New American Standard Version


Isaiah 64


Prayer for Mercy and Help


1. Oh, that Thou wouldst rend the heavens and come down,
That the mountains might quake at Thy presence
2. As fire kindles the brushwood, as fire causes water to boil
To make Thy name known to Thine adversaries,
That the nations may tremble at Thy presence!
3. When Thou didst awesome things which we did not expect,
Thou didst come down, the mountains quaked at Thy presence.
4. For from of old they have not heard nor perceived by ear,
Neither has the eye seen a God besides Thee,
Who acts in behalf of the one who waits for Him.
5. Thou dost meet him who rejoices in doing righteousness,
Who remembers Thee in Thy ways.
Behold, Thou wast 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 unclean,
And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment;
And all of us wither like a leaf,
And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
7. And there is no one who calls on Thy name,
Who arouses himself to take hold of Thee;
For Thou hast hidden Thy face from us,
And hast delivered us into the power of our iniquities.
8. But now, O Lord, Thou art our Father,
We are the clay, and Thou our potter;
And all of us are the work of Thy hand.
9. Do not be angry beyond measure, O Lord,
Neither remember iniquity forever;
Behold, look now, all of us are Thy people.
10. Thy holy cities have become a wilderness,
Zion has become a wilderness,
Jerusalem a desolation.
11. Our holy and beautiful house,
Where our fathers praised Thee,
Has been burned by fire;
And all our precious things have become a ruin.
12. Wilt Thou restrain Thyself at these things, O Lord?
Wilt Thou keep silent and afflict us beyond measure?




Isaiah 65


A Rebellious People


1. "I permitted Myself to be sought by those 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 did not call on My name.
2. "I have spread out My hands all day long to a rebellious people,
Who walk in the way which is not good, following their own thoughts,
3. A people who continually provoke Me to My face,
Offering sacrifices in gardens and burning incense on bricks;
4. Who sit among graves, and spend the night in secret places;
Who eat swine's flesh,
And the broth of unclean meat is in their pots.
5. "Who say, `Keep to yourself, do not come near me,
For I am holier than you!'
These are smoke in My nostrils,
A fire that burns all the day.
6. "Behold, it is written before Me,
I will not keep silent, but I will repay;
I will even repay into their bosom,
7. Both their own iniquities and the iniquities of their fathers together," says the Lord. "Because they have burned incense on the mountains,
And scorned 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 there is benefit in it,'
So I will act on behalf of My servants
In order not to destroy all of them.
9. "And I will bring forth offspring from Jacob,
And an heir of My mountains from Judah;
Even My chosen ones shall inherit it,
And My servants shall dwell there.
10. "And Sharon shall be a pasture land for flocks,
And the valley of Achor a resting place for herds,
For My people who seek Me.
11. "But you who forsake the Lord,
Who forget My holy mountain,
Who set a table for Fortune,
And who fill cups with mixed wine for Destiny,
12. I will destine you for the sword,
And all of you shall bow down to the slaughter.
Because I called, but you did 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 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 put to shame.
14. "Behold, My servants shall shout joyfully with a glad heart,
But you shall cry out with a heavy heart,
And you shall wail with a broken spirit.
15. "And you will leave your name for a curse to My chosen ones,
And the Lord God will slay you.
But My servants will be called by another name.
16. "Because he who is blessed in the earth
Shall be blessed by the God of truth;
And 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 sight!


New Heavens and a New Earth
17. "For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth;
And the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind.
18. "But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create;
For behold, I create Jerusalem for rejoicing,
And her people for gladness.
19. "I will also rejoice in Jerusalem, and be glad in My people;
And there will no longer be heard in her
The voice of weeping and the sound of crying.
20. "No longer will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days,
Or an old man who does not live out his days;
For the youth will die at the age of one hundred
And the one who does not reach the age of one hundred
Shall be thought accursed.
21. "And they shall build houses and inhabit them;
They shall also plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
22. "They shall not build, and another inhabit,
They shall not plant, and another eat;
For as the lifetime of a tree, so shall be the days of My people,
And My chosen ones shall wear out the work of their hands.
23. "They shall not labor in vain,
Or bear children for calamity;
For they are the offspring of those blessed by the Lord,
And their descendants with them.
24. "It will also come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear.
25. "The wolf and the lamb shall graze together, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox; and dust shall be the serpent's food. They shall do no evil or harm in all My holy mountain," says the Lord.




Isaiah 66


Heaven Is God's Throne


1. Thus says the Lord,
"Heaven is My throne, and the earth is My footstool.
Where then is a house you could build for Me?
And where is a place that I may rest?
2. "For My 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 contrite of spirit, and who trembles 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 swine's blood;
He who burns incense is like the one who blesses an idol.
As they have chosen their own ways,
And their soul delights in their abominations,
4. So I will choose their punishments,
And I will bring on them what they dread.
Because I called, but no one answered;
I spoke, but they did not listen.
And they did evil in My sight,
And chose that in which I did not delight."
5. Hear the word of the Lord, you who tremble at His word: "Your brothers who hate you, who exclude you for My name's sake,
Have said, `Let the Lord be glorified, that we may see your joy.'
But they 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 rendering recompense to His enemies.
7. "Before she travailed, she brought forth;
Before her pain came, she gave birth to a boy.
8. "Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things?
Can a land be born 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 not give delivery?" says the Lord. "Or shall I who gives delivery shut the womb?" says your God.


Joy in Jerusalem's Future
10. "Be joyful with Jerusalem and rejoice for her, all you who love her;
Be exceedingly glad with her, all you who mourn over her,
11. That you may nurse and be satisfied with her comforting breasts,
That you may suck and be delighted with her bountiful bosom."
12. For thus says the Lord, "Behold, I extend peace to her like a river,
And the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream;
And you shall be nursed, you shall be carried on the hip and fondled on the knees.
13. "As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you;
And you shall be comforted in Jerusalem."
14. Then you shall see this, and your heart shall be glad,
And your bones shall flourish like the new grass;
And the hand of the Lord shall be made known to His servants,
But He shall be indignant toward His enemies.
15. For behold, the Lord will come in fire
And His chariots like the whirlwind,
To render His anger with fury,
And His rebuke with flames of fire.
16. For the Lord will execute judgment by fire
And by His sword on all flesh,
And those slain by the Lord will be many.
17. "Those who sanctify and purify themselves to go to the gardens,
Following one in the center,
Who eat swine's flesh, detestable things, and mice,
Shall come to an end altogether," declares the Lord.
18. "For I know their works and their thoughts; the time is coming to gather all nations and tongues. And they shall come and see My glory.
19. "And I will set a sign among them and will send survivors from them to the nations: Tarshish, Put, Lud, Meshech, Rosh, Tubal, and Javan, to the distant coastlands that have neither heard My fame nor seen My glory. And they will declare My glory among the nations.
20. "Then they shall bring 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 holy mountain Jerusalem," says the Lord, "just as the sons of Israel bring their grain offering in a clean vessel to the house of the Lord.
21. "I will also take some of them for priests and for Levites," says the Lord.
22. "For just as the new heavens and the new earth
Which I make will endure before Me," declares the Lord, "So your offspring and your name will endure.
23. "And it shall be from new moon to new moon
And from sabbath to sabbath,
All mankind will come to bow down before Me," says the Lord.
24. "Then they shall go forth and look
On the corpses of the men
Who have transgressed against Me.
For their worm shall not die,
And their fire shall not be quenched;
And they shall be an abhorrence to all mankind."