Isaiah 65-66

New International Version

Judgment and Salvation

65 “I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me;
    I was found by those who did not seek me.^(A)
To a nation^(B) that did not call on my name,^(C)
    I said, ‘Here am I, here am I.’
²All day long I have held out my hands
    to an obstinate people,^(D)
who walk in ways not good,
    pursuing their own imaginations^(E)—
³a people who continually provoke me
    to my very face,^(F)
offering sacrifices in gardens^(G)
    and burning incense^(H) on altars of brick;
⁴who sit among the graves^(I)
    and spend their nights keeping secret vigil;
who eat the flesh of pigs,^(J)
    and whose pots hold broth of impure meat;
⁵who say, ‘Keep away; don’t come near me,
    for I am too sacred^(K) for you!’
Such people are smoke^(L) in my nostrils,
    a fire that keeps burning all day.

⁶“See, it stands written before me:
    I will not keep silent^(M) but will pay back^(N) in full;
    I will pay it back into their laps^(O)—
⁷both your sins^(P) and the sins of your ancestors,”^(Q)
    says the Lord.
“Because they burned sacrifices on the mountains
    and defied me on the hills,^(R)
I will measure into their laps
    the full payment^(S) for their former deeds.”

⁸This is what the Lord says:

“As when juice is still found in a cluster of grapes^(T)
    and people say, ‘Don’t destroy it,
    there is still a blessing in it,’
so will I do in behalf of my servants;^(U)
    I will not destroy them all.
⁹I will bring forth descendants^(V) from Jacob,
    and from Judah those who will possess^(W) my mountains;
my chosen^(X) people will inherit them,
    and there will my servants live.^(Y)
¹⁰Sharon^(Z) will become a pasture for flocks,^(AA)
    and the Valley of Achor^(AB) a resting place for herds,
    for my people who seek^(AC) me.

¹¹“But as for you who forsake^(AD) the Lord
    and forget my holy mountain,^(AE)
who spread a table for Fortune
    and fill bowls of mixed wine^(AF) for Destiny,
¹²I will destine you for the sword,^(AG)
    and all of you will fall in the slaughter;^(AH)
for I called but you did not answer,^(AI)
    I spoke but you did not listen.^(AJ)
You did evil in my sight
    and chose what displeases me.”^(AK)

¹³Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“My servants will eat,^(AL)
    but you will go hungry;^(AM)
my servants will drink,^(AN)
    but you will go thirsty;^(AO)
my servants will rejoice,^(AP)
    but you will be put to shame.^(AQ)
¹⁴My servants will sing^(AR)
    out of the joy of their hearts,
but you will cry out^(AS)
    from anguish of heart
    and wail in brokenness of spirit.
¹⁵You will leave your name
    for my chosen ones to use in their curses;^(AT)
the Sovereign Lord will put you to death,
    but to his servants he will give another name.^(AU)
¹⁶Whoever invokes a blessing^(AV) in the land
    will do so by the one true God;^(AW)
whoever takes an oath in the land
    will swear^(AX) by the one true God.
For the past troubles^(AY) will be forgotten
    and hidden from my eyes.

New Heavens and a New Earth

¹⁷“See, I will create
    new heavens and a new earth.^(AZ)
The former things will not be remembered,^(BA)
    nor will they come to mind.
¹⁸But be glad and rejoice^(BB) forever
    in what I will create,
for I will create Jerusalem^(BC) to be a delight
    and its people a joy.
¹⁹I will rejoice^(BD) over Jerusalem
    and take delight^(BE) in my people;
the sound of weeping and of crying^(BF)
    will be heard in it no more.

²⁰“Never again will there be in it
    an infant^(BG) who lives but a few days,
    or an old man who does not live out his years;^(BH)
the one who dies at a hundred
    will be thought a mere child;
the one who fails to reach^[a] a hundred
    will be considered accursed.
²¹They will build houses^(BI) and dwell in them;
    they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.^(BJ)
²²No longer will they build houses and others live in them,^(BK)
    or plant and others eat.
For as the days of a tree,^(BL)
    so will be the days^(BM) of my people;
my chosen^(BN) ones will long enjoy
    the work of their hands.
²³They will not labor in vain,^(BO)
    nor will they bear children doomed to misfortune;^(BP)
for they will be a people blessed^(BQ) by the Lord,
    they and their descendants^(BR) with them.
²⁴Before they call^(BS) I will answer;^(BT)
    while they are still speaking^(BU) I will hear.
²⁵The wolf and the lamb^(BV) will feed together,
    and the lion will eat straw like the ox,^(BW)
    and dust will be the serpent’s^(BX) food.
They will neither harm nor destroy
    on all my holy mountain,”^(BY)
says the Lord.

Judgment and Hope

66 This is what the Lord says:

“Heaven is my throne,^(BZ)
    and the earth is my footstool.^(CA)
Where is the house^(CB) you will build for me?
    Where will my resting place be?
²Has not my hand made all these things,^(CC)
    and so they came into being?”
declares the Lord.

“These are the ones I look on with favor:
    those who are humble and contrite in spirit,^(CD)
    and who tremble at my word.^(CE)
³But whoever sacrifices a bull^(CF)
    is like one who kills a person,
and whoever offers a lamb
    is like one who breaks a dog’s neck;
whoever makes a grain offering
    is like one who presents pig’s^(CG) blood,
and whoever burns memorial incense^(CH)
    is like one who worships an idol.
They have chosen their own ways,^(CI)
    and they delight in their abominations;^(CJ)
⁴so I also will choose harsh treatment for them
    and will bring on them what they dread.^(CK)
For when I called, no one answered,^(CL)
    when I spoke, no one listened.
They did evil^(CM) in my sight
    and chose what displeases me.”^(CN)

⁵Hear the word of the Lord,
    you who tremble at his word:^(CO)
“Your own people who hate^(CP) you,
    and exclude you because of my name, have said,
‘Let the Lord be glorified,
    that we may see your joy!’
    Yet they will be put to shame.^(CQ)
⁶Hear that uproar from the city,
    hear that noise from the temple!
It is the sound^(CR) of the Lord
    repaying^(CS) his enemies all they deserve.

⁷“Before she goes into labor,^(CT)
    she gives birth;
before the pains come upon her,
    she delivers a son.^(CU)
⁸Who has ever heard of such things?
    Who has ever seen^(CV) things like this?
Can a country be born in a day^(CW)
    or a nation be brought forth in a moment?
Yet no sooner is Zion in labor
    than she gives birth to her children.^(CX)
⁹Do I bring to the moment of birth^(CY)
    and not give delivery?” says the Lord.
“Do I close up the womb
    when I bring to delivery?” says your God.
¹⁰“Rejoice^(CZ) with Jerusalem and be glad for her,
    all you who love^(DA) her;
rejoice greatly with her,
    all you who mourn^(DB) over her.
¹¹For you will nurse^(DC) and be satisfied
    at her comforting breasts;^(DD)
you will drink deeply
    and delight in her overflowing abundance.”^(DE)

¹²For this is what the Lord says:

“I will extend peace^(DF) to her like a river,^(DG)
    and the wealth^(DH) of nations like a flooding stream;
you will nurse and be carried^(DI) on her arm
    and dandled on her knees.
¹³As a mother comforts her child,^(DJ)
    so will I comfort^(DK) you;
    and you will be comforted over Jerusalem.”

¹⁴When you see this, your heart will rejoice^(DL)
    and you will flourish^(DM) like grass;
the hand^(DN) of the Lord will be made known to his servants,^(DO)
    but his fury^(DP) will be shown to his foes.
¹⁵See, the Lord is coming with fire,^(DQ)
    and his chariots^(DR) are like a whirlwind;^(DS)
he will bring down his anger with fury,
    and his rebuke^(DT) with flames of fire.
¹⁶For with fire^(DU) and with his sword^(DV)
    the Lord will execute judgment^(DW) on all people,
    and many will be those slain^(DX) by the Lord.

¹⁷“Those who consecrate and purify themselves to go into the gardens,^(DY) following one who is among those who eat the flesh of pigs,^(DZ) rats^(EA) and other unclean things—they will meet their end^(EB) together with the one they follow,” declares the Lord.

¹⁸“And I, because of what they have planned and done,^(EC) am about to come^[b] and gather the people of all nations^(ED) and languages, and they will come and see my glory.^(EE)

¹⁹“I will set a sign^(EF) among them, and I will send some of those who survive^(EG) to the nations—to Tarshish,^(EH) to the Libyans^[c] and Lydians^(EI) (famous as archers), to Tubal^(EJ) and Greece,^(EK) and to the distant islands^(EL) that have not heard of my fame or seen my glory.^(EM) They will proclaim my glory among the nations. ²⁰And they will bring^(EN) all your people, from all the nations, to my holy mountain^(EO) in Jerusalem as an offering to the Lord—on horses, in chariots and wagons, and on mules and camels,”^(EP) says the Lord. “They will bring them, as the Israelites bring their grain offerings, to the temple of the Lord in ceremonially clean vessels.^(EQ) ²¹And I will select some of them also to be priests^(ER) and Levites,” says the Lord.

²²“As the new heavens and the new earth^(ES) that I make will endure before me,” declares the Lord, “so will your name and descendants endure.^(ET) ²³From one New Moon to another and from one Sabbath^(EU) to another, all mankind will come and bow down^(EV) before me,” says the Lord. ²⁴“And they will go out and look on the dead bodies^(EW) of those who rebelled^(EX) against me; the worms^(EY) that eat them will not die, the fire that burns them will not be quenched,^(EZ) and they will be loathsome to all mankind.”

Footnotes

Isaiah 65:20 Or the sinner who reaches
Isaiah 66:18 The meaning of the Hebrew for this clause is uncertain.
Isaiah 66:19 Some Septuagint manuscripts Put (Libyans); Hebrew Pul

2 Kings 19:37

New International Version

³⁷One day, while he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisrok, his sons Adrammelek^(A) and Sharezer killed him with the sword,^(B) and they escaped to the land of Ararat.^(C) And Esarhaddon^(D) his son succeeded him as king.

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2 Kings 19:37 in all English translations

2 Chronicles 32:21

New International Version

²¹And the Lord sent an angel,^(A) who annihilated all the fighting men and the commanders and officers in the camp of the Assyrian king. So he withdrew to his own land in disgrace. And when he went into the temple of his god, some of his sons, his own flesh and blood, cut him down with the sword.^(B)

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2 Chronicles 32:21 in all English translations

Isaiah 37:38

New International Version

³⁸One day, while he was worshiping in the temple^(A) of his god Nisrok, his sons Adrammelek and Sharezer killed him with the sword, and they escaped to the land of Ararat.^(B) And Esarhaddon^(C) his son succeeded him as king.^(D)

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Isaiah 37:38 in all English translations

2 Chronicles 33:10-17

New International Version

¹⁰The Lord spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they paid no attention. ¹¹So the Lord brought against them the army commanders of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh prisoner,^(A) put a hook^(B) in his nose, bound him with bronze shackles^(C) and took him to Babylon. ¹²In his distress he sought the favor of the Lord his God and humbled^(D) himself greatly before the God of his ancestors. ¹³And when he prayed to him, the Lord was moved by his entreaty and listened to his plea; so he brought him back to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord is God.

¹⁴Afterward he rebuilt the outer wall of the City of David, west of the Gihon^(E) spring in the valley, as far as the entrance of the Fish Gate^(F) and encircling the hill of Ophel;^(G) he also made it much higher. He stationed military commanders in all the fortified cities in Judah.

¹⁵He got rid of the foreign gods and removed^(H) the image from the temple of the Lord, as well as all the altars he had built on the temple hill and in Jerusalem; and he threw them out of the city. ¹⁶Then he restored the altar of the Lord and sacrificed fellowship offerings and thank offerings^(I) on it, and told Judah to serve the Lord, the God of Israel. ¹⁷The people, however, continued to sacrifice at the high places, but only to the Lord their God.