Isaiah 65 – NIRV & NIV

New International Reader’s Version

Isaiah 65:1-25

The Lord Judges and Saves

1The Lord says, “I made myself known to those who were not asking for me.

I was found by those who were not trying to find me.

I spoke to a nation that did not pray to me.

‘Here I am,’ I said. ‘Here I am.’

2All day long I have held out my hands

to welcome a stubborn nation.

They lead sinful lives.

They go where their evil thoughts take them.

3They are always making me very angry.

They do it right in front of me.

They offer sacrifices in the gardens of other gods.

They burn incense on altars that are made out of bricks.

4They sit among the graves.

They spend their nights talking to the spirits of the dead.

They eat the meat of pigs.

Their cooking pots hold soup that has ‘unclean’ meat in it.

5They say, ‘Keep away! Don’t come near us!

We are too sacred for you!’

Those people are like smoke in my nose.

They are like a fire that keeps burning all day.

6“I will judge them. I have even written it down.

I will not keep silent.

Instead, I will pay them back for all their sins.

7I will punish them for their sins.

I will also punish them for the sins of their people before them.”

This is what the Lord says.

“They burned sacrifices on the mountains.

They disobeyed me by worshiping other gods on the hills.

So I will make sure they are fully punished

for all the sins they have committed.”

8The Lord says,

“Sometimes juice is still left in grapes that have been crushed.

So people say, ‘Don’t destroy them.’

They are still of some benefit.”

That is what I will do for the good of those who serve me.

I will not destroy all my people.

9I will give children

to the families of Jacob and Judah.

They will possess my entire land.

My chosen people will be given all of it.

Those who serve me will live there.

10Their flocks will eat in the rich grasslands of Sharon.

Their herds will rest in the Valley of Achor.

That is what I will do for my people who follow me.

11“But some of you have deserted me.

You no longer worship on my holy mountain of Zion.

You spread a table for the god called Good Fortune.

You offer bowls of mixed wine to the god named Fate.

12So I will make it your fate to be killed by swords.

All of you will die in the battle.

That’s because I called out to you, but you did not answer me.

I spoke to you, but you did not listen.

You did what is evil in my sight.

You chose to do what does not please me.”

13So the Lord and King says,

“Those who serve me will have food to eat.

But you will be hungry.

My servants will have plenty to drink.

But you will be thirsty.

Those who serve me will be full of joy.

But you will be put to shame.

14My servants will sing

with joy in their hearts.

But you will cry out

because of the great pain in your hearts.

You will cry because your spirits are sad.

15My chosen ones will use your names

when they curse others.

I am your Lord and King.

I will put you to death.

But I will give new names to those who serve me.

16They will ask me to bless their land.

They will do it in my name.

I am the one true God.

They will make promises in their land.

They will do it in my name.

I am the one true God.

The troubles of the past will be forgotten.

They will be hidden from my eyes.

The Lord Will Create New Heavens and a New Earth

17“I will create new heavens and a new earth.

The things that have happened before will not be remembered.

They will not even enter your minds.

18So be glad and full of joy forever

because of what I will create.

I will cause others to take delight in Jerusalem.

They will be filled with joy

when they see its people.

19And I will be full of joy because of Jerusalem.

I will take delight in my people.

Weeping and crying

will not be heard there anymore.

20“Babies in Jerusalem will no longer

live only a few days.

Old people will not fail

to live for a very long time.

Those who live to the age of 100

will be thought of as mere children when they die.

Those who die before they are 100

will be considered as having been under God’s curse.

21My people will build houses and live in them.

They will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.

22They will no longer build houses

only to have others live in them.

They will no longer plant crops

only to have others eat them.

My people will live to be as old as trees.

My chosen ones will enjoy for a long time

the things they have worked for.

23Their work will not be worthless anymore.

They will not have children who are sure to face sudden terror.

Instead, I will bless them.

I will also bless their children after them.

24Even before they call out to me, I will answer them.

While they are still speaking, I will hear them.

25Wolves and lambs will eat together.

Lions will eat straw like oxen.

Serpents will eat nothing but dust.

None of those animals will harm or destroy

anything or anyone on my holy mountain of Zion,”

says the Lord.

New International Version

Isaiah 65:1-25

Judgment and Salvation

1“I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me;

I was found by those who did not seek me.

To a nation that did not call on my name,

I said, ‘Here am I, here am I.’

2All day long I have held out my hands

to an obstinate people,

who walk in ways not good,

pursuing their own imaginations—

3a people who continually provoke me

to my very face,

offering sacrifices in gardens

and burning incense on altars of brick;

4who sit among the graves

and spend their nights keeping secret vigil;

who eat the flesh of pigs,

and whose pots hold broth of impure meat;

5who say, ‘Keep away; don’t come near me,

for I am too sacred for you!’

Such people are smoke in my nostrils,

a fire that keeps burning all day.

6“See, it stands written before me:

I will not keep silent but will pay back in full;

I will pay it back into their laps—

7both your sins and the sins of your ancestors,”

says the Lord.

“Because they burned sacrifices on the mountains

and defied me on the hills,

I will measure into their laps

the full payment for their former deeds.”

8This is what the Lord says:

“As when juice is still found in a cluster of grapes

and people say, ‘Don’t destroy it,

there is still a blessing in it,’

so will I do in behalf of my servants;

I will not destroy them all.

9I will bring forth descendants from Jacob,

and from Judah those who will possess my mountains;

my chosen people will inherit them,

and there will my servants live.

10Sharon will become a pasture for flocks,

and the Valley of Achor a resting place for herds,

for my people who seek me.

11“But as for you who forsake the Lord

and forget my holy mountain,

who spread a table for Fortune

and fill bowls of mixed wine for Destiny,

12I will destine you for the sword,

and all of you will fall in the slaughter;

for I called but you did not answer,

I spoke but you did not listen.

You did evil in my sight

and chose what displeases me.”

13Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“My servants will eat,

but you will go hungry;

my servants will drink,

but you will go thirsty;

my servants will rejoice,

but you will be put to shame.

14My servants will sing

out of the joy of their hearts,

but you will cry out

from anguish of heart

and wail in brokenness of spirit.

15You will leave your name

for my chosen ones to use in their curses;

the Sovereign Lord will put you to death,

but to his servants he will give another name.

16Whoever invokes a blessing in the land

will do so by the one true God;

whoever takes an oath in the land

will swear by the one true God.

For the past troubles 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.

The former things will not be remembered,

nor will they come to mind.

18But be glad and rejoice forever

in what I will create,

for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight

and its people a joy.

19I will rejoice over Jerusalem

and take delight in my people;

the sound of weeping and of crying

will be heard in it no more.

20“Never again will there be in it

an infant who lives but a few days,

or an old man who does not live out his years;

the one who dies at a hundred

will be thought a mere child;

the one who fails to reach65:20 Or the sinner who reaches a hundred

will be considered accursed.

21They will build houses and dwell in them;

they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.

22No longer will they build houses and others live in them,

or plant and others eat.

For as the days of a tree,

so will be the days of my people;

my chosen ones will long enjoy

the work of their hands.

23They will not labor in vain,

nor will they bear children doomed to misfortune;

for they will be a people blessed by the Lord,

they and their descendants with them.

24Before they call I will answer;

while they are still speaking I will hear.

25The wolf and the lamb will feed together,

and the lion will eat straw like the ox,

and dust will be the serpent’s food.

They will neither harm nor destroy

on all my holy mountain,”

says the Lord.