Isaiah 65

Berean Standard Bible · Compare translations · 700 BC – 500 BC · Return & rebuilding · Tap a verse to copy, share or highlight ·

25 verses · 749 words · ~4 min read · ~5 min listen

Judgments and Promises

Romans 10:1–21

¹“I revealed Myself to those who did not ask for Me;

I was found by those who did not seek Me.

To a nation that did not call My name,

I said, ‘Here I am! Here I am!’

²All day long I have held out My hands

to an obstinate people

who walk in the wrong path,

who follow their own imaginations,

³to a people who continually provoke Me to My face,

sacrificing in the gardens

and burning incense on altars of brick,

⁴sitting among the graves,

spending nights in secret places,

eating the meat of pigs

and polluted broth from their bowls.

⁵They say, ‘Keep to yourself;

do not come near me, for I am holier than you!’

Such people are smoke in My nostrils,

a fire that burns all day long.

⁶Behold, it is written before Me:

I will not keep silent, but I will repay;

I will pay it back into their laps,

⁷both for your iniquities

and for those of your fathers,”

says the Lord.

“Because they burned incense on the mountains

and scorned Me on the hills,

I will measure into their laps

full payment for their former deeds.”

⁸This is what the Lord says:

“As the new wine is found in a cluster of grapes,

and men say, ‘Do not destroy it, for it contains a blessing,’

so I will act on behalf of My servants;

I will not destroy them all.

⁹And I will bring forth descendants from Jacob,

and heirs from Judah;

My elect will possess My mountains,

and My servants will dwell there.

¹⁰Sharon will become a pasture for flocks,

and the Valley of Achor a resting place for herds,

for My people who seek Me.

¹¹But you who forsake the Lord,

who forget My holy mountain,

who set a table for Fortune

and fill bowls of mixed wine for Destiny,

¹²I will destine you for the sword,

and you will all kneel down to be slaughtered,

because I called and you did not answer,

I spoke and you did not listen;

you did evil in My sight

and chose that in which I did not delight.”

¹³Therefore this is what the Lord God says:

“My servants will eat,

but you will go hungry;

My servants will drink,

but you will go thirsty;

My servants will rejoice,

but you will be put to shame.

¹⁴My servants will shout for joy with a glad heart,

but you will cry out with a heavy heart

and wail with a broken spirit.

¹⁵You will leave behind your name

as a curse for My chosen ones,

and the Lord God will slay you;

but to His servants He will give another name.

¹⁶Whoever invokes a blessing in the land

will do so by the God of truth,

and whoever takes an oath in the land

will swear by the God of truth.

For the former troubles will be forgotten

and hidden from My sight.

A New Heaven and a New Earth

Revelation 21:1–8

¹⁷For behold, I will create

new heavens and a new earth.

The former things will not be remembered,

nor will they come to mind.

¹⁸But be glad and rejoice forever

in what I create;

for I will create Jerusalem to be a joy

and its people to be a delight.

¹⁹I will rejoice in Jerusalem

and take delight in My people.

The sounds of weeping and crying

will no longer be heard in her.

²⁰No longer will a nursing infant live but a few days,

or an old man fail to live out his years.

For the youth will die at a hundred years,

and he who fails to reach a hundred

will be considered accursed.

²¹They will build houses and dwell in them;

they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.

²²No longer will they build houses for others to inhabit,

nor plant for others to eat.

For as is the lifetime of a tree,

so will be the days of My people,

and My chosen ones will fully enjoy

the work of their hands.

²³They will not labor in vain

or bear children doomed to disaster;

for they will be a people blessed by the Lord—

they and their descendants with them.

²⁴Even before they call, I will answer,

and while they are still speaking, I will hear.

²⁵The wolf and the lamb will feed together,

and the lion will eat straw like the ox,

but the food of the serpent will be dust.

They will neither harm nor destroy

on all My holy mountain,”

says the Lord.

Footnotes (7)

a v1 Cited in Romans 10:20
b v2 LXX to a disobedient and obstinate people; cited in Romans 10:21
c v9 Or and heirs to My mountains out of Judah; My elect will possess them
d v11 Hebrew Gad, the Babylonian god of fortune
e v11 Hebrew Meni, the Babylonian god of fate
f v17 LXX a new heaven and a new earth; see also Isaiah 66:22and Revelation 21:1.
g v25 Hebrew nachash; translated in most cases as snake

Study notes on this chapter · 4

Prophecy & fulfillmentDebated

The wolf will live with the lamb

Isaiah describes a peaceful kingdom in which wolves, lambs, leopards and children live together, when the earth is full of the knowledge of the LORD. Paul says creation itself waits to be set free from decay. Readers differ on whether the image is literal, symbolic, or both.

When: Isaiah, c. 740–700 BC; Romans, c. AD 57.

Original passageIsaiah 11:6–9Isaiah 65:25

Echoed inRomans 8:19–22

Ways people read this (4)

Literal renewal of creation in the age to come, including the animal world.
A poetic picture of peace among people, including former enemies, in the church or in Christ's kingdom.
Jewish tradition reads it as a description of the messianic age.
Paul's words in Romans 8:19-22 are often linked with it, though he does not quote Isaiah.

Editorial note by BibleWay. Interpretations vary; dates are approximate scholarly estimates.

QuotationLinked by the New Testament

What no eye has seen

Paul introduces the wisdom of the Spirit with 'as it is written': what no eye has seen, nor ear heard, God has prepared for those who love him. The wording is closest to Isaiah's words about God acting for those who wait for him; Paul may be combining Isaiah passages.

When: Isaiah, c. 700–540 BC; 1 Corinthians, c. AD 55.

Original passageIsaiah 64:4Isaiah 65:17

Where the New Testament applies it1 Corinthians 2:6–10

Ways people read this (2)

A fairly free rendering of Isaiah 64:4, joined with Isaiah 65:16-17.
Some ancient writers thought Paul was quoting a lost work, though the closest source is Isaiah.

Editorial note by BibleWay. Interpretations vary; dates are approximate scholarly estimates.

Prophecy & fulfillmentLinked by the New Testament

New heavens and a new earth

Isaiah promises that God will create new heavens and a new earth, and former things will not be remembered. Peter says believers wait for these according to his promise, and John sees a new heaven and earth with no more sea. Christians differ on whether the new creation renews this world or replaces it.

When: Isaiah, c. 700–540 BC; 2 Peter, c. AD 60–68; Revelation, c. AD 90s.

Original passageIsaiah 65:17–25Isaiah 66:22

Where the New Testament applies it2 Peter 3:10–13Revelation 21:1–5

Ways people read this (3)

Renewal: the present creation is transformed and purified, as a resurrected body is continuous with the old.
Replacement: the present heavens and earth are destroyed and a new creation takes their place.
Isaiah 65:20 describes death and birth in the new age, which some take as symbolic and others as a stage before the final state.

Editorial note by BibleWay. Interpretations vary; dates are approximate scholarly estimates.

Prophecy & fulfillmentDebated

The thousand years

Revelation 20 describes Satan bound for a thousand years, the martyrs living and reigning with Christ for a thousand years, and a release of Satan before a final judgment. Christians have long disagreed about when and how it is fulfilled. This is the only passage that mentions a thousand-year reign.

When: Revelation, c. AD 90s.

Original passageRevelation 20:1–6

Echoed inIsaiah 65:20–25Ezekiel 37:24–28Zechariah 14:9

Ways people read this (4)

Premillennial: Christ returns before a literal or long earthly reign, which precedes the final judgment (historic and dispensational forms).
Amillennial: the thousand years is symbolic of the present age, in which Christ reigns in heaven and the church on earth, and Satan is restrained (Augustine, many Catholic, Orthodox, Lutheran and Reformed traditions).
Postmillennial: the gospel will transform the world over a long period, after which Christ returns.
Views also differ on what the 'first resurrection' is.

Editorial note by BibleWay. Interpretations vary; dates are approximate scholarly estimates.

See all prophecy & fulfillment notes →

Isaiah 65

Judgments and Promisesⓘ

A New Heaven and a New Earthⓘ

Study notes on this chapter · 4

The wolf will live with the lamb

What no eye has seen

New heavens and a new earth

The thousand years

Judgments and Promises

A New Heaven and a New Earth