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Punishment and salvation

65 The Lord says,

‘I was ready to answer,
    even when my people did not ask me anything.
I showed myself to people
    who were not even looking for me.
I said, “Look! Here I am!” to a nation
    who did not even use my name to pray.
All the time, I have been ready to help my people,
    even though they turned against me.
But they continue to live in a way that is not good.
    They do whatever they want to do.
They continue to make me angry,
    as they insult me without shame.
They offer sacrifices to their idols in their gardens.
They burn incense to them
    on altars that are made from bricks.
They sit among the graves
    and they hide in caves.[a]
They eat meat from pigs.
    They use unclean meat to make their soup.
They say to each other,
    “Keep away from me! Do not come near me!
    I am too holy for you!”
These people are like smoke in my nose!
    They are like a fire that burns all day.’

The Lord says,

‘Look! I have decided what I will do,
    and I have written it down:
I will not keep quiet.
    I will punish them completely.
I will give them everything that they deserve,
    as punishment for their sins
    and for the sins of their ancestors.
They burned incense to their idols on the mountains,
    and they insulted me on the hills.
So I will punish them completely,
    as much as they deserve.’

This is what the Lord says:

‘If grapes still have some juice in them,
    someone will say, “Do not destroy them.
    There is some juice there that we can use.”
I will do the same thing for my servants.
    I will not destroy them all.
I will cause Jacob's family to have descendants.
There will be people of Judah's family
    who will live on my mountains.
The land will belong to the people that I have chosen.
    My servants will live there.
10 Sharon will become a field where sheep safely eat grass.
    Cows will rest in the Valley of Achor.
Those places will belong to my people,
    those who want to serve me.
11 But punishment will come
    to those people who turn away from the Lord.
You forget to worship me on my holy mountain.[b]
Instead, you prepare food and wine
    to offer to your false gods called “Luck” and “Fate”.
12 So this will be your fate:
    a sword will kill you.
You will all bend down low for someone to kill you.
This will happen because you did not answer me
    when I spoke to you.
You did not even listen to my words.
You did evil things against me.
You chose to do things that I would hate.’

13 So the Almighty Lord says this:

‘Look! My servants will eat,
    but you will be hungry.
Look! My servants will drink,
    but you will be thirsty.
Look! My servants will be happy,
    but you will be ashamed.
14 Yes, my servants will sing with joy
    because they are so happy.
But you will cry aloud
    because you are so sad.
You will weep
    because you are very upset.
15 My own people will use your names when they curse others.
The Almighty Lord will kill you,
    but he will give to his servants another name.
16 People in the land will use the name of the true God,
    when they want to say a blessing.
People in the land who want to make a strong promise
    will also use the name of the true God.
I will forget the troubles that happened in past years.
    I will no longer even think about them.

17 Listen! I will create
    new heavens and a new earth.
People will not remember what things were like before.
    Those thoughts will not be in their minds at all.
18 But be happy about what I will create!
    Be happy for ever!
I will create Jerusalem as a happy place.
    The people who live there will be full of joy.
19 And Jerusalem will cause me to be happy.
    My people will give me joy.
There will be no noise of people who are weeping.
    People will not be sad in Jerusalem again.
20 Never again will there be a baby
    who only lives for a few days.
Old men will continue to live a long life.
People will live until they are 100 years old
    and they will still seem young.
If anyone dies before he is 100 years old,
    people will think that God has cursed him.
21 My people will build houses
    and they will live in them.
They will plant vineyards
    and they will eat the fruit from them.
22 They will no longer build houses
    and then other people live in them.
They will not plant trees
    and then other people to eat the fruit.
My people will have long lives,
    as long as trees live.
My own people will live to enjoy the things
    that they have worked hard to get.
23 Their work will not be useless.
They will not give birth to children
    who will live in fear.
Instead, the Lord will bless their children.
He will bless them
    and their descendants with them.
24 Before they call to me for help,
    I will answer them.
While they are still praying,
    I will hear them.
25 At that time,
    wolves and lambs will eat together.
    Lions will eat straw like cows.
    A snake's food will be dirt.
Nothing will hurt or destroy anything else
    anywhere on my holy mountain.’

That is what the Lord says.[c]

Footnotes

  1. 65:4 They probably did this to worship the spirits of dead people.
  2. 65:11 ‘holy mountain’ means Mount Zion, where Solomon built God's temple.
  3. 65:25 See Isaiah 11:1-9. The ‘holy mountain’ is where God rules as king.

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.’
All day long I have held out my hands
    to an obstinate people,(D)
who walk in ways not good,
    pursuing their own imaginations(E)
a people who continually provoke me
    to my very face,(F)
offering sacrifices in gardens(G)
    and burning incense(H) on altars of brick;
who 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;
who 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.

“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)
both 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.”

This 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.
I 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)
10 Sharon(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,
12 I 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)

13 Therefore 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)
14 My 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.
15 You 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)
16 Whoever 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.
18 But 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.
19 I 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.
21 They will build houses(BI) and dwell in them;
    they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.(BJ)
22 No 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.
23 They 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.
24 Before they call(BS) I will answer;(BT)
    while they are still speaking(BU) I will hear.
25 The 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.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 65:20 Or the sinner who reaches