Isaiah 65
New King James Version
The Righteousness of God’s Judgment
65 “I was (A)sought 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 (B)was not called by My name.
2 (C)I have stretched out My hands all day long to a (D)rebellious people,
Who (E)walk in a way that is not good,
According to their own thoughts;
3 A people (F)who provoke Me to anger continually to My face;
(G)Who sacrifice in gardens,
And burn incense on altars of brick;
4 (H)Who sit among the graves,
And spend the night in the tombs;
(I)Who eat swine’s flesh,
And the broth of [a]abominable things is in their vessels;
5 (J)Who say, ‘Keep to yourself,
Do not come near me,
For I am holier than you!’
These [b]are smoke in My nostrils,
A fire that burns all the day.
6 “Behold, (K)it is written before Me:
(L)I will not keep silence, (M)but will repay—
Even repay into their bosom—
7 Your iniquities and (N)the iniquities of your fathers together,”
Says the Lord,
(O)“Who have burned incense on the mountains
(P)And blasphemed Me on the hills;
Therefore I will measure their former work into their bosom.”
8 Thus says the Lord:
“As the new wine is found in the cluster,
And one says, ‘Do not destroy it,
For (Q)a blessing is in it,’
So will I do for My servants’ sake,
That I may not destroy them (R)all.
9 I will bring forth descendants from Jacob,
And from Judah an heir of My mountains;
My (S)elect shall inherit it,
And My servants shall dwell there.
10 (T)Sharon shall be a fold of flocks,
And (U)the Valley of Achor a place for herds to lie down,
For My people who have (V)sought Me.
11 “But you are those who forsake the Lord,
Who forget (W)My holy mountain,
Who prepare (X)a table for [c]Gad,
And who furnish a drink offering for [d]Meni.
12 Therefore I will number you for the sword,
And you shall all bow down to the slaughter;
(Y)Because, 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.”
13 Therefore 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;
14 Behold, My servants shall sing for joy of heart,
But you shall cry for sorrow of heart,
And (Z)wail for [e]grief of spirit.
15 You shall leave your name (AA)as a curse to (AB)My chosen;
For the Lord God will slay you,
And (AC)call His servants by another name;
16 (AD)So that he who blesses himself in the earth
Shall bless himself in the God of truth;
And (AE)he 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 (AF)new heavens and a new earth;
And the former shall not be remembered or [f]come to mind.
18 But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create;
For behold, I create Jerusalem as a rejoicing,
And her people a joy.
19 (AG)I will rejoice in Jerusalem,
And joy in My people;
The (AH)voice 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,
(AI)But the sinner being one hundred years old shall be accursed.
21 (AJ)They shall build houses and inhabit them;
They shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
22 They shall not build and another inhabit;
They shall not plant and (AK)another eat;
For (AL)as the days of a tree, so shall be the days of My people,
And (AM)My elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.
23 They shall not labor in vain,
(AN)Nor bring forth children for trouble;
For (AO)they shall be the descendants of the blessed of the Lord,
And their offspring with them.
24 “It shall come to pass
That (AP)before they call, I will answer;
And while they are still speaking, I will (AQ)hear.
25 The (AR)wolf and the lamb shall feed together,
The lion shall eat straw like the ox,
(AS)And dust shall be the serpent’s food.
They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain,”
Says the Lord.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 65:4 Unclean meats, Lev. 7:18; 19:7
- Isaiah 65:5 Cause My wrath to smoke
- Isaiah 65:11 Lit. Troop or Fortune; a pagan deity
- Isaiah 65:11 Lit. Number or Destiny; a pagan deity
- Isaiah 65:14 Or a broken spirit
- Isaiah 65:17 Lit. come upon the heart
Isaiah 65
New American Standard Bible
A Rebellious People
65 “I permitted Myself to be sought by (A)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 (B)did not call on My name.
2 (C)I have spread out My hands all day long to a (D)rebellious people,
Who walk in the way which is not good, [a]following their own (E)thoughts,
3 A people who continually (F)provoke Me to My face,
Offering sacrifices in (G)gardens and (H)burning incense on bricks;
4 Who sit among graves and spend the night in secret places;
Who (I)eat pig’s flesh,
And the broth of unclean meat is in their pots.
5 Who say, ‘(J)Keep to yourself, do not come near me,
For I am holier than you!’
These are smoke in My [b]nostrils,
A fire that burns all the day.
6 Behold, it is written before Me:
I will (K)not keep silent, but (L)I will repay;
I will even repay [c]into their laps,
7 Both your own (M)wrongdoings and the wrongdoings of your fathers together,” says the Lord.
“Because they have (N)burned incense on the mountains
And (O)scorned Me on the hills,
Therefore I will (P)measure their former work [d]into their laps.”
8 This is what the Lord says:
“Just as the new wine is found in the cluster,
And one says, ‘Do not destroy it, for there is [e]benefit in it,’
So I will act in behalf of My servants
In order (Q)not to destroy [f]all of them.
9 I will bring forth [g](R)offspring from Jacob,
And an (S)heir of My mountains from Judah;
(T)My chosen ones shall inherit it,
And (U)My servants will live there.
10 (V)Sharon will be a pasture land for flocks,
And the (W)Valley of Achor a resting place for herds,
For My people who (X)seek Me.
11 But as for you who (Y)abandon the Lord,
Who forget My (Z)holy mountain,
Who set a table for [h]Fortune,
And fill a jug of mixed wine for [i]Destiny,
12 I will destine you for the (AA)sword,
And all of you will bow down to the (AB)slaughter.
Because I called, but you (AC)did not answer;
I spoke, but you did not listen.
Instead, you did evil in My sight
And chose that in which I did not delight.”
13 Therefore, this is what the Lord [j]God says:
“Behold, My servants will (AD)eat, but you will be (AE)hungry.
Behold, My servants will (AF)drink, but you will be (AG)thirsty.
Behold, My servants will (AH)rejoice, but you will be (AI)put to shame.
14 Behold, My servants will (AJ)shout joyfully with a glad heart,
But you will (AK)cry out from a painful heart,
And you will wail from a broken spirit.
15 You will leave your name as a (AL)curse to My chosen ones,
And the Lord [k]God will put you to death.
But [l]My servants will be called by (AM)another name.
16 Because the one who [m]is blessed on the earth
Will [n]be blessed by the (AN)God of truth;
And the one who swears an oath on the earth
Will (AO)swear by the God of truth;
Because the former troubles are forgotten,
And because they are hidden from My sight!
New Heavens and a New Earth
17 “For behold, I create (AP)new heavens and a new earth;
And the (AQ)former things will not be remembered or come to [o]mind.
18 But be (AR)glad and rejoice forever in what I create;
For behold, I create Jerusalem for rejoicing
And her people for gladness.
19 I will also (AS)rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in My people;
And there will no longer be heard in her
The voice of (AT)weeping and the sound of crying.
20 No longer will there be [p]in it an infant who lives only a few days,
Or an old person who does (AU)not [q]live out his days;
For the youth will die at the age of a hundred,
And the [r](AV)one who does not reach the age of a hundred
Will be thought accursed.
21 They will (AW)build houses and inhabit them;
They will also (AX)plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
22 They will not build and (AY)another inhabit,
They will not plant and another eat;
For (AZ)as the [s]lifetime of a tree, so will be the days of My people,
And My chosen ones will (BA)fully enjoy the work of their hands.
23 They will (BB)not labor in vain,
Or give birth to children for disaster;
For they are the [t](BC)descendants of those blessed by the Lord,
And their descendants with them.
24 It will also come to pass that before they call, I will (BD)answer; while they are still speaking, I will listen. 25 The (BE)wolf and the lamb will graze together, and the (BF)lion will eat straw like the ox; and (BG)dust will be the serpent’s food. They will (BH)do no evil or harm on all My (BI)holy mountain,” says the Lord.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 65:2 Lit after
- Isaiah 65:5 Lit nose
- Isaiah 65:6 I.e., individually and fully
- Isaiah 65:7 I.e., individually and fully
- Isaiah 65:8 Lit blessing
- Isaiah 65:8 Lit the whole
- Isaiah 65:9 Lit seed
- Isaiah 65:11 Heb Gad
- Isaiah 65:11 Heb Meni
- Isaiah 65:13 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
- Isaiah 65:15 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
- Isaiah 65:15 As in LXX; MT He will call His servants
- Isaiah 65:16 Or bless(es) himself
- Isaiah 65:16 Or bless(es) himself
- Isaiah 65:17 Lit heart
- Isaiah 65:20 Lit from there
- Isaiah 65:20 Lit fill out
- Isaiah 65:20 Lit one who misses the mark
- Isaiah 65:22 Lit days
- Isaiah 65:23 Lit seed
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
