Chapter 64

Prayer for Mercy and Help

1 1Oh, that You would rend the heavens and acome down,

That the mountains might bquake at Your presence—

2 1As fire kindles the brushwood, as fire causes water to boil—

To make Your name known to Your adversaries,

That the anations may tremble at Your presence!

3 When You did aawesome things which we did not expect,

You came down, the mountains quaked at Your presence.

4 For from days of old athey have not heard or perceived by ear,

Nor has the eye seen a God besides You,

Who acts in behalf of the one who bwaits for Him.

5 You ameet him who rejoices in bdoing righteousness,

Who cremembers You in Your ways.

Behold, dYou were angry, for we sinned,

We continued in them a long time;

And shall we be saved?

6 For all of us have become like one who is aunclean,

And all our brighteous deeds are like a filthy garment;

And all of us cwither like a leaf,

And our diniquities, like the wind, take us away.

7 There is ano one who calls on Your name,

Who arouses himself to take hold of You;

For You have bhidden Your face from us

And have 1delivered us into the power of our iniquities.

8 But now, O Lord, aYou are our Father,

We are the bclay, and You our potter;

And all of us are the cwork of Your hand.

9 Do not be aangry beyond measure, O Lord,

bNor remember iniquity forever;

Behold, look now, all of us are cYour people.

10 Your aholy cities have become a bwilderness,

Zion has become a wilderness,

Jerusalem a desolation.

11 Our holy and beautiful ahouse,

Where our fathers praised You,

Has been burned by fire;

And ball our precious things have become a ruin.

12 Will You arestrain Yourself at these things, O Lord?

Will You keep silent and afflict us beyond measure?

Chapter 65

A Rebellious People

1 “I permitted Myself to be sought by athose who did not ask for Me;

I permitted Myself to be found by those who did not seek Me.

I said, ‘Here am I, here am I,’

To a nation which bdid not call on My name.

2 “aI have spread out My hands all day long to a brebellious people,

Who walk in the way which is not good, 1following their own cthoughts,

3 A people who continually aprovoke Me to My face,

Offering sacrifices in bgardens and cburning incense on bricks;

4 Who sit among graves and spend the night in secret places;

Who aeat swine’s flesh,

And the broth of unclean meat is in their pots.

5 “Who say, ‘aKeep to yourself, do not come near me,

For I am holier than you!’

These are smoke in My 1nostrils,

A fire that burns all the day.

6 “Behold, it is written before Me,

I will anot keep silent, but bI will repay;

I will even repay into their bosom,

7 Both 1their own ainiquities and the iniquities of their fathers together,” says the Lord.

“Because they have bburned incense on the mountains

And cscorned Me on the hills,

Therefore I will dmeasure 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 there is 1benefit in it,’

So I will act on behalf of My servants

In order anot to destroy 2all of them.

9 “I will bring forth aoffspring from Jacob,

And an bheir of My mountains from Judah;

Even cMy chosen ones shall inherit it,

And dMy servants will dwell there.

10 “aSharon will be a pasture land for flocks,

And the bvalley of Achor a resting place for herds,

For My people who cseek Me.

11 “But you who aforsake the Lord,

Who forget My bholy mountain,

Who set a table for 1Fortune,

And who fill cups with mixed wine for 2Destiny,

12 I will destine you for the asword,

And all of you will bow down to the bslaughter.

Because I called, but you cdid not answer;

I spoke, but you did not hear.

And you did evil in My sight

And chose that in which I did not delight.”

13 Therefore, thus says the Lord 1God,

“Behold, My servants will aeat, but you will be bhungry.

Behold, My servants will cdrink, but you will be dthirsty.

Behold, My servants will erejoice, but you will be fput to shame.

14 “Behold, My servants will ashout joyfully with a glad heart,

But you will bcry out with a 1heavy heart,

And you will wail with a broken spirit.

15 “You will leave your name for a acurse to My chosen ones,

And the Lord 1God will slay you.

But 2My servants will be called by banother name.

16 “Because he who 1is blessed in the earth

Will 1be blessed by the aGod of truth;

And he who swears in the earth

Will bswear by the God of truth;

Because the former troubles are forgotten,

And because they are hidden from My sight!

New Heavens and a New Earth

17 “For behold, I create anew heavens and a new earth;

And the bformer things will not be remembered or come to 1mind.

18 “But be aglad and rejoice forever in what I create;

For behold, I create Jerusalem for rejoicing

And her people for gladness.

19 “I will also arejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in My people;

And there will no longer be heard in her

The voice of bweeping and the sound of crying.

20 “No longer will there be 1in it an infant who lives but a few days,

Or an old man who does anot 2live out his days;

For the youth will die at the age of one hundred

And the 3bone who does not reach the age of one hundred

Will be thought accursed.

21 “They will abuild houses and inhabit them;

They will also bplant vineyards and eat their fruit.

22 “They will not build and aanother inhabit,

They will not plant and another eat;

For bas the 1lifetime of a tree, so will be the days of My people,

And My chosen ones will cwear out the work of their hands.

23 “They will anot labor in vain,

Or bear children for calamity;

For they are the 1boffspring of those blessed by the Lord,

And their descendants with them.

24 “It will also come to pass that before they call, I will aanswer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear.

25 “The awolf and the lamb will graze together, and the blion will eat straw like the ox; and cdust will be the serpent’s food. They will ddo no evil or harm in all My eholy mountain,” says the Lord.

Chapter 66

Heaven Is God’s Throne

1 Thus says the Lord,

“aHeaven is My throne and the earth is My footstool.

Where then is a bhouse you could build for Me?

And where is a place that 1I may rest?

2 “For aMy hand made all these things,

Thus all these things came into being,” declares the Lord.

“But to this one I will look,

To him who is humble and bcontrite of spirit, and who ctrembles at My word.

Hypocrisy Rebuked

3 “But he who kills an ox is like one who slays a man;

He who sacrifices a lamb is like the one who breaks a dog’s neck;

He who offers a grain offering is like one who offers aswine’s blood;

He who 1bburns incense is like the one who blesses an idol.

As they have chosen their cown ways,

And their soul delights in their dabominations,

4 So I will achoose their 1punishments

And will bbring on them what they dread.

Because I called, but cno one answered;

I spoke, but they did not listen.

And they did devil in My sight

And chose that in which I did not delight.”

5 Hear the word of the Lord, you who atremble at His word:

“Your brothers who bhate you, who cexclude you for My name’s sake,

Have said, ‘Let the Lord be glorified, that we may see your joy.’

But dthey will be put to shame.

6 “A voice of uproar from the city, a voice from the temple,

The voice of the Lord who is arendering recompense to His enemies.

7 “Before she travailed, ashe brought forth;

Before her pain came, bshe gave birth to a boy.

8 “aWho has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things?

Can a land be 1born in one day?

Can a nation be brought forth all at once?

As soon as Zion travailed, she also brought forth her sons.

9 “Shall I bring to the point of birth and anot give delivery?” says the Lord.

“Or shall I who gives delivery shut the womb?” says your God.

Joy in Jerusalem’s Future

10 “Be ajoyful with Jerusalem and rejoice for her, all you who blove her;

Be exceedingly cglad with her, all you who mourn over her,

11 That you may nurse and abe satisfied with her comforting breasts,

That you may suck and be delighted with her bbountiful bosom.”

12 For thus says the Lord, “Behold, I extend apeace to her like a river,

And the bglory of the nations like an overflowing stream;

And you will 1be nursed, you will be ccarried on the 2hip and fondled on the knees.

13 “As one whom his mother comforts, so I will acomfort you;

And you will be comforted in Jerusalem.”

14 Then you will asee this, and your bheart will be glad,

And your cbones will flourish like the new grass;

And the dhand of the Lord will be made known to His servants,

But He will be eindignant toward His enemies.

15 For behold, the Lord will come in afire

And His bchariots like the whirlwind,

To render His anger with fury,

And His rebuke with flames of fire.

16 For the Lord will execute judgment by afire

And by His bsword on all flesh,

And those slain by the Lord will be many.

17 “Those who sanctify and purify themselves to go to the agardens,

1Following one in the center,

Who eat bswine’s flesh, detestable things and mice,

Will ccome to an end altogether,” declares the Lord.

18 “For I 1know their works and their athoughts; 2the time is coming to bgather all nations and tongues. And they shall come and see My glory.

19 “I will set a asign among them and will send survivors from them to the nations: bTarshish, 1Put, cLud, 2Meshech, dTubal and 3Javan, to the distant ecoastlands that have neither heard My fame nor seen My glory. And they will fdeclare My glory among the nations.

20 “Then they shall abring all your brethren from all the nations as a grain offering to the Lord, on horses, in chariots, in litters, on mules and on camels, to My bholy mountain Jerusalem,” says the Lord, “just as the sons of Israel bring their grain offering in a cclean vessel to the house of the Lord.

21 “I will also take some of them for apriests and for Levites,” says the Lord.

22 “For just as the anew heavens and the new earth

Which I make will endure before Me,” declares the Lord,

“So your boffspring and your cname will endure.

23 “And it shall be from anew moon to new moon

And from sabbath to sabbath,

All 1mankind will come to bbow down before Me,” says the Lord.

24 “Then they will go forth and look

On the acorpses of the men

Who have 1btransgressed against Me.

For their cworm will not die

dAnd their fire will not be quenched;

And they will be an eabhorrence to all 2mankind.”