Isaiah 65

Judgment and Salvation

1. I was ready to be sought by those who did not ask for me; 1 I was ready to be found by those who did not seek me. 1 I said, “Here I am, here I am,” 1 to a nation that was not called by[a] my name.

2. I spread out my hands all the day 2 to a rebellious people, 2 who walk in a way that is not good, 2 following their own devices;

3. a people who provoke me 3 to my face continually, 3 sacrificing in gardens 3 and making offerings on bricks;

4. who sit in tombs, 4 and spend the night in secret places; 4 who eat pig's flesh, 4 and broth of tainted meat is in their vessels;

5. who say, “Keep to yourself, 5 do not come near me, for I am too holy for you.” 5 These are a smoke in my nostrils, 5 a fire that burns all the day.

6. Behold, it is written before me: 6 “I will not keep silent, but I will repay; 6 I will indeed repay into their lap

7. both your iniquities and your fathers' iniquities together, 7 says the Lord; 7 because they made offerings on the mountains 7 and insulted me on the hills, 7 I will measure into their lap 7 payment for their former deeds.”[b]

8. Thus says the Lord: 8 “As the new wine is found in the cluster, 8 and they say, ‘Do not destroy it, 8 for there is a blessing in it,’ 8 so I will do for my servants' sake, 8 and not destroy them all.

9. I will bring forth offspring from Jacob, 9 and from Judah possessors of my mountains; 9 my chosen shall possess it, 9 and my servants shall dwell there.

10. Sharon shall become a pasture for flocks, 10 and the Valley of Achor a place for herds to lie down, 10 for my people who have sought me.

11. But you who forsake the Lord, 11 who forget my holy mountain, 11 who set a table for Fortune 11 and fill cups of mixed wine for Destiny,

12. I will destine you to the sword, 12 and all of you shall bow down to the slaughter, 12 because, when I called, you did not answer; 12 when I spoke, you did not listen, 12 but you did what was evil in my eyes 12 and chose what I did not delight in.”

13. Therefore thus says the Lord God: 13 “Behold, my servants shall eat, 13 but you shall be hungry; 13 behold, my servants shall drink, 13 but you shall be thirsty; 13 behold, my servants shall rejoice, 13 but you shall be put to shame;

14. behold, my servants shall sing for gladness of heart, 14 but you shall cry out for pain of heart 14 and shall wail for breaking of spirit.

15. You shall leave your name to my chosen for a curse, 15 and the Lord God will put you to death, 15 but his servants he will call by another name.

16. So that he who blesses himself in the land 16 shall bless himself by the God of truth, 16 and he who takes an oath in the land 16 shall swear by the God of truth; 16 because the former troubles are forgotten 16 and are hidden from my eyes.

New Heavens and a New Earth

17. “For behold, I create new heavens 17 and a new earth, 17 and the former things shall not be remembered 17 or come into mind.

18. But be glad and rejoice forever 18 in that which I create; 18 for behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy, 18 and her people to be a gladness.

19. I will rejoice in Jerusalem 19 and be glad in my people; 19 no more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping 19 and the cry of distress.

20. No more shall there be in it 20 an infant who lives but a few days, 20 or an old man who does not fill out his days, 20 for the young man shall die a hundred years old, 20 and the sinner a hundred years old shall be accursed.

21. They shall build houses and inhabit them; 21 they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.

22. They shall not build and another inhabit; 22 they shall not plant and another eat; 22 for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be, 22 and my chosen shall long enjoy[c] the work of their hands.

23. They shall not labor in vain 23 or bear children for calamity,[d] 23 for they shall be the offspring of the blessed of the Lord, 23 and their descendants with them.

24. Before they call I will answer; 24 while they are yet speaking I will hear.

25. The wolf and the lamb shall graze together; 25 the lion shall eat straw like the ox, 25 and dust shall be the serpent's food. 25 They shall not hurt or destroy 25 in all my holy mountain,” 25 says the Lord.

Footnotes:
a. Isaiah 65:1: Or that did not call upon
b. Isaiah 65:7: Or I will first measure their payment into their lap
c. Isaiah 65:22: Hebrew shall wear out
d. Isaiah 65:23: Or for sudden terror