all you who mourn over her,
¹¹So that you may nurse and ^(CI)be satisfied with her comforting breasts,
So that you may drink fully and be delighted with her ^(CJ)bountiful breasts.”
¹²For this is what the Lord says: “Behold, I extend ^(CK)peace to her like a river,
And the ^(CL)glory of the nations like an overflowing stream;
And you will ^[y]be nursed, you will be ^(CM)carried on the ^[z]hip and rocked back and forth on the knees.
¹³As one whom his mother comforts, so I will ^(CN)comfort you;
And you will be comforted in Jerusalem.”
¹⁴Then you will ^(CO)see this, and your ^(CP)heart will be glad,
And your ^(CQ)bones will flourish like the new grass;
And the ^(CR)hand of the Lord will be made known to His servants,
But He will be ^(CS)indignant toward His enemies.
¹⁵For behold, the Lord will come in ^(CT)fire,
And His ^(CU)chariots like the whirlwind,
To render His anger with fury,
And His rebuke with flames of fire.
¹⁶For the Lord will execute judgment by ^(CV)fire
And by His ^(CW)sword on ^[aa]humanity,
And those put to death by the Lord will be many.
¹⁷“Those who sanctify and purify themselves to go to the ^(CX)gardens,
^[ab]Following one in the center,
Who eat ^(CY)pig’s flesh, detestable things, and mice,
Will ^(CZ)come to an end altogether,” declares the Lord.

¹⁸“For I ^[ac]know their works and their ^(DA)thoughts; ^[ad]the time is coming to ^(DB)gather all the nations and tongues. And they shall come and see My glory. ¹⁹And I will put a ^(DC)sign among them and send survivors from them to the nations: ^(DD)Tarshish, ^[ae]Put, ^(DE)Lud, ^[af]Meshech, ^(DF)Tubal, and ^[ag]Javan, to the distant ^(DG)coastlands that have neither heard of My fame nor seen My glory. And they will ^(DH)declare My glory among the nations. ²⁰Then they shall ^(DI)bring all your countrymen from all the nations as a grain offering to the Lord, on horses, in chariots, in litters, on mules, and on camels, to My ^(DJ)holy mountain Jerusalem,” says the Lord, “just as the sons of Israel bring their grain offering in a ^(DK)clean vessel to the house of the Lord. ²¹I will also take some of them as ^(DL)priests and Levites,” says the Lord.

²²“For just as the ^(DM)new heavens and the new earth,
Which I make, will endure before Me,” declares the Lord,
“So will your ^(DN)descendants and your ^(DO)name endure.
²³And it shall be from ^(DP)new moon to new moon
And from Sabbath to Sabbath,
All ^[ah]mankind will come to ^(DQ)bow down before Me,” says the Lord.
²⁴“Then they will go out and look
At the ^(DR)corpses of the people
Who have ^(DS)rebelled against Me.
For their ^(DT)worm will not die
^(DU)And their fire will not be extinguished;
And they will be an ^(DV)abhorrence to all ^[ai]mankind.”