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Isaiah 65

YHWH judges persistent rebellion, preserves his servants, and promises a renewed creation where his people’s labor and lives are secure.

YHWH speaks through Isaiah to a people who have resisted his call while practicing forbidden worship and claiming superior holiness. He announces repayment for their wrongdoing, yet promises to preserve servants from Jacob and Judah. A sharp contrast follows between those who forsake him and those who serve him. The closing vision describes new heavens and a new earth, with Jerusalem rejoicing, households secure in their work, and creatures living without violence.

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1“I am inquired of by those who didn’t ask. I am found by those who didn’t seek me. I said, ‘See me, see me,’ to a nation that was not called by my name.
2I have spread out my hands all day to a rebellious people, who walk in a way that is not good, after their own thoughts;
3a people who provoke me to my face continually, sacrificing in gardens, and burning incense on bricks;
5who say, ‘Stay by yourself, don’t come near to me, for I am holier than you.’ These are smoke in my nose, a fire that burns all day.
6“Behold, it is written before me: I will not keep silence, but will repay, yes, I will repay into their bosom
7your own iniquities and the iniquities of your fathers together”, says the LORD, “who have burned incense on the mountains, and blasphemed me on the hills. Therefore I will first measure their work into their bosom.”
8The LORD says, “As the new wine is found in the cluster, and one says, ‘Don’t destroy it, for a blessing is in it:’ so I will do for my servants’ sake, that I may not destroy them all.
9I will bring offspring out of Jacob, and out of Judah an inheritor of my mountains. My chosen will inherit it, and my servants will dwell there.
10Sharon will be a fold of flocks, and the valley of Achor a place for herds to lie down in, for my people who have sought me.
11“But you who forsake the LORD, who forget my holy mountain, who prepare a table for Fortune, and who fill up mixed wine to Destiny;
12I will destine you to the sword, and you will all bow down to the slaughter; because when I called, you didn’t answer. When I spoke, you didn’t listen; but you did that which was evil in my eyes, and chose that in which I didn’t delight.”
13Therefore the Lord GOD says, “Behold, my servants will eat, but you will be hungry; behold, my servants will drink, but you will be thirsty. Behold, my servants will rejoice, but you will be disappointed.
14Behold, my servants will sing for joy of heart, but you will cry for sorrow of heart, and will wail for anguish of spirit.
15You will leave your name for a curse to my chosen, and the Lord GOD will kill you. He will call his servants by another name,
16so that he who blesses himself on the earth will bless himself in the God of truth; and he who swears on the earth will swear by the God of truth; because the former troubles are forgotten, and because they are hidden from my eyes.
17“For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former things will not be remembered, nor come into mind.
18But be glad and rejoice forever in that which I create; for, behold, I create Jerusalem to be a delight, and her people a joy.
19I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and delight in my people; and the voice of weeping and the voice of crying will be heard in her no more.
20“No more will there be an infant who only lives a few days, nor an old man who has not filled his days; for the child will die one hundred years old, and the sinner being one hundred years old will be accursed.
21They will build houses and inhabit them. They will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
22They will not build and another inhabit. They will not plant and another eat; for the days of my people will be like the days of a tree, and my chosen will long enjoy the work of their hands.
23They will not labor in vain nor give birth for calamity; for they are the offspring of the LORD’s blessed and their descendants with them.
24It will happen that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.
25The wolf and the lamb will feed together. The lion will eat straw like the ox. Dust will be the serpent’s food. They will not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain,” says the LORD.
World English BibleRead in NIV in Psalmlog →Highlighted verses are the most connected.
Key verses
Isaiah 65:24God’s answer before his people call contrasts with their earlier refusal to answer when he called.
Isaiah 65:17The promise of new heavens and a new earth anchors the closing vision in God’s own creative work.
Isaiah 65:23Fruitful labor and children spared calamity give concrete shape to the blessing promised to God’s servants.
Where this chapter reaches

Romans quotes the opening words about God being found by those who did not seek him and extending his hands to a rebellious people. Revelation shares the promise of new heavens and a new earth, while Genesis supplies the earlier creation setting and the image of the serpent eating dust.

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Notice

After reading the whole chapter

What do you notice about calling and answering in verses 12 and 24?

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Which detail of the promised renewal most challenges your expectations about what God will restore?

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Questions people ask about Isaiah 65

Why does Isaiah 65 mention death in the new heavens and new earth?

Verse 20 describes lives of great length while still mentioning death and a sinner under a curse. The vision uses familiar earthly realities to portray renewal. Christians differ over whether these details describe an intermediate kingdom or use prophetic imagery for final restoration. The chapter itself does not explain that timeline.

Does Isaiah 65:24 promise that every prayer will be answered before it is spoken?

The promise belongs to the closing vision of God’s renewed creation and his blessed people. It contrasts with verse 12, where people refused to answer God’s call. The verse portrays God’s readiness to hear his servants; it does not set a timetable for every prayer offered in present circumstances.

Who are Fortune and Destiny in Isaiah 65:11?

Fortune and Destiny are names of deities associated with prosperity and fate. The people prepare food and mixed wine for them, abandoning YHWH and his holy mountain. Verse 12 answers their devotion to Destiny with God’s declaration that he will destine them to the sword.

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Isaiah · 66 chapters
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Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).