The Lord Will Distinguish Between Sinners and the Godly

65:1 “I made myself available to those who did not ask for me;1

I appeared to those who did not look for me.2

I said, ‘Here I am! Here I am!’

to a nation that did not invoke3 my name.

65:2 I spread out my hands all day long

to my rebellious people,

who lived in a way that is morally unacceptable,

and who did what they desired.4

65:3 These people continually and blatantly offend me5

as they sacrifice in their sacred orchards6

and burn incense on brick altars.7

65:4 They sit among the tombs8

and keep watch all night long.9

They eat pork,10

and broth11 from unclean sacrificial meat is in their pans.

65:5 They say, ‘Keep to yourself!

Don’t get near me, for I am holier than you!’

These people are like smoke in my nostrils,

like a fire that keeps burning all day long.

65:6 Look, I have decreed:12

I will not keep silent, but will pay them back;

I will pay them back exactly what they deserve,13

65:7 for your sins and your ancestors’ sins,”14 says the Lord.

“Because they burned incense on the mountains

and offended15 me on the hills,

I will punish them in full measure.”16

65:8 This is what the Lord says:

“When17 juice is discovered in a cluster of grapes,

someone says, ‘Don’t destroy it, for it contains juice.’18

So I will do for the sake of my servants—

I will not destroy everyone.19

65:9 I will bring forth descendants from Jacob,

and from Judah people to take possession of my mountains.

My chosen ones will take possession of the land;20

my servants will live there.

65:10 Sharon21 will become a pasture for sheep,

and the Valley of Achor22 a place where cattle graze;23

they will belong to my people, who seek me.24

65:11 But as for you who abandon the Lord

and forget about worshiping at25 my holy mountain,

who prepare a feast for the god called ‘Fortune,’26

and fill up wine jugs for the god called ‘Destiny’27—

65:12 I predestine you to die by the sword,28

all of you will kneel down at the slaughtering block,29

because I called to you, and you did not respond,

I spoke and you did not listen.

You did evil before me;30

you chose to do what displeases me.”

65:13 So this is what the sovereign Lord says:

“Look, my servants will eat, but you will be hungry!

Look, my servants will drink, but you will be thirsty!

Look, my servants will rejoice, but you will be humiliated!

65:14 Look, my servants will shout for joy as happiness fills their hearts!31

But you will cry out as sorrow fills your hearts;32

you will wail because your spirits will be crushed.33

65:15 Your names will live on in the curse formulas of my chosen ones.34

The sovereign Lord will kill you,

but he will give his servants another name.

65:16 Whoever pronounces a blessing in the earth35

will do so in the name of the faithful God;36

whoever makes an oath in the earth

will do so in the name of the faithful God.37

For past problems will be forgotten;

I will no longer think about them.38

65:17 For look, I am ready to create

new heavens and a new earth!39

The former ones40 will not be remembered;

no one will think about them anymore.41

65:18 But be happy and rejoice forevermore

over what I am about to create!

For look, I am ready to create Jerusalem42 to be a source of joy,43

and her people to be a source of happiness.44

65:19 Jerusalem will bring me joy,

and my people will bring me happiness.45

The sound of weeping or cries of sorrow

will never be heard in her again.

65:20 Never again will one of her infants live just a few days46

or an old man die before his time.47

Indeed, no one will die before the age of a hundred,48

anyone who fails to reach49 the age of a hundred will be considered cursed.

65:21 They will build houses and live in them;

they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.

65:22 No longer will they build a house only to have another live in it,50

or plant a vineyard only to have another eat its fruit,51

for my people will live as long as trees,52

and my chosen ones will enjoy to the fullest what they have produced.53

65:23 They will not work in vain,

or give birth to children that will experience disaster.54

For the Lord will bless their children

and their descendants.55

65:24 Before they even call out,56 I will respond;

while they are still speaking, I will hear.

65:25 A wolf and a lamb will graze together;57

a lion, like an ox, will eat straw,58

and a snake’s food will be dirt.59

They will no longer injure or destroy

on my entire royal mountain,”60 says the Lord.

66:1 This is what the Lord says:

“The heavens are my throne

and the earth is my footstool.

Where then is the house you will build for me?

Where is the place where I will rest?

66:2 My hand made them;1

that is how they came to be,”2 says the Lord.

I show special favor3 to the humble and contrite,

who respect what I have to say.4

66:3 The one who slaughters a bull also strikes down a man;5

the one who sacrifices a lamb also breaks a dog’s neck;6

the one who presents an offering includes pig’s blood with it;7

the one who offers incense also praises an idol.8

They have decided to behave this way;9

they enjoy these disgusting practices.10

66:4 So I will choose severe punishment11 for them;

I will bring on them what they dread,

because I called, and no one responded,

I spoke and they did not listen.

They did evil before me;12

they chose to do what displeases me.”

66:5 Hear the word of the Lord,

you who respect what he has to say!13

Your countrymen,14 who hate you

and exclude you, supposedly for the sake of my name,

say, “May the Lord be glorified,

then we will witness your joy.”15

But they will be put to shame.

66:6 The sound of battle comes from the city;

the sound comes from the temple!

It is the sound of the Lord paying back his enemies.

66:7 Before she goes into labor, she gives birth!

Before her contractions begin, she delivers a boy!

66:8 Who has ever heard of such a thing?

Who has ever seen this?

Can a country16 be brought forth in one day?

Can a nation be born in a single moment?

Yet as soon as Zion goes into labor she gives birth to sons!

66:9 “Do I bring a baby to the birth opening and then not deliver it?”

asks the Lord.

“Or do I bring a baby to the point of delivery and then hold it back?”

asks your God.17

66:10 Be happy for Jerusalem

and rejoice with her, all you who love her!

Share in her great joy,

all you who have mourned over her!

66:11 For18 you will nurse from her satisfying breasts and be nourished;19

you will feed with joy from her milk-filled breasts.20

66:12 For this is what the Lord says:

“Look, I am ready to extend to her prosperity that will flow like a river,

the riches of nations will flow into her like a stream that floods its banks.21

You will nurse from her breast22 and be carried at her side;

you will play on her knees.

66:13 As a mother consoles a child,23

so I will console you,

and you will be consoled over Jerusalem.”

66:14 When you see this, you will be happy,24

and you will be revived.25

The Lord will reveal his power to his servants

and his anger to his enemies.26

66:15 For look, the Lord comes with fire,

his chariots come like a windstorm,27

to reveal his raging anger,

his battle cry, and his flaming arrows.28

66:16 For the Lord judges all humanity29

with fire and his sword;

the Lord will kill many.30

66:17 “As for those who consecrate and ritually purify themselves so they can follow their leader and worship in the sacred orchards,31 those who eat the flesh of pigs and other disgusting creatures, like mice32—they will all be destroyed together,”33 says the Lord. 66:18 “I hate their deeds and thoughts! So I am coming34 to gather all the nations and ethnic groups;35 they will come and witness my splendor. 66:19 I will perform a mighty act among them36 and then send some of those who remain to the nations—to Tarshish, Pul,37 Lud38 (known for its archers39), Tubal, Javan,40 and to the distant coastlands41 that have not heard about me or seen my splendor. They will tell the nations of my splendor. 66:20 They will bring back all your countrymen42 from all the nations as an offering to the Lord. They will bring them43 on horses, in chariots, in wagons, on mules, and on camels44 to my holy hill Jerusalem,” says the Lord, “just as the Israelites bring offerings to the Lord’s temple in ritually pure containers. 66:21 And I will choose some of them as priests and Levites,” says the Lord. 66:22 “For just as the new heavens and the new earth I am about to make will remain standing before me,” says the Lord, “so your descendants and your name will remain. 66:23 From one month45 to the next and from one Sabbath to the next, all people46 will come to worship me,”47 says the Lord. 66:24 “They will go out and observe the corpses of those who rebelled against me, for the maggots that eat them will not die,48 and the fire that consumes them will not die out.49 All people will find the sight abhorrent.”50