Isaiah 65
65
Chapter 65
Punishment and salvation
1The Lord says,
‘I was ready to answer,
even when my people did not ask me anything.
I showed myself to people
who were not even looking for me.
I said, “Look! Here I am!” to a nation
who did not even use my name to pray.
2All the time, I have been ready to help my people,
even though they turned against me.
But they continue to live in a way that is not good.
They do whatever they want to do.
3They continue to make me angry,
as they insult me without shame.
They offer sacrifices to their idols in their gardens.
They burn incense to them
on altars that are made from bricks.
4They sit among the graves
and they hide in caves. #65:4 They probably did this to worship the spirits of dead people.
They eat meat from pigs.
They use unclean meat to make their soup.
5They say to each other,
“Keep away from me! Do not come near me!
I am too holy for you!”
These people are like smoke in my nose!
They are like a fire that burns all day.’
6The Lord says,
‘Look! I have decided what I will do,
and I have written it down:
I will not keep quiet.
I will punish them completely.
I will give them everything that they deserve,
7as punishment for their sins
and for the sins of their ancestors.
They burned incense to their idols on the mountains,
and they insulted me on the hills.
So I will punish them completely,
as much as they deserve.’
8This is what the Lord says:
‘If grapes still have some juice in them,
someone will say, “Do not destroy them.
There is some juice there that we can use.”
I will do the same thing for my servants.
I will not destroy them all.
9I will cause Jacob's family to have descendants.
There will be people of Judah's family
who will live on my mountains.
The land will belong to the people that I have chosen.
My servants will live there.
10Sharon will become a field where sheep safely eat grass.
Cows will rest in the Valley of Achor.
Those places will belong to my people,
those who want to serve me.
11But punishment will come
to those people who turn away from the Lord.
You forget to worship me on my holy mountain. #65:11 ‘holy mountain’ means Mount Zion, where Solomon built God's temple.
Instead, you prepare food and wine
to offer to your false gods called “Luck” and “Fate”.
12So this will be your fate:
a sword will kill you.
You will all bend down low for someone to kill you.
This will happen because you did not answer me
when I spoke to you.
You did not even listen to my words.
You did evil things against me.
You chose to do things that I would hate.’
13So the Almighty Lord says this:
‘Look! My servants will eat,
but you will be hungry.
Look! My servants will drink,
but you will be thirsty.
Look! My servants will be happy,
but you will be ashamed.
14Yes, my servants will sing with joy
because they are so happy.
But you will cry aloud
because you are so sad.
You will weep
because you are very upset.
15My own people will use your names when they curse others.
The Almighty Lord will kill you,
but he will give to his servants another name.
16People in the land will use the name of the true God,
when they want to say a blessing.
People in the land who want to make a strong promise
will also use the name of the true God.
I will forget the troubles that happened in past years.
I will no longer even think about them.
17Listen! I will create
new heavens and a new earth.
People will not remember what things were like before.
Those thoughts will not be in their minds at all.
18But be happy about what I will create!
Be happy for ever!
I will create Jerusalem as a happy place.
The people who live there will be full of joy.
19And Jerusalem will cause me to be happy.
My people will give me joy.
There will be no noise of people who are weeping.
People will not be sad in Jerusalem again.
20Never again will there be a baby
who only lives for a few days.
Old men will continue to live a long life.
People will live until they are 100 years old
and they will still seem young.
If anyone dies before he is 100 years old,
people will think that God has cursed him.
21My people will build houses
and they will live in them.
They will plant vineyards
and they will eat the fruit from them.
22They will no longer build houses
and then other people live in them.
They will not plant trees
and then other people to eat the fruit.
My people will have long lives,
as long as trees live.
My own people will live to enjoy the things
that they have worked hard to get.
23Their work will not be useless.
They will not give birth to children
who will live in fear.
Instead, the Lord will bless their children.
He will bless them
and their descendants with them.
24Before they call to me for help,
I will answer them.
While they are still praying,
I will hear them.
25At that time,
wolves and lambs will eat together.
Lions will eat straw like cows.
A snake's food will be dirt.
Nothing will hurt or destroy anything else
anywhere on my holy mountain.’
That is what the Lord says. #65:25 See Isaiah 11:1-9. The ‘holy mountain’ is where God rules as king.
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Isaiah 65
65
A Rebellious People
1“I let Myself be sought by those who did not ask for Me;
I let Myself be found by those who did not seek Me.
I said, ‘Here am I, here am I,’
To the nation [Israel] which did not call on My Name.
2I have spread out My hands all the day long to a rebellious and stubborn people,
Who walk in the way that is not good, [following] after their own thoughts and intentions,
3The people who continually provoke Me to My face,
Sacrificing [to idols] in gardens and making offerings with incense on bricks [instead of at the designated altar];
4Who sit among the graves [trying to conjure up evil spirits] and spend the night in the secret places [where spirits are thought to dwell];
Who eat swine’s flesh,
And their pots hold the broth of #Meat that is ceremonially unclean or has been kept until the third day.unclean meat;
5Who say, ‘Keep to yourself, do not come near me,
For I #Or would transfer holiness to you (and thereby make the recipient subject to inconvenient restrictions).am too holy for you [and you might defile me]!’
These [people] are smoke in My nostrils,
A fire that burns all the day.
6Indeed, it is written before Me,
I will not keep silent, but I will repay;
I will even repay it [directly] into their #Or bosom, i.e. the fold in the outer robe where personal items are sometimes kept.arms,
7Both your own wickedness and the wickedness of your fathers,” says the Lord.
“Since they too have made offerings with incense on the mountains
And scorned and taunted Me on the hills,
I therefore will measure [punishment for] their former work [directly] into their #Or bosom.arms.”
8This is what the Lord says,
“As the new wine is found in the cluster,
And one says, ‘Do not destroy it, for there is a blessing and benefit in it,’
So I will do for the sake of My servants
In order not to destroy all of them.
9I will bring forth descendants from Jacob,
And an heir of My mountains from Judah;
Even My chosen ones shall inherit it,
And My servants will live there.
10And [the plain of] Sharon will be a place for flocks to graze,
And the Valley of Achor a resting place for herds,
For My people who seek Me [who long for Me and require My presence in their lives].
11But you who abandon (turn away from) the Lord,
Who forget and ignore My holy mountain (Zion),
Who set a table for Gad [the Babylonian god of fortune],
And who fill a jug of mixed wine for Meni [the god of fate],
12I will destine you for the sword, [says the Lord],
And all of you will bow down to the slaughter,
Because when I called, you did not answer;
When I spoke, you did not listen or obey.
But you did [what was] evil in My sight
And chose that in which I did not delight.”
13Therefore, the Lord God says this,
“Listen carefully, My servants will eat, but you will be hungry;
Indeed, My servants will drink, but you will be thirsty;
Indeed, My servants will rejoice, but you will be put to shame.
14Indeed, My servants will shout for joy from a happy heart,
But you will cry out with a heavy heart,
And you shall wail and howl from a broken spirit.
15And you will leave your name behind to My chosen ones [who will use it] as a curse,
And the Lord God will put you to death,
But He will call His servants by another name [a much greater name, just as the name Israel was greater than the name Jacob].
16Because he who blesses himself on the earth
Will bless himself by the God of truth and faithfulness;
And he who swears [an oath] on the earth
Will swear by the God of truth and faithfulness;
Because the former troubles are forgotten,
And because they are hidden from My sight.
New Heavens and a New Earth
17“Behold, I am creating new heavens and a new earth;
And the former things [of life] will not be remembered or come to mind.
18But be glad and rejoice forever over what I create;
Behold, I am creating Jerusalem to be a source of rejoicing
And her people a joy.
19I will also rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in My people;
And there will no longer be heard in her
The voice of weeping and the sound of crying.
20No longer shall there be #Lit from there.in it an infant who lives only a few days,
Or an old man who does not finish his days;
For the youth who dies at the age of a hundred,
And the one who does not reach the age of a hundred
Will be thought of as accursed.
21They will build houses and live in them;
They will plant vineyards and eat the fruit.
22They will not build and another occupy;
They will not plant and another eat [the fruit].
For as the lifetime of a tree, so will be the days of My people,
And My chosen [people] will fully enjoy [and long make use of] the work of their hands.
23They will not labor in vain,
Or bear children for disaster;
For they are the descendants of those blessed by the Lord,
And their offspring with them.
24It shall also come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear. 25The wolf and the lamb will graze together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox [there will no longer be predator and prey]; and dust will be the serpent’s food. They will do no evil or harm in all My holy mountain (Zion),” says the Lord.
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