Isaiah 62 - 66 - Legacy Standard Bible

Isaiah 62 - 66

Zion’s Glory and New Name

For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent,

And for Jerusalem’s sake I will not keep quiet,

Until her righteousness goes forth like brightness,

And her salvation like a torch that is burning.

The nations will see your righteousness,

And all kings your glory;

And you will be called by a new name

Which the mouth of Yahweh will designate.

You will also be a crown of glory in the hand of Yahweh,

And a turban of royalty in the hand of your God.

It will no longer be said to you, “Forsaken,”

Nor to your land will it any longer be said, “Desolate”;

But you will be called, “My delight is in her,”

And your land, “Married”;

For Yahweh takes pleasure in you,

And to Him your land will be married.

For as a young man marries a virgin,

So your sons will marry you;

And as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride,

So your God will rejoice over you.

On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have appointed watchmen;

All day and all night they will never keep silent.

You who remind Yahweh, take no rest for yourselves;

And give Him no rest until He establishes

And sets Jerusalem as a praise in the earth.

Yahweh has sworn by His right hand and by His strong arm,

“I will never again give your grain as food for your enemies;

Nor will foreigners drink your new wine for which you have labored.”

But those who collect it will eat it and praise Yahweh;

And those who gather it will drink it in the courts of My sanctuary.

Go through, go through the gates,

Clear the way for the people;

Build up, build up the highway,

Remove the stones, raise up a standard over the peoples.

Behold, Yahweh has announced to the end of the earth,

Say to the daughter of Zion, “Behold, your salvation comes;

Behold, His reward is with Him, and His recompense before Him.”

And they will call them, “The holy people,

The redeemed of Yahweh”;

And you will be called, “Sought out, a city not forsaken.”

Vengeance of Yahweh

Who is this who comes from Edom,

With garments of glowing colors from Bozrah,

This One who is majestic in His clothing,

Marching in the greatness of His power?

“It is I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save.”

Why is Your clothing red,

And Your garments like the one who treads in the wine press?

“I have trodden the wine trough alone,

And from the peoples there was no man with Me.

I also trod them in My anger

And trampled them in My wrath;

And their lifeblood is sprinkled on My garments,

And I stained all My clothes.

For the day of vengeance was in My heart,

And My year of redemption has come.

I looked, and there was no one to help,

And I was astonished, and there was no one to uphold;

So My own arm brought salvation to Me,

And My wrath upheld Me.

I trod down the peoples in My anger

And made them drunk in My wrath,

And I brought down their lifeblood to the earth.”

Remember the Lovingkindness of Yahweh

I shall bring to remembrance the lovingkindnesses of Yahweh, the praises of Yahweh,

According to all the ways that Yahweh has dealt bountifully with us,

And the abundant goodness toward the house of Israel,

Which He has dealt bountifully to them according to His compassion

And according to the abundance of His lovingkindnesses.

And He said, “Surely, they are My people,

Sons who will not deal falsely.”

So He became their Savior.

In all their distress He was distressed,

And the angel of His presence saved them;

In His love and in His mercy He redeemed them,

And He lifted them and carried them all the ancient days.

But they rebelled

And grieved His Holy Spirit;

Therefore He turned Himself to become their enemy;

He fought against them.

Then His people remembered the ancient days, of Moses.

Where is He who brought them up out of the sea with the shepherds of His flock?

Where is He who put His Holy Spirit in the midst of them,

Who caused His glorious arm to go at the right hand of Moses,

Who split the waters before them to make for Himself an everlasting name,

Who led them through the depths?

Like the horse in the wilderness, they did not stumble;

As the cattle which go down into the valley,

The Spirit of Yahweh gave them rest.

So You led Your people,

To make for Yourself a glorious name.

Prayer for Mercy and Help

Look down from heaven and see from Your holy and glorious habitation;

Where are Your zeal and Your mighty deeds?

The tumults within You and Your compassion are restrained toward me.

For You are our Father, though Abraham does not know us

And Israel does not recognize us.

You, O Yahweh, are our Father,

Our Redeemer from everlasting is Your name.

Why, O Yahweh, do You cause us to stray from Your ways

And stiffen our heart from fearing You?

Return for the sake of Your slaves, the tribes of Your inheritance.

Your holy people possessed Your sanctuary for a little while;

Our adversaries have trodden it down.

We have become like those over whom You have never ruled,

Like those who were not called by Your name.

Oh, that You would rend the heavens and come down,

That the mountains might quake at Your presence—

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

To make Your name known to Your adversaries,

That the nations may tremble at Your presence!

When You did awesome things for which we did not hope,

You came down; the mountains quaked at Your presence.

For from ancient times they have not heard or given ear,

Nor has the eye seen a God besides You,

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

You meet him who rejoices and does righteousness,

Who remembers You in Your ways.

Behold, You were angry; indeed we have sinned—

We continued in them a long time—

And shall we be saved?

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, carry us away.

There is no one who calls on Your name,

Who awakens himself to take hold of You,

For You have hidden Your face from us

And have melted us into the hand of our iniquities.

But now, O Yahweh, You are our Father;

We are the clay, and You our potter;

And all of us are the work of Your hand.

Do not be angry beyond measure, O Yahweh,

Nor remember iniquity forever;

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

Your holy cities have become a wilderness;

Zion has become a wilderness,

Jerusalem a desolation.

Our holy and glorious house,

Where our fathers praised You,

Has been burned by fire;

And all our precious things have become a waste place.

Will You restrain Yourself at these things, O Yahweh?

Will You keep silent and afflict us beyond measure?

Judgment and Salvation

“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.

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,

A people who continually provoke Me to My face,

Offering sacrifices in gardens and burning incense on bricks,

Who sit among graves and spend the night in secret places,

Who eat swine’s flesh,

And the broth of offensive meat is in their pots,

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.

Behold, it is written before Me:

I will not keep silent, but I will repay;

I will even repay into their bosom,

Both their own iniquities and the iniquities of their fathers together,” says Yahweh.

“Because they have burned incense on the mountains

And reproached Me on the hills,

Therefore I will measure their former work into their bosom.”

8 Thus says Yahweh,

“As the new wine is found in the cluster,

And one says, ‘Do not make it a ruin, for there is benefit in it,’

So I will act on behalf of My slaves

In order not to make all of them a ruin.

I will bring forth a seed from Jacob,

And a possessor of My mountains from Judah;

Even My chosen ones shall possess it,

And My slaves will dwell there.

Sharon will be a pasture land for flocks,

And the valley of Achor a resting place for herds,

For My people who seek Me.

But you who forsake Yahweh,

Who forget My holy mountain,

Who set a table for Fortune,

And who fill cups with mixed wine for Destiny,

I will destine you for the sword,

And all of you will bow down to the slaughter,

Because I called, but you did not answer;

I spoke, but you did not hear.

And you did what was evil in My eyes

And chose that in which I was not pleased.”

13 Therefore, thus says Lord Yahweh,

“Behold, My slaves will eat, but you will be hungry.

Behold, My slaves will drink, but you will be thirsty.

Behold, My slaves will be glad, but you will be put to shame.

Behold, My slaves will shout joyfully with a merry heart,

But you will cry out with a pained heart,

And you will wail with a broken spirit.

You will leave your name for a curse to My chosen ones,

And Lord Yahweh will put you to death.

But My slaves will be called by another name,

Because he who is blessed in the earth

Will be blessed by the God of truth,

And he who swears in the earth

Will swear by the God of truth;

Because the former distresses are forgotten,

And because they are hidden from My sight!

New Heavens and a New Earth

“For behold, I am creating a new heavens and a new earth;

And the former things will not be remembered or come upon the heart.

But be joyful and rejoice forever in what I create;

For behold, I create Jerusalem for rejoicing

And her people for joy.

I will also rejoice in Jerusalem and be joyful in My people;

And there will no longer be heard in her

The voice of weeping and the voice of crying.

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

Or an old man who does not fulfill 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

Will be thought accursed.

They will build houses and inhabit them;

They will also plant vineyards and eat their fruit.

They will not build and another inhabit;

They will not plant and another eat;

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

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

They will not labor in vain,

Or bear children for terror;

For they are the seed of those blessed by Yahweh,

And their offspring with them.

24 And it will be that before they call, I will answer, and while they are still speaking, I will hear. 25 The wolf and the lamb will graze together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox; and dust will be the serpent’s food. They will do no evil nor act corruptly in all My holy mountain,” says Yahweh.

Heaven Is Yahweh’s Throne

Thus says Yahweh,

“Heaven is My throne, and the earth is the footstool of My feet.

Where then is a house you could build for Me?

And where is a place that I may rest?

For My hand made all these things,

Thus all these things came into being,” declares Yahweh.

“But to this one I will look,

To him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word.

“But he who slaughters an ox is the one who strikes down a man;

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

He who offers a grain offering is the one who offers swine’s blood;

He who offers a memorial offering of frankincense is the one who blesses wickedness.

As they have chosen their own ways,

And their soul takes pleasure in their detestable things,

So I will choose their punishments

And will bring on them what they dread,

Because I called, but no one answered;

I spoke, but they did not listen.

And they did what was evil in My eyes

And chose that in which I did not take pleasure.”

Hear the word of Yahweh, you who tremble at His word:

“Your brothers who hate you, who exclude you for My name’s sake,

Have said, ‘Let Yahweh be glorified, that we may see your gladness.’

But they will be put to shame.

A voice of rumbling from the city, a voice from the temple,

The voice of Yahweh who is paying recompense to His enemies.

“Before she was in labor pains, she gave birth;

Before her pangs came, she delivered a male child.

Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things?

Can a land be brought forth through labor pains in one day?

Can a nation be born all at once?

As soon as Zion was in labor pains, she also gave birth to her sons.

Shall I bring to the point of breaking forth and not cause birth?” says Yahweh.

“Or shall I who causes birth shut the womb?” says your God.

Joy in Jerusalem’s Future

“Be glad with Jerusalem and rejoice for her, all you who love her;

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

That you may nurse and be satisfied with her comforting breasts,

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

For thus says Yahweh, “Behold, I stretch out peace to her like a river,

And the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream;

And you will be nursed; you will be carried on the hip and played with on the knees.

As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you;

And you will be comforted in Jerusalem.”

Then you will see this, and your heart will be joyful,

And your bones will flourish like the new grass;

And the hand of Yahweh will be made known to His slaves,

But He will be indignant toward His enemies.

For behold, Yahweh will come in fire

And His chariots like the whirlwind,

To return His anger with wrath,

And His rebuke with flames of fire.

For Yahweh will execute judgment by fire

And by His sword on all flesh,

And those slain by Yahweh will be many.

“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,

Will come to an end altogether,” declares Yahweh.

18 “And 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 I will set a sign among them and will send those who have escaped from them to the nations: Tarshish, Put, Lud, Meshech, Tubal, and Javan, to the distant coastlands that have neither heard My report nor seen My glory. And they will declare My glory among the nations. 20 Then they shall bring all your brothers from all the nations as a grain offering to Yahweh, on horses, in chariots, in litters, on mules, and on camels, to My holy mountain Jerusalem,” says Yahweh, “just as the sons of Israel bring their grain offering in a clean vessel to the house of Yahweh. 21 I will also take some of them for priests and for Levites,” says Yahweh. 22

“For just as the new heavens and the new earth

Which I make will endure before Me,” declares Yahweh,

“So your seed and your name will endure.

And it shall be from new moon to new moon

And from sabbath to sabbath,

All mankind will come to worship before Me,” says Yahweh.

“Then they will go forth and look

On the corpses of the men

Who have transgressed against Me.

For their worm will not die

And their fire will not be quenched;

And they will be an object of contempt to all mankind.”