Isaiah 65
1 I have heard those that made no supplication; I have been found by those who sought me not; I said, Here I am, here I am, To a people that called not upon my name.
I have been ready to give an answer to those who did not make prayer to me; I have been offering myself to those who were not searching for me; I said, Here am I, here am I, to a nation which gave no respect to my name.
2 I have spread out my hands all the day To a rebellious people, That walketh in an evil way, According to their own devices;
All day my hands have been stretched out to an uncontrolled people, who go in an evil way, after the purposes of their hearts;
3 To a people that provoke me to my face continually; That sacrifice in gardens, And burn incense on tiles;
A people who make me angry every day, making offerings in gardens, and burning perfumes on bricks.
4 That sit in sepulchres, And lodge in caverns; That eat swine's flesh, And have broth of unclean things in their vessels;
Who are seated in the resting-places of the dead, and by night are in the secret places; who take pig's flesh for food, and have the liquid of disgusting things in their vessels.
5 Who yet say: Stand by thyself! come not near to me, For I am holier than thou! These are a smoke in my nose, A fire that burneth continually.
Who say, Keep away, do not come near me, for fear that I make you holy: these are a smoke in my nose, a fire burning all day.
6 Behold, it stands recorded before me; I will not keep silence, but will requite; I will requite it into their bosoms;
See, it is recorded before me, says the Lord: I will not keep back my hand, till I have sent punishment,
7 Your iniquities, and the iniquities of your fathers together, saith Jehovah, Who burnt incense on the mountains, And dishonored me on the hills, I will pour the full recompense of their former deeds into their bosom.
For their sins and the sins of their fathers, who were burning perfumes on the mountains, and saying evil things against me on the hills: so I will take the measure of their sins, and will send the punishment for them into their breast.
8 Thus saith Jehovah: As when juice is found in a cluster, Men say, “Destroy it not, for a blessing is in it”; So will I do, for the sake of my servants, and will not destroy the whole;
This is the word of the Lord: As the new wine is seen in the grapes, and they say, Do not send destruction on it, for a blessing is in it: so will I do for my servants, in order that I may not put an end to them all.
9 I will cause a stem to spring forth from Jacob, And from Judah a possessor of my mountains; My chosen shall possess the land, And my servants shall dwell there.
And I will take a seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah one who will have my mountains for a heritage: and the people I have taken to be mine will have it for themselves, and my servants will have their resting-place there.
10 And Sharon shall be a fold for flocks, And the valley of Achor a resting-place for herds, For my people that have sought me.
And Sharon will be a grass-land for the flocks, and the valley of Achor a resting-place for the herds: for my people whose hearts have been turned back to me.
11 But ye, who have forsaken Jehovah, And have forgotten my holy mountain, That prepare a table for Fortune, And fill the cup for Destiny,
But as for you who have given up the Lord, who have no care for my holy mountain, who get ready a table for Chance, and make offerings of mixed wine to Fate;
12 Yourselves do I destine to the sword, And all of you shall bow down before the slaughter; Because I called, and ye answered not, I spake, and ye would not hear, But did that which is evil in my sight, And chose that in which I had no delight.
Your fate will be the sword, and you will all go down to death: because when my voice came to you, you made no answer; you did not give ear to my word; but you did what was evil in my eyes, desiring what was not pleasing to me.
13 Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, my servants shall eat, and ye shall be hungry; Behold, my servants shall drink, and ye shall be thirsty; Behold, my servants shall rejoice, and ye shall be confounded;
For this cause says the Lord God, My servants will have food, but you will be in need of food: my servants will have drink, but you will be dry: my servants will have joy, but you will be shamed:
14 Behold, my servants shall sing for gladness of heart, But ye shall shriek for sorrow of heart, And howl for anguish of spirit.
My servants will make songs in the joy of their hearts, but you will be crying for sorrow, and making sounds of grief from a broken spirit.
15 And ye shall leave your name for a curse to my chosen, And the Lord Jehovah shall slay you; But his servants will he call by another name.
And your name will become a curse to my people, and the Lord God will put you to death, and give his servants another name:
16 Whoso blesseth himself in the land Shall bless by the true God; And he that sweareth in the land shall swear by the true God; For the former troubles are forgotten, And they are hid from mine eyes.
So that he who is requesting a blessing will make use of the name of the true God, and he who takes an oath will do so by the true God; because the past troubles are gone out of mind, and because they are covered from my eyes.
17 For behold! I create new heavens, and a new earth; The former ones shall not be remembered, Nor shall they be brought to mind any more.
For see, I am making a new heaven and a new earth: and the past things will be gone completely out of mind.
18 But ye shall be glad and exult forever In that which I create; For behold! I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, And her people a joy.
But men will be glad and have joy for ever in what I am making; for I am making Jerusalem a delight, and her people a joy.
19 And I will exult in Jerusalem, And rejoice in my people; No more shall be heard therein The voice of weeping and the cry of distress.
And I will be glad over Jerusalem, and have joy in my people: and the voice of weeping will no longer be sounding in her, or the voice of grief.
20 There shall not be there an infant child, nor an old man, That hath not filled the measure of his years; For he that dieth a hundred years old shall die a youth, And the sinner dying a hundred years old shall be held accursed.
No longer will there be there a child whose days are cut short, or an old man whose days have not come to their full measure: for the young man at his death will be a hundred years old, and he whose life is shorter than a hundred years will seem as one cursed.
21 They shall build houses, and inhabit them; They shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them;
And they will be building houses and living in them; planting vine-gardens and getting the fruit of them.
22 They 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, Yea, long shall my chosen enjoy the work of their hands.
They will no longer be building for the use of others, or planting for others to have the fruit: for the days of my people will be like the days of a tree, and my loved ones will have joy in full measure in the work of their hands.
23 They shall not labor in vain, Nor bring forth children for early death; For they are a race blessed by Jehovah, And their offspring shall remain to them.
Their work will not be for nothing, and they will not give birth to children for destruction; for they are a seed to whom the Lord has given his blessing, and their offspring will be with them.
24 Before they call, I will answer; And while they are yet speaking, I will hear.
And before they make their request I will give an answer, and while they are still making prayer to me, I will give ear.
25 The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, And the lion shall eat straw like the ox, And dust shall be the food of the serpent. They shall not hurt, nor destroy, in all my holy mountain, Saith Jehovah.
The wolf and the lamb will take their food together, and the lion will make a meal of grass like the ox: but dust will be the snake's food. There will be no cause of pain or destruction in all my holy mountain, says the Lord.
