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
God's Punishment of the Rebellious
1 #
Rom 10.20
The LORD said, “I was ready to answer my people's prayers, but they did not pray. I was ready for them to find me, but they did not even try. The nation did not pray to me, even though I was always ready to answer, ‘Here I am; I will help you.’ 2#Rom 10.21I have always been ready to welcome my people, who stubbornly do what is wrong and go their own way. 3They shamelessly keep on making me angry. They offer pagan sacrifices in sacred gardens#65.3 sacred gardens: See 1.29. and burn incense on pagan altars. 4At night they go to caves and tombs to consult the spirits of the dead. They eat pork and drink broth made from meat offered in pagan sacrifices. 5And then they say to others, ‘Keep away from us; we are too holy for you to touch!’ I cannot stand people like that — my anger against them is like a fire that never goes out.
6“I have already decided on their punishment, and their sentence is written down. I will not overlook what they have done, but will repay them 7for their sins and the sins of their ancestors. They have burnt incense at pagan hill shrines and spoken evil of me. So I will punish them as their past deeds deserve.”
8The LORD says, “No one destroys good grapes; instead, they make wine with them. Neither will I destroy all my people — I will save those who serve me. 9I will bless the Israelites who belong to the tribe of Judah, and their descendants will possess my land of mountains. My chosen people, who serve me, will live there. 10#Josh 7.24–26They will worship me and will lead their sheep and cattle to pasture in the Plain of Sharon in the west and in the Valley of Trouble in the east.
11“But it will be different for you that forsake me, who ignore Zion, my sacred hill,#65.11; 65.25 sacred hill: See 2.3. and worship Gad and Meni, the gods of luck and fate. 12It will be your fate to die a violent death, because you did not answer when I called you or listen when I spoke. You chose to disobey me and do evil. 13And so I tell you that those who worship and obey me will have plenty to eat and drink, but you will be hungry and thirsty. They will be happy, but you will be disgraced. 14They will sing for joy, but you will cry with a broken heart. 15My chosen people will use your name as a curse. I, the Sovereign LORD, will put you to death. But I will give a new name to those who obey me. 16Anyone in the land who asks for a blessing will ask to be blessed by the Faithful God. Whoever takes an oath will swear by the name of the Faithful God. The troubles of the past will be gone and forgotten.”
The New Creation
17 #
Is 66.22; 2 Pet 3.13; Rev 21.1 The LORD says, “I am making a new earth and new heavens. The events of the past will be completely forgotten. 18Be glad and rejoice for ever in what I create. The new Jerusalem I make will be full of joy, and her people will be happy. 19#Rev 21.4I myself will be filled with joy because of Jerusalem and her people. There will be no weeping there, no calling for help. 20Babies will no longer die in infancy, and all people will live out their life span. Those who live to be a hundred will be considered young. To die before that would be a sign that I had punished them. 21-22People will build houses and live in them themselves — they will not be used by someone else. They will plant vineyards and enjoy the wine — it will not be drunk by others. Like trees, my people will live long lives. They will fully enjoy the things that they have worked for. 23The work they do will be successful, and their children will not meet with disaster. I will bless them and their descendants for all time to come. 24Even before they finish praying to me, I will answer their prayers. 25#Is 11.6–9Wolves and lambs will eat together; lions will eat straw, as cattle do, and snakes will no longer be dangerous. On Zion, my sacred hill,#65.25; 65.11 sacred hill: See 2.3. there will be nothing harmful or evil.”
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Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.