The Lord’s Response

65 “I was sought by those who did not ask;[a]
I was found by those who did not seek Me.
I said: Here I am, here I am,
to a nation that was not called by[b] My name.(A)
I spread out My hands all day long
to a rebellious people(B)
who walk in the wrong path,
following their own thoughts.
These people continually provoke Me
to My face,
sacrificing in gardens,(C)
burning incense on bricks,
sitting among the graves,
spending nights in secret places,
eating the meat of pigs,(D)
and putting polluted broth in their bowls.[c]
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.
It is written before Me:
I will not keep silent,(E) but I will repay;(F)
I will repay them fully[d]
for your iniquities and the iniquities(G)
of your[e] fathers together,”
says the Lord.
“Because they burned incense on the mountains
and reproached Me on the hills,(H)
I will reward them fully[f]
for their former deeds.”

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 65:1 LXX, Syr, DSS, Tg read ask for Me
  2. Isaiah 65:1 LXX, Syr, DSS, Tg, Vg read that did not call on
  3. Isaiah 65:4 These vv. describe pagan worship.
  4. Isaiah 65:6 Lit repay into their lap
  5. Isaiah 65:7 LXX, Syr read [for] their iniquities and the iniquities of their
  6. Isaiah 65:7 Lit reward into their lap

Judgment and Salvation

65 “I let myself be sought by those who did not ask;
    I let myself 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;
    I spread out my hands all day to a stubborn people,
those who walk after their thoughts in the way that is not good,
    the people who provoke[a] me to anger continually to my face,
slaughtering for sacrifices in the garden,
    and making smoke offerings on bricks,
who sit[b] in graves
    and spend the night in secret places,[c]
who eat[d] the flesh of swine
    with[e] a fragment[f] of impurity in their vessels,
who say,[g]Keep to yourself![h]
    You must not come near me, for I am too holy for you!”
These are a smoke in my nostrils,[i]
    a fire burning all day.
Look! It is written before me: I will not be silent, but I will repay;
    and I will repay in[j] the fold of their garment
your iniquities and the iniquities of your ancestors[k] together, says Yahweh,
because they made smoke offerings on the mountains
    and they taunted me on the hills,
I will measure their punishment from the beginning into the fold of their garment.”

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 65:3 Literally “provoking”
  2. Isaiah 65:4 Literally “sitting”
  3. Isaiah 65:4 Literally “watches”
  4. Isaiah 65:4 Literally “eating”
  5. Isaiah 65:4 Or “and”
  6. Isaiah 65:4 The reading tradition (Qere) has “broth”
  7. Isaiah 65:5 Literally “saying”
  8. Isaiah 65:5 Literally “Come near to you”
  9. Isaiah 65:5 Literally “nose”
  10. Isaiah 65:6 Or “on”
  11. Isaiah 65:7 Or “fathers”