Isaiah 65:21-25

Context

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,¹

or plant a vineyard only to have another eat its fruit,²

for my people will live as long as trees,³

and my chosen ones will enjoy to the fullest what they have produced.⁴

65:23 They will not work in vain,

or give birth to children that will experience disaster.⁵

For the Lord will bless their children

and their descendants.⁶

65:24 Before they even call out,⁷ I will respond;

while they are still speaking, I will hear.

65:25 A wolf and a lamb will graze together;⁸

a lion, like an ox, will eat straw,⁹

and a snake’s food will be dirt.¹⁰

They will no longer injure or destroy

on my entire royal mountain,”¹¹ says the Lord.

[65:22] ¹tn Heb “they will not build, and another live [in it].”

[65:22] ²tn Heb “they will not plant, and another eat.”

[65:22] ³tn Heb “for like the days of the tree [will be] the days of my people.”

[65:22] ⁴tn Heb “the work of their hands” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NLT “their hard-won gains.”

[65:23] ⁵tn Heb “and they will not give birth to horror.”

[65:23] ⁶tn Heb “for offspring blessed by the Lord they [will be], and their descendants along with them.”

[65:24] ⁷tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.

[65:25] ⁸sn A similar statement appears in 11:6.

[65:25] ⁹sn These words also appear in 11:7.

[65:25] ¹⁰sn Some see an allusion to Gen 3:14 (note “you will eat dirt”). The point would be that even in this new era the snake (often taken as a symbol of Satan) remains under God’s curse. However, it is unlikely that such an allusion exists. Even if there is an echo of Gen 3:14, the primary allusion is to 11:8, where snakes are pictured as no longer dangerous. They will no longer attack other living creatures, but will be content to crawl along the ground. (The statement “you will eat dirt” in Gen 3:14 means “you will crawl on the ground.” In the same way the statement “dirt will be its food” in Isa 65:25 means “it will crawl on the ground.”)

[65:25] ¹¹tn Heb “in all my holy mountain.” These same words appear in 11:9. See the note there.