Isaiah 65-66

New American Standard Bible 1995

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,
³ A people who continually ^(F)provoke Me to My face,
Offering sacrifices in ^(G)gardens and ^(H)burning incense on bricks;
⁴ Who sit among graves and spend the night in secret places;
Who ^(I)eat swine’s flesh,
And the broth of unclean meat is in their pots.
⁵ “Who 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.
⁶ “Behold, it is written before Me,
I will ^(K)not keep silent, but ^(L)I will repay;
I will even repay into their bosom,
⁷ Both ^[c]their own ^(M)iniquities and the iniquities of their 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 into their bosom.”

“As the new wine is found in the cluster,
And one says, ‘Do not destroy it, for there is ^[d]benefit in it,’
So I will act on behalf of My servants
In order ^(Q)not to destroy ^[e]all of them.
⁹ “I will bring forth ^(R)offspring from Jacob,
And an ^(S)heir of My mountains from Judah;
Even ^(T)My chosen ones shall inherit it,
And ^(U)My servants will dwell 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.
¹¹ “But you who ^(Y)forsake the Lord,
Who forget My ^(Z)holy mountain,
Who set a table for ^[f]Fortune,
And who fill cups with mixed wine for ^[g]Destiny,
¹² I 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 hear.
And you did evil in My sight
And chose that in which I did not delight.”

“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.
¹⁴ “Behold, My servants will ^(AJ)shout joyfully with a glad heart,
But you will ^(AK)cry out with a ^[i]heavy heart,
And you will wail with a broken spirit.
¹⁵ “You will leave your name for a ^(AL)curse to My chosen ones,
And the Lord ^[j]God will slay you.
But ^[k]My servants will be called by ^(AM)another name.
¹⁶ “Because he who ^[l]is blessed in the earth
Will ^[m]be blessed by the ^(AN)God of truth;
And he who swears in the earth
Will ^(AO)swear by the God of truth;
Because the former troubles are forgotten,
And because they are hidden from My sight!

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

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

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

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,
¹¹ That you may nurse and ^(CI)be satisfied with her comforting breasts,
That you may suck and be delighted with her ^(CJ)bountiful bosom.”
¹² For thus says the Lord, “Behold, I extend ^(CK)peace to her like a river,
And the ^(CL)glory of the nations like an overflowing stream;
And you will ^[x]be nursed, you will be ^(CM)carried on the ^[y]hip and fondled on the knees.
¹³ “As one whom his mother comforts, so I will ^(CN)comfort you;
And you will be comforted in Jerusalem.”
¹⁴ Then 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.
¹⁵ For 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.
¹⁶ For the Lord will execute judgment by ^(CV)fire
And by His ^(CW)sword on all flesh,
And those slain by the Lord will be many.
¹⁷ “Those who sanctify and purify themselves to go to the ^(CX)gardens,
^[z]Following one in the center,
Who eat ^(CY)swine’s flesh, detestable things and mice,
Will ^(CZ)come to an end altogether,” declares 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 your ^(DN)offspring and your ^(DO)name will endure.
²³ “And it shall be from ^(DP)new moon to new moon
And from sabbath to sabbath,
All ^[af]mankind will come to ^(DQ)bow down before Me,” says the Lord.
²⁴ “Then they will go forth and look
On the ^(DR)corpses of the men
Who have ^[ag](DS)transgressed against Me.
For their ^(DT)worm will not die
^(DU)And their fire will not be quenched;
And they will be an ^(DV)abhorrence to all ^[ah]mankind.”