God’s Response
65 “I let myself be sought by those who didn’t ask for me;[a]
I let myself be found by those who didn’t seek me.
I said, ‘Here I am! Here I am!’
to a nation that didn’t call on my name.
2 I held out my hands all day long
to a disobedient[b] people,
who walk in a way that isn’t good,
following their own inclinations—
3 a people who continually provoke me to my face;
they[c] keep sacrificing in gardens
and waving their hands[d] over stone[e] altars;
4 who sit among graves,
and spend the night in secret places;
who eat pigs’ meat,
with the broth[f] of detestable things in[g] their pots;
5 who say, ‘Keep to yourself!’
‘Don’t touch[h] me!’ and ‘I am[i] too holy for you!’
“Such people are smoke in my nostrils,
a fire that keeps burning all day long.
6 Watch out! It stands written before me:
‘I won’t keep silent, but I will pay back in full;
I’ll indeed repay into[j] their laps
7 both your iniquities and your ancestors’[k] iniquities together,’’
says the Lord.
“Because they offered incense on the mountains
and insulted me on hills,[l]
I’ll measure into[m] their laps
full payment for their earlier actions.”
A Remnant will be Preserved
8 This is what the Lord says:
“Just as new wine is found in the cluster,
and people have said,[n] ‘Don’t destroy it,
for there is a gift in it,’
so I’ll act for my servants’ sake,
by not destroying them all.
9 I’ll bring forth descendants from Jacob,
and from Judah they[o] will inherit[p] my mountains;
my chosen people will inherit it,
and my servants will live there.
10 Sharon will become a pasture for flocks,
and the Valley of Achor a fold for herds,[q]
for my people who have sought me.
11 But as for you who forsake the Lord,
who forget my holy mountain,
who spread a table for Fortune[r]
and[s] fill drink offerings[t] for Destiny,[u]
12 I’ll consign[v] you to the sword,
and all of you will bend down for the slaughter—
because when I called, you didn’t answer,
when I spoke, you didn’t listen;
but you did what was evil in my sight,
and chose what I took no pleasure in.”
The Righteous and Wicked Contrasted
13 Therefore, this is what the Lord[w] says:
“See, my servants will eat,
but you’ll go hungry;
my servants will drink,
but you’ll go thirsty;
my servants will rejoice,
but you’ll be put to shame.
14 My servants will sing in gladness[x] of heart,
but you’ll cry for help[y] from anguish of heart,
and you’ll howl from brokenness of spirit.
15 You’ll leave your name to my chosen ones as a curse,
and the Lord God will put you to death permanently.[z]
16 Then whoever takes an oath[aa] by the God of faithfulness,
and whoever takes an oath in the land,
will swear by the God of faithfulness,
because the former troubles are forgotten
and are hidden from my eyes.
A New Universe
17 Take notice! I’m about to create new heavens
and a new earth;
the former things won’t be remembered,
nor will they come to mind.
18 But be glad[ab] and rejoice[ac] forever
in what I am creating,
for I am about to create Jerusalem as a joy,
and its people as a delight.
19 I’ll rejoice over Jerusalem,
and take delight in my people;
no longer will the sound of weeping be heard in it,
nor the cry of distress.
20 “And[ad] there will no longer be in it
a young boy[ae] who lives only a few days,
or an old person who does not live out his days;
for one who dies at a hundred years will be thought a mere youth,
and one who falls short of a hundred years will be considered accursed.
21 People[af] will build houses and live in them;
They’ll plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
22 They won’t build for others to inhabit;
they won’t plant for others to eat—
for like the lifetime[ag] of a tree,[ah] so will the lifetime[ai] of my people be,
and my chosen ones will long enjoy[aj] the work of their hands.
23 They won’t toil in vain
nor bear children doomed to misfortune,
for they will be offspring blessed[ak] by the Lord,
they and their descendants with them.
24 Before they call, I will answer,
while they are still speaking, I’ll hear.
25 “The wolf and the lamb will feed together,
and the lion will eat straw like the ox;
but as for the serpent—
its food will be dust!
They won’t harm or destroy
on my entire holy mountain,”
says the Lord.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 65:1 So 1QIsaa LXX; MT reads ask
- Isaiah 65:2 So 1QIsaa; MT reads an obstinate
- Isaiah 65:3 So 1QIsaa LXX; MT reads who
- Isaiah 65:3 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read and offering incense
- Isaiah 65:3 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read brick
- Isaiah 65:4 So 1QIsaa MTqere LXX Targ Vulg; MT reads violence; or crumbs
- Isaiah 65:4 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX lack in
- Isaiah 65:5 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read come near to
- Isaiah 65:5 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read for I am
- Isaiah 65:6 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read upon
- Isaiah 65:7 So 1QIsaa MT; LXX Syr read both their iniquities and their
- Isaiah 65:7 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read the hills
- Isaiah 65:7 So 1QIsaa MTqere; MT LXX read upon
- Isaiah 65:8 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read say
- Isaiah 65:9 Lit. he; so 1QIsaa LXX
- Isaiah 65:9 So 1QIsaa LXX; MT reads Judah, the one about to inherit
- Isaiah 65:10 So 1QIsaa LXX; MT reads a place for herds to lie down
- Isaiah 65:11 I.e. Fortune personified as a god
- Isaiah 65:11 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX reads and who
- Isaiah 65:11 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read cups of mixed wine, or mixing vessels
- Isaiah 65:11 I.e. Destiny personified as a god
- Isaiah 65:12 Lit. destine
- Isaiah 65:13 So 1QIsaa LXX; 1QIsaa reads Adonai; MT reads Lord God
- Isaiah 65:14 So 1QIsaa LXX; MT reads out of gladness
- Isaiah 65:14 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read cry out
- Isaiah 65:15 Or for good; so 1QIsaa; MT LXX reads but he will call his servants by a different name
- Isaiah 65:16 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read whoever invokes a blessing in the land will bless
- Isaiah 65:18 Sing. 1QIsaa; pl. MT
- Isaiah 65:18 Sing. 1QIsaa; pl. 1QIsab MT
- Isaiah 65:20 So 1QIsaa LXX; 1QIsab MT lack And
- Isaiah 65:20 So 1QIsaa; 1QIsab MT read an infant; cf. 49:15
- Isaiah 65:21 Lit. They
- Isaiah 65:22 Lit. days
- Isaiah 65:22 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read the tree
- Isaiah 65:22 Lit. days
- Isaiah 65:22 Lit. consume or wear out
- Isaiah 65:23 Sing. 1QIsaa LXX; pl. 1QIsab MT