Isa 65 | HCSB | STEP | “I was sought by those who did not ask ; 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 .

‏ Isaiah 65

The Lord’s Response

1 “I was sought by those who did not ask; ^{▼▼LXX, Syr, DSS, Tg read ask for Me}
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 ^{▼▼LXX, Syr, DSS, Tg, Vg read that did not call on} My name. ^c
2 I spread out My hands all day long
to a rebellious people ^d
who walk in the wrong path,
following their own thoughts.
3 These people continually provoke Me
to My face,
sacrificing in gardens, ^e
burning incense on bricks,
4 sitting among the graves,
spending nights in secret places,
eating the meat of pigs, ^f
and putting polluted broth in their bowls. ^{▼▼These vv. describe pagan worship.}
5 They say, ‘Keep to yourself,
don’t come near me, for I am too holy for you!’
These practices are smoke in My nostrils,
a fire that burns all day long.
6 It is written before Me:
I will not keep silent, ^h but I will repay; ⁱ
I will repay them fully ^{▼▼Lit repay into their lap}
7 for your iniquities and the iniquities ^k
of your ^{▼▼LXX, Syr read [for] their iniquities and the iniquities of their} fathers together,”
says the Lord.
“Because they burned incense on the mountains
and reproached Me on the hills, ^m
I will reward them fully ^{▼▼Lit reward into their lap}
for their former deeds.”

8 The Lord says this:

As the new wine is found in a bunch of grapes,
and one says, ‘Don’t destroy it,
for there’s some good ^{▼▼Or there’s a blessing} in it,’
so I will act because of My servants
and not destroy them all.
9 I will produce descendants from Jacob, ^p
and heirs to My mountains from Judah;
My chosen ^q ones will possess it,
and My servants will dwell there. ^r
10 Sharon will be a pasture for flocks, ^s
and the Valley of Achor a place for cattle to lie down, ^t
for My people who have sought Me. ^u
11 But you who abandon the Lord,
who forget My holy mountain,
who prepare a table for Fortune
and fill bowls of mixed wine for Destiny, ^{▼▼Pagan gods}
12 I will destine you for the sword,
and all of you will kneel down to be slaughtered,
because I called and you did not answer,
I spoke and you did not hear;
you did what was evil in My sight
and chose what I did not delight in. ^w

13 Therefore, this is what the Lord God says:

My servants will eat,
but you will be hungry;
My servants will drink,
but you will be thirsty;
My servants will rejoice,
but you will be put to shame.
14 My servants will shout for joy from a glad heart,
but you will cry out from an anguished heart,
and you will lament out of a broken spirit.
15 You will leave your name behind
as a curse for My chosen ones, ^x
and the Lord God will kill you;
but He will give His servants another name. ^y
16 Whoever is blessed in the land
will be blessed by the God of truth, ^z
and whoever swears in the land
will swear by the God of truth.
For the former troubles will be forgotten
and hidden from My sight.

A New Creation

17 “For I will create a new heaven and a new earth; ^aa
the past events will not be remembered or come to mind.
18 Then be glad and rejoice forever
in what I am creating;
for I will create Jerusalem to be a joy
and its people to be a delight.
19 I will rejoice in Jerusalem
and be glad in My people.
The sound of weeping and crying
will no longer be heard in her. ^ab
20 In her, a nursing infant will no longer live
only a few days, ^{▼▼Lit her, no longer infant of days}
or an old man not live out his days.
Indeed, the youth will die at a hundred years,
and the one who misses a hundred years will be cursed. ^ad
21 People will build houses and live in them;
they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit. ^ae
22 They will not build and others live in them;
they will not plant and others eat.
For My people’s lives will be
like the lifetime of a tree. ^af
My chosen ones will fully enjoy
the work of their hands.
23 They will not labor without success ^ag
or bear children destined for disaster,
for they will be a people blessed by the Lord
along with their descendants. ^ah
24 Even before they call, I will answer; ^ai
while they are still speaking, I will hear.
25 The wolf and the lamb will feed together, ^{▼▼Lit as one}
and the lion will eat straw like the ox, ^ak
but the serpent’s food will be dust! ^al
They will not do what is evil or destroy
on My entire holy mountain,” ^am
says the Lord.