Isaiah 65

LXV

1I am sought of them who asked not of me;

I am found of them that sought me not:

I have said: Behold me! behold me!

Unto a nation that was not called by my name.

2I have spread out my hands all the day to a rebellious people,

Who walk in a way that was not good, after their own devices.

3A people who provoke me to anger continually to my face,

Sacrificing in the gardens, and burning incense on the tiles:

4Who dwell in the sepulchres, and lodge in the caverns;

Who eat swine’s flesh,

And broth of abominable meats is in their vessels;

5Who say: Keep by thyself; come not near to me, for I am holier than thou.

These are a smoke in my nose,

A fire that burneth all the day long.

6Behold I it is written before me:

I will not keep silence, but I will surely recompense,

Even recompense into their bosom,

7Your iniquities, and the iniquities of your fathers together, saith Jehovah;

For that they have burnt incense on the mountains, and dishonoured me upon the hills;

Yea, I will measure the reward of their former work into their bosom.

8Thus saith Jehovah:

As when new wine is found in a cluster of grapes,

And one saith: Destroy it not, for a blessing is in it:

So will I do for my servants’ sakes; I will not destroy the whole.

9For I will cause to go forth from Jacob a seed,

And from Judah an inheritor of my mountains;

And my chosen shall inherit it,

And my servants shall dwell there.

10And Sharon shall be a fold for the flocks,

And the valley of Achor a place for the herds to lie down in,

For my people that have sought me.

11But ye, who have deserted Jehovah,

And have forgotten my holy mountain;

Who set in order a table for Gad,

And fill out a libation for Meni:

12You will I number out to the sword,

And all of you shall bow down to the slaughter:

Because, when I called, ye did not answer;

When I spake, ye did not hear:

But ye did that which was evil in my sight,

And did choose that wherein I delighted not.

13Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah:

Behold! my servants shall eat, but ye shall be hungry;

Behold! my servants shall drink, but ye shall be thirsty;

Behold! my servants shall rejoice, but ye shall be ashamed:

14Behold! my servants shall sing aloud for gladness of heart;

But ye shall cry aloud for sorrow of heart;

And ye Shall howl through the anguish of a broken spirit.

15And ye shall leave your name for an execration unto my chosen;

For the Lord Jehovah shall slay thee,

And call his servants by another name.

16Whoso blesseth himself upon the earth,

Shall bless himself by the God of truth;

And whoso sweareth upon the earth,

Shall swear by the God of truth;

Because the former troubles are forgotten,

And because they ore hidden from mine eyes.

17For behold! I create new heavens, and a new earth;

And the former shall not be remembered,

Nor come into mind.

18But ye shall rejoice and exult for ever in that which I create;

For behold! I create Jerusalem an exultation,

And her people a joy.

19And I will exult in Jerusalem,

And rejoice in my people;

And there shall no more be heard in her The voice of weeping,

Nor the voice of a distressful cry.

20There shall be no more thence an infant of days,

Nor an old man that hath not fulfilled his days;

For he that dieth an hundred years old shall die a youth;

And he that falleth short of an hundred years shall be held accursed.

21And they shall build houses, and shall inhabit them;

And they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them.

22They shall not build, and another inhabit;

They shall not plant, and another eat:

For as the days of a tree shall be the days of my people,

And my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands.

23They shall not labour in vain,

Nor bring forth children for instant death;

For they are the seed of the blessed of Jehovah;

And their offspring shall be with them.

24And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer;

And while they are yet speaking, I will hear.

25The wolf and the lamb shall feed together,

And the lion shall eat straw like the ox:

But as for the serpent, dust shall be his food.

They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain,

Saith Jehovah.

Translated by Rev John Jones (Ioan Tegid).Published at Oxford in 1830, second edition 1842.

Learn More About Isaiah 1830, 1842 (John Jones alias Ioan Tegid)

Isaiah 65

Judgment and Final Salvation

1The 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.#65:1 Or to a nation that did not bear my name.

2All day long I opened my arms to a rebellious people.#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.

But they follow their own evil paths

and their own crooked schemes.

3All day long they insult me to my face

by worshiping idols in their sacred gardens.

They burn incense on pagan altars.

4At night they go out among the graves,

worshiping the dead.

They eat the flesh of pigs

and make stews with other forbidden foods.

5Yet 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.

6“Look, my decree is written out#65:6 Or their sins are written out; Hebrew reads it stands written. in front of me:

I will not stand silent;

I will repay them in full!

Yes, I will repay them—

7both 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!

8“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.

9I will preserve a remnant of the people of Israel#65:9 Hebrew remnant of Jacob. See note on 14:1.

and of Judah to possess my land.

Those I choose will inherit it,

and my servants will live there.

10The 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,

12now 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.”

13Therefore, 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.

14My servants will sing for joy,

but you will cry in sorrow and despair.

15Your 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.

16All 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.

18Be 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.

19I 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!

21In those days people will live in the houses they build

and eat the fruit of their own vineyards.

22Unlike 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.

23They 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.

24I 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!

25The 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!”

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