Isaiah 65

The Righteousness of God’s Judgment

1“I was sought by those who did not ask for Me;[#Rom. 9:24; 10:20]

I was found by those who did not seek Me.

I said, ‘Here I am, here I am,’

To a nation that was not called by My name.

2I have stretched out My hands all day long to a rebellious people,[#Rom. 10:21; #Is. 1:2, 23]

Who walk in a way that is not good,

According to their own thoughts;

3A people who provoke Me to anger continually to My face;[#Deut. 32:21]

Who sacrifice in gardens,

And burn incense on altars of brick;

4Who sit among the graves,[#Deut. 18:11]

And spend the night in the tombs;

Who eat swine’s flesh,

And the broth of abominable things is in their vessels;

5Who say, ‘Keep to yourself,[#Matt. 9:11; Luke 7:39; 18:9–12]

Do not come near me,

For I am holier than you!’

These are smoke in My nostrils,

A fire that burns all the day.

6“Behold, it is written before Me:[#Deut. 32:34]

I will not keep silence, but will repay—

Even repay into their bosom—

7Your iniquities and the iniquities of your fathers together,”[#Ex. 20:5]

Says the Lord ,

“Who have burned incense on the mountains

And blasphemed Me on the hills;

Therefore I will measure their former work into their bosom.”

8Thus says the Lord :

“As the new wine is found in the cluster,

And one says, ‘Do not destroy it,

For a blessing is in it,’

So will I do for My servants’ sake,

That I may not destroy them all.

9I will bring forth descendants from Jacob,

And from Judah an heir of My mountains;

My elect shall inherit it,

And My servants shall dwell there.

10Sharon shall be a fold of flocks,[#Is. 33:9]

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

For My people who have sought Me.

11“But you are those who forsake the Lord ,

Who forget My holy mountain,

Who prepare a table for Gad,

And who furnish a drink offering for Meni.

12Therefore I will number you for the sword,

And you shall all bow down to the slaughter;

Because, when I called, you did not answer;

When I spoke, you did not hear,

But did evil before My eyes,

And chose that in which I do not delight.”

13Therefore thus says the Lord God :

“Behold, My servants shall eat,

But you shall be hungry;

Behold, My servants shall drink,

But you shall be thirsty;

Behold, My servants shall rejoice,

But you shall be ashamed;

14Behold, My servants shall sing for joy of heart,

But you shall cry for sorrow of heart,

And wail for grief of spirit.

15You shall leave your name as a curse to My chosen;[#Jer. 29:22; Zech. 8:13; #Is. 65:9, 22]

For the Lord God will slay you,

And call His servants by another name;

16So that he who blesses himself in the earth[#Ps. 72:17; Jer. 4:2]

Shall bless himself in the God of truth;

And he who swears in the earth

Shall swear by the God of truth;

Because the former troubles are forgotten,

And because they are hidden from My eyes.

The Glorious New Creation

17“For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth;[#Is. 51:16; 66:22; (2 Pet. 3:13); Rev. 21:1]

And the former shall not be remembered or come to mind.

18But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create;

For behold, I create Jerusalem as a rejoicing,

And her people a joy.

19I will rejoice in Jerusalem,[#Is. 62:4, 5]

And joy in My people;

The voice of weeping shall no longer be heard in her,

Nor the voice of crying.

20“No more shall an infant from there live but a few days,

Nor an old man who has not fulfilled his days;

For the child shall die one hundred years old,

But the sinner being one hundred years old shall be accursed.

21They shall build houses and inhabit them;[#Ezek. 28:26; 45:4; Hos. 11:11; Amos 9:14]

They shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.

22They shall not build and another inhabit;

They shall not plant and another eat;

For as the days of a tree, so shall be the days of My people,

And My elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.

23They shall not labor in vain,

Nor bring forth children for trouble;

For they shall be the descendants of the blessed of the Lord ,

And their offspring with them.

24“It shall come to pass

That before they call, I will answer;

And while they are still speaking, I will hear.

25The wolf and the lamb shall feed together,[#Is. 11:6–9]

The lion shall eat straw like the ox,

And dust shall be the serpent’s food.

They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain,”

Says the Lord .

The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
Published by: Thomas Nelson, Inc.