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Judgment and Final Salvation

65 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.[a]
All day long I opened my arms to a rebellious people.[b]
    But they follow their own evil paths
    and their own crooked schemes.
All day long they insult me to my face
    by worshiping idols in their sacred gardens.
    They burn incense on pagan altars.
At night they go out among the graves,
    worshiping the dead.
They eat the flesh of pigs
    and make stews with other forbidden foods.
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.

“Look, my decree is written out[c] in front of me:
    I will not stand silent;
I will repay them in full!
    Yes, I will repay them—
both for their own sins
    and for those of their ancestors,”
    says the Lord.
“For they also burned incense on the mountains
    and insulted me on the hills.
    I will pay them back in full!

“But I will not destroy them all,”
    says the Lord.
“For just as good grapes are found among a cluster of bad ones
    (and someone will say, ‘Don’t throw them all away—
    some of those grapes are good!’),
so I will not destroy all Israel.
    For I still have true servants there.
I will preserve a remnant of the people of Israel[d]
    and of Judah to possess my land.
Those I choose will inherit it,
    and my servants will live there.
10 The plain of Sharon will again be filled with flocks
    for my people who have searched for me,
    and the valley of Achor will be a place to pasture herds.

11 “But because the rest of you have forsaken the Lord
    and have forgotten his Temple,
and because you have prepared feasts to honor the god of Fate
    and have offered mixed wine to the god of Destiny,
12 now I will ‘destine’ you for the sword.
    All of you will bow down before the executioner.
For when I called, you did not answer.
    When I spoke, you did not listen.
You deliberately sinned—before my very eyes—
    and chose to do what you know I despise.”

13 Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“My servants will eat,
    but you will starve.
My servants will drink,
    but you will be thirsty.
My servants will rejoice,
    but you will be sad and ashamed.
14 My servants will sing for joy,
    but you will cry in sorrow and despair.
15 Your name will be a curse word among my people,
    for the Sovereign Lord will destroy you
    and will call his true servants by another name.
16 All who invoke a blessing or take an oath
    will do so by the God of truth.
For I will put aside my anger
    and forget the evil of earlier days.

17 “Look! I am creating new heavens and a new earth,
    and no one will even think about the old ones anymore.
18 Be glad; rejoice forever in my creation!
    And look! I will create Jerusalem as a place of happiness.
    Her people will be a source of joy.
19 I will rejoice over Jerusalem
    and delight in my people.
And the sound of weeping and crying
    will be heard in it no more.

20 “No longer will babies die when only a few days old.
    No longer will adults die before they have lived a full life.
No longer will people be considered old at one hundred!
    Only the cursed will die that young!
21 In those days people will live in the houses they build
    and eat the fruit of their own vineyards.
22 Unlike the past, invaders will not take their houses
    and confiscate their vineyards.
For my people will live as long as trees,
    and my chosen ones will have time to enjoy their hard-won gains.
23 They will not work in vain,
    and their children will not be doomed to misfortune.
For they are people blessed by the Lord,
    and their children, too, will be blessed.
24 I will answer them before they even call to me.
    While they are still talking about their needs,
    I will go ahead and answer their prayers!
25 The wolf and the lamb will feed together.
    The lion will eat hay like a cow.
    But the snakes will eat dust.
In those days no one will be hurt or destroyed on my holy mountain.
    I, the Lord, have spoken!”

66 This is what the Lord says:

“Heaven is my throne,
    and the earth is my footstool.
Could you build me a temple as good as that?
    Could you build me such a resting place?
My hands have made both heaven and earth;
    they and everything in them are mine.[e]
    I, the Lord, have spoken!

“I will bless those who have humble and contrite hearts,
    who tremble at my word.
But those who choose their own ways—
    delighting in their detestable sins—
    will not have their offerings accepted.
When such people sacrifice a bull,
    it is no more acceptable than a human sacrifice.
When they sacrifice a lamb,
    it’s as though they had sacrificed a dog!
When they bring an offering of grain,
    they might as well offer the blood of a pig.
When they burn frankincense,
    it’s as if they had blessed an idol.
I will send them great trouble—
    all the things they feared.
For when I called, they did not answer.
    When I spoke, they did not listen.
They deliberately sinned before my very eyes
    and chose to do what they know I despise.”

Hear this message from the Lord,
    all you who tremble at his words:
“Your own people hate you
    and throw you out for being loyal to my name.
‘Let the Lord be honored!’ they scoff.
    ‘Be joyful in him!’
    But they will be put to shame.
What is all the commotion in the city?
    What is that terrible noise from the Temple?
It is the voice of the Lord
    taking vengeance against his enemies.

“Before the birth pains even begin,
    Jerusalem gives birth to a son.
Who has ever seen anything as strange as this?
    Who ever heard of such a thing?
Has a nation ever been born in a single day?
    Has a country ever come forth in a mere moment?
But by the time Jerusalem’s[f] birth pains begin,
    her children will be born.
Would I ever bring this nation to the point of birth
    and then not deliver it?” asks the Lord.
“No! I would never keep this nation from being born,”
    says your God.

10 “Rejoice with Jerusalem!
    Be glad with her, all you who love her
    and all you who mourn for her.
11 Drink deeply of her glory
    even as an infant drinks at its mother’s comforting breasts.”

12 This is what the Lord says:
“I will give Jerusalem a river of peace and prosperity.
    The wealth of the nations will flow to her.
Her children will be nursed at her breasts,
    carried in her arms, and held on her lap.
13 I will comfort you there in Jerusalem
    as a mother comforts her child.”

14 When you see these things, your heart will rejoice.
    You will flourish like the grass!
Everyone will see the Lord’s hand of blessing on his servants—
    and his anger against his enemies.
15 See, the Lord is coming with fire,
    and his swift chariots roar like a whirlwind.
He will bring punishment with the fury of his anger
    and the flaming fire of his hot rebuke.
16 The Lord will punish the world by fire
    and by his sword.
He will judge the earth,
    and many will be killed by him.

17 “Those who ‘consecrate’ and ‘purify’ themselves in a sacred garden with its idol in the center—feasting on pork and rats and other detestable meats—will come to a terrible end,” says the Lord.

18 “I can see what they are doing, and I know what they are thinking. So I will gather all nations and peoples together, and they will see my glory. 19 I will perform a sign among them. And I will send those who survive to be messengers to the nations—to Tarshish, to the Libyans[g] and Lydians[h] (who are famous as archers), to Tubal and Greece,[i] and to all the lands beyond the sea that have not heard of my fame or seen my glory. There they will declare my glory to the nations. 20 They will bring the remnant of your people back from every nation. They will bring them to my holy mountain in Jerusalem as an offering to the Lord. They will ride on horses, in chariots and wagons, and on mules and camels,” says the Lord. 21 “And I will appoint some of them to be my priests and Levites. I, the Lord, have spoken!

22 “As surely as my new heavens and earth will remain,
    so will you always be my people,
with a name that will never disappear,”
    says the Lord.
23 “All humanity will come to worship me
    from week to week
    and from month to month.
24 And as they go out, they will see
    the dead bodies of those who have rebelled against me.
For the worms that devour them will never die,
    and the fire that burns them will never go out.
All who pass by
    will view them with utter horror.”

Footnotes

  1. 65:1 Or to a nation that did not bear my name.
  2. 65:1-2 Greek version reads I was found by people who were not looking for me. / I showed myself to those who were not asking for me. / All day long I opened my arms to them, / but they were disobedient and rebellious. Compare Rom 10:20-21.
  3. 65:6 Or their sins are written out; Hebrew reads it stands written.
  4. 65:9 Hebrew remnant of Jacob. See note on 14:1.
  5. 66:2 As in Greek, Latin, and Syriac versions; Hebrew reads these things are.
  6. 66:8 Hebrew Zion’s.
  7. 66:19a As in some Greek manuscripts, which read Put [that is, Libya]; Hebrew reads Pul.
  8. 66:19b Hebrew Lud.
  9. 66:19c Hebrew Javan.

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.’
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)
a people who continually provoke me
    to my very face,(F)
offering sacrifices in gardens(G)
    and burning incense(H) on altars of brick;
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;
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.

“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)
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.”

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.
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?
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)
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)
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)

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)
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.

“Before she goes into labor,(CT)
    she gives birth;
before the pains come upon her,
    she delivers a son.(CU)
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)
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

  1. Isaiah 65:20 Or the sinner who reaches
  2. Isaiah 66:18 The meaning of the Hebrew for this clause is uncertain.
  3. Isaiah 66:19 Some Septuagint manuscripts Put (Libyans); Hebrew Pul