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Text -- Isaiah 65:1--66:24 (NET)
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Strongs On/Off
Context
The Lord Will Distinguish Between Sinners and the Godly
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 my name .
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 from unclean sacrificial meat is in their pans .
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 ,” says the Lord . “Because they burned incense on the mountains and offended me on the hills , I will punish them in full measure .”
65:8 This is what the Lord says : “When juice is discovered in a cluster of grapes, 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 will become a pasture for sheep , and the Valley of Achor a place where cattle graze ; they will belong to my people , who seek me.
65:11 But as for you who abandon the Lord and forget about worshiping at my holy mountain , 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 will not be remembered ; 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 to be a source of joy , 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 the age of a hundred will be considered cursed .
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, I will respond ; 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 ,” says the Lord .
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,” says the Lord . I show special favor to the humble and contrite , 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 for them; 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 , who hate you 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 be brought forth in one day ? 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 nurse from her satisfying breasts and be nourished ; 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 and be carried at her side ; 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 , those who eat the flesh of pigs and other disgusting creatures, like mice – they will all be destroyed together ,” says the Lord .
66:18 “I hate their deeds and thoughts ! So I am coming to gather all the nations and ethnic groups ; they will come and witness my splendor .
66:19 I will perform a mighty act among them and then send some of those who remain to the nations – to Tarshish , Pul , Lud (known for its archers ), Tubal , Javan , and to the distant coastlands that have not heard about me or seen my splendor . They will tell the nations of my splendor .
66:20 They will bring back all your countrymen from all the nations as an offering to the Lord . They will bring them on horses , in chariots , in wagons , on mules , and on camels to my holy hill Jerusalem ,” says the Lord , “just as the Israelites bring offerings to the Lord’s temple in ritually pure containers .
66:21 And I will choose some of them as priests and Levites ,” says the Lord .
66:22 “For just as the new heavens and the new earth I am about to make will remain standing before me,” says the Lord , “so your descendants and your name will remain .
66:23 From one month to the next and from one Sabbath to the next, all people will come to worship me ,” says the Lord .
66:24 “They will go out and observe the corpses of those who rebelled against me, for the maggots that eat them will not die , and the fire that consumes them will not die out. All people will find the sight abhorrent .”
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Names, People and Places, Dictionary Themes and Topics
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Names, People and Places:
Dictionary Themes and Topics:
Isaiah |
Church |
ISAIAH, 1-7 |
Jesus, The Christ |
Isaiah, The Book of |
Israel |
Gentiles |
Condescension of God |
Righteous |
God |
Milleium |
Swine |
Idolatry |
SALVATION |
Apostasy |
Joy |
LIFE |
Pul |
Quotations and Allusions |
Hypocrisy |
more
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expand allCommentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes
NET Notes -> Isa 65:1; Isa 65:1; Isa 65:1; Isa 65:2; Isa 65:3; Isa 65:3; Isa 65:3; Isa 65:4; Isa 65:4; Isa 65:4; Isa 65:4; Isa 65:6; Isa 65:6; Isa 65:7; Isa 65:7; Isa 65:7; Isa 65:8; Isa 65:8; Isa 65:8; Isa 65:9; Isa 65:10; Isa 65:10; Isa 65:10; Isa 65:10; Isa 65:11; Isa 65:11; Isa 65:11; Isa 65:12; Isa 65:12; Isa 65:12; Isa 65:14; Isa 65:14; Isa 65:14; Isa 65:15; Isa 65:15; Isa 65:16; Isa 65:16; Isa 65:16; Isa 65:16; Isa 65:17; Isa 65:17; Isa 65:17; Isa 65:18; Isa 65:18; Isa 65:18; Isa 65:19; Isa 65:20; Isa 65:20; Isa 65:20; Isa 65:20; Isa 65:22; Isa 65:22; Isa 65:22; Isa 65:22; Isa 65:23; Isa 65:23; Isa 65:24; Isa 65:25; Isa 65:25; Isa 65:25; Isa 65:25; Isa 65:25; Isa 66:2; Isa 66:2; Isa 66:2; Isa 66:2; Isa 66:3; Isa 66:3; Isa 66:3; Isa 66:3; Isa 66:3; Isa 66:3; Isa 66:3; Isa 66:4; Isa 66:4; Isa 66:5; Isa 66:5; Isa 66:5; Isa 66:8; Isa 66:9; Isa 66:11; Isa 66:11; Isa 66:11; Isa 66:11; Isa 66:12; Isa 66:12; Isa 66:13; Isa 66:14; Isa 66:14; Isa 66:14; Isa 66:15; Isa 66:15; Isa 66:16; Isa 66:16; Isa 66:17; Isa 66:17; Isa 66:17; Isa 66:18; Isa 66:18; Isa 66:19; Isa 66:19; Isa 66:19; Isa 66:19; Isa 66:19; Isa 66:19; Isa 66:20; Isa 66:20; Isa 66:20; Isa 66:23; Isa 66:23; Isa 66:23; Isa 66:24; Isa 66:24; Isa 66:24; Isa 66:24
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NET Notes: Isa 65:4 The marginal reading (Qere), supported by the Qumran scroll 1QIsaa, reads מְרַק (mÿraq, “broth”), while...
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NET Notes: Isa 65:7 Heb “I will measure out their pay [from the] beginning into their lap,” i.e., he will give them everything they have earned.
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NET Notes: Isa 65:9 Heb “it.” The third feminine singular pronominal suffix probably refers to the land which contains the aforementioned mountains.
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NET Notes: Isa 65:11 The Hebrew has לַמְנִי (lamni, “for Meni”), the name of a pagan deity. See HALOT 602 s.v. מ...
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NET Notes: Isa 65:16 Heb “for the former distresses will be forgotten, and they will be hidden from my eyes.”
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NET Notes: Isa 65:20 Heb “the one who misses.” חָטָא (khata’) is used here in its basic sense of “miss the mark.̶...
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NET Notes: Isa 65:22 Heb “the work of their hands” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NLT “their hard-won gains.”
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NET Notes: Isa 65:23 Heb “for offspring blessed by the Lord they [will be], and their descendants along with them.”
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NET Notes: Isa 65:24 The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.
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NET Notes: Isa 65:25 As in 11:1-9 the prophet anticipates a time when the categories predator-prey no longer exist. See the note at the end of 11:8.
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NET Notes: Isa 66:2 Heb “to the humble and the lowly in spirit and the one who trembles at my words.”
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NET Notes: Isa 66:8 Heb “land,” but here אֶרֶץ (’erets) stands metonymically for an organized nation (see the following li...
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NET Notes: Isa 66:11 Zion’s residents will benefit from and enjoy her great material prosperity. See v. 12.
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NET Notes: Isa 66:12 The words “from her breast” are supplied in the translation for clarification (see v. 11).
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NET Notes: Isa 66:14 Heb “and the hand of the Lord will be made known to his servants, and anger to his enemies.”
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NET Notes: Isa 66:15 Heb “to cause to return with the rage of his anger, and his battle cry [or “rebuke”] with flames of fire.”
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NET Notes: Isa 66:20 The precise meaning of this word is uncertain. Some suggest it refers to “chariots.” See HALOT 498 s.v. *כִּר...
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