Isaiah 65:1-7
New English Translation
The Lord Will Distinguish Between Sinners and the Godly
65 “I made myself available to those who did not ask for me;[a]
I appeared to those who did not look for me.[b]
I said, ‘Here I am! Here I am!’
to a nation that did not invoke[c] my name.
2 I spread out my hands all day long
to my rebellious people,
who lived in a way that is morally unacceptable,
and who did what they desired.[d]
3 These people continually and blatantly offend me[e]
as they sacrifice in their sacred orchards[f]
and burn incense on brick altars.[g]
4 They sit among the tombs[h]
and keep watch all night long.[i]
They eat pork,[j]
and broth[k] from unclean sacrificial meat is in their pans.
5 They say, ‘Keep to yourself!
Don’t get near me, for I am holier than you!’
These people are like smoke in my nostrils,
like a fire that keeps burning all day long.
6 Look, I have decreed:[l]
I will not keep silent, but will pay them back;
I will pay them back exactly what they deserve,[m]
7 for your sins and your ancestors’ sins,”[n] says the Lord.
“Because they burned incense on the mountains
and offended[o] me on the hills,
I will punish them in full measure.”[p]
Footnotes
- Isaiah 65:1 tn Heb “I allowed myself to be sought by those who did not ask.”
- Isaiah 65:1 tn Heb “I allowed myself to be found by those who did not seek.”
- Isaiah 65:1 tn Heb “call out in”; NASB, NIV, NRSV “call on.”
- Isaiah 65:2 tn Heb “who walked [in] the way that is not good, after their thoughts.”
- Isaiah 65:3 tn Heb “the people who provoke me to anger to my face continually.”
- Isaiah 65:3 tn Or “gardens” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).
- Isaiah 65:3 tn Or perhaps, “on tiles.”
- Isaiah 65:4 sn Perhaps the worship of underworld deities or dead spirits is in view.
- Isaiah 65:4 tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “and in the watches they spend the night.” Some understand נְּצוּרִים (netsurim) as referring to “secret places” or “caves,” while others emend the text to וּבֵין צוּרִים (uven tsurim, “between the rocky cliffs”).
- Isaiah 65:4 tn Heb “the flesh of the pig”; KJV, NAB, NASB “swine’s flesh.”
- Isaiah 65:4 tc The marginal reading (Qere), supported by the Qumran scroll 1QIsaa, reads מְרַק (meraq, “broth”), while the consonantal text (Kethib) has פְרַק (feraq, “fragment”).
- Isaiah 65:6 tn Heb “Look, it is written before me.”
- Isaiah 65:6 tn Heb “I will pay back into their lap.”
- Isaiah 65:7 tn Heb “the iniquities of your fathers.”
- Isaiah 65:7 tn Or perhaps, “taunted”; KJV “blasphemed”; NAB “disgraced”; NASB “scorned”; NIV “defied”; NRSV “reviled.”
- Isaiah 65:7 tn Heb “I will measure out their pay [from the] beginning into their lap,” i.e., he will give them everything they have earned.
Isaiah 65:1-7
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.”
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