Isaiah 65
65
Judgment for idolators
1I was ready to respond to those who didn’t ask.
I was ready to be found by those who didn’t look for me.
I said, “I’m here! I’m here!” to a nation
that didn’t call on my name.
2I extended my hands all day
to a rebellious people
walking in a way that isn’t good,
following their own plans;
3people who provoke me to my face continually,
sacrificing in gardens and burning incense on bricks,
4who sit in tombs
and spend the night among rocks;#65.4 Or in guarded places
who eat swine’s flesh
with broth of unclean meat in their bowls;
5who say, “Keep to yourself!
Keep away from me! I’m too holy for you.”
These people ignite my anger
like a fire that burns all day.
6Look, this stands written before me.
I won’t be silent, but I will repay;
I will repay in full measure
7your sins and the sins of your ancestors as well,
says the LORD.
Since they burned incense on the mountains,
and mocked me in the hills,
I will count out to them
full payment for their actions.
8The LORD proclaims:
As new wine is found in the grape cluster,
and someone says, “Don’t destroy it, for there is a blessing in it,”
so I will do for the sake of my servants
and not destroy everything:
9I will bring out offspring from Jacob,
and from Judah, heirs to my mountains.
My chosen ones will take possession;
my servants will dwell there.
10Sharon will become a pasture for sheep,
and the Achor Valley a resting place for cattle,
for my people who seek me.
11But you who abandon the LORD,
who forget my holy mountain,
who set a table for a god of good fortune,
and fill cups of mixed wine for a god of fate:
12I will offer you to the sword.
You will all bow down for slaughter,
because I called and you didn’t answer;
I spoke and you wouldn’t hear.
You did what I considered evil,
and chose what I didn’t want.
13Therefore, the LORD God says:
Look, my servants will eat, but you will hunger.
My servants will drink, but you will thirst.
My servants will rejoice, but you will be ashamed.
14My servants will sing with contented hearts,
but you will cry out from heartache;
with broken spirits you will wail.
15You will leave your name behind for my chosen ones to curse:
“May the LORD God kill you!
May he call his servants by a different name!”
16Those who pronounce a blessing in the land
will do so by the God called Amen;
those who make a solemn pledge in the land will do so by the God called Amen.#65.16 Or so be it
Past troubles will be forgotten
and hidden from my sight.
New creation and new Jerusalem
17Look! I’m creating a new heaven and a new earth:
past events won’t be remembered;
they won’t come to mind.
18Be glad and rejoice forever
in what I’m creating,
because I’m creating Jerusalem as a joy
and her people as a source of gladness.
19I will rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad about my people.
No one will ever hear the sound of weeping or crying in it again.
20No more will babies live only a few days,
or the old fail to live out their days.
The one who dies at a hundred will be like a young person,
and the one falling short of a hundred will seem cursed.
21They will build houses and live in them;
they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
22They won’t build for others to live in,
nor plant for others to eat.
Like the days of a tree will be the days of my people;
my chosen will make full use of their handiwork.
23They won’t labor in vain,
nor bear children to a world of horrors,
because they will be people blessed by the LORD,
they along with their descendants.
24Before they call, I will answer;
while they are still speaking, I will hear.
25Wolf and lamb will graze together,
and the lion will eat straw like the ox,
but the snake—its food will be dust.
They won’t hurt or destroy at any place on my holy mountain,
says the LORD.
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Isaiah 65: CEB
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2011 Common English Bible. All rights reserved.
Isaiah 65
65
The Lord’s Response
1“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#65:1 Or that was not called by my name.#Is 63:19; Hs 1:10; Rm 10:20; Jms 2:7
2I spread out my hands all day long
to a rebellious people#Rm 10:21
who walk in the path that is not good,
following their own thoughts.
3These people continually anger me
to my face,
sacrificing in gardens,#Is 1:29; 66:17
burning incense on bricks,
4sitting among the graves,
spending nights in secret places,
eating the meat of pigs,#Lv 11:7; Is 66:3,17
and putting polluted broth in their bowls.#65:3–4 These vv. describe pagan worship.
5They 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.
6Look, it is written in front of me:
I will not keep silent,#Ps 50:3,21; Is 42:14; 64:12 but I will repay;#Jr 16:18
I will repay them fully#65:6 Lit repay into their lap
7for your iniquities and the iniquities#Is 13:11
of your#65:7 LXX, Syr read for their iniquities and the iniquities of their ancestors together,”
says the Lord.
“Because they burned incense on the mountains
and reproached me on the hills,#Ezk 20:27–28; Hs 9:10; Zch 8:14; Mal 3:7
I will reward them fully#65:7 Lit reward into their lap
for their former deeds.”
8The Lord says this:
“As the new wine is found in a bunch of grapes,
and one says, ‘Don’t destroy it,
for there’s some good#65:8 Or there’s a blessing in it,’
so I will act because of my servants
and not destroy them all.
9I will produce descendants from Jacob,#Jr 31:36–37
and heirs to my mountains from Judah;
my chosen#Is 41:8 ones will possess it,
and my servants will dwell there.#Is 49:8; 60:21; Am 9:11–15
10Sharon will be a pasture for flocks,#Is 33:9; 35:2
and the Valley of Achor a place for herds to lie down,#Jos 7:26; Hs 2:15
for my people who have sought me.#Is 51:1
11But you who abandon the Lord,
who forget my holy mountain,
who prepare a table for Fortune
and fill bowls of mixed wine for Destiny,#65:11 Pagan gods
12I will destine you for the sword,
and all of you will kneel down to be slaughtered,
because I called and you did not answer,
I spoke and you did not hear;
you did what was evil in my sight
and chose what I did not delight in.”#2Ch 36:15–16; Pr 1:24; Is 41:28; 50:2; 66:4; Jr 7:13
13Therefore, this is what the Lord God says:
“Look! My servants will eat,
but you will be hungry.
Look! My servants will drink,
but you will be thirsty.
Look! My servants will rejoice,
but you will be put to shame.
14Look! My servants will shout for joy from a glad heart,
but you will cry out from an anguished heart,
and you will lament out of a broken spirit.
15You will leave your name behind
as a curse for my chosen ones,#Jr 24:9; 25:18; Zch 8:13
and the Lord God will kill you;
but he will give his servants another name.#Is 62:2
16Whoever asks for a blessing in the land
will ask for a blessing by the God of truth,#Ps 31:5; 2Co 1:20; Rv 3:7,14
and whoever swears in the land
will swear by the God of truth.
For the former troubles will be forgotten
and hidden from my sight.
A New Creation
17“For I will create new heavens and a new earth;#Is 66:22; 2Pt 3:13; Rv 21:1
the past events will not be remembered or come to mind.
18Then be glad and rejoice forever
in what I am creating;
for I will create Jerusalem to be a joy
and its people to be a delight.
19I will rejoice in Jerusalem
and be glad in my people.
The sound of weeping and crying
will no longer be heard in her.#Is 25:8; 30:19; 35:10; 51:11; Rv 7:17; 21:4
20In her, a nursing infant will no longer live
only a few days,#65:20 Lit her, no longer infant of days
or an old man not live out his days.
Indeed, the one who dies at a hundred years old
will be mourned as a young man,#65:20 Lit the youth of a hundred years will die
and the one who misses a hundred years
will be considered cursed.#Ec 8:12–13; Is 3:11; 22:14
21People will build houses and live in them;
they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.#Jos 24:13; Is 37:30; Jr 29:5,28; Ezk 28:26; Zph 1:13
22They will not build and others live in them;
they will not plant and others eat.
For my people’s lives will be
like the lifetime of a tree.#Ps 92:12–14
My chosen ones will fully enjoy
the work of their hands.
23They will not labor without success#Dt 28:3–12; Is 55:2
or bear children destined for disaster,
for they will be a people blessed by the Lord
along with their descendants.#Is 61:9
24Even before they call, I will answer;#Ps 91:15; Is 55:6; 58:9; Dn 9:20–23; 10:12
while they are still speaking, I will hear.
25The wolf and the lamb will feed together,#65:25 Lit as one
and the lion will eat straw like cattle,#Is 11:6–9
but the serpent’s food will be dust!#Gn 3:14; Mc 7:17
They will not do what is evil or destroy
on my entire holy mountain,”#Is 11:9; 27:13; 56:7
says the Lord.
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