Isaiah 65

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.