USB ~ Isaiah 65

1 † I was ready to respond to those who did not ask, to be found by those who did not seek me. I said: Here I am! Here I am! To a nation that did not invoke my name. a

2 I have stretched out my hands all day to a rebellious people, Who walk in a way that is not good, following their own designs; b

3 A people who provoke me continually to my face, Offering sacrifices in gardens and burning incense on bricks,

4 Sitting in tombs and spending the night in caves, Eating the flesh of pigs, with broth of unclean meat in their dishes;

5 Crying out, “Hold back, do not come near me, lest I render you holy!”† These things are smoke in my nostrils, a fire that burns all the day.

6 See, it stands written before me; I will not remain quiet until I have repaid in full

7 Your crimes and the crimes of your ancestors as well, says the LORD. Since they burned incense on the mountains, and insulted me on the hills, I will at once pour out in full measure their recompense into their laps.

Fate of the Just and Unjust in Israel

8 † Thus says the LORD: As when the juice is pressed from a cluster, and someone says, “Do not destroy it, for there is still good in it,” So will I do for the sake of my servants: I will not destroy them all.

9 From Jacob I will bring forth offspring, from Judah, those who are to possess my mountains; My chosen ones shall possess the land, my servants shall dwell there.

10 Sharon shall become a pasture for the flocks, the Valley of Achor a resting place for the cattle, for my people who have sought me. c

11 But you who forsake the LORD, who forget my holy mountain, Who spread a table for Fortune and fill cups of mixed wine for Destiny,†

12 You I will destine for the sword; you shall all bow down for slaughter; Because I called and you did not answer, I spoke and you did not listen, But did what is evil in my sight and things I do not delight in, you chose, d

13 therefore thus says the Lord GOD: My servants shall eat, but you shall go hungry; My servants shall drink, but you shall be thirsty; My servants shall rejoice, but you shall be put to shame;

14 My servants shall shout for joy of heart, But you shall cry out for grief of heart, and howl for anguish of spirit.

15 You will leave your name for a curse to my chosen ones when the Lord GOD slays you, and calls his servants by another name.

16 Whoever invokes a blessing in the land shall bless by the God of truth;† Whoever takes an oath in the land shall swear by the God of truth; For the hardships of the past shall be forgotten and hidden from my eyes.

A World Renewed

17 † See, I am creating new heavens and a new earth; The former things shall not be remembered nor come to mind. e

18 Instead, shout for joy and be glad forever in what I am creating. Indeed, I am creating Jerusalem to be a joy and its people to be a delight;

19 I will rejoice in Jerusalem and exult in my people. No longer shall the sound of weeping be heard there, or the sound of crying;

20 No longer shall there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, nor anyone who does not live a full lifetime; One who dies at a hundred years shall be considered a youth, and one who falls short of a hundred shall be thought accursed. f

21 They shall build houses and live in them, they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit;

22 They shall not build and others live there; they shall not plant and others eat. As the years of a tree, so the years of my people; and my chosen ones shall long enjoy the work of their hands.

23 They shall not toil in vain, nor beget children for sudden destruction; For they shall be a people blessed by the LORD and their descendants with them.

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

25 † The wolf and the lamb shall pasture together, and the lion shall eat hay like the ox— but the serpent’s food shall be dust. g None shall harm or destroy on all my holy mountain, says the LORD.

Footnotes

†. 65:1-7 These verses serve as a response to the preceding questions about God’s inaction (64:6, 11). It is not God who has been absent, but the people who have walked away from God by idolatrous acts and rituals (vv. 3-4). That is the reason for their punishment (vv. 6-7).

†. 65:5 Render you holy: unclean food is what these people claim has made them sacred! The prophet ridicules them. Sacredness was understood as something communicable (cf. Ex 19:9-15).

†. 65:8 This verse reflects the remnant theology found elsewhere in the Book of Isaiah: 1:8-9; 4:3; 6:11-13; etc.

†. 65:11-12 Destiny: the play on words is found in the Hebrew, in which “destiny” and “destine” are menî and manîthî*.

†. 65:16 God of truth: lit., “God of Amen,” i.e., the one who keeps his word.

†. 65:17-18 The new creation (cf. 66:22) is described with apocalyptic exuberance: long life, material prosperity, and so forth. As the former events in 43:18 are to be forgotten, so also the new creation wipes out memory of the first creation.

†. 65:25 The imagery reflects the ideal era described in 11:6-9; see note there.

65:1 Rom 10:20.
65:2 Rom 10:21.
65:10 Hos 2:17.
65:12 Is 66:4; Prv 1:24; Jer 7:13.
65:17 Is 66:22; Rev 21:1.
65:20 Dt 4:40.
65:25 Is 11:6-9.