> [[isaiah-64|← Previous]] | [[isaiah-00|TOC]] | [[isaiah-66|Next →]] --- # Isaiah, Chapter 65 ## Chapter 65 1 I was ready to respond to those who did not ask, ^isaiah-65-1 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. 2 I have stretched out my hands all day ^isaiah-65-2 to a rebellious people, Who walk in a way that is not good, following their own designs; 3 A people who provoke me ^isaiah-65-3 continually to my face, Offering sacrifices in gardens and burning incense on bricks, 4 Sitting in tombs ^isaiah-65-4 and spending the night in caves, Eating the flesh of pigs, with broth of unclean meat in their dishes; 5 Crying out, “Hold back, ^isaiah-65-5 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; ^isaiah-65-6 I will not remain quiet until I have repaid in full 7 Your crimes and the crimes of your ancestors as well, ^isaiah-65-7 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: ^isaiah-65-8 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, ^isaiah-65-9 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, ^isaiah-65-10 the Valley of Anchor a resting place for the cattle, for my people who have sought me. 11 But you who forsake the LORD, ^isaiah-65-11 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; ^isaiah-65-12 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, 13 therefore thus says the Lord G OD: ^isaiah-65-13 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 ^isaiah-65-14 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 ^isaiah-65-15 when the Lord G OD slays you, and calls his servants by another name. 16 Whoever invokes a blessing in the land ^isaiah-65-16 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 ^isaiah-65-17 and a new earth; The former things shall not be remembered nor come to mind. 18 Instead, shout for joy and be glad forever ^isaiah-65-18 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 ^isaiah-65-19 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 ^isaiah-65-20 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. 21 They shall build houses and live in them, ^isaiah-65-21 they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit; 22 They shall not build and others live there; ^isaiah-65-22 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, ^isaiah-65-23 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; ^isaiah-65-24 while they are yet speaking, I will hear. 25 The wolf and the lamb shall pasture together, ^isaiah-65-25 and the lion shall eat hay like the ox— but the serpent’s food shall be dust. None shall harm or destroy on all my holy mountain, says the LORD. \* (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. ([[exodus-19|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. a. (65:1) [Rom 10:20]. b. (65:2) [Rom 10:21]. c. (65:10) [Hos 2:17]. d. (65:12) [Is 66:4]; [Prv 1:24]; [Jer 7:13]. e. (65:17) [Is 66:22]; [Rv 21:1]. f. (65:20) [Dt 4:40]. g. (65:25) [[isaiah-11|Is 11]]:6 – [9]. --- _New American Bible, revised edition_ (2010, 1991, 1986, 1970) Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C. > [[isaiah-64|← Previous]] | [[isaiah-00|TOC]] | [[isaiah-66|Next →]]