Isaiah 65:1–25
65 “I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me;
I was found by those who did not seek me.h
To a nationi that did not call on my name,j
I said, ‘Here am I, here am I.’
2 All day long I have held out my hands
to an obstinate people,k
who walk in ways not good,
pursuing their own imaginationsl—
3 a people who continually provoke me
to my very face,m
offering sacrifices in gardensn
and burning incenseo on altars of brick;
4 who sit among the gravesp
and spend their nights keeping secret vigil;
who eat the flesh of pigs,q
and whose pots hold broth of impure meat;
5 who say, ‘Keep away; don’t come near me,
for I am too sacredr for you!’
Such people are smokes in my nostrils,
a fire that keeps burning all day.
6 “See, it stands written before me:
I will not keep silentt but will pay backu in full;
I will pay it back into their lapsv—
7 both your sinsw and the sins of your ancestors,”x
says the Lord.
“Because they burned sacrifices on the mountains
and defied me on the hills,y
I will measure into their laps
the full paymentz for their former deeds.”
“As when juice is still found in a cluster of grapesa
and people say, ‘Don’t destroy it,
there is still a blessing in it,’
so will I do in behalf of my servants;b
I will not destroy them all.
9 I will bring forth descendantsc from Jacob,
and from Judah those who will possessd my mountains;
my chosene people will inherit them,
and there will my servants live.f
10 Sharong will become a pasture for flocks,h
and the Valley of Achori a resting place for herds,
for my people who seekj me.
11 “But as for you who forsakek the Lord
and forget my holy mountain,l
who spread a table for Fortune
and fill bowls of mixed winem for Destiny,
12 I will destine you for the sword,n
and all of you will fall in the slaughter;o
for I called but you did not answer,p
I spoke but you did not listen.q
You did evil in my sight
and chose what displeases me.”r
13 Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“My servants will eat,s
but you will go hungry;t
my servants will drink,u
but you will go thirsty;v
my servants will rejoice,w
but you will be put to shame.x
14 My servants will singy
out of the joy of their hearts,
but you will cry outz
from anguish of heart
and wail in brokenness of spirit.
for my chosen ones to use in their curses;a
the Sovereign Lord will put you to death,
but to his servants he will give another name.b
16 Whoever invokes a blessingc in the land
will do so by the one true God;d
whoever takes an oath in the land
will sweare by the one true God.
For the past troublesf will be forgotten
and hidden from my eyes.
17 “See, I will create
new heavens and a new earth.g
The former things will not be remembered,h
nor will they come to mind.
18 But be glad and rejoicei forever
in what I will create,
for I will create Jerusalemj to be a delight
and its people a joy.
19 I will rejoicek over Jerusalem
and take delightl in my people;
the sound of weeping and of cryingm
will be heard in it no more.
20 “Never again will there be in it
an infantn who lives but a few days,
or an old man who does not live out his years;o
the one who dies at a hundred
will be thought a mere child;
the one who fails to reacha a hundred
will be considered accursed.
21 They will build housesp and dwell in them;
they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.q
22 No longer will they build houses and others live in them,r
or plant and others eat.
For as the days of a tree,s
so will be the dayst of my people;
my chosenu ones will long enjoy
the work of their hands.
23 They will not labor in vain,v
nor will they bear children doomed to misfortune;w
for they will be a people blessedx by the Lord,
they and their descendantsy with them.
24 Before they callz I will answer;a
while they are still speakingb I will hear.
25 The wolf and the lambc will feed together,
and the lion will eat straw like the ox,d
and dust will be the serpent’se food.
They will neither harm nor destroy
on all my holy mountain,”f
says the Lord.