Early morning in a wide green valley among bare brown hills near Jericho: sheep and a few cattle at rest in the grass beside a small stream, a stone fold far off.

New heavens and earth

Isaiah 65

What would you build if you knew it would last?

25 verses≈ 6 minBSB

Images are artistic interpretations.

Tap any post to go deeper

Where we are

1–5Zion on trialJudah’s sin, the mountain raised, the vineyard’s song
6Holy, holy, holyIsaiah’s call, in the year King Uzziah died (about 740 BC)
7–12ImmanuelAhaz’s fear, the sign, the Child, the shoot of Jesse
13–23The nations judgedBabylon to Tyre: the LORD is Judge of all the earth
24–27The whole earthThe earth laid waste, and death swallowed up
28–35Woe and a KingEgypt’s help or the LORD’s, and the King in His beauty
36–39Hezekiah’s crisisSennacherib, 701 BC: the prayer, the sickness, the envoys
40–48Comfort My peopleTo the exiles ahead: Cyrus, the idols, the Servant
49–55The Servant and ZionPierced for our transgressions; Zion restored
56–66New heavens and earthA house of prayer, the Anointed One, all things newChapter 65

Judgments and Promises

God

“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!’

Tap to go deeper: meaning, history and related Scripture

God

Afternoon on a hillside: a clear trodden road running on toward a far town, and branching off it a narrow track worn by many footprints, twisting away into thornbushes and rocks.

All day long I have held out My hands

to an obstinate people

who walk in the wrong path,

who follow their own imaginations,

God

to a people who continually provoke Me to My face,

sacrificing in the gardens

and burning incense on altars of brick,

sitting among the graves,

spending nights in secret places,

eating the meat of pigs

and polluted broth from their bowls.

God

They 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.

God

Behold, it is written before Me:

I will not keep silent, but I will repay;

I will pay it back into their laps,

both 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.”

God

Close in a stony vineyard at the end of a poor vintage: a vine of shriveled, spoiled bunches, and among them one full cluster of ripe dark grapes in the morning light.

This 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.

God

And I will bring forth descendants from Jacob,

and heirs from Judah;

My elect will possess My mountains,

and My servants will dwell there.

Sharon will become a pasture for flocks,

and the Valley of Achor a resting place for herds,

for My people who seek Me.

Question

Quick question

“I was found by those who did not seek Me,” the LORD says, and to a rebellious people, “All day long I have held out My hands.”

Paul quotes 65:1–2 in Romans 10. Whom does he say found the God they were not seeking?

God

But you who forsake the LORD,

who forget My holy mountain,

who set a table for Fortune

and fill bowls of mixed wine for Destiny,

I 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.”

God

My servants will shout for joy with a glad heart,

but you will cry out with a heavy heart

and wail with a broken spirit.

God

You 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.

Whoever 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

God

For behold, I will create

new heavens and a new earth.

The former things will not be remembered,

nor will they come to mind.

Isaiah 65:17

God

But 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.

I will rejoice in Jerusalem

and take delight in My people.

The sounds of weeping and crying

will no longer be heard in her.

God

Late afternoon in an old olive grove: one huge, gnarled ancient olive tree, trunk split and twisted with age, still full of silver leaves and small fruit, an old man resting in its shade.

No 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.

God

They 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.

Even before they call, I will answer,

and while they are still speaking, I will hear.

God

A quiet spring morning on a green hillside: a maned lion lying calm beside an ox at a heap of straw, both eating; nearer, a wolf and a white lamb grazing side by side; a small snake lying still in the dust of the path.

The 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.

0:13

Narrated by Bob Souer · BSB audio, public domain

Pray

LORD, You were found by me when I was not seeking You. Even before I call, You answer. Make me glad in what You are creating, and keep my hope set on the new heavens and the new earth, where weeping will be heard no more. Amen.

The LORD answers (65:1–25)

Whiteboard

The prayer of chapter 64 asked, Will You keep silent? This is His answer: judgment for those who forsake Him, and a new creation for His servants.

You’ve experienced

Isaiah 65

0 of 66 chapters read

A verse to carry with you

For behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind.

Isaiah 65:17

or swipe left