Isaiah 65:16 Themes and Topics

Present your case, says Jehovah. Set forth your arguments, says Jacob's King. Bring in your idols to tell us what is going to happen. Tell us what the former things were, so that we may consider them and know their final outcome. Or declare to us the things to come. Tell us what the future holds, so we may know that you are gods. Do something, whether good or bad, so that we will be shocked and filled with fear. read more.
You are less than nothing and your works are utterly worthless! He who chooses you is detestable.

Jehovah created Jacob and formed Israel. Jehovah says: Do not be afraid for I have reclaimed you. I have called you by my name. You are mine. When you go through the sea, I am with you. When you go through rivers, they will not sweep you away. When you walk through fire, you will not be burned, and the flames will not harm you. I AM JEHOVAH YOUR GOD, THE HOLY ONE OF ISRAEL, YOUR SAVIOR. Egypt is the ransom I exchanged for you. Sudan and Seba are the price I paid for you. read more.
I honor you because you are precious to me and I love you. I will exchange others for you. Nations will be the price I pay for your life. Do not be afraid for I am with you. I will bring your descendants from the east and gather you from the west. I will say to the north, 'Give them up,' and to the south, 'do not keep them. Bring my sons from far away and my daughters from the ends of the earth. Bring everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.' Bring the people who are blind but still have eyes, the people who are deaf but still have ears. All nations have gathered together, and people have assembled. Who among them could have revealed this? Who among them could have foretold this to us? They should bring their witnesses to prove that they were right. Let the people hear them. Then they will say: 'It is the truth.' YOU ARE MY WITNESSES, DECLARES JEHOVAH! I have chosen you as my servant so that you can know and believe in me and understand that I am the one who did this. No god was formed before me, and there will be none after me. I ALONE AM JEHOVAH, AND THERE IS NO SAVIOR BESIDES ME. I have revealed it to you. I have saved you, and I have announced it to you. There was no foreign god among you. You are my witnesses that I am God, declares Jehovah. From the beginning I was the one who did this. No one can rescue people from my power. When I do something, who can undo it? This is what Jehovah, your redeemer, and the Holy One of Israel, says: For your sake I will send an army to Babylon. I will bring back all the Babylonian refugees in the ships that they take pride in. I am Jehovah, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King. Jehovah makes a path through the sea and a road through the strong currents. He leads chariots and horses, an army and reinforcements. They lie down together and do not get up again. They are extinguished and snuffed out like a wick. This is what Jehovah says: Forget what happened in the past, and do not dwell on events from long ago. I am going to do something new. It is already happening. Do you recognize it? I will clear a way in the desert. I will make rivers on dry land.

I permitted myself to be sought by those who did not ask for me. Those who did not seek me found me. To a nation that did not call on my name, I said: 'Here I am, here I am.' All day long I held out my hands to an obstinate people, who walk in ways not good, pursuing their own imaginations (thoughts), a people who continually provoke me to my very face, offering sacrifices in gardens and burning incense on altars of brick. read more.
They sit among the graves and spend their nights keeping secret vigil. They eat the flesh of pigs. Their pots are full of unclean meat. They say: 'Keep away! Do not come near me, for I am too sacred for you! Such people are smoke in my nostrils, a fire that keeps burning all day.' See, it stands written before me. I will not keep silent but will pay back in full; I will pay it back into their laps both your sins and the sins of your fathers, says Jehovah. This is because they burned sacrifices on the mountains and defied me on the hills. I will measure into their laps the full payment for their former deeds. Jehovah says: As when juice is still found in a cluster of grapes and men say, 'Do not destroy it, there is yet some good in it,' so will I do in behalf of my servants; I will not destroy them all. I will bring forth offspring from Jacob, and from Judah those who will possess my mountains. My chosen people will inherit them and my servants will live there. Sharon will be pasture for flocks, and the Valley of Achor a resting place for herds, for my people who seek me. But as for you who forsake Jehovah and forget my holy mountain, which spread a table for the God of Fortune (Babylonian diety) and fill bowls of mixed wine for Destiny, I will destine you for the sword, and you will all bend down for the slaughter! I called but you did not answer. I spoke but you did not listen. You did evil in my sight and chose what displeases me. Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah 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! My servants will sing out of the joy of their hearts, but you will cry out from anguish of heart and wail in brokenness of spirit. You will leave your name to my chosen ones as a curse. The Sovereign Lord Jehovah will put you to death, but to his servants he will give another name. Whoever invokes a blessing in the land will do so by the God of (amen, so be it) truth; he who takes an oath in the land will swear by the God of truth. For the past troubles will be forgotten and hidden from my eyes.

It is said: If a man divorces his wife and she leaves him and marries another man, her first husband should not go back to her again. The land would become completely polluted. You have behaved like a prostitute who has many lovers. Now you want to come back to me! Says Jehovah. Lift up your eyes to the bare hills and see. You have had sex with men in every place. You sat by the roadside waiting for them like a nomad in the desert. You have defiled (corrupted) (profaned) the land with your prostitution and wickedness. Accordingly the rain has been withheld, and there have been no spring showers. Yet, you have the unashamed (conspicuous) (impudent) look of a prostitute, and you refuse to be ashamed. read more.
Now you call to me. You say, 'Father!' You have been my friend ever since I was young. Will you hold a grudge forever? Will you always be angry? You have said and done all the evil things that you could. During the reign of King Josiah, Jehovah asked me: Did you see what unfaithful Israel did? She went up every high mountain and under every large tree, and she acted like a prostitute there. I thought that after she had done all this she would come back to me. But she did not come back, and her treacherous (unstable) (unreliable) (false) sister Judah saw her. Judah saw that I sent unfaithful Israel away because of her adultery and that I gave Israel her divorce papers. But treacherous Judah, her sister, was not afraid. She also acted like a prostitute. Because she was not concerned about her prostitution. She polluted the land and committed adultery with stone and wood. Even after all this, Israel's treacherous sister Judah did not return to me with all her heart. She was deceitful, says Jehovah. Jehovah said to me: Treacherous Judah was more reprehensible than unfaithful Israel. Go and proclaim this message to the north: 'Come back, unfaithful Israel. It is Jehovah speaking. I will no longer frown on you because I am merciful,' declares Jehovah. 'I will no longer be angry with you. Admit that you have done wrong! You have rebelled against Jehovah your God. You have given yourself to foreign gods under every large tree. You have not obeyed me,' says Jehovah. Return, you disobedient people, proclaims Jehovah. I am your husband. I will take you, one from every city and two from every family, and bring you to Zion.' I will give you shepherds after my own heart. They will be shepherds who feed (shepherd) (lead) (tend) you with knowledge and understanding (learning) (reasoning) (insight).

But you say: Jehovah's way is unfair. Listen, nation of Israel, is my way fair? Is it your ways that are unfair? When a righteous person turns away from doing right and does evil things, he will die. He will die because of the evil things he has done. When a wicked person turns away from the wicked things that he has done and does what is fair and right, he will live. read more.
He realized what he was doing and turned away from all the rebellious things that he had done. He will certainly live. He will not die. But the nation of Israel says: Jehovah's way is unfair. Is my way not fair, nation of Israel? Is it not your ways that are unfair? That is why I will judge each of you by what you have done, people of Israel, declares the Lord Jehovah. Change the way you think and act. (Repent!) Turn away from all the rebellious things that you have done so that you will not fall into sin. Give up all the evil you have been doing. Get yourselves new minds and hearts. Why do you Israelites want to die? I do not want anyone to die,' says the Lord Jehovah. 'Turn away from (repent of) your sins and live.'

Son of man, say to the house of Israel: 'You people have said: Our transgressions and our sins are upon us. We are rotting away in them. How can we survive?' Say to them: 'As I am alive! Declares the Lord Jehovah. I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked. Only that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn back! Turn back from your evil ways! Why then will you die, O house of Israel?' Son of man, tell the Israelites that when someone good sins, the good he has done will not save him. If an evil person stops doing evil he will not be punished, and if a good man starts sinning, his life will not be spared. read more.
I may promise life to someone good, but if he starts thinking that his past goodness is enough and begins to sin, I will not remember any of the good he did. He will die because of his sins. I may warn someone evil that he is going to die, but if he stops sinning and does what is right and good, and if he returns the security he took for a loan or gives back what he stole, if he stops sinning and follows the laws that give life, he will not die, but he will live. None of the sins that he has done will be remembered. He has done what is fair and right. He will certainly live.' But your people say: 'Jehovah's way is not right.' Yet, their ways are not right. If the righteous person turns from the right things that he has done and does evil, he will die because of it. If the wicked person turns from his wickedness and does what is fair and right, he will live because of it. The people of Israel say: 'Jehovah's way is not right.' I will judge each of you by your own ways, people of Israel.

Listen to what Jehovah said: Arise, plead your case before the mountains. Let the hills hear your voice. Hear Jehovah's indictment you mountains and you enduring foundations of the earth! Jehovah argues a case against his people. He will contend with Israel: O my people, what have I done to you? How have I grieved you? Respond to me. read more.
I brought you out of the land of Egypt. I redeemed you out of the house of bondage. I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. O my people, remember now what Balak king of Moab devised, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him. Remember from Shittim to Gilgal, that you may know the righteous acts of Jehovah. With what shall I come before Jehovah? Shall I bow down before the high God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with year old calves? Will Jehovah be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I give my first-born for my transgression, the fruit of my body for my sin? He told you, O lowly man, what is good and what Jehovah requires of you. You should display justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your God! The voice of Jehovah calls to the city. The man of wisdom will see (respect) your name! Hear the rod and who appointed it.

Like your fathers before you, you have turned away from my laws and have not obeyed them. Return to me and I will return to you, said Jehovah of Hosts. But you ask, 'how will we return to you?' I ask you: 'will you rob and defraud God? Of course not, yet you are robbing and defrauding me!' 'How have we robbed and defrauded?' You ask. 'In the matter of tithes and offerings.' A curse is on all of you because the whole nation is cheating me. read more.
Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse. Test me, said Jehovah of Hosts, and see if I will open the windows of heaven and pour out showers of blessing upon you until there is no more want. I will not let insects destroy your crops. Your grapevines will produce abundantly. All the nations will pronounce you happy because your land will be a good place to live. You have said terrible things about me, said Jehovah of Hosts. Yet you ask: 'What have we said about you?' You have said: 'There is no value to serve God. What is the use of doing what he says or of trying to show Jehovah of Hosts that we are sorry for what we have done?' We call arrogant people happy. Evil people test God's patience with their wicked deeds. They not only get away with it, they also prosper.

I say: O my God, do not take me away in the middle of my days, your years are throughout all generations. You founded the earth of old. The heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you endure. All of them will wear out like a garment; like clothing you will renew them and they will be renewed. read more.
But you are the same. Your years will not come to an end.

And, You, Lord, in the beginning have laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of your hands. (Psalm 102:25) They will perish but you remain. They will all grow old like a garment. Just as a coat you fold them up, and they will be changed: but you are the same, and your years will never run out.

My servants will sing out of the joy of their hearts, but you will cry out from anguish of heart and wail in brokenness of spirit. You will leave your name to my chosen ones as a curse. The Sovereign Lord Jehovah will put you to death, but to his servants he will give another name. Whoever invokes a blessing in the land will do so by the God of (amen, so be it) truth; he who takes an oath in the land will swear by the God of truth. For the past troubles will be forgotten and hidden from my eyes. read more.
Behold! I WILL CREATE A NEW HEAVEN AND A NEW EARTH. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind. Be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create, for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight and its people a joy.

The new heaven and earth that I am about to make will continue in my presence, declares Jehovah. So your descendants and your name will also continue in my presence.

Verse Concepts

I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. There was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. Then I heard a loud voice out of heaven saying: Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men. He will dwell with them and they will be his people! God will be with them, and be their God. read more.
God will wipe away all tears from their eyes. There will be no more death. There will be no more sorrow nor crying. There will be no more pain! The former things have passed away. He who sat on the throne said: Behold, I make all things new. Then he told me to write: for these words are faithful and true.

But as for you who forsake Jehovah and forget my holy mountain, which spread a table for the God of Fortune (Babylonian diety) and fill bowls of mixed wine for Destiny, I will destine you for the sword, and you will all bend down for the slaughter! I called but you did not answer. I spoke but you did not listen. You did evil in my sight and chose what displeases me. Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah 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! read more.
My servants will sing out of the joy of their hearts, but you will cry out from anguish of heart and wail in brokenness of spirit. You will leave your name to my chosen ones as a curse. The Sovereign Lord Jehovah will put you to death, but to his servants he will give another name. Whoever invokes a blessing in the land will do so by the God of (amen, so be it) truth; he who takes an oath in the land will swear by the God of truth. For the past troubles will be forgotten and hidden from my eyes. Behold! I WILL CREATE A NEW HEAVEN AND A NEW EARTH. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind.

God did this to offer encouragement so we may rely on the hope offered to us. We have taken refuge in that hope and it is impossible for God to lie. These two things can never be changed.

Verse Concepts

It is in hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised before times eternal.

He made heaven and earth, the sea and all that is in them. He keeps truth (faith) forever!

Verse Concepts

He is the Rock! His work is perfect. For all His ways are just. He is a God of faithfulness and without evil. He is just and upright.

Lord Jehovah, you are God. You have promised me some very good things, and you can be trusted to do what you promise.

Verse Concepts

The word of Jehovah is upright. All his works are true (trustworthy).

Verse Concepts

Whoever invokes a blessing in the land will do so by the God of (amen, so be it) truth; he who takes an oath in the land will swear by the God of truth. For the past troubles will be forgotten and hidden from my eyes.

Verse Concepts

Certainly not! But let God be true, and every man false. It is written: So that you should be proved righteous in your words and should overcome when you are judged.

Verse Concepts

And, You, Lord, in the beginning have laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of your hands. (Psalm 102:25) They will perish but you remain. They will all grow old like a garment. Just as a coat you fold them up, and they will be changed: but you are the same, and your years will never run out.

My servants will sing out of the joy of their hearts, but you will cry out from anguish of heart and wail in brokenness of spirit. You will leave your name to my chosen ones as a curse. The Sovereign Lord Jehovah will put you to death, but to his servants he will give another name. Whoever invokes a blessing in the land will do so by the God of (amen, so be it) truth; he who takes an oath in the land will swear by the God of truth. For the past troubles will be forgotten and hidden from my eyes. read more.
Behold! I WILL CREATE A NEW HEAVEN AND A NEW EARTH. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind. Be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create, for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight and its people a joy.

The new heaven and earth that I am about to make will continue in my presence, declares Jehovah. So your descendants and your name will also continue in my presence.

Verse Concepts

I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. There was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. Then I heard a loud voice out of heaven saying: Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men. He will dwell with them and they will be his people! God will be with them, and be their God. read more.
God will wipe away all tears from their eyes. There will be no more death. There will be no more sorrow nor crying. There will be no more pain! The former things have passed away. He who sat on the throne said: Behold, I make all things new. Then he told me to write: for these words are faithful and true.

I will make the one who overcomes, a pillar in the temple of my God, and he will not go out from it anymore. I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is the New Jerusalem. This city comes down out of heaven from my God. I will write my new name on him.

Verse Concepts

I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. There was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. Then I heard a loud voice out of heaven saying: Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men. He will dwell with them and they will be his people! God will be with them, and be their God. read more.
God will wipe away all tears from their eyes. There will be no more death. There will be no more sorrow nor crying. There will be no more pain! The former things have passed away. He who sat on the throne said: Behold, I make all things new. Then he told me to write: for these words are faithful and true.

My servants will sing out of the joy of their hearts, but you will cry out from anguish of heart and wail in brokenness of spirit. You will leave your name to my chosen ones as a curse. The Sovereign Lord Jehovah will put you to death, but to his servants he will give another name. Whoever invokes a blessing in the land will do so by the God of (amen, so be it) truth; he who takes an oath in the land will swear by the God of truth. For the past troubles will be forgotten and hidden from my eyes. read more.
Behold! I WILL CREATE A NEW HEAVEN AND A NEW EARTH. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind. Be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create, for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight and its people a joy. I will rejoice over Jerusalem and take delight in my people. The sound of weeping and of crying will be heard in it no more. Never again will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not live out his years. He who dies at a hundred will be thought a mere youth. The sinner who reaches a hundred will be considered accursed. They will build houses and dwell in them. They will plant vineyards and eat their fruit. No longer will they build houses and others live in them, or plant and others eat. For as the days of a tree, so will be the days of my people. My chosen ones will long enjoy the works of their hands. They will not toil in vain or bear children doomed to misfortune. For they will be a people blessed by Jehovah, they and their descendants with them. Before they call I will answer! While they are still speaking I will hear. The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the bull, but dust will be the serpent's food. They will neither harm nor destroy on my entire holy mountain, Jehovah proclaims.

These will be the exits for the city: The north side will be seven thousand eight hundred and seventy-five feet long. The gates of the city will be named after the tribes of Israel. The three gates on the north side will be Reuben Gate, Judah Gate, and Levi Gate. The east side will be seven thousand eight hundred and seventy-five feet long. The three gates on the east side will be Joseph Gate, Benjamin Gate, and Dan Gate. read more.
The south side will be seven thousand eight hundred and seventy-five feet long. The three gates on the south side will be Simeon Gate, Issachar Gate, and Zebulun Gate. The west side will be seven thousand eight hundred and seventy-five feet long. The three gates on the west side will be Gad Gate, Asher Gate, and Naphtali Gate. The city will measure about thirty-one thousand five hundred feet all the way around. From then on the city's name will be: Jehovah Is There.

Tell me, you that desire to be under the Law; do you not hear the Law? It is written, that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman, and one by the freewoman. How is it that the son by the slave woman is born after the flesh; but the son by the freewoman is born through promise? read more.
This contains an allegory (symbolic drama). These women symbolize two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children to bondage, which is Hagar. Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia. She corresponds to the Jerusalem that now is. She is in bondage with her children. The Jerusalem above is free. She is our mother.

You have come to Mount Zion, and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads (thousands of thousands) of angels, to the general assembly and congregation of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just (righteous) (holy) men made perfect (mature) (having all needed qualities). You have come to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks in a better way than the blood of Abel. read more.
Be careful, then, and do not refuse to hear him who speaks. Those who refused to hear the one who gave the divine message on earth did not escape. How much less shall we escape then, if we turn away from the one who speaks from heaven! His voice shook the earth then, but now he has promised: I will once more shake not only the earth but also heaven. The words once more plainly show that the created things will be shaken and removed, so that the things that cannot be shaken will remain. Let us be thankful, because we will receive a kingdom that cannot be shaken. Let us be grateful and worship (serve) (intensely adore) God in a way that will please him, with reverence and awe.