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Judgment and Salvation

65 “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;
    I spread out my hands all day to a stubborn people,
those who walk after their thoughts in the way that is not good,
    the people who provoke[a] me to anger continually to my face,
slaughtering for sacrifices in the garden,
    and making smoke offerings on bricks,
who sit[b] in graves
    and spend the night in secret places,[c]
who eat[d] the flesh of swine
    with[e] a fragment[f] of impurity in their vessels,
who say,[g]Keep to yourself![h]
    You must not come near me, for I am too holy for you!”
These are a smoke in my nostrils,[i]
    a fire burning all day.
Look! It is written before me: I will not be silent, but I will repay;
    and I will repay in[j] the fold of their garment
your iniquities and the iniquities of your ancestors[k] together, says Yahweh,
because they made smoke offerings on the mountains
    and they taunted me on the hills,
I will measure their punishment from the beginning into the fold of their garment.”

Thus says Yahweh: “Just as the new wine is found in the cluster, and they say ‘You must not destroy it, for there is a blessing in it,’ so I will do for the sake of my servants by[l] not destroying everyone.[m]

And I will bring descendant s[n] out from Jacob,
    and a people[o] from Judah to take possession of my mountain,
and my chosen ones shall inherit it,
    and my servants shall settle there.
10 And Sharon shall become a pasture for[p] flocks,[q]
    and the valley of Achor a resting place for[r] herds[s]
    for my people who have sought me.
11 But[t] you who forsake[u] Yahweh,
    forgetting my holy mountain,[v]
who set a table for Fortune,
    and who pour out[w] a jug of mixed wine for Destiny,
12 and I will remit you to the sword,
    and all of you shall bow down to the slaughter,
because I called, but[x] you did not answer;
    I spoke, but[y] you did not listen,
but[z] you did the evil in my eyes,
    and you chose that in which I do not delight.”

13 Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh:

“Look! My servants shall eat but[aa] you, you shall be hungry.
Look! My servants shall drink but[ab] you, you shall be thirsty.
Look! My servants shall rejoice but[ac] you, you shall be ashamed.
14 Look! My servants shall shout for joy,[ad] but[ae] you, you shall cry out for pain[af] and howl for sadness.[ag]
15 And you shall leave your name to my chosen ones as a curse,
    and the Lord Yahweh will kill you, and he will give[ah] his servants another name.
16 Whoever blesses himself in the land shall bless himself by the God of trustworthiness,
    and the one who swears an oath in the land shall swear by the God of trustworthiness,
because the former troubles are forgotten,
    and they are hidden from my eyes.

New Creation

17 For look! I am about to create new heavens and a new earth,
    and the former things shall not be remembered,
and they shall not come to mind.[ai]
18     But rejoice and shout in exultation forever and ever over what I am about to create!
For look! I am about to create Jerusalem as a source of rejoicing,
    and her people as a source of joy.
19 And I will shout in exultation over Jerusalem,
    and I will rejoice over my people,
and the sound of weeping shall no longer be heard in it,
    or[aj] the sound of a cry for help.
20 There will no longer be a nursing infant who lives only a few[ak] days,
    or[al] an old man who does not fill his days,
for the boy will die a hundred years old,[am]
    and the one who fails to reach[an] a hundred years[ao] will be considered[ap] accursed.
21 And they shall build houses and inhabit them,
    and they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
22 They shall not build and another inhabit;
    they shall not plant and another eat.
For the days of my people shall be like the days of a tree,
    and my chosen ones shall enjoy the work of their hands.
23 They shall not labor for nothing,
    and they shall not give birth to horror,
for they shall be offspring blessed by[aq] Yahweh,
    and their descendants with them.
24 And this will happen: before they call, I myself will answer;
    while still they are speaking, I myself will hear.
25 The wolf and the lamb shall feed like one,
    and the lion shall eat straw like the ox,
        but[ar] dust shall be the serpent’s food.
They shall do no evil,
    and they shall not destroy on all my holy mountain,”[as] says Yahweh.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 65:3 Literally “provoking”
  2. Isaiah 65:4 Literally “sitting”
  3. Isaiah 65:4 Literally “watches”
  4. Isaiah 65:4 Literally “eating”
  5. Isaiah 65:4 Or “and”
  6. Isaiah 65:4 The reading tradition (Qere) has “broth”
  7. Isaiah 65:5 Literally “saying”
  8. Isaiah 65:5 Literally “Come near to you”
  9. Isaiah 65:5 Literally “nose”
  10. Isaiah 65:6 Or “on”
  11. Isaiah 65:7 Or “fathers”
  12. Isaiah 65:8 Literally “to”
  13. Isaiah 65:8 Literally “all”
  14. Isaiah 65:9 Hebrew “descendant”
  15. Isaiah 65:9 Literally “man”
  16. Isaiah 65:10 Literally “of”
  17. Isaiah 65:10 Hebrew “flock”
  18. Isaiah 65:10 Or “of”
  19. Isaiah 65:10 Hebrew “herd”
  20. Isaiah 65:11 Or “and”
  21. Isaiah 65:11 Literally “forsaking”
  22. Isaiah 65:11 Literally “the mountain of my holiness”
  23. Isaiah 65:11 Literally “fill”
  24. Isaiah 65:12 Or “and”
  25. Isaiah 65:12 Or “and”
  26. Isaiah 65:12 Or “and”
  27. Isaiah 65:13 Or “and”
  28. Isaiah 65:13 Or “and”
  29. Isaiah 65:13 Or “and”
  30. Isaiah 65:14 Literally “from goodness of heart”
  31. Isaiah 65:14 Or “and”
  32. Isaiah 65:14 Literally “from pain of heart”
  33. Isaiah 65:14 Literally “from a breaking of the spirit”
  34. Isaiah 65:15 Literally “call”
  35. Isaiah 65:17 Literally “go up to heart”
  36. Isaiah 65:19 Or “and”
  37. Isaiah 65:20 Literally “of”
  38. Isaiah 65:20 Or “and”
  39. Isaiah 65:20 Literally “a son of a hundred year”
  40. Isaiah 65:20 Literally “misses”
  41. Isaiah 65:20 Literally “a son of a hundred year”
  42. Isaiah 65:20 Literally “treated”
  43. Isaiah 65:23 Literally “the offspring of the blessing of”
  44. Isaiah 65:25 Or “and”
  45. Isaiah 65:25 Literally “the mountain of my holiness”

65 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.

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;

A people that provoketh me to anger continually to my face; that sacrificeth in gardens, and burneth incense upon altars of brick;

Which remain among the graves, and lodge in the monuments, which eat swine's flesh, and broth of abominable things is in their vessels;

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.

Behold, it is written before me: I will not keep silence, but will recompense, even recompense into their bosom,

Your iniquities, and the iniquities of your fathers together, saith the Lord, which have burned incense upon the mountains, and blasphemed me upon the hills: therefore will I measure their former work into their bosom.

Thus saith the Lord, As the new wine is found in the cluster, and one saith, Destroy it not; for a blessing is in it: so will I do for my servants' sakes, that I may not destroy them all.

And I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah an inheritor of my mountains: and mine elect shall inherit it, and my servants shall dwell there.

10 And Sharon shall be a fold of flocks, and the valley of Achor a place for the herds to lie down in, for my people that have sought me.

11 But ye are they that forsake the Lord, that forget my holy mountain, that prepare a table for that troop, and that furnish the drink offering unto that number.

12 Therefore will I number you to the sword, and ye shall all bow down to the slaughter: because when I called, ye did not answer; when I spake, ye did not hear; but did evil before mine eyes, and did choose that wherein I delighted not.

13 Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, my servants shall eat, but ye shall be hungry: behold, my servants shall drink, but ye shall be thirsty: behold, my servants shall rejoice, but ye shall be ashamed:

14 Behold, my servants shall sing for joy of heart, but ye shall cry for sorrow of heart, and shall howl for vexation of spirit.

15 And ye shall leave your name for a curse unto my chosen: for the Lord God shall slay thee, and call his servants by another name:

16 That he who blesseth himself in the earth shall bless himself in the God of truth; and he that sweareth in the earth shall swear by the God of truth; because the former troubles are forgotten, and because they are hid from mine eyes.

17 For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.

18 But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy.

19 And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying.

20 There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed.

21 And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them.

22 They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.

23 They shall not labour in vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for they are the seed of the blessed of the Lord, and their offspring with them.

24 And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.

25 The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the Lord.