Isaiah 65:1–5

1 “I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me;

I was found by those who did not seek me.

To a nation that did not call on my name,

I said, ‘Here am I, here am I.’

2 All day long I have held out my hands

to an obstinate people,

who walk in ways not good,

pursuing their own imaginations—

3 a people who continually provoke me

to my very face,

offering sacrifices in gardens

and burning incense on altars of brick;

4 who sit among the graves

and spend their nights keeping secret vigil;

who eat the flesh of pigs,

and whose pots hold broth of impure meat;

5 who say, ‘Keep away; don’t come near me,

for I am too sacred for you!’

Such people are smoke in my nostrils,

a fire that keeps burning all day.

1 I was ready to be sought by those who did not ask for me;

I was ready to be found by those who did not seek me.

I said, “Here I am, here I am,”

to a nation that was not called by my name.

2 I spread out my hands all the day

to a rebellious people,

who walk in a way that is not good,

following their own devices;

3 a people who provoke me

to my face continually,

sacrificing in gardens

and making offerings on bricks;

4 who sit in tombs,

and spend the night in secret places;

who eat pig’s flesh,

and broth of tainted meat is in their vessels;

5 who say, “Keep to yourself,

do not come near me, for I am too holy for you.”

These are a smoke in my nostrils,

a fire that burns all the day.

1 I am sought of them that asked not for me;

I am found of them that sought me not:

I said, Behold me, behold me,

Unto a nation that was not called by my name.

2 I have spread out my hands all the day unto a rebellious people,

Which walketh in a way that was not good, after their own thoughts;

3 A people that provoketh me to anger continually to my face;

That sacrificeth in gardens, and burneth incense upon altars of brick;

4 Which remain among the graves,

And lodge in the monuments,

Which eat swine’s flesh,

And broth of abominable things is in their vessels;

5 Which say, Stand by thyself,

Come not near to me; for I am holier than thou.

These are a smoke in my nose,

A fire that burneth all the day.

1 The Lord says,

“I was ready to respond, but no one asked for help.

I was ready to be found, but no one was looking for me.

I said, ‘Here I am, here I am!’

to a nation that did not call on my name.

2 All day long I opened my arms to a rebellious people.

But they follow their own evil paths

and their own crooked schemes.

3 All day long they insult me to my face

by worshiping idols in their sacred gardens.

They burn incense on pagan altars.

4 At night they go out among the graves,

worshiping the dead.

They eat the flesh of pigs

and make stews with other forbidden foods.

5 Yet they say to each other,

‘Don’t come too close or you will defile me!

I am holier than you!’

These people are a stench in my nostrils,

an acrid smell that never goes away.

1 The Lord says, “I made myself known to people who were not looking for me.

I was found by those who were not asking me for help.

I said, ‘Here I am. Here I am,’

to a nation that was not praying to me.

2 All day long I stood ready to accept

people who turned against me,

but the way they continue to live is not good;

they do anything they want to do.

3 Right in front of me

they continue to do things that make me angry.

They offer sacrifices to their gods in their gardens,

and they burn incense on altars of brick.

4 They sit among the graves

and spend their nights waiting to get messages from the dead.

They eat the meat of pigs,

and their pots are full of soup made from meat that is wrong to eat.

5 But they tell others, ‘Stay away, and don’t come near me.

I am too holy for you.’

These people are like smoke in my nose.

Like a fire that burns all the time, they continue to make me angry.

1 I am inquired of by them that asked not for me; I am found of them that sought me not: I said, Behold me, behold me, unto a nation that was not called by my name. 2 I have spread out my hands all the day unto a rebellious people, that walk in a way that is not good, after their own thoughts; 3 a people that provoke me to my face continually, sacrificing in gardens, and burning incense upon bricks; 4 that sit among the graves, and lodge in the secret places; that eat swine’s flesh, and broth of abominable things is in their vessels; 5 that say, Stand by thyself, come not near to me, for I am holier than thou. These are a smoke in my nose, a fire that burneth all the day.

1 I am sought out of them that inquired not for me, I am found of them that sought me not; I have said, Behold me, behold me, unto a nation that was not called by my name. 2 I have stretched out my hands all the day unto a rebellious people, who walk in a way not good, after their own thoughts; 3 the people that provoke me to anger continually to my face, sacrificing in gardens and burning incense upon the bricks; 4 who sit down among the graves, and lodge in the secret places; who eat swine’s flesh, and broth of abominable things is in their vessels; 5 who say, Stand by thyself, come not near to me; for I am holier than thou. These are a smoke in my nose, a fire that burneth all the day.

1 I was ready to answer those who didn’t ask. 

I was found by those who weren’t looking for me. 

I said, “Here I am! Here I am!” 

to a nation that didn’t worship me. 

2 I stretched out my hands all day long to stubborn people. 

They chose to go the wrong direction. 

They followed their own plans. 

3 These people constantly and openly provoked me. 

They offered sacrifices in gardens 

and burnt incense on brick altars. 

4 They sat among the graves and spent their nights in caves. 

They ate pork and in their pots made broth from unclean foods. 

5 They said, “Stay away! Don’t touch me! 

I’m holier than you are.” 

They have become like smoke in my nose, 

like a smoldering fire all day long. 

1 “I was sought by those who did not ask;

I was found by those who did not seek Me.

I said: Here I am, here I am,

to a nation that was not called by My name.

2 I spread out My hands all day long

to a rebellious people

who walk in the wrong path,

following their own thoughts.

3 These people continually provoke Me

to My face,

sacrificing in gardens,

burning incense on bricks,

4 sitting among the graves,

spending nights in secret places,

eating the meat of pigs,

and putting polluted broth in their bowls.

5 They say, ‘Keep to yourself,

don’t come near me, for I am too holy for you!’

These practices are smoke in My nostrils,

a fire that burns all day long.

1 I was ready to be sought out by those who did not ask,

to be found by those who did not seek me.

I said, “Here I am, here I am,”

to a nation that did not call on my name.

2 I held out my hands all day long

to a rebellious people,

who walk in a way that is not good,

following their own devices;

3 a people who provoke me

to my face continually,

sacrificing in gardens

and offering incense on bricks;

4 who sit inside tombs

and spend the night in secret places;

who eat the flesh of pigs,

with broth of abominable things in their vessels;

5 who say, “Keep to yourself;

do not come near me, for I am too holy for you.”

These are a smoke in my nostrils,

a fire that burns all day long.

1 “I let myself be sought by those who did not ask;

I let myself be found by those who did not seek me.

I said, ‘Here I am; here I am!’ to a nation that did not call on my name;

2 I spread out my hands all day to a stubborn people,

those who walk after their thoughts in the way that is not good,

3 the people who provoke me to anger continually to my face,

slaughtering for sacrifices in the garden,

and making smoke offerings on bricks,

4 who sit in graves

and spend the night in secret places,

who eat the flesh of swine

with a fragment of impurity in their vessels,

5 who say, “Keep to yourself!

You must not come near me, for I am too holy for you!”

These are a smoke in my nostrils,

a fire burning all day.

1 The Lord says, “I made myself known to those who were not asking for me.

I was found by those who were not trying to find me.

I spoke to a nation that did not pray to me.

‘Here I am,’ I said. ‘Here I am.’

2 All day long I have held out my hands

to welcome a stubborn nation.

They lead sinful lives.

They go where their evil thoughts take them.

3 They are always making me very angry.

They do it right in front of me.

They offer sacrifices in the gardens of other gods.

They burn incense on altars that are made out of bricks.

4 They sit among the graves.

They spend their nights talking to the spirits of the dead.

They eat the meat of pigs.

Their cooking pots hold soup that has ‘unclean’ meat in it.

5 They say, ‘Keep away! Don’t come near us!

We are too sacred for you!’

Those people are like smoke in my nose.

They are like a fire that keeps burning all day.

1 “I permitted Myself to be sought by those 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 did not call on My name.

2 “I have spread out My hands all day long to a rebellious people,

Who walk in the way which is not good, following their own thoughts,

3 A people who continually provoke Me to My face,

Offering sacrifices in gardens and burning incense on bricks;

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

Who eat swine’s flesh,

And the broth of unclean meat is in their pots.

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

For I am holier than you!’

These are smoke in My nostrils,

A fire that burns all the day.