Isaiah 65

¹Those 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.

²I have extended my hands all day long to an unbelieving people, who advance along a way that is not good, following their own thoughts,

³to a people who provoke me to anger before my face continually, who immolate in the gardens, and who sacrifice upon the bricks.

⁴They 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.

⁵They 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.

⁶Behold, it has been written in my sight; I will not be silent. Instead, I will render retribution into their sinews.

⁷Your 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.

⁸Thus 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.

⁹And 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.

¹⁰And 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.

¹¹And you who have forsaken the Lord, who have forgotten my holy mountain, who set a table for Fortune, and who offer libations concerning her:

¹²I 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.

¹³Because 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.

¹⁴Behold, 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.

¹⁵And 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.

¹⁶By 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.

¹⁷For 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.

¹⁸But 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.

¹⁹And 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.

²⁰There 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.

²¹And they will build houses, and will inhabit them. And they will plant vineyards, and will eat their fruits.

²²They 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.

²³My 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.

²⁴And this shall be: before they call out, I will perceive; while they are still speaking, I will hear.

²⁵The 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.

Isaiah 65

¹I am sought of them that asked not for me; I am found of them that sought me not: I said, Behold me, behold me, unto a nation that was not called by my name.

²I have spread out my hands all the day unto a rebellious people, which walketh in a way that was not good, after their own thoughts;

³A people that provoketh me to anger continually to my face; that sacrificeth in gardens, and burneth incense upon altars of brick;

⁴Which remain among the graves, and lodge in the monuments, which eat swine’s flesh, and broth of abominable things is in their vessels;

⁵Which 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 all the day.

⁶Behold, it is written before me: I will not keep silence, but will recompense, even recompense into their bosom,

⁷Your iniquities, and the iniquities of your fathers together, saith the Lord, which have burned incense upon the mountains, and blasphemed me upon the hills: therefore will I measure their former work into their bosom.

⁸Thus saith the Lord, As the new wine is found in the cluster, and one saith, Destroy it not; for a blessing is in it: so will I do for my servants’ sakes, that I may not destroy them all.

⁹And I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah an inheritor of my mountains: and mine elect shall inherit it, and my servants shall dwell there.

¹⁰And Sharon shall be a fold of flocks, and the valley of Achor a place for the herds to lie down in, for my people that have sought me.

¹¹But ye are they that forsake the Lord, that forget my holy mountain, that prepare a table for that troop, and that furnish the drink offering unto that number.

¹²Therefore will I number you to the sword, and ye shall all bow down to the slaughter: because when I called, ye did not answer; when I spake, ye did not hear; but did evil before mine eyes, and did choose that wherein I delighted not.

¹³Therefore thus saith the Lord God, 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 for joy of heart, but ye shall cry for sorrow of heart, and shall howl for vexation of spirit.

¹⁵And ye shall leave your name for a curse unto my chosen: for the Lord God shall slay thee, and call his servants by another name:

¹⁶That he who blesseth himself in the earth shall bless himself in the God of truth; and he that sweareth in the earth shall swear by the God of truth; because the former troubles are forgotten, and because they are hid 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 be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy.

¹⁹And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying.

²⁰There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed.

²¹And they shall build houses, and 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 are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.

²³They shall not labour in vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for they are the seed of the blessed of the Lord, and their offspring 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 bullock: and dust shall be the serpent’s meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the Lord.