CHAPTER 65

1 I have manifested myself to them that asked not; I have been found by them that sought me not; I said, Behold me, behold me, To a nation that called not on my name.

2 I have stretched out my hands every day To a rebellious people, Walking in a way not good, After their own thoughts.

3 A people that provoketh me always to my face, That sacrifieth in gardens, And offereth incense on bricks:

4 Who dwell in the graves; Who pass the night in the deserts; Who eat swines flesh; And broth of unclean things is in their vessels:

5 Who say, Remain by thyself; Approach not to me; For I would sanctify thee; ²⁶⁹²⁶⁹     Or, For I am holier than thou. Those shall be smoke in my fury, A fire that burneth all the day.

6 Behold! it is written before me; I will not be silent from rendering And recompensing into their bosom,

7 Your iniquities, And the iniquities of your fathers together, saith Jehovah. Because they have offered incense on the mountains, And have dishonored me on the hills, Therefore I will measure back their ancient work, Into their bosom.

8 Thus saith Jehovah: As if one should find a grape in a cluster, And should say, Destroy it not, For a blessing is in it; So will I do for the sake of my servants, That I may not destroy the whole.

9 And I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, And out of Judah the heir of my mountains; And mine elect shall possess it by inheritance; And my servants shall dwell there.

10 And Sharon shall be an abode of flocks, And the valley of Achor a place for herds to lie down in, To my people who have sought me.

11 But ye are forsakers of Jehovah, Who forget the mountain of my holiness, Who prepare a table for the army, And fill an oblation to the number.

12 Therefore I will number you to the sword, And ye all shall be cut down by slaughter; Because I called, And ye answered not; I spoke, And ye heard not; And ye did evil before mine eyes, And chose the things in which I took no pleasure.

13 Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold! my servants shall eat, And ye shall be hungry; Behold! my servants shall drink, And ye shall be thirsty; Behold! my servants shall rejoice, And ye shall be covered with shame.

14 Behold! my servants shall shout for gladness of heart; And ye shall cry aloud for grief of heart, And shall howl for anguish of spirit.

15 And ye shall leave your name for a curse to mine elect; The Lord Jehovah shall slay you, And shall call his servants by another name.

16 He who blesseth himself in the earth Shall bless himself in the faithful God; And he who sweareth in the earth Shall swear by the faithful God; For the former afflictions, Are surrendered to forgetfulness, And hidden from mine eyes.

17 For, behold! I will create, New heavens And a new earth; The former shall not be remembered, Igor come into mind.

18 But rejoice And be glad for ever, In the things which I create; For, behold! I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, And her people a joy.

19 And I will be glad in Jerusalem, And will rejoice in my people; And the voice of weeping shall no more be heard in her, Nor the voice of crying.

20 There shall be no more there an infant of days, Nor an old man that fulfilleth not his days; For the son of a hundred years shall die young; And the sinner who is the son of a hundred years shall be accursed.

21 They shall build houses, And shall inhabit them; They shall plant vines, And shall eat the fruit of them.

22 They shall not build that another may inhabit; They shall not plant that another may eat; For according to the days of a tree Shall be the days of my people; And mine elect shall perpetually enjoy, The work of their hands.

23 They shall not toil in vain; And they shall not bring forth in terror; For the seed of the blessed of Jehovah shall they be, And their offspring with them.

24 And it shall be, before they cry, I will listen; While they are yet speaking, I will hear.

25 The wolf And the lamb shall feed together; And the lion shall eat straw like the ox; And the serpent shall have dust for his food. They shall not destroy, And shall not hurt, In all my holy mountain, saith Jehovah.