Isaiah 65–66

The Righteousness of God’s Judgment

65“I was ^asought by those who did not ask for Me;

I was found by those who did not seek Me.

I said, ‘Here I am, here I am,’

To a nation that ^bwas not called by My name.

^2cI have stretched out My hands all day long to a ^drebellious people,

Who ^ewalk in a way that is not good,

According to their own thoughts;

³A people ^fwho provoke Me to anger continually to My face;

^gWho sacrifice in gardens,

And burn incense on altars of brick;

^4hWho sit among the graves,

And spend the night in the tombs;

ⁱWho eat swine’s flesh,

And the broth of ¹abominable things is in their vessels;

^5jWho say, ‘Keep to yourself,

Do not come near me,

For I am holier than you!’

These ²are smoke in My nostrils,

A fire that burns all the day.

⁶“Behold, ^kit is written before Me:

^lI will not keep silence, ^mbut will repay—

Even repay into their bosom—

⁷Your iniquities and ⁿthe iniquities of your fathers together,”

Says the Lord,

^o“Who have burned incense on the mountains

^pAnd blasphemed Me on the hills;

Therefore I will measure 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 ^qa blessing is in it,’

So will I do for My servants’ sake,

That I may not destroy them ^rall.

⁹I will bring forth descendants from Jacob,

And from Judah an heir of My mountains;

My ^select shall inherit it,

And My servants shall dwell there.

^10tSharon shall be a fold of flocks,

And ^uthe Valley of Achor a place for herds to lie down,

For My people who have ^vsought Me.

¹¹“But you are those who forsake the Lord,

Who forget ^wMy holy mountain,

Who prepare ^xa table for ³Gad,

And who furnish a drink offering for ⁴Meni.

¹²Therefore I will number you for the sword,

And you shall all bow down to the slaughter;

^yBecause, when I called, you did not answer;

When I spoke, you did not hear,

But did evil before My eyes,

And chose that in which I do not delight.”

¹³Therefore thus says the Lord God:

“Behold, My servants shall eat,

But you shall be hungry;

Behold, My servants shall drink,

But you shall be thirsty;

Behold, My servants shall rejoice,

But you shall be ashamed;

¹⁴Behold, My servants shall sing for joy of heart,

But you shall cry for sorrow of heart,

And ^zwail for ⁵grief of spirit.

¹⁵You shall leave your name ^aas a curse to ^bMy chosen;

For the Lord God will slay you,

And ^ccall His servants by another name;

^16dSo that he who blesses himself in the earth

Shall bless himself in the God of truth;

And ^ehe who swears in the earth

Shall swear by the God of truth;

Because the former troubles are forgotten,

And because they are hidden from My eyes.

The Glorious New Creation

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

And the former shall not be remembered or ⁶come to mind.

¹⁸But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create;

For behold, I create Jerusalem as a rejoicing,

And her people a joy.

^19gI will rejoice in Jerusalem,

And joy in My people;

The ^hvoice of weeping shall no longer be heard in her,

Nor the voice of crying.

²⁰“No more shall an infant from there live but a few days,

Nor an old man who has not fulfilled his days;

For the child shall die one hundred years old,

ⁱBut the sinner being one hundred years old shall be accursed.

^21jThey shall build houses and inhabit them;

They shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.

²²They shall not build and another inhabit;

They shall not plant and ^kanother eat;

For ^las the days of a tree, so shall be the days of My people,

And ^mMy elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.

²³They shall not labor in vain,

ⁿNor bring forth children for trouble;

For ^othey shall be the descendants of the blessed of the Lord,

And their offspring with them.

²⁴“It shall come to pass

That ^pbefore they call, I will answer;

And while they are still speaking, I will ^qhear.

²⁵The ^rwolf and the lamb shall feed together,

The lion shall eat straw like the ox,

^sAnd dust shall be the serpent’s food.

They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain,”

Says the Lord.

True Worship and False

66Thus says the Lord:

^a“Heaven is My throne,

And earth is My footstool.

Where is the house that you will build Me?

And where is the place of My rest?

²For all those things My hand has made,

And all those things exist,”

Says the Lord.

^b“But on this one will I look:

^cOn him who is poor and of a contrite spirit,

And who trembles at My word.

³“He ^dwho kills a bull is as if he slays a man;

He who sacrifices a lamb, as if he ^ebreaks a dog’s neck;

He who offers a grain offering, as if he offers swine’s blood;

He who burns incense, as if he blesses an idol.

Just as they have chosen their own ways,

And their soul delights in their abominations,

⁴So will I choose their delusions,

And bring their fears on them;

^fBecause, when I called, no one answered,

When I spoke they did not hear;

But they did evil before My eyes,

And chose that in which I do not delight.”

The Lord Vindicates Zion

⁵Hear the word of the Lord,

You who tremble at His word:

“Your brethren who ^ghated you,

Who cast you out for My name’s sake, said,

^h‘Let the Lord be glorified,

That ⁱwe may see your joy.’

But they shall be ashamed.”

⁶The sound of noise from the city!

A voice from the temple!

The voice of the Lord,

Who fully repays His enemies!

⁷“Before she was in labor, she gave birth;

Before her pain came,

She delivered a male child.

⁸Who has heard such a thing?

Who has seen such things?

Shall the earth be made to give birth in one day?

Or shall a nation be born at once?

For as soon as Zion was in labor,

She gave birth to her children.

⁹Shall I bring to the time of birth, and not cause delivery?” says the Lord.

“Shall I who cause delivery shut up the womb?” says your God.

¹⁰“Rejoice with Jerusalem,

And be glad with her, all you who love her;

Rejoice for joy with her, all you who mourn for her;

¹¹That you may feed and be satisfied

With the consolation of her bosom,

That you may drink deeply and be delighted

With the abundance of her glory.”

¹²For thus says the Lord:

“Behold, ^jI will extend peace to her like a river,

And the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream.

Then you shall ^kfeed;

On her sides shall you be ^lcarried,

And be dandled on her knees.

¹³As one whom his mother comforts,

So I will ^mcomfort you;

And you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.”

The Reign and Indignation of God

¹⁴When you see this, your heart shall rejoice,

And ⁿyour bones shall flourish like grass;

The hand of the Lord shall be known to His servants,

And His indignation to His enemies.

^15oFor behold, the Lord will come with fire

And with His chariots, like a whirlwind,

To render His anger with fury,

And His rebuke with flames of fire.

¹⁶For by fire and by ^pHis sword

The Lord will judge all flesh;

And the slain of the Lord shall be ^qmany.

¹⁷“Those ^rwho sanctify themselves and purify themselves,

To go to the gardens

¹After an idol in the midst,

Eating swine’s flesh and the abomination and the mouse,

Shall ²be consumed together,” says the Lord.

¹⁸“For I know their works and their ^sthoughts. It shall be that I will ^tgather all nations and tongues; and they shall come and see My glory. ^19uI will set a sign among them; and those among them who escape I will send to the nations: to Tarshish and ³Pul and Lud, who draw the bow, and Tubal and Javan, to the coastlands afar off who have not heard My fame nor seen My glory. ^vAnd they shall declare My glory among the Gentiles. ²⁰Then they shall ^wbring all your brethren ^xfor an offering to the Lord out of all nations, on horses and in chariots and in litters, on mules and on camels, to My holy mountain Jerusalem,” says the Lord, “as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the Lord. ²¹And I will also take some of them for ^ypriests and Levites,” says the Lord.

²²“For as ^zthe new heavens and the new earth

Which I will make shall remain before Me,” says the Lord,

“So shall your descendants and your name remain.

²³And ^ait shall come to pass

That from one New Moon to another,

And from one Sabbath to another,

^bAll flesh shall come to worship before Me,” says the Lord.

²⁴“And they shall go forth and look

Upon the corpses of the men

Who have transgressed against Me.

For their ^cworm does not die,

And their fire is not quenched.

They shall be an abhorrence to all flesh.”