64:1 (63:19b)
The mountains would tremble
64:2 (64:1) As when fire ignites dry wood,
or fire makes water boil,
let your adversaries know who you are,
and may the nations shake at your presence!
64:3 When you performed awesome deeds that took us by surprise,
you came down, and the mountains trembled
64:4 Since ancient times no one has heard or perceived,
no eye has seen any God besides you,
who intervenes for those who wait for him.
64:5 You assist
who observe your commandments.
Look, you were angry because we violated them continually.
How then can we be saved?
64:6 We are all like one who is unclean,
all our so-called righteous acts are like a menstrual rag in your sight.
We all wither like a leaf;
our sins carry us away like the wind.
64:7 No one invokes
or makes an effort
For you have rejected us
and handed us over to our own sins.
64:8 Yet,
We are the clay, and you are our potter;
we are all the product of your labor.
64:9 Lord, do not be too angry!
Do not hold our sins against us continually!
Take a good look at your people, at all of us!
64:10 Your chosen
Zion has become a desert,
Jerusalem
64:11 Our holy temple, our pride and joy,
the place where our ancestors praised you,
has been burned with fire;
all our prized possessions have been destroyed.
64:12 In light of all this,
How can you be silent and continue to humiliate us?
65:1 “I made myself available to those who did not ask for me;
I appeared to those who did not look for me.
I said, ‘Here I am! Here I am!’
to a nation that did not invoke
65:2 I spread out my hands all day long
to my rebellious people,
who lived in a way that is morally unacceptable,
and who did what they desired.
65:3 These people continually and blatantly offend me
as they sacrifice in their sacred orchards
and burn incense on brick altars.
65:4 They sit among the tombs
and keep watch all night long.
They eat pork,
and broth
65:5 They say, ‘Keep to yourself!
Don’t get near me, for I am holier than you!’
These people are like smoke in my nostrils,
like a fire that keeps burning all day long.
65:6 Look, I have decreed:
I will not keep silent, but will pay them back;
I will pay them back exactly what they deserve,
65:7 for your sins and your ancestors’ sins,”
“Because they burned incense on the mountains
and offended
I will punish them in full measure.”
65:8 This is what the Lord says:
“When
someone says, ‘Don’t destroy it, for it contains juice.’
So I will do for the sake of my servants –
I will not destroy everyone.
65:9 I will bring forth descendants from Jacob,
and from Judah people to take possession of my mountains.
My chosen ones will take possession of the land;
my servants will live there.
65:10 Sharon
and the Valley of Achor
they will belong to my people, who seek me.
65:11 But as for you who abandon the Lord
and forget about worshiping at
who prepare a feast for the god called ‘Fortune,’
and fill up wine jugs for the god called ‘Destiny’
65:12 I predestine you to die by the sword,
all of you will kneel down at the slaughtering block,
because I called to you, and you did not respond,
I spoke and you did not listen.
You did evil before me;
you chose to do what displeases me.”
65:13 So this is what the sovereign Lord says:
“Look, my servants will eat, but you will be hungry!
Look, my servants will drink, but you will be thirsty!
Look, my servants will rejoice, but you will be humiliated!
65:14 Look, my servants will shout for joy as happiness fills their hearts!
But you will cry out as sorrow fills your hearts;
you will wail because your spirits will be crushed.
65:15 Your names will live on in the curse formulas of my chosen ones.
The sovereign Lord will kill you,
but he will give his servants another name.
65:16 Whoever pronounces a blessing in the earth
will do so in the name of the faithful God;
whoever makes an oath in the earth
will do so in the name of the faithful God.
For past problems will be forgotten;
I will no longer think about them.
65:17 For look, I am ready to create
new heavens and a new earth!
The former ones
no one will think about them anymore.
65:18 But be happy and rejoice forevermore
over what I am about to create!
For look, I am ready to create Jerusalem
and her people to be a source of happiness.
65:19 Jerusalem will bring me joy,
and my people will bring me happiness.
The sound of weeping or cries of sorrow
will never be heard in her again.
65:20 Never again will one of her infants live just a few days
or an old man die before his time.
Indeed, no one will die before the age of a hundred,
anyone who fails to reach
65:21 They will build houses and live in them;
they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
65:22 No longer will they build a house only to have another live in it,
or plant a vineyard only to have another eat its fruit,
for my people will live as long as trees,
and my chosen ones will enjoy to the fullest what they have produced.
65:23 They will not work in vain,
or give birth to children that will experience disaster.
For the Lord will bless their children
and their descendants.
65:24 Before they even call out,
while they are still speaking, I will hear.
65:25 A wolf and a lamb will graze together;
a lion, like an ox, will eat straw,
and a snake’s food will be dirt.
They will no longer injure or destroy
on my entire royal mountain,”
66:1 This is what the Lord says:
“The heavens are my throne
and the earth is my footstool.
Where then is the house you will build for me?
Where is the place where I will rest?
66:2 My hand made them;
that is how they came to be,”
I show special favor
who respect what I have to say.
66:3 The one who slaughters a bull also strikes down a man;
the one who sacrifices a lamb also breaks a dog’s neck;
the one who presents an offering includes pig’s blood with it;
the one who offers incense also praises an idol.
They have decided to behave this way;
they enjoy these disgusting practices.
66:4 So I will choose severe punishment
I will bring on them what they dread,
because I called, and no one responded,
I spoke and they did not listen.
They did evil before me;
they chose to do what displeases me.”
66:5 Hear the word of the Lord,
you who respect what he has to say!
Your countrymen,
and exclude you, supposedly for the sake of my name,
say, “May the Lord be glorified,
then we will witness your joy.”
But they will be put to shame.
66:6 The sound of battle comes from the city;
the sound comes from the temple!
It is the sound of the Lord paying back his enemies.
66:7 Before she goes into labor, she gives birth!
Before her contractions begin, she delivers a boy!
66:8 Who has ever heard of such a thing?
Who has ever seen this?
Can a country
Can a nation be born in a single moment?
Yet as soon as Zion goes into labor she gives birth to sons!
66:9 “Do I bring a baby to the birth opening and then not deliver it?”
asks the Lord.
“Or do I bring a baby to the point of delivery and then hold it back?”
asks your God.
66:10 Be happy for Jerusalem
and rejoice with her, all you who love her!
Share in her great joy,
all you who have mourned over her!
66:11 For
you will feed with joy from her milk-filled breasts.
66:12 For this is what the Lord says:
“Look, I am ready to extend to her prosperity that will flow like a river,
the riches of nations will flow into her like a stream that floods its banks.
You will nurse from her breast
you will play on her knees.
66:13 As a mother consoles a child,
so I will console you,
and you will be consoled over Jerusalem.”
66:14 When you see this, you will be happy,
and you will be revived.
The Lord will reveal his power to his servants
and his anger to his enemies.
66:15 For look, the Lord comes with fire,
his chariots come like a windstorm,
to reveal his raging anger,
his battle cry, and his flaming arrows.
66:16 For the Lord judges all humanity
with fire and his sword;
the Lord will kill many.
66:17 “As for those who consecrate and ritually purify themselves so they can follow their leader and worship in the sacred orchards,