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Isaiah 65-66
Christian Standard Bible
Isaiah 65-66
Christian Standard Bible
The Lord’s Response
65 “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 did not call on[a] my name.(A)
2 I spread out my hands all day long
to a rebellious people(B)
who walk in the path that is not good,
following their own thoughts.
3 These people continually anger me
to my face,
sacrificing in gardens,(C)
burning incense on bricks,
4 sitting among the graves,
spending nights in secret places,
eating the meat of pigs,(D)
and putting polluted broth in their bowls.[b]
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.
6 Look, it is written in front of me:
I will not keep silent,(E) but I will repay;(F)
I will repay them fully[c]
7 for your iniquities and the iniquities(G)
of your[d] ancestors together,”
says the Lord.
“Because they burned incense on the mountains
and reproached me on the hills,(H)
I will reward them fully[e]
for their former deeds.”
8 The Lord says this:
“As the new wine is found in a bunch of grapes,
and one says, ‘Don’t destroy it,
for there’s some good[f] in it,’
so I will act because of my servants
and not destroy them all.
9 I will produce descendants from Jacob,(I)
and heirs to my mountains from Judah;
my chosen(J) ones will possess it,
and my servants will dwell there.(K)
10 Sharon will be a pasture for flocks,(L)
and the Valley of Achor a place for herds to lie down,(M)
for my people who have sought me.(N)
11 But you who abandon the Lord,
who forget my holy mountain,
who prepare a table for Fortune
and fill bowls of mixed wine for Destiny,[g]
12 I will destine you for the sword,
and all of you will kneel down to be slaughtered,
because I called and you did not answer,
I spoke and you did not hear;
you did what was evil in my sight
and chose what I did not delight in.”(O)
13 Therefore, this is what the Lord God 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 put to shame.
14 Look! My servants will shout for joy from a glad heart,
but you will cry out from an anguished heart,
and you will lament out of a broken spirit.
15 You will leave your name behind
as a curse for my chosen ones,(P)
and the Lord God will kill you;
but he will give his servants another name.(Q)
16 Whoever asks for a blessing in the land
will ask for a blessing by the God of truth,(R)
and whoever swears in the land
will swear by the God of truth.
For the former troubles will be forgotten
and hidden from my sight.
A New Creation
17 “For I will create new heavens and a new earth;(S)
the past events will not be remembered or come to mind.
18 Then be glad and rejoice forever
in what I am creating;
for I will create Jerusalem to be a joy
and its people to be a delight.
19 I will rejoice in Jerusalem
and be glad in my people.
The sound of weeping and crying
will no longer be heard in her.(T)
20 In her, a nursing infant will no longer live
only a few days,[h]
or an old man not live out his days.
Indeed, the one who dies at a hundred years old
will be mourned as a young man,[i]
and the one who misses a hundred years
will be considered cursed.(U)
21 People will build houses and live in them;
they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.(V)
22 They will not build and others live in them;
they will not plant and others eat.
For my people’s lives will be
like the lifetime of a tree.(W)
My chosen ones will fully enjoy
the work of their hands.
23 They will not labor without success(X)
or bear children destined for disaster,
for they will be a people blessed by the Lord
along with their descendants.(Y)
24 Even before they call, I will answer;(Z)
while they are still speaking, I will hear.
25 The wolf and the lamb will feed together,[j]
and the lion will eat straw like cattle,(AA)
but the serpent’s food will be dust!(AB)
They will not do what is evil or destroy
on my entire holy mountain,”(AC)
says the Lord.
Final Judgment and Joyous Restoration
66 This is what the Lord says:
Heaven(AD) is my throne,(AE)
and earth is my footstool.(AF)
Where could you possibly build a house for me?
And where would my resting place be?(AG)
2 My hand made all these things,
and so they all came into being.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
I will look favorably on this kind of person:
one who is humble,(AH) submissive[k] in spirit,(AI)
and trembles at my word.
3 One person slaughters an ox, another kills a person;
one person sacrifices a lamb, another breaks a dog’s neck;
one person offers a grain offering, another offers pig’s blood;
one person offers incense, another praises an idol—
all these have chosen their ways
and delight in their abhorrent practices.(AJ)
4 So I will choose their punishment,
and I will bring on them what they dread
because I called and no one answered;
I spoke and they did not listen;
they did what was evil in my sight
and chose what I did not delight in.(AK)
5 You who tremble at his word,(AL)
hear the word of the Lord:(AM)
“Your brothers who hate and exclude you
for my name’s sake have said,(AN)
‘Let the Lord be glorified
so that we can see your joy!’
But they will be put to shame.”(AO)
6 A sound of uproar from the city!
A voice from the temple—
the voice of the Lord,
paying back his enemies what they deserve!(AP)
7 Before Zion was in labor, she gave birth;
before she was in pain, she delivered a boy.
8 Who has heard of such a thing?
Who has seen such things?
Can a land be born in one day
or a nation be delivered in an instant?
Yet as soon as Zion was in labor,
she gave birth to her sons.
9 “Will I bring a baby to the point of birth
and not deliver it?”
says the Lord;
“or will I who deliver, close the womb?”
says your God.
10 Be glad for Jerusalem and rejoice over her,
all who love her.(AQ)
Rejoice greatly with her,
all who mourn over her—
11 so that you may nurse and be satisfied
from her comforting breast
and drink deeply and delight yourselves
from her glorious breasts.
12 For this is what the Lord says:
I will make peace flow to her like a river,(AR)
and the wealth[l] of nations like a flood;(AS)
you will nurse and be carried on her hip(AT)
and bounced on her lap.
13 As a mother comforts her son,
so I will comfort you,(AU)
and you will be comforted in Jerusalem.
14 You will see, you will rejoice,
and you[m] will flourish like grass;(AV)
then the Lord’s power will be revealed to his servants,
but he will show his wrath against his enemies.
15 Look, the Lord will come with fire(AW)—
his chariots are like the whirlwind(AX)—
to execute his anger with fury
and his rebuke with flames of fire.
16 For the Lord will execute judgment
on all humanity(AY) with his fiery sword,
and many will be slain by the Lord.
17 “Those who dedicate and purify themselves to enter the groves(AZ) following their leader,[n] eating meat from pigs, vermin,[o] and rats, will perish together.”
This is the Lord’s declaration.
18 “Knowing[p] their works and their thoughts, I have come to gather all nations and languages;(BA) they will come and see my glory. 19 I will establish a sign among them, and I will send survivors from them to the nations—to Tarshish, Put,[q] Lud (who are archers), Tubal, Javan,(BB) and the coasts and islands far away—who have not heard about me or seen my glory. And they will proclaim my glory among the nations.(BC) 20 They will bring all your brothers from all the nations as a gift to the Lord on horses and chariots, in litters, and on mules and camels, to my holy mountain Jerusalem,”(BD) says the Lord, “just as the Israelites bring an offering in a clean vessel to the house of the Lord. 21 I will also take some of them as priests and Levites,”(BE) says the Lord.
22 “For just as the new heavens and the new earth,(BF)
which I will make,
will remain before me”—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
“so your offspring and your name will remain.
23 All humanity will come to worship me
from one New Moon to another
and from one Sabbath to another,”
says the Lord.
24 “As they leave, they will see the dead bodies of those who have rebelled against me;(BG) for their worm(BH) will never die, their fire will never go out,(BI) and they will be a horror to all humanity.”(BJ)
Footnotes
- 65:1 Or that was not called by
- 65:3–4 These vv. describe pagan worship.
- 65:6 Lit repay into their lap
- 65:7 LXX, Syr read for their iniquities and the iniquities of their
- 65:7 Lit reward into their lap
- 65:8 Or there’s a blessing
- 65:11 Pagan gods
- 65:20 Lit her, no longer infant of days
- 65:20 Lit the youth of a hundred years will die
- 65:25 Lit as one
- 66:2 Lit broken
- 66:12 Or glory
- 66:14 Lit your bones
- 66:17 Hb obscure
- 66:17 Lit abhorrent things
- 66:18 LXX, Syr; MT omits Knowing
- 66:19 LXX; MT reads Pul
Isaiah 65-66
New International Version
Isaiah 65-66
New International Version
Judgment and Salvation
65 “I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me;
I was found by those who did not seek me.(A)
To a nation(B) that did not call on my name,(C)
I said, ‘Here am I, here am I.’
2 All day long I have held out my hands
to an obstinate people,(D)
who walk in ways not good,
pursuing their own imaginations(E)—
3 a people who continually provoke me
to my very face,(F)
offering sacrifices in gardens(G)
and burning incense(H) on altars of brick;
4 who sit among the graves(I)
and spend their nights keeping secret vigil;
who eat the flesh of pigs,(J)
and whose pots hold broth of impure meat;
5 who say, ‘Keep away; don’t come near me,
for I am too sacred(K) for you!’
Such people are smoke(L) in my nostrils,
a fire that keeps burning all day.
6 “See, it stands written before me:
I will not keep silent(M) but will pay back(N) in full;
I will pay it back into their laps(O)—
7 both your sins(P) and the sins of your ancestors,”(Q)
says the Lord.
“Because they burned sacrifices on the mountains
and defied me on the hills,(R)
I will measure into their laps
the full payment(S) for their former deeds.”
8 This is what the Lord says:
“As when juice is still found in a cluster of grapes(T)
and people say, ‘Don’t destroy it,
there is still a blessing in it,’
so will I do in behalf of my servants;(U)
I will not destroy them all.
9 I will bring forth descendants(V) from Jacob,
and from Judah those who will possess(W) my mountains;
my chosen(X) people will inherit them,
and there will my servants live.(Y)
10 Sharon(Z) will become a pasture for flocks,(AA)
and the Valley of Achor(AB) a resting place for herds,
for my people who seek(AC) me.
11 “But as for you who forsake(AD) the Lord
and forget my holy mountain,(AE)
who spread a table for Fortune
and fill bowls of mixed wine(AF) for Destiny,
12 I will destine you for the sword,(AG)
and all of you will fall in the slaughter;(AH)
for I called but you did not answer,(AI)
I spoke but you did not listen.(AJ)
You did evil in my sight
and chose what displeases me.”(AK)
13 Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“My servants will eat,(AL)
but you will go hungry;(AM)
my servants will drink,(AN)
but you will go thirsty;(AO)
my servants will rejoice,(AP)
but you will be put to shame.(AQ)
14 My servants will sing(AR)
out of the joy of their hearts,
but you will cry out(AS)
from anguish of heart
and wail in brokenness of spirit.
15 You will leave your name
for my chosen ones to use in their curses;(AT)
the Sovereign Lord will put you to death,
but to his servants he will give another name.(AU)
16 Whoever invokes a blessing(AV) in the land
will do so by the one true God;(AW)
whoever takes an oath in the land
will swear(AX) by the one true God.
For the past troubles(AY) will be forgotten
and hidden from my eyes.
New Heavens and a New Earth
17 “See, I will create
new heavens and a new earth.(AZ)
The former things will not be remembered,(BA)
nor will they come to mind.
18 But be glad and rejoice(BB) forever
in what I will create,
for I will create Jerusalem(BC) to be a delight
and its people a joy.
19 I will rejoice(BD) over Jerusalem
and take delight(BE) in my people;
the sound of weeping and of crying(BF)
will be heard in it no more.
20 “Never again will there be in it
an infant(BG) who lives but a few days,
or an old man who does not live out his years;(BH)
the one who dies at a hundred
will be thought a mere child;
the one who fails to reach[a] a hundred
will be considered accursed.
21 They will build houses(BI) and dwell in them;
they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.(BJ)
22 No longer will they build houses and others live in them,(BK)
or plant and others eat.
For as the days of a tree,(BL)
so will be the days(BM) of my people;
my chosen(BN) ones will long enjoy
the work of their hands.
23 They will not labor in vain,(BO)
nor will they bear children doomed to misfortune;(BP)
for they will be a people blessed(BQ) by the Lord,
they and their descendants(BR) with them.
24 Before they call(BS) I will answer;(BT)
while they are still speaking(BU) I will hear.
25 The wolf and the lamb(BV) will feed together,
and the lion will eat straw like the ox,(BW)
and dust will be the serpent’s(BX) food.
They will neither harm nor destroy
on all my holy mountain,”(BY)
says the Lord.
Judgment and Hope
66 This is what the Lord says:
“Heaven is my throne,(BZ)
and the earth is my footstool.(CA)
Where is the house(CB) you will build for me?
Where will my resting place be?
2 Has not my hand made all these things,(CC)
and so they came into being?”
declares the Lord.
“These are the ones I look on with favor:
those who are humble and contrite in spirit,(CD)
and who tremble at my word.(CE)
3 But whoever sacrifices a bull(CF)
is like one who kills a person,
and whoever offers a lamb
is like one who breaks a dog’s neck;
whoever makes a grain offering
is like one who presents pig’s(CG) blood,
and whoever burns memorial incense(CH)
is like one who worships an idol.
They have chosen their own ways,(CI)
and they delight in their abominations;(CJ)
4 so I also will choose harsh treatment for them
and will bring on them what they dread.(CK)
For when I called, no one answered,(CL)
when I spoke, no one listened.
They did evil(CM) in my sight
and chose what displeases me.”(CN)
5 Hear the word of the Lord,
you who tremble at his word:(CO)
“Your own people who hate(CP) you,
and exclude you because of my name, have said,
‘Let the Lord be glorified,
that we may see your joy!’
Yet they will be put to shame.(CQ)
6 Hear that uproar from the city,
hear that noise from the temple!
It is the sound(CR) of the Lord
repaying(CS) his enemies all they deserve.
7 “Before she goes into labor,(CT)
she gives birth;
before the pains come upon her,
she delivers a son.(CU)
8 Who has ever heard of such things?
Who has ever seen(CV) things like this?
Can a country be born in a day(CW)
or a nation be brought forth in a moment?
Yet no sooner is Zion in labor
than she gives birth to her children.(CX)
9 Do I bring to the moment of birth(CY)
and not give delivery?” says the Lord.
“Do I close up the womb
when I bring to delivery?” says your God.
10 “Rejoice(CZ) with Jerusalem and be glad for her,
all you who love(DA) her;
rejoice greatly with her,
all you who mourn(DB) over her.
11 For you will nurse(DC) and be satisfied
at her comforting breasts;(DD)
you will drink deeply
and delight in her overflowing abundance.”(DE)
12 For this is what the Lord says:
“I will extend peace(DF) to her like a river,(DG)
and the wealth(DH) of nations like a flooding stream;
you will nurse and be carried(DI) on her arm
and dandled on her knees.
13 As a mother comforts her child,(DJ)
so will I comfort(DK) you;
and you will be comforted over Jerusalem.”
14 When you see this, your heart will rejoice(DL)
and you will flourish(DM) like grass;
the hand(DN) of the Lord will be made known to his servants,(DO)
but his fury(DP) will be shown to his foes.
15 See, the Lord is coming with fire,(DQ)
and his chariots(DR) are like a whirlwind;(DS)
he will bring down his anger with fury,
and his rebuke(DT) with flames of fire.
16 For with fire(DU) and with his sword(DV)
the Lord will execute judgment(DW) on all people,
and many will be those slain(DX) by the Lord.
17 “Those who consecrate and purify themselves to go into the gardens,(DY) following one who is among those who eat the flesh of pigs,(DZ) rats(EA) and other unclean things—they will meet their end(EB) together with the one they follow,” declares the Lord.
18 “And I, because of what they have planned and done,(EC) am about to come[b] and gather the people of all nations(ED) and languages, and they will come and see my glory.(EE)
19 “I will set a sign(EF) among them, and I will send some of those who survive(EG) to the nations—to Tarshish,(EH) to the Libyans[c] and Lydians(EI) (famous as archers), to Tubal(EJ) and Greece,(EK) and to the distant islands(EL) that have not heard of my fame or seen my glory.(EM) They will proclaim my glory among the nations. 20 And they will bring(EN) all your people, from all the nations, to my holy mountain(EO) in Jerusalem as an offering to the Lord—on horses, in chariots and wagons, and on mules and camels,”(EP) says the Lord. “They will bring them, as the Israelites bring their grain offerings, to the temple of the Lord in ceremonially clean vessels.(EQ) 21 And I will select some of them also to be priests(ER) and Levites,” says the Lord.
22 “As the new heavens and the new earth(ES) that I make will endure before me,” declares the Lord, “so will your name and descendants endure.(ET) 23 From one New Moon to another and from one Sabbath(EU) to another, all mankind will come and bow down(EV) before me,” says the Lord. 24 “And they will go out and look on the dead bodies(EW) of those who rebelled(EX) against me; the worms(EY) that eat them will not die, the fire that burns them will not be quenched,(EZ) and they will be loathsome to all mankind.”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 65:20 Or the sinner who reaches
- Isaiah 66:18 The meaning of the Hebrew for this clause is uncertain.
- Isaiah 66:19 Some Septuagint manuscripts Put (Libyans); Hebrew Pul
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