Isaiah 65–66

Chapter 65

A Rebellious People

¹“I permitted Myself to be sought by ^athose who did not ask for Me;

I permitted Myself to be found by those who did not seek Me.

I said, ‘Here am I, here am I,’

To a nation which ^bdid not call on My name.

²“^aI have spread out My hands all day long to a ^brebellious people,

Who walk in the way which is not good, ¹following their own ^cthoughts,

³A people who continually ^aprovoke Me to My face,

Offering sacrifices in ^bgardens and ^cburning incense on bricks;

⁴Who sit among graves and spend the night in secret places;

Who ^aeat swine’s flesh,

And the broth of unclean meat is in their pots.

⁵“Who say, ‘^aKeep to yourself, do not come near me,

For I am holier than you!’

These are smoke in My ¹nostrils,

A fire that burns all the day.

⁶“Behold, it is written before Me,

I will ^anot keep silent, but ^bI will repay;

I will even repay into their bosom,

⁷Both ¹their own ^ainiquities and the iniquities of their fathers together,” says the Lord.

“Because they have ^bburned incense on the mountains

And ^cscorned Me on the hills,

Therefore I will ^dmeasure their former work into their bosom.”

⁸Thus says the Lord,

“As the new wine is found in the cluster,

And one says, ‘Do not destroy it, for there is ¹benefit in it,’

So I will act on behalf of My servants

In order ^anot to destroy ²all of them.

⁹“I will bring forth ^aoffspring from Jacob,

And an ^bheir of My mountains from Judah;

Even ^cMy chosen ones shall inherit it,

And ^dMy servants will dwell there.

¹⁰“^aSharon will be a pasture land for flocks,

And the ^bvalley of Achor a resting place for herds,

For My people who ^cseek Me.

¹¹“But you who ^aforsake the Lord,

Who forget My ^bholy mountain,

Who set a table for ¹Fortune,

And who fill cups with mixed wine for ²Destiny,

¹²I will destine you for the ^asword,

And all of you will bow down to the ^bslaughter.

Because I called, but you ^cdid not answer;

I spoke, but you did not hear.

And you did evil in My sight

And chose that in which I did not delight.”

¹³Therefore, thus says the Lord ¹God,

“Behold, My servants will ^aeat, but you will be ^bhungry.

Behold, My servants will ^cdrink, but you will be ^dthirsty.

Behold, My servants will ^erejoice, but you will be ^fput to shame.

¹⁴“Behold, My servants will ^ashout joyfully with a glad heart,

But you will ^bcry out with a ¹heavy heart,

And you will wail with a broken spirit.

¹⁵“You will leave your name for a ^acurse to My chosen ones,

And the Lord ¹God will slay you.

But ²My servants will be called by ^banother name.

¹⁶“Because he who ¹is blessed in the earth

Will be blessed by the ^aGod of truth;

And he who swears in the earth

Will ^bswear by the God of truth;

Because the former troubles are forgotten,

And because they are hidden from My sight!

New Heavens and a New Earth

¹⁷“For behold, I create ^anew heavens and a new earth;

And the ^bformer things will not be remembered or come to ¹mind.

¹⁸“But be ^aglad and rejoice forever in what I create;

For behold, I create Jerusalem for rejoicing

And her people for gladness.

¹⁹“I will also ^arejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in My people;

And there will no longer be heard in her

The voice of ^bweeping and the sound of crying.

²⁰“No longer will there be ¹in it an infant who lives but a few days,

Or an old man who does ^anot ²live out his days;

For the youth will die at the age of one hundred

And the ^3bone who does not reach the age of one hundred

Will be thought accursed.

²¹“They will ^abuild houses and inhabit them;

They will also ^bplant vineyards and eat their fruit.

²²“They will not build and ^aanother inhabit,

They will not plant and another eat;

For ^bas the ¹lifetime of a tree, so will be the days of My people,

And My chosen ones will ^cwear out the work of their hands.

²³“They will ^anot labor in vain,

Or bear children for calamity;

For they are the ^1boffspring of those blessed by the Lord,

And their descendants with them.

²⁴“It will also come to pass that before they call, I will ^aanswer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear.

²⁵“The ^awolf and the lamb will graze together, and the ^blion will eat straw like the ox; and ^cdust will be the serpent’s food. They will ^ddo no evil or harm in all My ^eholy mountain,” says the Lord.

Chapter 66

Heaven Is God’s Throne

¹Thus says the Lord,

“^aHeaven is My throne and the earth is My footstool.

Where then is a ^bhouse you could build for Me?

And where is a place that ¹I may rest?

²“For ^aMy hand made all these things,

Thus all these things came into being,” declares the Lord.

“But to this one I will look,

To him who is humble and ^bcontrite of spirit, and who ^ctrembles at My word.

Hypocrisy Rebuked

³“But he who kills an ox is like one who slays a man;

He who sacrifices a lamb is like the one who breaks a dog’s neck;

He who offers a grain offering is like one who offers ^aswine’s blood;

He who ^1bburns incense is like the one who blesses an idol.

As they have chosen their ^cown ways,

And their soul delights in their ^dabominations,

⁴So I will ^achoose their ¹punishments

And will ^bbring on them what they dread.

Because I called, but ^cno one answered;

I spoke, but they did not listen.

And they did ^devil in My sight

And chose that in which I did not delight.”

⁵Hear the word of the Lord, you who ^atremble at His word:

“Your brothers who ^bhate you, who ^cexclude you for My name’s sake,

Have said, ‘Let the Lord be glorified, that we may see your joy.’

But ^dthey will be put to shame.

⁶“A voice of uproar from the city, a voice from the temple,

The voice of the Lord who is ^arendering recompense to His enemies.

⁷“Before she travailed, ^ashe brought forth;

Before her pain came, ^bshe gave birth to a boy.

⁸“^aWho has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things?

Can a land be ¹born in one day?

Can a nation be brought forth all at once?

As soon as Zion travailed, she also brought forth her sons.

⁹“Shall I bring to the point of birth and ^anot give delivery?” says the Lord.

“Or shall I who gives delivery shut the womb?” says your God.

Joy in Jerusalem’s Future

¹⁰“Be ^ajoyful with Jerusalem and rejoice for her, all you who ^blove her;

Be exceedingly ^cglad with her, all you who mourn over her,

¹¹That you may nurse and ^abe satisfied with her comforting breasts,

That you may suck and be delighted with her ^bbountiful bosom.”

¹²For thus says the Lord, “Behold, I extend ^apeace to her like a river,

And the ^bglory of the nations like an overflowing stream;

And you will ¹be nursed, you will be ^ccarried on the ²hip and fondled on the knees.

¹³“As one whom his mother comforts, so I will ^acomfort you;

And you will be comforted in Jerusalem.”

¹⁴Then you will ^asee this, and your ^bheart will be glad,

And your ^cbones will flourish like the new grass;

And the ^dhand of the Lord will be made known to His servants,

But He will be ^eindignant toward His enemies.

¹⁵For behold, the Lord will come in ^afire

And His ^bchariots like the whirlwind,

To render His anger with fury,

And His rebuke with flames of fire.

¹⁶For the Lord will execute judgment by ^afire

And by His ^bsword on all flesh,

And those slain by the Lord will be many.

¹⁷“Those who sanctify and purify themselves to go to the ^agardens,

¹Following one in the center,

Who eat ^bswine’s flesh, detestable things and mice,

Will ^ccome to an end altogether,” declares the Lord.

¹⁸“For I ¹know their works and their ^athoughts; ²the time is coming to ^bgather all nations and tongues. And they shall come and see My glory.

¹⁹“I will set a ^asign among them and will send survivors from them to the nations: ^bTarshish, ¹Put, ^cLud, ²Meshech, ^dTubal and ³Javan, to the distant ^ecoastlands that have neither heard My fame nor seen My glory. And they will ^fdeclare My glory among the nations.

²⁰“Then they shall ^abring all your brethren from all the nations as a grain offering to the Lord, on horses, in chariots, in litters, on mules and on camels, to My ^bholy mountain Jerusalem,” says the Lord, “just as the sons of Israel bring their grain offering in a ^cclean vessel to the house of the Lord.

²¹“I will also take some of them for ^apriests and for Levites,” says the Lord.

²²“For just as the ^anew heavens and the new earth

Which I make will endure before Me,” declares the Lord,

“So your ^boffspring and your ^cname will endure.

²³“And it shall be from ^anew moon to new moon

And from sabbath to sabbath,

All ¹mankind will come to ^bbow down before Me,” says the Lord.

²⁴“Then they will go forth and look

On the ^acorpses of the men

Who have ^1btransgressed against Me.

For their ^cworm will not die

^dAnd their fire will not be quenched;

And they will be an ^eabhorrence to all ²mankind.”