Isaiah 65
Authorized (King James) Version
65 I am sought of them that asked not for me;
I am found of them that sought me not:
I said, Behold me, behold me,
unto a nation that was not called by my name.
2 I have spread out my hands all the day
unto a rebellious people,
which walketh in a way that was not good,
after their own thoughts;
3 a people that provoketh me to anger
continually to my face;
that sacrificeth in gardens,
and burneth incense upon altars of brick;
4 which remain among the graves,
and lodge in the monuments,
which eat swine’s flesh,
and broth of abominable things is in their vessels;
5 which say, Stand by thyself, come not near to me;
for I am holier than thou.
These are a smoke in my nose,
a fire that burneth all the day.
6 Behold, it is written before me:
I will not keep silence, but will recompense,
even recompense into their bosom,
7 your iniquities, and the iniquities of your fathers together, saith the Lord,
which have burned incense upon the mountains,
and blasphemed me upon the hills:
therefore will I measure their former work into their bosom.
8 Thus saith the Lord, As the new wine is found in the cluster,
and one saith, Destroy it not; for a blessing is in it:
so will I do for my servants’ sakes,
that I may not destroy them all.
9 And I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob,
and out of Judah an inheritor of my mountains:
and mine elect shall inherit it,
and my servants shall dwell there.
10 And Sharon shall be a fold of flocks,
and the valley of Achor a place for the herds to lie down in,
for my people that have sought me.
11 But ye are they that forsake the Lord,
that forget my holy mountain,
that prepare a table for that troop,
and that furnish the drink offering unto that number.
12 Therefore will I number you to the sword,
and ye shall all bow down to the slaughter:
because when I called, ye did not answer;
when I spake, ye did not hear;
but did evil before mine eyes,
and did choose that wherein I delighted not.
13 Therefore thus saith the Lord God,
Behold, my servants shall eat, but ye shall be hungry:
behold, my servants shall drink, but ye shall be thirsty:
behold, my servants shall rejoice, but ye shall be ashamed:
14 behold, my servants shall sing for joy of heart,
but ye shall cry for sorrow of heart,
and shall howl for vexation of spirit.
15 And ye shall leave your name for a curse unto my chosen:
for the Lord God shall slay thee,
and call his servants by another name:
16 that he who blesseth himself in the earth
shall bless himself in the God of truth;
and he that sweareth in the earth
shall swear by the God of truth;
because the former troubles are forgotten,
and because they are hid from mine eyes.
17 For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth:
and the former shall not be remembered,
nor come into mind.
18 But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create:
for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing,
and her people a joy.
19 And I will rejoice in Jerusalem,
and joy in my people:
and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her,
nor the voice of crying.
20 There shall be no more thence an infant of days,
nor an old man that hath not filled his days:
for the child shall die an hundred years old;
but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed.
21 And they shall build houses, and inhabit them;
and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them.
22 They shall not build, and another inhabit;
they shall not plant, and another eat:
for as the days of a tree are the days of my people,
and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.
23 They shall not labour in vain, nor bring forth for trouble;
for they are the seed of the blessed of the Lord,
and their offspring with them.
24 And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer;
and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.
25 The wolf and the lamb shall feed together,
and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock:
and dust shall be the serpent’s meat.
They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain,
saith the Lord.
Isaiah 65
New Living Translation
Judgment and Final Salvation
65 The Lord says,
“I was ready to respond, but no one asked for help.
I was ready to be found, but no one was looking for me.
I said, ‘Here I am, here I am!’
to a nation that did not call on my name.[a]
2 All day long I opened my arms to a rebellious people.[b]
But they follow their own evil paths
and their own crooked schemes.
3 All day long they insult me to my face
by worshiping idols in their sacred gardens.
They burn incense on pagan altars.
4 At night they go out among the graves,
worshiping the dead.
They eat the flesh of pigs
and make stews with other forbidden foods.
5 Yet they say to each other,
‘Don’t come too close or you will defile me!
I am holier than you!’
These people are a stench in my nostrils,
an acrid smell that never goes away.
6 “Look, my decree is written out[c] in front of me:
I will not stand silent;
I will repay them in full!
Yes, I will repay them—
7 both for their own sins
and for those of their ancestors,”
says the Lord.
“For they also burned incense on the mountains
and insulted me on the hills.
I will pay them back in full!
8 “But I will not destroy them all,”
says the Lord.
“For just as good grapes are found among a cluster of bad ones
(and someone will say, ‘Don’t throw them all away—
some of those grapes are good!’),
so I will not destroy all Israel.
For I still have true servants there.
9 I will preserve a remnant of the people of Israel[d]
and of Judah to possess my land.
Those I choose will inherit it,
and my servants will live there.
10 The plain of Sharon will again be filled with flocks
for my people who have searched for me,
and the valley of Achor will be a place to pasture herds.
11 “But because the rest of you have forsaken the Lord
and have forgotten his Temple,
and because you have prepared feasts to honor the god of Fate
and have offered mixed wine to the god of Destiny,
12 now I will ‘destine’ you for the sword.
All of you will bow down before the executioner.
For when I called, you did not answer.
When I spoke, you did not listen.
You deliberately sinned—before my very eyes—
and chose to do what you know I despise.”
13 Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“My servants will eat,
but you will starve.
My servants will drink,
but you will be thirsty.
My servants will rejoice,
but you will be sad and ashamed.
14 My servants will sing for joy,
but you will cry in sorrow and despair.
15 Your name will be a curse word among my people,
for the Sovereign Lord will destroy you
and will call his true servants by another name.
16 All who invoke a blessing or take an oath
will do so by the God of truth.
For I will put aside my anger
and forget the evil of earlier days.
17 “Look! I am creating new heavens and a new earth,
and no one will even think about the old ones anymore.
18 Be glad; rejoice forever in my creation!
And look! I will create Jerusalem as a place of happiness.
Her people will be a source of joy.
19 I will rejoice over Jerusalem
and delight in my people.
And the sound of weeping and crying
will be heard in it no more.
20 “No longer will babies die when only a few days old.
No longer will adults die before they have lived a full life.
No longer will people be considered old at one hundred!
Only the cursed will die that young!
21 In those days people will live in the houses they build
and eat the fruit of their own vineyards.
22 Unlike the past, invaders will not take their houses
and confiscate their vineyards.
For my people will live as long as trees,
and my chosen ones will have time to enjoy their hard-won gains.
23 They will not work in vain,
and their children will not be doomed to misfortune.
For they are people blessed by the Lord,
and their children, too, will be blessed.
24 I will answer them before they even call to me.
While they are still talking about their needs,
I will go ahead and answer their prayers!
25 The wolf and the lamb will feed together.
The lion will eat hay like a cow.
But the snakes will eat dust.
In those days no one will be hurt or destroyed on my holy mountain.
I, the Lord, have spoken!”
Footnotes
- 65:1 Or to a nation that did not bear my name.
- 65:1-2 Greek version reads I was found by people who were not looking for me. / I showed myself to those who were not asking for me. / All day long I opened my arms to them, / but they were disobedient and rebellious. Compare Rom 10:20-21.
- 65:6 Or their sins are written out; Hebrew reads it stands written.
- 65:9 Hebrew remnant of Jacob. See note on 14:1.
KJV reproduced by permission of Cambridge University Press, the Crown’s patentee in the UK.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
