Isaiah 65

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.