Stop searching everywhere for answers. Bible Gateway Plus puts trusted insights right alongside the passage you’re reading. Free 7-day trial.
Log In/Sign Up

#
Isaiah 65
New King James Version

### The Righteousness of God’s Judgment

65 “I was (A)sought by those who did not ask for Me;
I was found by those who did not seek Me.
I said, ‘Here I am, here I am,’
To a nation that (B)was not called by My name.
2 (C)I have stretched out My hands all day long to a (D)rebellious people,
Who (E)walk in a way that is not good,
According to their own thoughts;
3 A people (F)who provoke Me to anger continually to My face;
(G)Who sacrifice in gardens,
And burn incense on altars of brick;
4 (H)Who sit among the graves,
And spend the night in the tombs;
(I)Who eat swine’s flesh,
And the broth of [a]abominable things is in their vessels;
5 (J)Who say, ‘Keep to yourself,
Do not come near me,
For I am holier than you!’
These [b]are smoke in My nostrils,
A fire that burns all the day.

6 “Behold, (K)it is written before Me:
(L)I will not keep silence, (M)but will repay—
Even repay into their bosom—
7 Your iniquities and (N)the iniquities of your fathers together,”
Says the Lord,
(O)“Who have burned incense on the mountains
(P)And blasphemed Me on the hills;
Therefore I will measure their former work into their bosom.”

8 Thus says the Lord:

“As the new wine is found in the cluster,
And one says, ‘Do not destroy it,
For (Q)a blessing is in it,’
So will I do for My servants’ sake,
That I may not destroy them (R)all.
9 I will bring forth descendants from Jacob,
And from Judah an heir of My mountains;
My (S)elect shall inherit it,
And My servants shall dwell there.
10 (T)Sharon shall be a fold of flocks,
And (U)the Valley of Achor a place for herds to lie down,
For My people who have (V)sought Me.

11 “But you are those who forsake the Lord,
Who forget (W)My holy mountain,
Who prepare (X)a table for [c]Gad,
And who furnish a drink offering for [d]Meni.
12 Therefore I will number you for the sword,
And you shall all bow down to the slaughter;
(Y)Because, when I called, you did not answer;
When I spoke, you did not hear,
But did evil before My eyes,
And chose that in which I do not delight.”

13 Therefore thus says the Lord God:

“Behold, My servants shall eat,
But you shall be hungry;
Behold, My servants shall drink,
But you shall be thirsty;
Behold, My servants shall rejoice,
But you shall be ashamed;
14 Behold, My servants shall sing for joy of heart,
But you shall cry for sorrow of heart,
And (Z)wail for [e]grief of spirit.
15 You shall leave your name (AA)as a curse to (AB)My chosen;
For the Lord God will slay you,
And (AC)call His servants by another name;
16 (AD)So that he who blesses himself in the earth
Shall bless himself in the God of truth;
And (AE)he who swears in the earth
Shall swear by the God of truth;
Because the former troubles are forgotten,
And because they are hidden from My eyes.

### The Glorious New Creation

17 “For behold, I create (AF)new heavens and a new earth;
And the former shall not be remembered or [f]come to mind.
18 But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create;
For behold, I create Jerusalem as a rejoicing,
And her people a joy.
19 (AG)I will rejoice in Jerusalem,
And joy in My people;
The (AH)voice of weeping shall no longer be heard in her,
Nor the voice of crying.

20 “No more shall an infant from there live but a few days,
Nor an old man who has not fulfilled his days;
For the child shall die one hundred years old,
(AI)But the sinner being one hundred years old shall be accursed.
21 (AJ)They shall build houses and inhabit them;
They shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
22 They shall not build and another inhabit;
They shall not plant and (AK)another eat;
For (AL)as the days of a tree, so shall be the days of My people,
And (AM)My elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.
23 They shall not labor in vain,
(AN)Nor bring forth children for trouble;
For (AO)they shall be the descendants of the blessed of the Lord,
And their offspring with them.

24 “It shall come to pass
That (AP)before they call, I will answer;
And while they are still speaking, I will (AQ)hear.
25 The (AR)wolf and the lamb shall feed together,
The lion shall eat straw like the ox,
(AS)And dust shall be the serpent’s food.
They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain,”
Says the Lord.

#### Footnotes

1. Isaiah 65:4 Unclean meats, Lev. 7:18; 19:7
2. Isaiah 65:5 Cause My wrath to smoke
3. Isaiah 65:11 Lit. Troop or Fortune; a pagan deity
4. Isaiah 65:11 Lit. Number or Destiny; a pagan deity
5. Isaiah 65:14 Or a broken spirit
6. Isaiah 65:17 Lit. come upon the heart

#### Cross references

1. Isaiah 65:1 : Rom. 9:24; 10:20
2. Isaiah 65:1 : Is. 63:19
3. Isaiah 65:2 : Rom. 10:21
4. Isaiah 65:2 : Is. 1:2, 23
5. Isaiah 65:2 : Is. 42:24
6. Isaiah 65:3 : Deut. 32:21
7. Isaiah 65:3 : Is. 1:29
8. Isaiah 65:4 : Deut. 18:11
9. Isaiah 65:4 : Lev. 11:7; Is. 66:17
10. Isaiah 65:5 : Matt. 9:11; Luke 7:39; 18:9–12
11. Isaiah 65:6 : Deut. 32:34
12. Isaiah 65:6 : Ps. 50:3
13. Isaiah 65:6 : Ps. 79:12
14. Isaiah 65:7 : Ex. 20:5
15. Isaiah 65:7 : Ezek. 18:6
16. Isaiah 65:7 : Is. 57:7; Ezek. 20:27, 28
17. Isaiah 65:8 : Joel 2:14
18. Isaiah 65:8 : Is. 1:9; Amos 9:8, 9
19. Isaiah 65:9 : Matt. 24:22
20. Isaiah 65:10 : Is. 33:9
21. Isaiah 65:10 : Josh. 7:24; Hos. 2:15
22. Isaiah 65:10 : Is. 55:6
23. Isaiah 65:11 : Is. 56:7
24. Isaiah 65:11 : Ezek. 23:41; [1 Cor. 10:21]
25. Isaiah 65:12 : 2 Chr. 36:15, 16; Prov. 1:24; Is. 41:28; 50:2; 66:4; Jer. 7:13
26. Isaiah 65:14 : Matt. 8:12; Luke 13:28
27. Isaiah 65:15 : Jer. 29:22; Zech. 8:13
28. Isaiah 65:15 : Is. 65:9, 22
29. Isaiah 65:15 : [Acts 11:26]
30. Isaiah 65:16 : Ps. 72:17; Jer. 4:2
31. Isaiah 65:16 : Deut. 6:13; Zeph. 1:5
32. Isaiah 65:17 : Is. 51:16; 66:22; [2 Pet. 3:13]; Rev. 21:1
33. Isaiah 65:19 : Is. 62:4, 5
34. Isaiah 65:19 : Is. 35:10; 51:11; Rev. 7:17; 21:4
35. Isaiah 65:20 : Eccl. 8:12, 13; Is. 3:11; 22:14
36. Isaiah 65:21 : Ezek. 28:26; 45:4; Hos. 11:11; Amos 9:14
37. Isaiah 65:22 : Is. 62:8, 9
38. Isaiah 65:22 : Ps. 92:12
39. Isaiah 65:22 : Is. 65:9, 15
40. Isaiah 65:23 : Hos. 9:12
41. Isaiah 65:23 : Is. 61:9; [Jer. 32:38, 39; Acts 2:39]
42. Isaiah 65:24 : Ps. 91:15; Is. 58:9
43. Isaiah 65:24 : Is. 30:19; Dan. 9:20–23
44. Isaiah 65:25 : Is. 11:6–9
45. Isaiah 65:25 : Gen. 3:14; Mic. 7:17

New King James Version (NKJV)

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

#### Bible Gateway Recommends

NKJV, Spirit-Filled Life Bible, Third Edition, Red Letter Edition, Comfort Print: Kingdom Equipping Through the Power of the Word
Retail: $59.99
Our Price: $41.99
Save: $18.00 (30%)
Buy Now
NKJV, Woman's Study Bible, Red Letter, Full-Color: Receiving God's Truth for Balance, Hope, and Transformation
Retail: $49.99
Our Price: $34.99
Save: $15.00 (30%)
Buy Now
NKJV Study Bible, Full-Color, Comfort Print: The Complete Resource for Studying God’s Word
Retail: $59.99
Our Price: $41.99
Save: $18.00 (30%)
Buy Now
NKJV, Gift and Award Bible, Red Letter Edition, Comfort Print: Holy Bible, New King James Version
Retail: $9.99
Our Price: $6.99
Save: $3.00 (30%)
Buy Now
NKJV, The Story: The Bible as One Continuing Story of God and His People
Retail: $19.98
Our Price: $13.99
Save: $5.99 (30%)
Buy Now
NKJV, Charles F. Stanley Life Principles Bible, 2nd Edition, Comfort Print: Growing in Knowledge and Understanding of God Through His Word
Retail: $59.99
Our Price: $41.99
Save: $18.00 (30%)
Buy Now
View more titles