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Jerusalem redeemed

62 For Zion’s sake I won’t keep silent,
    and for Jerusalem’s sake I won’t sit still
    until her righteousness shines out like a light,
    and her salvation blazes like a torch.
Nations will see your righteousness,
    all kings your glory.
You will be called by a new name,
    which the Lord’s own mouth will determine.
You will be a splendid garland in the Lord’s hand,
    a royal turban in the palm of God’s hand.
You will no longer be called Abandoned,
    and your land will no longer be called Deserted.
Instead, you will be called My Delight Is in Her,
    and your land, Married.
    Because the Lord delights in you,
    your land will be cared for once again.
As a young man marries a young woman,
    so your sons will marry you.
    With the joy of a bridegroom because of his bride,
    so your God will rejoice because of you.

Upon your walls, Jerusalem,
    I have appointed sentinels.
Continually, all day and all night,
    they won’t keep silent.
You who call on the Lord, don’t rest,
    and don’t allow God to rest
    until he establishes Jerusalem,
    and makes it the praise of the earth.
The Lord has promised
    with raised hand and strong arm:
    I will never again give your grain
    as food for your enemies.
    Foreigners won’t drink your wine
    for which you labored.
Those who harvest will eat it
    and will praise the Lord;
    those who gather will drink it
    in my holy courtyards.

10 Pass through, pass through the gates;
    prepare the way for the people!
Build, build the road;
    clear away the stones!
    Raise up a signal for the peoples.
11 This is what the Lord announced
    to the earth’s distant regions:
Say to Daughter Zion, “Look! Your deliverer arrives,
    bringing reward and payment!”
12 They will be called The Holy People,
    Redeemed By the Lord.
And you will be called Sought After—
    A City That Is Not Abandoned.

Vengeance against the nations

63 Who is this coming from Edom,
    from Bozrah in bright red garments,
    this splendidly dressed one, striding[a] with great power?
    It is I, proclaiming righteousness, powerful to save!
Why is your clothing red,
    and your garments like those of one who stomps on grapes?
I have pressed out in the vat by myself—from the peoples, no one was with me.
    I stomped on them in my anger,
    trampled them in my wrath.
Their blood splashed on my garments,
    and stained all my clothing,
    because I intended a day of vengeance;
    the year of my deliverance had arrived.
I looked and found no helper;
    I was astonished to find no supporter.
But my arm brought victory for me;
    my wrath helped me.
I trampled down nations in my anger
    and made them drunk on my wrath;
    I spilled their blood on the ground.

Prayer of yearning

I will recount the Lord’s faithful acts;
    I will sing the Lord’s praises,
    because of all the Lord did for us,
    for God’s great favor toward the house of Israel.
    God treated them compassionately
    and with deep affection.
God said, “Truly, they are my people,
    children who won’t do what is wrong.”
    God became their savior.
During all their distress, God also was distressed,
    so a messenger who served him saved them.
In love and mercy God redeemed them,
    lifting and carrying them throughout earlier times.
10 But they rebelled,
    and made God’s holy spirit terribly sad,
    so that he turned into their enemy—
    he fought against them!

11 Then they remembered earlier times,
    when he rescued his people.[b]
Where was the one who drew them up from the sea,
    the shepherd[c] of the flock?
Where was the one who put within them his holy spirit;
12     the one who guided Moses’ strong hand
    with his glorious arm;
    who split the water for them
    to create an enduring reputation for himself,
13     and who guided them through the depths?
    Like a horse in the desert, they didn’t stumble.
14 Like cattle descending to the valley,
    the Lord’s spirit brought them to rest.
In this way you led your people
    and made for yourself a glorious reputation.

15 Look down from heaven and see,
    from your holy and glorious perch.
Where are your energy and your might,
    your concern and your pity?
    Don’t hold back![d]
16 You are surely our father,
    even though Abraham doesn’t know us,
    and Israel doesn’t recognize us.
You, Lord, are our father;
    your reputation since long ago is that of our redeemer.
17 Why do you lead us astray, Lord,
    from your ways?
Why do you harden our heart
    so we don’t fear you?
Return for the sake of your servants
    the tribes that are your heritage!
18 Why did the wicked bring down your holy place?[e]
    Why did our enemies trample your sanctuary?
19 For too long we have been like those you don’t rule,
    like those not known by your name.

64 [f] If only you would tear open the heavens and come down!
    Mountains would quake before you
    like fire igniting brushwood or making water boil.
[g] If you would make your name known to your enemies,
    the nations would tremble in your presence.

When you accomplished wonders beyond all our expectations;
    when you came down, mountains quaked before you.
From ancient times,
    no one has heard,
    no ear has perceived,
    no eye has seen any god but you
    who acts on behalf of those who wait for him![h]
You look after those who gladly do right;
    they will praise you for your ways.[i]
But you were angry when we sinned;
    you hid yourself when we did wrong.[j]
We have all become like the unclean;
    all our righteous deeds are like a menstrual rag.
All of us wither like a leaf;
    our sins, like the wind, carry us away.
No one calls on your name;
    no one bothers to hold on to you,
    for you have hidden yourself from us,
    and have handed us over[k] to our sin.

But now, Lord, you are our father.
    We are the clay, and you are our potter.
    All of us are the work of your hand.
Don’t rage so fiercely, Lord;
    don’t hold our sins against us forever,
    but gaze now on your people, all of us:
10     Your holy cities have become a wilderness;
    Zion has become a wilderness, Jerusalem a wasteland.
11 Our holy, glorious house,
    where our ancestors praised you,
    has gone up in flames;
    all that we treasured has become a ruin.
12 After all this, will you hold back, Lord?
    Will you keep silent and torment us so terribly?

Judgment for idolators

65 I was ready to respond to those who didn’t ask.
    I was ready to be found by those who didn’t look for me.
I said, “I’m here! I’m here!” to a nation
    that didn’t call on my name.
I extended my hands all day
    to a rebellious people
        walking in a way that isn’t good,
        following their own plans;
    people who provoke me to my face continually,
        sacrificing in gardens and burning incense on bricks,
    who sit in tombs
        and spend the night among rocks;[l]
    who eat swine’s flesh
        with broth of unclean meat in their bowls;
    who say, “Keep to yourself!
    Keep away from me! I’m too holy for you.”
These people ignite my anger
    like a fire that burns all day.
Look, this stands written before me.
    I won’t be silent, but I will repay;
    I will repay in full measure
    your sins and the sins of your ancestors as well,
        says the Lord.
Since they burned incense on the mountains,
    and mocked me in the hills,
I will count out to them
    full payment for their actions.

The Lord proclaims:
As new wine is found in the grape cluster,
    and someone says, “Don’t destroy it, for there is a blessing in it,”
    so I will do for the sake of my servants
    and not destroy everything:
I will bring out offspring from Jacob,
    and from Judah, heirs to my mountains.
My chosen ones will take possession;
    my servants will dwell there.
10 Sharon will become a pasture for sheep,
    and the Achor Valley a resting place for cattle,
    for my people who seek me.
11 But you who abandon the Lord,
        who forget my holy mountain,
        who set a table for a god of good fortune,
        and fill cups of mixed wine for a god of fate:
12     I will offer you to the sword.
        You will all bow down for slaughter,
        because I called and you didn’t answer;
        I spoke and you wouldn’t hear.
        You did what I considered evil,
        and chose what I didn’t want.
13 Therefore, the Lord God says:
    Look, my servants will eat, but you will hunger.
    My servants will drink, but you will thirst.
    My servants will rejoice, but you will be ashamed.
14     My servants will sing with contented hearts,
    but you will cry out from heartache;
    with broken spirits you will wail.
15 You will leave your name behind for my chosen ones to curse:
    “May the Lord God kill you!
    May he call his servants by a different name!”
16 Those who pronounce a blessing in the land
    will do so by the God called Amen;
    those who make a solemn pledge in the land will do so by the God called Amen.[m]
Past troubles will be forgotten
    and hidden from my sight.

New creation and new Jerusalem

17 Look! I’m creating a new heaven and a new earth:
    past events won’t be remembered;
    they won’t come to mind.
18 Be glad and rejoice forever
    in what I’m creating,
    because I’m creating Jerusalem as a joy
    and her people as a source of gladness.
19 I will rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad about my people.
    No one will ever hear the sound of weeping or crying in it again.
20 No more will babies live only a few days,
    or the old fail to live out their days.
The one who dies at a hundred will be like a young person,
    and the one falling short of a hundred will seem cursed.
21 They will build houses and live in them;
    they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
22 They won’t build for others to live in,
    nor plant for others to eat.
Like the days of a tree will be the days of my people;
    my chosen will make full use of their handiwork.
23 They won’t labor in vain,
    nor bear children to a world of horrors,
    because they will be people blessed by the Lord,
    they along with their descendants.
24 Before they call, I will answer;
    while they are still speaking, I will hear.
25 Wolf and lamb will graze together,
    and the lion will eat straw like the ox,
    but the snake—its food will be dust.
They won’t hurt or destroy at any place on my holy mountain,
    says the Lord.

Where God may be found

66 The Lord says:
Heaven is my throne,
    and earth is my footstool.
So where could you build a house for me,
    and where could my resting place be?
My hand made all these things
    and brought them into being, says the Lord.
But here is where I will look:
    to the humble and contrite in spirit,
    who tremble at my word.

The one who slaughters an ox kills a person;
    the one who sacrifices a sheep breaks a dog’s neck;
    the one who makes a grain offering offers swine’s blood;
    the one who burns incense blesses an idol.
    All these have chosen their own ways,
    and prefer their detestable things.
So I too will choose to punish them,
    to bring horrors upon them,
    since I called and no one answered.
    I spoke and no one heard,
        but they did evil in my eyes.
    What I didn’t want, they chose.

Listen to the Lord’s word,
    you who tremble at his word:
Your family members, those who hate and exclude you because of my name,
    have said, “Let the Lord be glorified;
    let’s see your joy.”
    But they will be ashamed.
The sound of an uproar from the city! A sound from the temple!
    The sound of the Lord repaying his enemies what they have earned.

Mother Zion

Before she was in labor, she gave birth.
    Before her pangs came upon her, she delivered a boy.
Whoever heard of such a thing?
    Whoever saw such things as these?
Can a land come to birth in one day?
    Can a nation be born all at once?
Yet as soon as birth pangs came,
    Zion bore her children.
Will I open the womb and not bring to birth? says the Lord.
    Will I, who create life, close the womb? says your God.
10 Celebrate with Jerusalem; be happy with her,
    all you who love her!
Rejoice with her in joy,
    all you who mourn over her,
11     so that you may nurse and be satisfied
    from her comforting breasts,
    that you may drink and be refreshed
    from her full breasts.
12 The Lord says:
    Look, I’m extending prosperity to her like a river,
    and the wealth of nations like an overflowing stream.
You will nurse and be carried on the hip
    and bounced upon the knee.

13 As a mother comforts her child,
    so I will comfort you;
    in Jerusalem you will be comforted.
14 When you see this, your heart will rejoice;
    your entire being will flourish like grass.
The Lord’s power will be known among his servants,
    but his fury among his enemies.
15 The Lord will come with fire,
    God’s chariots like a windstorm,
    to repay in hot anger,
    to rebuke with fiery flames.
16 With fire and with sword the Lord will judge all humanity;
    many will be slain by the Lord.

17 Those who became holy and purify themselves, following their leader into the gardens,[n] who eat pork, detestable animals, and mice, will meet their end together, says the Lord.

Worshippers gathered from the nations

18 Because of their actions and thoughts, I’m coming to gather all nations and cultures. They will come to see my glory. 19 I will put a sign on them, by sending out some of the survivors to the nations, to Tarshish, Libya, and Lydia, and to the archers of Cilicia and Greece—distant coastlands that haven’t heard of my fame or seen my glory. They will declare my glory among the nations. 20 They will bring your family members from all nations as an offering to the Lord—on horses, in chariots, in wagons, on mules, and on camels—to my holy mountain Jerusalem, says the Lord, like Israelites bringing an offering in purified containers to the Lord’s house. 21 I will select some of them as priests and Levites, says the Lord.

22 As the new heavens and the new earth that I’m making will endure before me, says the Lord,
    so your descendants and your name will endure.
23 From month to month and from Sabbath to Sabbath,
    all humanity will come to worship me, says the Lord.
24 They will go out and see the corpses
    of the people who rebelled against me,
    where their worm never dies, where their fire is never extinguished.
        They will be a horror to everyone.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 63:1 Or stooping
  2. Isaiah 63:11 Or Moses, his people
  3. Isaiah 63:11 LXX, Tg; MT shepherds
  4. Isaiah 63:15 Heb uncertain
  5. Isaiah 63:18 Cf LXX, Vulg; Heb uncertain
  6. Isaiah 64:1 63:19b in Heb
  7. Isaiah 64:2 64:1 in Heb
  8. Isaiah 64:4 Heb uncertain
  9. Isaiah 64:5 Heb uncertain
  10. Isaiah 64:5 Heb uncertain
  11. Isaiah 64:7 LXX, cf Syr, Tg, Vulg; MT melted
  12. Isaiah 65:4 Or in guarded places
  13. Isaiah 65:16 Or so be it
  14. Isaiah 66:17 Heb uncertain

Zion’s New Name

62 For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent,(A)
    for Jerusalem’s sake I will not remain quiet,
till her vindication(B) shines out like the dawn,(C)
    her salvation(D) like a blazing torch.
The nations(E) will see your vindication,
    and all kings your glory;
you will be called by a new name(F)
    that the mouth of the Lord will bestow.
You will be a crown(G) of splendor in the Lord’s hand,
    a royal diadem in the hand of your God.
No longer will they call you Deserted,(H)
    or name your land Desolate.(I)
But you will be called Hephzibah,[a](J)
    and your land Beulah[b];
for the Lord will take delight(K) in you,
    and your land will be married.(L)
As a young man marries a young woman,
    so will your Builder marry you;
as a bridegroom(M) rejoices over his bride,
    so will your God rejoice(N) over you.

I have posted watchmen(O) on your walls, Jerusalem;
    they will never be silent day or night.
You who call on the Lord,
    give yourselves no rest,(P)
and give him no rest(Q) till he establishes Jerusalem
    and makes her the praise(R) of the earth.

The Lord has sworn(S) by his right hand
    and by his mighty arm:
“Never again will I give your grain(T)
    as food for your enemies,
and never again will foreigners drink the new wine
    for which you have toiled;
but those who harvest it will eat(U) it
    and praise the Lord,(V)
and those who gather the grapes will drink it
    in the courts of my sanctuary.”(W)

10 Pass through, pass through the gates!(X)
    Prepare the way for the people.
Build up, build up the highway!(Y)
    Remove the stones.
Raise a banner(Z) for the nations.

11 The Lord has made proclamation
    to the ends of the earth:(AA)
“Say to Daughter Zion,(AB)
    ‘See, your Savior comes!(AC)
See, his reward is with him,
    and his recompense accompanies him.’”(AD)
12 They will be called(AE) the Holy People,(AF)
    the Redeemed(AG) of the Lord;
and you will be called Sought After,
    the City No Longer Deserted.(AH)

God’s Day of Vengeance and Redemption

63 Who is this coming from Edom,(AI)
    from Bozrah,(AJ) with his garments stained crimson?(AK)
Who is this, robed in splendor,
    striding forward in the greatness of his strength?(AL)

“It is I, proclaiming victory,
    mighty to save.”(AM)

Why are your garments red,
    like those of one treading the winepress?(AN)

“I have trodden the winepress(AO) alone;
    from the nations no one was with me.
I trampled(AP) them in my anger
    and trod them down in my wrath;(AQ)
their blood spattered my garments,(AR)
    and I stained all my clothing.
It was for me the day of vengeance;(AS)
    the year for me to redeem had come.
I looked, but there was no one(AT) to help,
    I was appalled that no one gave support;
so my own arm(AU) achieved salvation for me,
    and my own wrath sustained me.(AV)
I trampled(AW) the nations in my anger;
    in my wrath I made them drunk(AX)
    and poured their blood(AY) on the ground.”

Praise and Prayer

I will tell of the kindnesses(AZ) of the Lord,
    the deeds for which he is to be praised,
    according to all the Lord has done for us—
yes, the many good things(BA)
    he has done for Israel,
    according to his compassion(BB) and many kindnesses.
He said, “Surely they are my people,(BC)
    children who will be true to me”;
    and so he became their Savior.(BD)
In all their distress he too was distressed,
    and the angel(BE) of his presence(BF) saved them.[c]
In his love and mercy he redeemed(BG) them;
    he lifted them up and carried(BH) them
    all the days of old.(BI)
10 Yet they rebelled(BJ)
    and grieved his Holy Spirit.(BK)
So he turned and became their enemy(BL)
    and he himself fought(BM) against them.

11 Then his people recalled[d] the days of old,
    the days of Moses and his people—
where is he who brought them through the sea,(BN)
    with the shepherd of his flock?(BO)
Where is he who set
    his Holy Spirit(BP) among them,
12 who sent his glorious arm(BQ) of power
    to be at Moses’ right hand,
who divided the waters(BR) before them,
    to gain for himself everlasting renown,(BS)
13 who led(BT) them through the depths?(BU)
Like a horse in open country,
    they did not stumble;(BV)
14 like cattle that go down to the plain,
    they were given rest(BW) by the Spirit of the Lord.
This is how you guided your people
    to make for yourself a glorious name.

15 Look down from heaven(BX) and see,
    from your lofty throne,(BY) holy and glorious.
Where are your zeal(BZ) and your might?
    Your tenderness and compassion(CA) are withheld(CB) from us.
16 But you are our Father,(CC)
    though Abraham does not know us
    or Israel acknowledge(CD) us;
you, Lord, are our Father,
    our Redeemer(CE) from of old is your name.
17 Why, Lord, do you make us wander(CF) from your ways
    and harden our hearts(CG) so we do not revere(CH) you?
Return(CI) for the sake of your servants,
    the tribes that are your inheritance.(CJ)
18 For a little while(CK) your people possessed your holy place,
    but now our enemies have trampled(CL) down your sanctuary.(CM)
19 We are yours from of old;
    but you have not ruled over them,
    they have not been called[e] by your name.(CN)

64 [f]Oh, that you would rend the heavens(CO) and come down,(CP)
    that the mountains(CQ) would tremble before you!
As when fire sets twigs ablaze
    and causes water to boil,
come down to make your name(CR) known to your enemies
    and cause the nations to quake(CS) before you!
For when you did awesome(CT) things that we did not expect,
    you came down, and the mountains trembled(CU) before you.
Since ancient times no one has heard,
    no ear has perceived,
no eye has seen any God besides you,(CV)
    who acts on behalf of those who wait for him.(CW)
You come to the help of those who gladly do right,(CX)
    who remember your ways.
But when we continued to sin against them,
    you were angry.(CY)
    How then can we be saved?
All of us have become like one who is unclean,(CZ)
    and all our righteous(DA) acts are like filthy rags;
we all shrivel up like a leaf,(DB)
    and like the wind our sins sweep us away.(DC)
No one(DD) calls on your name(DE)
    or strives to lay hold of you;
for you have hidden(DF) your face from us
    and have given us over(DG) to[g] our sins.

Yet you, Lord, are our Father.(DH)
    We are the clay, you are the potter;(DI)
    we are all the work of your hand.(DJ)
Do not be angry(DK) beyond measure, Lord;
    do not remember our sins(DL) forever.
Oh, look on us, we pray,
    for we are all your people.(DM)
10 Your sacred cities(DN) have become a wasteland;
    even Zion is a wasteland, Jerusalem a desolation.(DO)
11 Our holy and glorious temple,(DP) where our ancestors praised you,
    has been burned with fire,
    and all that we treasured(DQ) lies in ruins.
12 After all this, Lord, will you hold yourself back?(DR)
    Will you keep silent(DS) and punish us beyond measure?

Judgment and Salvation

65 “I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me;
    I was found by those who did not seek me.(DT)
To a nation(DU) that did not call on my name,(DV)
    I said, ‘Here am I, here am I.’
All day long I have held out my hands
    to an obstinate people,(DW)
who walk in ways not good,
    pursuing their own imaginations(DX)
a people who continually provoke me
    to my very face,(DY)
offering sacrifices in gardens(DZ)
    and burning incense(EA) on altars of brick;
who sit among the graves(EB)
    and spend their nights keeping secret vigil;
who eat the flesh of pigs,(EC)
    and whose pots hold broth of impure meat;
who say, ‘Keep away; don’t come near me,
    for I am too sacred(ED) for you!’
Such people are smoke(EE) in my nostrils,
    a fire that keeps burning all day.

“See, it stands written before me:
    I will not keep silent(EF) but will pay back(EG) in full;
    I will pay it back into their laps(EH)
both your sins(EI) and the sins of your ancestors,”(EJ)
    says the Lord.
“Because they burned sacrifices on the mountains
    and defied me on the hills,(EK)
I will measure into their laps
    the full payment(EL) for their former deeds.”

This is what the Lord says:

“As when juice is still found in a cluster of grapes(EM)
    and people say, ‘Don’t destroy it,
    there is still a blessing in it,’
so will I do in behalf of my servants;(EN)
    I will not destroy them all.
I will bring forth descendants(EO) from Jacob,
    and from Judah those who will possess(EP) my mountains;
my chosen(EQ) people will inherit them,
    and there will my servants live.(ER)
10 Sharon(ES) will become a pasture for flocks,(ET)
    and the Valley of Achor(EU) a resting place for herds,
    for my people who seek(EV) me.

11 “But as for you who forsake(EW) the Lord
    and forget my holy mountain,(EX)
who spread a table for Fortune
    and fill bowls of mixed wine(EY) for Destiny,
12 I will destine you for the sword,(EZ)
    and all of you will fall in the slaughter;(FA)
for I called but you did not answer,(FB)
    I spoke but you did not listen.(FC)
You did evil in my sight
    and chose what displeases me.”(FD)

13 Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“My servants will eat,(FE)
    but you will go hungry;(FF)
my servants will drink,(FG)
    but you will go thirsty;(FH)
my servants will rejoice,(FI)
    but you will be put to shame.(FJ)
14 My servants will sing(FK)
    out of the joy of their hearts,
but you will cry out(FL)
    from anguish of heart
    and wail in brokenness of spirit.
15 You will leave your name
    for my chosen ones to use in their curses;(FM)
the Sovereign Lord will put you to death,
    but to his servants he will give another name.(FN)
16 Whoever invokes a blessing(FO) in the land
    will do so by the one true God;(FP)
whoever takes an oath in the land
    will swear(FQ) by the one true God.
For the past troubles(FR) will be forgotten
    and hidden from my eyes.

New Heavens and a New Earth

17 “See, I will create
    new heavens and a new earth.(FS)
The former things will not be remembered,(FT)
    nor will they come to mind.
18 But be glad and rejoice(FU) forever
    in what I will create,
for I will create Jerusalem(FV) to be a delight
    and its people a joy.
19 I will rejoice(FW) over Jerusalem
    and take delight(FX) in my people;
the sound of weeping and of crying(FY)
    will be heard in it no more.

20 “Never again will there be in it
    an infant(FZ) who lives but a few days,
    or an old man who does not live out his years;(GA)
the one who dies at a hundred
    will be thought a mere child;
the one who fails to reach[h] a hundred
    will be considered accursed.
21 They will build houses(GB) and dwell in them;
    they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.(GC)
22 No longer will they build houses and others live in them,(GD)
    or plant and others eat.
For as the days of a tree,(GE)
    so will be the days(GF) of my people;
my chosen(GG) ones will long enjoy
    the work of their hands.
23 They will not labor in vain,(GH)
    nor will they bear children doomed to misfortune;(GI)
for they will be a people blessed(GJ) by the Lord,
    they and their descendants(GK) with them.
24 Before they call(GL) I will answer;(GM)
    while they are still speaking(GN) I will hear.
25 The wolf and the lamb(GO) will feed together,
    and the lion will eat straw like the ox,(GP)
    and dust will be the serpent’s(GQ) food.
They will neither harm nor destroy
    on all my holy mountain,”(GR)
says the Lord.

Judgment and Hope

66 This is what the Lord says:

“Heaven is my throne,(GS)
    and the earth is my footstool.(GT)
Where is the house(GU) you will build for me?
    Where will my resting place be?
Has not my hand made all these things,(GV)
    and so they came into being?”
declares the Lord.

“These are the ones I look on with favor:
    those who are humble and contrite in spirit,(GW)
    and who tremble at my word.(GX)
But whoever sacrifices a bull(GY)
    is like one who kills a person,
and whoever offers a lamb
    is like one who breaks a dog’s neck;
whoever makes a grain offering
    is like one who presents pig’s(GZ) blood,
and whoever burns memorial incense(HA)
    is like one who worships an idol.
They have chosen their own ways,(HB)
    and they delight in their abominations;(HC)
so I also will choose harsh treatment for them
    and will bring on them what they dread.(HD)
For when I called, no one answered,(HE)
    when I spoke, no one listened.
They did evil(HF) in my sight
    and chose what displeases me.”(HG)

Hear the word of the Lord,
    you who tremble at his word:(HH)
“Your own people who hate(HI) you,
    and exclude you because of my name, have said,
‘Let the Lord be glorified,
    that we may see your joy!’
    Yet they will be put to shame.(HJ)
Hear that uproar from the city,
    hear that noise from the temple!
It is the sound(HK) of the Lord
    repaying(HL) his enemies all they deserve.

“Before she goes into labor,(HM)
    she gives birth;
before the pains come upon her,
    she delivers a son.(HN)
Who has ever heard of such things?
    Who has ever seen(HO) things like this?
Can a country be born in a day(HP)
    or a nation be brought forth in a moment?
Yet no sooner is Zion in labor
    than she gives birth to her children.(HQ)
Do I bring to the moment of birth(HR)
    and not give delivery?” says the Lord.
“Do I close up the womb
    when I bring to delivery?” says your God.
10 “Rejoice(HS) with Jerusalem and be glad for her,
    all you who love(HT) her;
rejoice greatly with her,
    all you who mourn(HU) over her.
11 For you will nurse(HV) and be satisfied
    at her comforting breasts;(HW)
you will drink deeply
    and delight in her overflowing abundance.”(HX)

12 For this is what the Lord says:

“I will extend peace(HY) to her like a river,(HZ)
    and the wealth(IA) of nations like a flooding stream;
you will nurse and be carried(IB) on her arm
    and dandled on her knees.
13 As a mother comforts her child,(IC)
    so will I comfort(ID) you;
    and you will be comforted over Jerusalem.”

14 When you see this, your heart will rejoice(IE)
    and you will flourish(IF) like grass;
the hand(IG) of the Lord will be made known to his servants,(IH)
    but his fury(II) will be shown to his foes.
15 See, the Lord is coming with fire,(IJ)
    and his chariots(IK) are like a whirlwind;(IL)
he will bring down his anger with fury,
    and his rebuke(IM) with flames of fire.
16 For with fire(IN) and with his sword(IO)
    the Lord will execute judgment(IP) on all people,
    and many will be those slain(IQ) by the Lord.

17 “Those who consecrate and purify themselves to go into the gardens,(IR) following one who is among those who eat the flesh of pigs,(IS) rats(IT) and other unclean things—they will meet their end(IU) together with the one they follow,” declares the Lord.

18 “And I, because of what they have planned and done,(IV) am about to come[i] and gather the people of all nations(IW) and languages, and they will come and see my glory.(IX)

19 “I will set a sign(IY) among them, and I will send some of those who survive(IZ) to the nations—to Tarshish,(JA) to the Libyans[j] and Lydians(JB) (famous as archers), to Tubal(JC) and Greece,(JD) and to the distant islands(JE) that have not heard of my fame or seen my glory.(JF) They will proclaim my glory among the nations. 20 And they will bring(JG) all your people, from all the nations, to my holy mountain(JH) in Jerusalem as an offering to the Lord—on horses, in chariots and wagons, and on mules and camels,”(JI) says the Lord. “They will bring them, as the Israelites bring their grain offerings, to the temple of the Lord in ceremonially clean vessels.(JJ) 21 And I will select some of them also to be priests(JK) and Levites,” says the Lord.

22 “As the new heavens and the new earth(JL) that I make will endure before me,” declares the Lord, “so will your name and descendants endure.(JM) 23 From one New Moon to another and from one Sabbath(JN) to another, all mankind will come and bow down(JO) before me,” says the Lord. 24 “And they will go out and look on the dead bodies(JP) of those who rebelled(JQ) against me; the worms(JR) that eat them will not die, the fire that burns them will not be quenched,(JS) and they will be loathsome to all mankind.”

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 62:4 Hephzibah means my delight is in her.
  2. Isaiah 62:4 Beulah means married.
  3. Isaiah 63:9 Or Savior in their distress. / It was no envoy or angel / but his own presence that saved them
  4. Isaiah 63:11 Or But may he recall
  5. Isaiah 63:19 Or We are like those you have never ruled, / like those never called
  6. Isaiah 64:1 In Hebrew texts 64:1 is numbered 63:19b, and 64:2-12 is numbered 64:1-11.
  7. Isaiah 64:7 Septuagint, Syriac and Targum; Hebrew have made us melt because of
  8. Isaiah 65:20 Or the sinner who reaches
  9. Isaiah 66:18 The meaning of the Hebrew for this clause is uncertain.
  10. Isaiah 66:19 Some Septuagint manuscripts Put (Libyans); Hebrew Pul