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Major Prophets · WORLD ENGLISH BIBLE

Isaiah 65

Judgment and hope, God's holiness, the servant, restored Zion, and new creation.

Old Testament

Isaiah 65

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;

4who sit among the graves, and spend nights in secret places; who eat pig’s meat, and broth of abominable things is in their vessels;

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.

READ IN CONTEXT

Before applying this chapter

Judgment and hope, God's holiness, the servant, restored Zion, and new creation. Read Isaiah 65 within the complete Isaiah overview, and use the contextual Bible reading guide before forming a personal application. Chapter divisions aid navigation, but the literary unit may begin earlier or continue into the next chapter.

Observe first

Mark repeated words, changes of speaker, commands, promises, contrasts, questions, and the relationship between paragraphs.

Apply responsibly

Distinguish description from command and immediate audience from later readers before forming a personal application.

TEXT-DERIVED READING NOTES

What to notice in Isaiah 65

Isaiah 65 contains 25 verses and about 695 words in this translation. These observations come from the chapter itself; they are prompts for close reading, not claims about its only possible meaning.

The opening movement

Verse 1 begins: ““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.” Ask what situation, voice, image, or argument this opening establishes for everything that follows.

The closing movement

Verse 25 closes: “The 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,”…” Compare the ending with the opening and note what changed, resolved, intensified, or remained open.

Vocabulary worth tracing

Recurring or prominent content words include will, behold, servants, people, didn’t, says. Follow where each word appears and whether its meaning shifts with the speaker or setting.

COMMON QUESTIONS

About Isaiah 65

Which Bible translation is shown here?+

This page reproduces the World English Bible Protestant edition (WEBP), a modern-English translation dedicated to the public domain.

How should I cite a specific verse?+

Use the book, chapter, and verse—for example, Isaiah 65:1—and name the World English Bible if the wording matters. Each verse number above is a direct anchor link.

Does the chapter number define the complete literary unit?+

Not always. Chapter and verse numbers were added for navigation. Check the paragraphs, scenes, poetic stanzas, or argument before and after this chapter.

A SMALL NEXT STEP

You do not have to have everything figured out.

Begin with one honest question, one passage read carefully, and one faithful next step.

Start with prayer