Isaiah 65

1 I allowed myself to be sought by those that asked not; I let myself be found by those that sought me not: I said, Here am I, here am I, unto a nation that called itself not by my name.

[This is what Yahweh said]: “I was ready to reply [to my people], but no one requested me [to help them]. I was ready to help [even] those who did not call out to me. I continued to say, ‘I am here [to help you]!’

2 I spread out my hands all the time unto a rebellious people, that walk in the way which is not good, after their own thoughts;

[It is as though] I have continually held out my arms [to show that I am ready to help] my people who rebel [against me], and who [continually] do the evil things that they want to do.

3 [To] the people that provoke me to anger to my face continually; that sacrifice in gardens and burn incense upon [altars of] brick,

They boldly continue to do things that cause me to be angry: They offer sacrifices [to their idols] in their gardens, and they burn incense [to them] on [altars made of] bricks.

4 That sit about among the graves, and lodge in the vaults, that eat the flesh of the swine, and [have] broth of abominations [in] their vessels;

They secretly remain awake at night in burial caves, [talking with the spirits of] ([dead people/their ancestors]). They eat the meat of pigs, and their pots are full of [other] meat that is [also] unacceptable to me.

5 That say, Stand by thyself, come not near to me; for I am holier than thou. These are a smoke in my nose, a fire that burneth all the time.

[Then] they say [to others], ‘Stay away from me; do not come near me, because I am very holy, [with the result that you should not touch me].’ People like that are [like] [MET] smoke in my nose [from] a fire that burns continually.

6 Behold, it is written before me; I will not keep silence, till I have recompensed, yea, recompensed into their bosom.—

I have written [a record of all the evil things that they have done]. And I will not do nothing about all those things; I will certainly punish them

7 Your iniquities and the iniquities of your fathers together, saith the Lord, who have burnt incense upon the mountains, and upon the hills have blasphemed me: and I will measure out their work at first into their bosom.

for the sins that they and their ancestors have committed. They have mocked/insulted me by burning incense [to their idols] on the hilltops. So I will punish them like they deserve for doing those things.”

8 Thus hath said the Lord, As the new wine is found in the cluster of grapes, and one saith, Destroy it not, for a blessing is in it; so will I do for the sake of my servants, that I will not destroy the whole;

This is [also] what Yahweh said: “When there is a cluster of nice grapes on a vine, people do not throw them away, because they know that there is good juice in those grapes. Similarly, because there are some people [in Judah] who faithfully serve/worship me, I will not get rid of all of them.

9 And I let come forth out of Jacob a seed, and out of Judah an inheritor of my mountains; and my elect shall inherit it, and my servants shall dwell there.

I will spare some of the descendants of Jacob who are living on the hills of Judah. I have chosen them, and they will possess that land; they will worship/serve me, and they will live there.

10 And Sharon shall become a fold of flocks, and the valley of 'Achor a resting-place for herds, for my people that have sought me.

[Then all the land from the] Sharon [Plain near the Mediterranean Sea] and [as far east as] Achor Valley [near Jericho] will become pastureland where their cattle and sheep will rest.

11 But ye who forsake the Lord, who forget my holy mountain, that set out a table for the god of Fortune, and that fill for Destiny the drink-offering.—

But [it will be different] for you who have abandoned me, you who do not worship me on [Zion], my sacred hill, you who worship Gad and Meni, [the gods who you think will bring you] good luck and good fortune.

12 Yea, I will destine you to the sword, and all of you shall kneel down to the slaughter; because when I called, ye did not answer; when I spoke, ye did not hear; but ye did what is evil in my eyes, and that wherein I had no delight did ye choose.

[It is I, not Meni, who will decide/say what will happen to you]; you will all [be slaughtered by] swords. [That will happen] because you did not answer when I called out to you. I spoke to you, but you did not pay attention. Instead, you did things that I said are evil; you chose to do things that do not please me.

13 Therefore thus hath said the Lord Eternal, Behold, my servants shall eat, but ye shall be hungry; behold, my servants shall drink, but ye shall be thirsty; behold, my servants shall rejoice, but ye shall be made ashamed;

I, Yahweh the Lord, will give to those who worship and obey me things to eat and drink, and they will be happy; but [all] you evil people will be hungry and thirsty, and you will be [sad and] disgraced.

14 Behold, my servants shall sing for joy of heart, but ye shall cry out from pain of heart, and from a broken spirit shall ye howl;

Those who worship and obey me will sing joyfully, but you [evil people] will wail loudly because you will be suffering in your inner beings.

15 And ye shall leave behind your name for an oath unto my elect ones, when the Lord Eternal will slay thee; but his servants will he call by another name.

Those whom I have chosen will use your names when they curse people; [I], Yahweh the Lord, will get rid of you. But I will give to those who worship and obey me a new name [that they will use when they bless people].

16 Whoever there be that blesseth himself on the earth shall bless himself by the true God; and that sweareth on the earth shall swear by the true God; because the former troubles are forgotten, and because they are hidden from my eyes.

The people in this land have had many troubles, but I will cause those troubles to occur no more. Therefore those who ask me to bless them and those who solemnly promise to do something should never forget that I am God, who faithfully [do what I promise to do].”

17 For, behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth; and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind;

“Note this: [Some day] I will create a new heaven and a new earth. [They will be very wonderful, with the result that] you will no longer think about all [the troubles] you had previously.

18 But be ye glad and rejoice unto all eternity in what I create; for, behold, I will create Jerusalem for rejoicing, and her people for gladness.

Be glad and always rejoice because of what I will do: Jerusalem will be a place where [people] rejoice; the people who live there will always be happy.

19 And I will rejoice over Jerusalem, and be glad in my people: and there shall not be heard in her any more the voice of weeping, nor the voice of complaint.

I will rejoice about Jerusalem, and I will be delighted with my people. [People] will no longer weep or cry because of being distressed.

20 There shall no more come thence an infant of few days, nor an old man that shall not have the full length of his days; for as a lad shall one die a hundred years old; and as a sinner shall be accursed he who [dieth] at a hundred years old.

No child will die when it is still an infant; all people will live until they are very old. [People will consider that] anyone who is 100 years old is still young; [they will consider that] anyone who dies who is younger than that has been cursed.

21 And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat their fruit.

My people will build houses and [then] live in them. They will plant vineyards and then eat grapes from those vineyards.

22 They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat; for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and the work of their hands shall my elect wear out.

As for the houses that they build, no one will [take those houses away from them and] live in them. No one will take a vineyard away from its owner. My chosen people will live a long time, like trees do, and they will enjoy what they have accomplished— [the houses that they have built and the crops that they have planted].

23 They shall not toil in vain, nor bring forth unto an early death; for the seed of the blessed of the Lord are they, and their offspring with them.

They will not work hard in vain, and their children will not die from some (calamity/terrible thing happening to them). I will [certainly] bless their children and their grandchildren.

24 And it shall come to pass, that before yet they call will I answer; and while they are still speaking will I hear.

Before they call to me [to help them], I will answer; I will answer their prayers while they are still praying [for me to do something for them].

25 The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall like the bullock eat straw: and the serpent—dust shall be his food. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the Lord.

No one will be harmed or injured anywhere on [Zion], my sacred hill: Wolves and lambs will eat grass together [peacefully]; lions will eat hay like oxen do, [and they will not attack people]. Snakes will [not hurt anyone; they will lie on the ground and] eat [only] dirt. [That is surely what it will be like because I], Yahweh, have said it.”