Isaiah 65

¹Thei souyten me, that axiden not bifore; thei that souyten not me, founden me. Y seide, Lo! Y, lo! Y, to hethene men that knewen not me, and that clepiden not mi name to help.

²I stretchide forth myn hondis al dai to a puple vnbileueful, that goith in a weie not good, aftir her thouytis.

³It is a puple that stirith me to wrathfulnesse, euere bifore my face; whiche offren in gardyns, and maken sacrifice on tiel stoonys;

⁴whiche dwellen in sepulcris, and slepen in the templis of idols; whiche eten swynes fleisch, and vnhooli iwisch is in the vessels of hem;

⁵whiche seien to an hethene man, Go thou awei fro me, neiy thou not to me, for thou art vncleene; these schulen be smoke in my stronge veniaunce, fier brennynge al dai.

⁶Lo! it is writun bifore me; Y schal not be stille, but Y schal yelde, and Y schal quyte in to the bosum of hem youre wickidnessis,

⁷and the wickidnessis of youre fadris togidere, seith the Lord, whiche maden sacrifice on mounteyns, and diden schenschipe to me on litle hillis; and Y schal mete ayen the firste werk of hem in her bosum.

⁸The Lord seith thes thingis, As if a grape be foundun in a clustre, and it be seid, Distrie thou not it, for it is blessyng; so Y schal do for my seruantis, that Y leese not al.

⁹And Y schal lede out of Jacob seed, and of Juda a man hauynge in possessioun myn hooli hillis; and my chosun men schulen enherite it, and my seruauntis schulen dwelle there.

¹⁰And the feeldi places schulen be into floodis of flockis, and the valei of Achar in to a restyng place of droues of neet, to my puple that souyten me.

¹¹And Y schal noumbre you in swerd, that forsoken the Lord, that foryaten myn hooli hil, whiche setten a boord to fortune, and maken sacrifice theronne,

¹²and alle ye schulen falle bi sleyng; for that that Y clepide, and ye answeriden not; Y spak, and ye herden not; and ye diden yuel bifor myn iyen, and ye chesiden tho thingis whiche Y nolde.

¹³For these thingis, the Lord God seith these thingis, Lo! my seruauntis schulen ete, and ye schulen haue hungur; lo! my seruauntis schulen drynke, and ye schulen be thirsti;

¹⁴lo! my seruauntis schulen be glad, and ye schulen be aschamed; lo! my seruauntis schulen herie, for the ful ioie of herte, and ye schulen crie, for the sorewe of herte, and ye schulen yelle, for desolacioun of spirit.

¹⁵And ye schulen leeue youre name in to an ooth to my chosun men; and the Lord God schal sle thee, and he schal clepe hise seruauntis bi another name.

¹⁶In which he that is blessid on erthe, schal be blessid in God amen; and he that swerith in erthe, shal swere in God feithfuli; for the formere angwischis ben youun to foryetyng, and for tho ben hid fro youre iyen.

¹⁷For lo! Y make newe heuenes and a newe erthe, and the formere thingis schulen not be in mynde, and schulen not stie on the herte.

¹⁸But ye schulen haue ioie, and make ful out ioiyng til in to with outen ende, in these thingis whiche Y make; for lo! Y make Jerusalem ful out ioiynge, and the puple therof ioie.

¹⁹And Y schal make ful out ioiyng in Jerusalem, and Y schal haue ioie in my puple; and the vois of weping and the vois of cry schal no more be herd ther ynne.

²⁰A yong child of daies schal no more be there, and an eld man that fillith not hise daies; for whi a child of an hundrid yeer schal die, and a synnere of an hundrid yeer schal be cursid.

²¹And thei schulen bilde housis, and schulen enhabite hem, and thei schulen plaunte vynes, and schulen ete the fruytis of tho.

²²Thei schulen not bilde housis, and an othir schal enhabite hem, thei schulen not plaunte, and an othir schal ete; for whi the daies of my puple schulen be after the daies of the tree, and the werkis of

²³her hondis schulen be elde to my chosun men. Thei schulen not trauele in veyn, nether thei schulen gendre in disturblyng; for it is the seed of hem that ben blessid of the Lord, and the cosyns of hem ben with hem.

²⁴And it schal be, bifor that thei crien, Y schal here; yit while thei speken, Y schal here.

²⁵A wolf and a lomb schulen be fed togidere, and a lioun and an oxe schulen ete stree, and to a serpent dust schal be his breed; thei schulen not anoie, nether schulen sle, in al myn hooli hil, seith 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.