Yesha 'yahu (Isa) 65

1“I made myself accessible

to those who didn’t ask for me,

I let myself be found

by those who didn’t seek me.

I said, ‘Here I am! Here I am!’

to a nation not called by my name.

2I spread out my hands all day long

to a rebellious people

who live in a way that is not good,

who follow their own inclinations;

3a people who provoke me to my face all the time,

sacrificing in gardens and burning incense on bricks.

4They sit among the graves

and spend the night in caverns;

they eat pig meat

and their pots hold soup made from disgusting things.

5They say, ‘Keep your distance, don’t come near me,

because I am holier than you.’

These are smoke in my nose,

a fire that burns all day!

6See, it is written before me;

I will not be silent until I repay them;

I will repay them to the full,

7your own crimes and those of your ancestors together,”

says Adonai.

“They offered incense on the mountains

and insulted me on the hills.

First I will measure out their wages

and then repay them in full.”

8Here is what Adonai says:

“As when juice is found in a cluster of grapes,

and people say, ‘Don’t destroy it,

there is still some good in it,’

so I will do likewise for the sake of my servants,

and not destroy them all.

9I will bring forth descendants from Ya‘akov,

heirs of my mountains from Y’hudah;

my chosen ones will possess them,

and my servants will live there.

10The Sharon will be a pasture for flocks,

the Akhor Valley a place for cattle to rest,

for my people who have sought me.

11“But as for you who abandon Adonai,

who forget my holy mountain,

who prepare a table for a Gad, a god of luck,

and fill bowls of mixed wine for Meni, a god of destiny —

12I will destine you to the sword,

you will all bow down to be slaughtered;

because when I called, you did not answer;

when I spoke, you did not hear,

but did what was evil from my point of view

and chose what did not please me.”

13Therefore this is what Adonai Elohim says:

“My servants will eat, while you go hungry;

my servants will drink, while you go thirsty.

My servants will rejoice,

while you will be ashamed.

14Yes, my servants will sing for joy from their hearts,

but you will cry out from the pain in your heart

and howl from an anguished spirit.

15My chosen will use your name as a curse —

‘May Adonai Elohim strike you dead!’

But to his servants he will give another name.

16Thus someone on earth who blesses himself

will bless himself by the God of truth,

and someone on earth who swears an oath

will swear by the God of truth;

for past troubles will be forgotten,

hidden from my eyes.

17“For, look! I create new heavens

and a new earth;

past things will not be remembered,

they will no more come to mind.

18So be glad and rejoice forever

in what I am creating;

for look! I am making Yerushalayim a joy,

and her people a delight.

19I will rejoice in Yerushalayim

and take joy in my people.

The sound of weeping will no longer be heard in it,

no longer the sound of crying.

20No more will babies die in infancy,

no more will an old man die short of his days —

he who dies at a hundred will be thought young,

and at less than a hundred thought cursed.

21They will build houses and live in them,

they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.

22They will not build and others live there,

they will not plant and others eat;

for the days of my people

will be like the days of a tree,

and my chosen will themselves enjoy

the use of what they make.

23They will not toil in vain

or raise children to be destroyed,

for they are the seed blessed by Adonai;

and their offspring with them.

24Before they call, I will answer;

while they are still speaking, I will hear.

25The wolf and the lamb will feed together,

and the lion eat straw like an ox

(but the serpent — its food will be dust).

They will not hurt or destroy

anywhere on my holy mountain,”

says Adonai.

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Yesha 'yahu (Isa) 65: CJB

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Isaiah 65

Judgment and Final Salvation

1The 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.#65:1 Or to a nation that did not bear my name.

2All day long I opened my arms to a rebellious people.#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.

But they follow their own evil paths

and their own crooked schemes.

3All day long they insult me to my face

by worshiping idols in their sacred gardens.

They burn incense on pagan altars.

4At night they go out among the graves,

worshiping the dead.

They eat the flesh of pigs

and make stews with other forbidden foods.

5Yet 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#65:6 Or their sins are written out; Hebrew reads it stands written. in front of me:

I will not stand silent;

I will repay them in full!

Yes, I will repay them—

7both 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.

9I will preserve a remnant of the people of Israel#65:9 Hebrew remnant of Jacob. See note on 14:1.

and of Judah to possess my land.

Those I choose will inherit it,

and my servants will live there.

10The 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,

12now 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.”

13Therefore, 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.

14My servants will sing for joy,

but you will cry in sorrow and despair.

15Your 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.

16All 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.

18Be 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.

19I 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!

21In those days people will live in the houses they build

and eat the fruit of their own vineyards.

22Unlike 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.

23They 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.

24I 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!

25The 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!”

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