Isaiah 65
65
1 Those who before were not asking for me have sought me. Those who have not sought me have found me. I said, "Behold, it is I! Behold, it is I!" to a nation which was not invoking my name.
2 I have extended my hands all day long to an unbelieving people, who advance along a way that is not good, following their own thoughts,
3 to a people who provoke me to anger before my face continually, who immolate in the gardens, and who sacrifice upon the bricks.
4 They live in sepulchers, and they sleep in the shrines of idols. They eat the flesh of swine, and a profane elixir is in their vessels.
5 They say: "Depart from me! Do not approach me, for you are unclean!" Such as these will be the smoke in my fury, a fire burning all day long.
6 Behold, it has been written in my sight; I will not be silent. Instead, I will render retribution into their sinews.
7 Your iniquities are joined with the iniquities of your fathers, says the Lord. For they have sacrificed upon the mountains, and they have offended me upon the hills. And so, I will measure back to them, from their first work, into their sinews.
8 Thus says the Lord: In the same way as it is said about a grain found in a cluster, "Do not destroy it, because it is a blessing," so will I act for the sake of my servants, so that I may not destroy the whole.
9 And I will lead forth an offspring from Jacob, and a possessor of my mountains from Judah. And my elect shall inherit it, and my servants shall live there.
10 And the open plains will become sheepfolds for the flocks, and the valley of Achor will become a domicile for the herds, for my people who have sought me.
11 And you who have forsaken the Lord, who have forgotten my holy mountain, who set a table for Fortune, and who offer libations concerning her:
12 I will number you with the sword, and you will all fall by slaughter. For I called and you did not respond; I spoke, and you did not listen. And you did what is evil in my eyes; and what I did not will, you have chosen.
13 Because of this, thus says the Lord God: Behold, my servants will eat, and you will be hungry. Behold, my servants will drink, and you will be thirsty.
14 Behold, my servants will rejoice, and you will be confounded. Behold, my servants will give praise in exultation of heart, and you will cry out in sorrow of heart, and you will wail in contrition of spirit.
15 And you will leave behind your name to my elect as a curse. And the Lord God will put you to death, and he will call his servants by another name.
16 By that name, whoever is blessed on earth, will be blessed in God. Amen! And whoever swears on earth, will swear by God. Amen! For the past anguishes have been delivered into oblivion, and they have been hidden from my eyes.
17 For behold, I create the new heavens and the new earth. And the former things will not be in memory and will not enter into the heart.
18 But you will be glad and exult, even forever, in these things that I create. For behold, I create Jerusalem as an exultation, and its people as a joy.
19 And I will exult in Jerusalem, and I will rejoice in my people. And neither a voice of weeping, nor a voice of outcry, will be heard in her anymore.
20 There will no longer be an infant of only a few days there, nor an elder who does not complete his days. For a mere child dies at a hundred years of age, and a sinner of a hundred years will be accursed.
21 And they will build houses, and will inhabit them. And they will plant vineyards, and will eat their fruits.
22 They will not build, so that another may inhabit. They will not plant, so that another may eat. For according to the days of a tree, so will be the days of my people. And the works of their hands will be long-standing.
23 My elect will not labor in vain, and they will not bring forth in disorder. For they are the offspring of the blessed of the Lord, and their posterity are with them.
24 And this shall be: before they call out, I will perceive; while they are still speaking, I will hear.
25 The wolf and the lamb will pasture together. The lion and the ox will eat hay. And dust will be the food of the serpent. They will not harm, and they will not kill, on all my holy mountain, says the Lord.
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Isaiah 65: CPDV
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Isaiah 65
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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Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation.
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