Judgment and Salvation

65 “I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me;
    I was found by those who did not seek me.(A)
To a nation(B) that did not call on my name,(C)
    I said, ‘Here am I, here am I.’
All day long I have held out my hands
    to an obstinate people,(D)
who walk in ways not good,
    pursuing their own imaginations(E)
a people who continually provoke me
    to my very face,(F)
offering sacrifices in gardens(G)
    and burning incense(H) on altars of brick;
who sit among the graves(I)
    and spend their nights keeping secret vigil;
who eat the flesh of pigs,(J)
    and whose pots hold broth of impure meat;
who say, ‘Keep away; don’t come near me,
    for I am too sacred(K) for you!’
Such people are smoke(L) in my nostrils,
    a fire that keeps burning all day.

“See, it stands written before me:
    I will not keep silent(M) but will pay back(N) in full;
    I will pay it back into their laps(O)
both your sins(P) and the sins of your ancestors,”(Q)
    says the Lord.
“Because they burned sacrifices on the mountains
    and defied me on the hills,(R)
I will measure into their laps
    the full payment(S) for their former deeds.”

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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)
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.
These people continually anger 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.[b]
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.
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]
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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Footnotes

  1. 65:1 Or that was not called by
  2. 65:3–4 These vv. describe pagan worship.
  3. 65:6 Lit repay into their lap
  4. 65:7 LXX, Syr read for their iniquities and the iniquities of their
  5. 65:7 Lit reward into their lap