Isaiah 65
1 Those who before were not asking for me have sought me. Those who have not sought me have found me. I said, “Behold, it is I! Behold, it is I!” to a nation which was not invoking my name.
[This is what Yahweh said]: “I was ready to reply [to my people], but no one requested me [to help them]. I was ready to help [even] those who did not call out to me. I continued to say, ‘I am here [to help you]!’
2 I have extended my hands all day long to an unbelieving people, who advance along a way that is not good, following their own thoughts,
[It is as though] I have continually held out my arms [to show that I am ready to help] my people who rebel [against me], and who [continually] do the evil things that they want to do.
3 to a people who provoke me to anger before my face continually, who immolate in the gardens, and who sacrifice upon the bricks.
They boldly continue to do things that cause me to be angry: They offer sacrifices [to their idols] in their gardens, and they burn incense [to them] on [altars made of] bricks.
4 They live in sepulchers, and they sleep in the shrines of idols. They eat the flesh of swine, and a profane elixir is in their vessels.
They secretly remain awake at night in burial caves, [talking with the spirits of] ([dead people/their ancestors]). They eat the meat of pigs, and their pots are full of [other] meat that is [also] unacceptable to me.
5 They say: “Depart from me! Do not approach me, for you are unclean!” Such as these will be the smoke in my fury, a fire burning all day long.
[Then] they say [to others], ‘Stay away from me; do not come near me, because I am very holy, [with the result that you should not touch me].’ People like that are [like] [MET] smoke in my nose [from] a fire that burns continually.
6 Behold, it has been written in my sight; I will not be silent. Instead, I will render retribution into their sinews.
I have written [a record of all the evil things that they have done]. And I will not do nothing about all those things; I will certainly punish them
7 Your iniquities are joined with the iniquities of your fathers, says the Lord. For they have sacrificed upon the mountains, and they have offended me upon the hills. And so, I will measure back to them, from their first work, into their sinews.
for the sins that they and their ancestors have committed. They have mocked/insulted me by burning incense [to their idols] on the hilltops. So I will punish them like they deserve for doing those things.”
8 Thus says the Lord: In the same way as it is said about a grain found in a cluster, “Do not destroy it, because it is a blessing,” so will I act for the sake of my servants, so that I may not destroy the whole.
This is [also] what Yahweh said: “When there is a cluster of nice grapes on a vine, people do not throw them away, because they know that there is good juice in those grapes. Similarly, because there are some people [in Judah] who faithfully serve/worship me, I will not get rid of all of them.
9 And I will lead forth an offspring from Jacob, and a possessor of my mountains from Judah. And my elect shall inherit it, and my servants shall live there.
I will spare some of the descendants of Jacob who are living on the hills of Judah. I have chosen them, and they will possess that land; they will worship/serve me, and they will live there.
10 And the open plains will become sheepfolds for the flocks, and the valley of Achor will become a domicile for the herds, for my people who have sought me.
[Then all the land from the] Sharon [Plain near the Mediterranean Sea] and [as far east as] Achor Valley [near Jericho] will become pastureland where their cattle and sheep will rest.
11 And you who have forsaken the Lord, who have forgotten my holy mountain, who set a table for Fortune, and who offer libations concerning her:
But [it will be different] for you who have abandoned me, you who do not worship me on [Zion], my sacred hill, you who worship Gad and Meni, [the gods who you think will bring you] good luck and good fortune.
12 I will number you with the sword, and you will all fall by slaughter. For I called and you did not respond; I spoke, and you did not listen. And you did what is evil in my eyes; and what I did not will, you have chosen.
[It is I, not Meni, who will decide/say what will happen to you]; you will all [be slaughtered by] swords. [That will happen] because you did not answer when I called out to you. I spoke to you, but you did not pay attention. Instead, you did things that I said are evil; you chose to do things that do not please me.
13 Because of this, thus says the Lord God: Behold, my servants will eat, and you will be hungry. Behold, my servants will drink, and you will be thirsty.
I, Yahweh the Lord, will give to those who worship and obey me things to eat and drink, and they will be happy; but [all] you evil people will be hungry and thirsty, and you will be [sad and] disgraced.
14 Behold, my servants will rejoice, and you will be confounded. Behold, my servants will give praise in exultation of heart, and you will cry out in sorrow of heart, and you will wail in contrition of spirit.
Those who worship and obey me will sing joyfully, but you [evil people] will wail loudly because you will be suffering in your inner beings.
15 And you will leave behind your name to my elect as a curse. And the Lord God will put you to death, and he will call his servants by another name.
Those whom I have chosen will use your names when they curse people; [I], Yahweh the Lord, will get rid of you. But I will give to those who worship and obey me a new name [that they will use when they bless people].
16 By that name, whoever is blessed on earth, will be blessed in God. Amen! And whoever swears on earth, will swear by God. Amen! For the past anguishes have been delivered into oblivion, and they have been hidden from my eyes.
The people in this land have had many troubles, but I will cause those troubles to occur no more. Therefore those who ask me to bless them and those who solemnly promise to do something should never forget that I am God, who faithfully [do what I promise to do].”
17 For behold, I create the new heavens and the new earth. And the former things will not be in memory and will not enter into the heart.
“Note this: [Some day] I will create a new heaven and a new earth. [They will be very wonderful, with the result that] you will no longer think about all [the troubles] you had previously.
18 But you will be glad and exult, even forever, in these things that I create. For behold, I create Jerusalem as an exultation, and its people as a joy.
Be glad and always rejoice because of what I will do: Jerusalem will be a place where [people] rejoice; the people who live there will always be happy.
19 And I will exult in Jerusalem, and I will rejoice in my people. And neither a voice of weeping, nor a voice of outcry, will be heard in her anymore.
I will rejoice about Jerusalem, and I will be delighted with my people. [People] will no longer weep or cry because of being distressed.
20 There will no longer be an infant of only a few days there, nor an elder who does not complete his days. For a mere child dies at a hundred years of age, and a sinner of a hundred years will be accursed.
No child will die when it is still an infant; all people will live until they are very old. [People will consider that] anyone who is 100 years old is still young; [they will consider that] anyone who dies who is younger than that has been cursed.
21 And they will build houses, and will inhabit them. And they will plant vineyards, and will eat their fruits.
My people will build houses and [then] live in them. They will plant vineyards and then eat grapes from those vineyards.
22 They will not build, so that another may inhabit. They will not plant, so that another may eat. For according to the days of a tree, so will be the days of my people. And the works of their hands will be long-standing.
As for the houses that they build, no one will [take those houses away from them and] live in them. No one will take a vineyard away from its owner. My chosen people will live a long time, like trees do, and they will enjoy what they have accomplished— [the houses that they have built and the crops that they have planted].
23 My elect will not labor in vain, and they will not bring forth in disorder. For they are the offspring of the blessed of the Lord, and their posterity are with them.
They will not work hard in vain, and their children will not die from some (calamity/terrible thing happening to them). I will [certainly] bless their children and their grandchildren.
24 And this shall be: before they call out, I will perceive; while they are still speaking, I will hear.
Before they call to me [to help them], I will answer; I will answer their prayers while they are still praying [for me to do something for them].
25 The wolf and the lamb will pasture together. The lion and the ox will eat hay. And dust will be the food of the serpent. They will not harm, and they will not kill, on all my holy mountain, says the Lord.
No one will be harmed or injured anywhere on [Zion], my sacred hill: Wolves and lambs will eat grass together [peacefully]; lions will eat hay like oxen do, [and they will not attack people]. Snakes will [not hurt anyone; they will lie on the ground and] eat [only] dirt. [That is surely what it will be like because I], Yahweh, have said it.”
