Isa 65 | LSB | STEP | “I permitted Myself to be sought by those who did not ask for Me ; I permitted Myself to be found by those who did not seek Me. I said, ‘Here am I, here am I,’ To a nation which did not call on My name.

‏ Isaiah 65

Judgment and Salvation

1 “I permitted Myself to be sought by those who did not ask for Me;
I permitted Myself to be found by those who did not seek Me.
I said, ‘Here am I, here am I,’
To a nation which did not call on My name.
2 “I have spread out My hands all day long to a rebellious people,
Who walk in the way which is not good, ^{▼▼Lit after}following their own thoughts,
3 A people who continually provoke Me to My face,
Offering sacrifices in gardens and burning incense on bricks,
4 Who sit among graves and spend the night in secret places,
Who eat swine’s flesh,
And the broth of offensive meat is in their pots,
5 Who say, ‘Keep to yourself, do not come near me,
For I am holier than you!’
These are smoke in My ^{▼▼Lit nose}nostrils,
A fire that burns all the day.
6 “Behold, it is written before Me:
I will not keep silent, but I will repay;
I will even repay into their bosom,
7 Both ^{▼▼Lit your}their own iniquities and the iniquities of their fathers together,” says Yahweh.
“Because they have burned incense on the mountains
And reproached Me on the hills,
Therefore I will measure their former work into their bosom.”

8 Thus says Yahweh,

“As the new wine is found in the cluster,
And one says, ‘Do not make it a ruin, for there is ^{▼▼Lit blessing}benefit in it,’
So I will act on behalf of My slaves
In order not to make ^{▼▼Lit the whole}all of them a ruin.
9 “I will bring forth a seed from Jacob,
And a possessor of My mountains from Judah;
Even My chosen ones shall possess it,
And My slaves will dwell there.
10 “Sharon will be a pasture land for flocks,
And the valley of Achor a resting place for herds,
For My people who seek Me.
11 “But you who forsake Yahweh,
Who forget My holy mountain,
Who set a table for ^{▼▼Heb Gad}Fortune,
And who fill cups with mixed wine for ^{▼▼Heb Meni}Destiny,
12 I will destine you for the sword,
And all of you will bow down to the slaughter,
Because I called, but you did not answer;
I spoke, but you did not hear.
And you did what was evil in My eyes
And chose that in which I was not pleased.”

13 Therefore, thus says Lord Yahweh,

“Behold, My slaves will eat, but you will be hungry.
Behold, My slaves will drink, but you will be thirsty.
Behold, My slaves will be glad, but you will be put to shame.
14 “Behold, My slaves will shout joyfully with a merry heart,
But you will cry out with a pained heart,
And you will wail with a broken spirit.
15 “You will leave your name for a ^{▼▼Lit oath}curse to My chosen ones,
And Lord Yahweh will put you to death.
But ^{▼▼As in Gr; Heb He will call His slaves}My slaves will be called by another name,
16 Because he who ^{▼▼Or experience(s) blessing repeatedly, bless(es) himself}is blessed in the earth
Will ^{▼▼Or experience(s) blessing repeatedly, bless(es) himself}be blessed by the God of truth,
And he who swears in the earth
Will swear by the God of truth;
Because the former distresses are forgotten,
And because they are hidden from My sight!

New Heavens and a New Earth

17 “For behold, I am creating a new heavens and a new earth;
And the former things will not be remembered or come upon the heart.
18 “But be joyful and rejoice forever in what I create;
For behold, I create Jerusalem for rejoicing
And her people for joy.
19 “I will also rejoice in Jerusalem and be joyful in My people;
And there will no longer be heard in her
The voice of weeping and the voice of crying.
20 “No longer will there be ^{▼▼Lit from there}in it an infant who lives but a few days,
Or an old man who does not fulfill his days;
For the youth will die at the age of one hundred,
And the ^{▼▼Lit one who misses the mark}one who does not reach the age of one hundred
Will be thought accursed.
21 “They will build houses and inhabit them;
They will also plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
22 “They will not build and another inhabit;
They will not plant and another eat;
For as the ^{▼▼Lit days}lifetime of a tree, so will be the days of My people,
And My chosen ones will wear out the work of their hands.
23 “They will not labor in vain,
Or bear children for terror;
For they are the seed of those blessed by Yahweh,
And their offspring with them.
24 And it will be that before they call, I will answer, and while they are still speaking, I will hear. 25 The wolf and the lamb will graze together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox; and dust will be the serpent’s food. They will do no evil nor act corruptly in all My holy mountain,” says Yahweh.