Isaiah 65 — with JFB Commentary
The King James text with the Jamieson-Fausset-Brown commentary (1871, public domain) directly beneath the verses it explains. Verses without a JFB note stand alone.
Old Testament
The Pentateuch
The Historical Books
The Wisdom Books
The Major Prophets
The Minor Prophets
New Testament
The Gospels
The Book of Acts
The Pauline Epistles
The General Epistles
The Book of Prophecy
1I am sought of them that asked not for me; I am found of them that sought me not: I said, Behold me, behold me, unto a nation that was not called by my name.
CHAPTER 65
Is 65:1-25. God's Reply in Justification of His Dealings with Israel.
In Is 64:9, their plea was, "we are all Thy people." In answer, God declares that others (Gentiles) would be taken into covenant with Him, while His ancient people would be rejected. The Jews were slow to believe this; hence Paul says (Ro 10:20) that Isaiah was "very bold" in advancing so unpopular a sentiment; he implies what Paul states (Ro 2:28; 9:6, 7; 11:1-31), that "they are not all (in opposition to the Jews' plea, Is 64:9) Israel which are of Israel." God's reason for so severely dealing with Israel is not changeableness in Him, but sin in them (Is 65:2-7). Yet the whole nation shall not be destroyed, but only the wicked; a remnant shall be saved (Is 65:8-10, 11-16). There shall be, finally, universal blessedness to Israel, such as they had prayed for (Is 65:17-25).
1. I am sought--Hebrew, "I have granted access unto Me to them," &c. (so Eze 14:3, "Should I be inquired of"; Ep 2:18).
found--Ro 10:20 renders this, "I was made manifest." As an instance of the sentiment in the clause, "I am sought," &c., see Joh 12:21; of the sentiment in this clause, Ac 9:5. Compare as to the Gentile converts, Ep 2:12, 13.
Behold me--(Is 45:22).
nation ... not called by my name--that is, the Gentiles. God retorts in their own words (Is 63:19) that their plea as being exclusively "called by His name" will not avail, for God's gospel invitation is not so exclusive (Ro 9:25; 1:16).
2I have spread out my hands all the day unto a rebellious people, which walketh in a way that was not good, after their own thoughts;
2. spread out ... hands--inviting them earnestly (Pr 1:24).
all ... day--continually, late and early (Jr 7:13).
rebellious people--Israel, whose rebellion was the occasion of God's turning to the Gentiles (Ro 11:11, 12, 15).
way ... not good--that is, the very reverse of good, very bad (Eze 36:31).
3A people that provoketh me to anger continually to my face; that sacrificeth in gardens, and burneth incense upon altars of brick;
3. continually--answering to "all the day" (Is 65:2). God was continually inviting them, and they continually offending Him (De 32:21).
to my face--They made no attempt to hide their sin (Is 3:9). Compare "before Me" (Ex 20:3).
in gardens--(See on Is 1:29; Is 66:17; Le 17:5).
altars of brick--Hebrew, "bricks." God had commanded His altars to be of unhewn stone (Ex 20:25). This was in order to separate them, even in external respects, from idolaters; also, as all chiselling was forbidden, they could not inscribe superstitious symbols on them as the heathen did. Bricks were more easily so inscribed than stone; hence their use for the cuneiform inscriptions at Babylon, and also for idolatrous altars. Some, not so well, have supposed that the "bricks" here mean the flat brick-paved roofs of houses on which they sacrificed to the sun, &c. (2Ki 23:12; Jr 19:13).
4Which remain among the graves, and lodge in the monuments, which eat swine’s flesh, and broth of abominable things is in their vessels;
4. remain among ... graves--namely, for purposes of necromancy, as if to hold converse with the dead (Is 8:19, 20; compare Mr 5:3); or, for the sake of purifications, usually performed at night among sepulchres, to appease the manes [Maurer].
monuments--Hebrew, "pass the night in hidden recesses," either the idol's inmost shrines ("consecrated precincts") [Horsley], where they used to sleep, in order to have divine communications in dreams [Jerome]; or better, on account of the parallel "graves," sepulchral caves [Maurer].
eat swine's flesh--To eat it at all was contrary to God's law (Le 11:7), but it much increased their guilt that they ate it in idolatrous sacrifices (compare Is 66:17). Varro (On Agriculture, 2.4) says that swine were first used in sacrifices; the Latins sacrificed a pig to Ceres; it was also offered on occasion of treaties and marriages.
broth--so called from the "pieces" (Margin) or fragments of bread over which the broth was poured [Gesenius]; such broth, made of swine's flesh, offered in sacrifice, was thought to be especially acceptable to the idol and was used in magic rites. Or, "fragments (pieces) of abominable foods," &c. This fourth clause explains more fully the third, as the second does the first [Maurer].
is in--rather, literally, "is their vessels," that is, constitute their vessels' contents. The Jews, in our Lord's days, and ever since the return from Babylon, have been free from idolatry; still the imagery from idolatrous abominations, as being the sin most loathsome in God's eyes and that most prevalent in Isaiah's time, is employed to describe the foul sin of Israel in all ages, culminating in their killing Messiah, and still rejecting Him.
5Which say, Stand by thyself, come not near to me; for I am holier than thou. These are a smoke in my nose, a fire that burneth all the day.
5. (Mt 9:11; Lu 5:30; 18:11; Jude 19). Applicable to the hypocritical self-justifiers of our Lord's time.
smoke--alluding to the smoke of their self-righteous sacrifices; the fire of God's wrath was kindled at the sight, and exhibited itself in the smoke that breathed forth from His nostrils; in Hebrew the nose is the seat of anger; and the nostrils distended in wrath, as it were, breathe forth smoke [Rosenmuller] (Psa 18:8).
6Behold, it is written before me: I will not keep silence, but will recompense, even recompense into their bosom,
6. written before me--"it is decreed by Me," namely, what follows (Job 13:26), [Maurer]; or, their guilt is recorded before Me (compare Da 7:10; Re 20:12; Mal 3:16).
into ... bosom--(Psa 79:12; Jr 32:18; Lu 6:38). The Orientals used the loose fold of the garment falling on "the bosom" or lap, as a receptacle for carrying things. The sense thus is: I will repay their sin so abundantly that the hand will not be able to receive it; it will need the spacious fold on the bosom to contain it [Rosenmuller]. Rather it is, "I will repay it to the very person from whom it has emanated." Compare "God did render the evil of the men of Shechem upon their heads" (Jud 9:57; Psa 7:16) [Gesenius].
7Your iniquities, and the iniquities of your fathers together, saith the LORD, which have burned incense upon the mountains, and blasphemed me upon the hills: therefore will I measure their former work into their bosom.
7. Their sin had been accumulating from age to age until God at last repaid it in full.
mountains--(Is 57:7; Eze 18:6; 20:27, 28; Ho 4:13).
their--"Your" had preceded. From speaking to, He speaks of them; this implies growing alienation from them and greater distance.
work--the full recompense of their work (so Is 49:4).
8Thus saith the LORD, As the new wine is found in the cluster, and one saith, Destroy it not; for a blessing is in it: so will I do for my servants’ sakes, that I may not destroy them all.
8. new wine--as if some grapes having good wine-producing juice in them, be found in a cluster which the vinedresser was about to throw away as bad, and one saith, &c.
blessing--that is, good wine-producing juice (compare Jud 9:13; Joe 2:14).
so--God will spare the godly "remnant," while the ungodly mass of the nation shall be destroyed (Is 1:9; 6:13; 10:21; 11:11, 12-16).
my servants--the godly remnant. But Horsley, "for the sake of my servant, Messiah."
9And I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah an inheritor of my mountains: and mine elect shall inherit it, and my servants shall dwell there.
9. seed--"the holy seed" (Is 6:13), a posterity from Jacob, designed to repossess the Holy Land, forfeited by the sin of the former Jews.
my mountains--Jerusalem and the rest of Judea, peculiarly God's (compare Is 2:2; 11:9; 14:32).
it--the Holy Land.
elect--(Is 65:15, 22).
10And Sharon shall be a fold of flocks, and the valley of Achor a place for the herds to lie down in, for my people that have sought me.
10. Sharon--(See on Is 33:9; Is 35:2).
Achor--meaning "trouble"; a valley near Jericho, so called from the trouble caused to Israel by Achan's sin (Jos 7:24). "The valley of Achor," proverbial for whatever caused calamity, shall become proverbial for joy and prosperity (Ho 2:15).
11But ye are they that forsake the LORD, that forget my holy mountain, that prepare a table for that troop, and that furnish the drink offering unto that number.
11. holy mountain--Moriah, on which the temple was.
troop--rather "Gad," the Babylonian god of fortune, the planet Jupiter, answering to Baal or Bel; the Arabs called it "the Greater Good Fortune"; and the planet Venus answering to Meni, "the Lesser Good Fortune" [Gesenius, Kimchi, &c.]. Tables were laid out for their idols with all kinds of viands, and a cup containing a mixture of wine and honey, in Egypt especially, on the last day of the year [Jerome].
drink offering--rather, "mixed drink."
number--rather, "Meni"; as goddess of fortune she was thought to number the fates of men. Vitringa understands Gad to be the sun; Meni the moon, or Ashtaroth or Astarte (1Ki 11:33).
12Therefore will I number you to the sword, and ye shall all bow down to the slaughter: because when I called, ye did not answer; when I spake, ye did not hear; but did evil before mine eyes, and did choose that wherein I delighted not.
12. number--"doom" you. Alluding to the "number," as Meni (Is 65:11) means. Retribution in kind, the punishment answering to the sin (compare 2Ch 36:14-17).
I called, ye ... not answer--"I called," though "none had called" upon Me (Is 64:7); yet even then none "answered" (Pr 1:24). Contrast with this God and His people's mutual fellowship in prayer (Is 65:24).
13Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, my servants shall eat, but ye shall be hungry: behold, my servants shall drink, but ye shall be thirsty: behold, my servants shall rejoice, but ye shall be ashamed:
13. eat--enjoy all blessings from me (So 5:1).
hungry--(Am 4:6; 8:11). This may refer to the siege of Jerusalem under Titus, when 1,100,000 are said to have perished by famine; thus Is 65:15 will refer to God's people without distinction of Jew and Gentile receiving "another name," namely, that of Christians [Houbigant]. A further fulfilment may still remain, just before the creation of the "new heavens and earth," as the context, Is 65:17, implies.
14Behold, my servants shall sing for joy of heart, but ye shall cry for sorrow of heart, and shall howl for vexation of spirit.
14. howl--(Is 15:2; Mt 8:12).
15And ye shall leave your name for a curse unto my chosen: for the Lord GOD shall slay thee, and call his servants by another name:
15. curse--The name of "Jew" has been for long a formula of execration (compare Jr 29:22); if one wishes to curse another, he can utter nothing worse than this, "God make thee what the Jew is!" Contrast the formula (Ge 48:20) [Maurer].
my chosen--the elect Church, gathered from Jews and Gentiles, called by "another name," Christians (Ac 11:26). However (see on Is 65:13), as "My chosen," or "elect," in Is 65:9, refers to the "seed of Jacob," the believing Jews, hereafter about to possess their land (Is 65:19, 22), are ultimately meant by "My chosen," as contrasted with the unbelieving Jews ("ye"). These elect Jews shall be called by "another," or a new name, that is, shall no longer be "forsaken" of God for unbelief, but shall be His "delight" and "married" to Him (Is 62:2, 4).
thee--unbelieving Israel. Isaiah here speaks of God, whereas in the preceding sentences God Himself spake. This change of persons marks without design how completely the prophet realized God with him and in him, so that he passes, without formally announcing it, from God's words to his own, and vice versa, both alike being from God.
16That he who blesseth himself in the earth shall bless himself in the God of truth; and he that sweareth in the earth shall swear by the God of truth; because the former troubles are forgotten, and because they are hid from mine eyes.
16. That he--rather, "he who," &c.
blesseth, &c.--(Psa 72:17; Jr 4:2).
God of truth--very God, as opposed to false gods; Hebrew, Amen: the very name of Messiah (2Co 1:20; Re 3:14), faithful to His promises (Joh 1:17; 6:32). Real, substantial, spiritual, eternal, as opposed to the shadowy types of the law.
sweareth, &c.--God alone shall be appealed to as God (Is 19:18; De 6:13; Psa 63:11).
troubles--that is, sins, provocations [Lowth]. Rather, calamities caused by your sins; so far from these visiting you again, the very remembrance of them is "hid from Mine eyes" by the magnitude of the blessings I will confer on you (Is 65:17, &c.). [Maurer].
17For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.
17. As Caleb inherited the same land which his feet trod on (De 1:36; Jos 14:9), so Messiah and His saints shall inherit the renovated earth which once they trod while defiled by the enemy (Is 34:4; 51:16; 66:22; Eze 21:27; Psa 2:8; 37:11; 2Pe 3:13; He 12:26-28 Re 21:1).
not be remembered--See on Is 65:16, note on "troubles"; the words here answer to "the former ... forgotten," &c. The former sorrows of the earth, under the fall, shall be so far from recurring, that their very remembrance shall be obliterated by the many mercies I will bestow on the new earth (Re 21:4-27).
18But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy.
18. rejoice for ever ... Jerusalem--(Is 51:11). "Everlasting joy ... Zion." Spiritually (1Th 5:16).
19And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying.
19. (Is 62:5).
weeping ... no more--(Is 25:7, 8; 35:10; Re 7:17; 21:4), primarily, foretold of Jerusalem; secondarily, of all the redeemed.
20There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed.
20. The longevity of men in the first age of the world shall be enjoyed again.
thence--from that time forward.
infant of days--that is, an infant who shall only complete a few days; short-lived.
filled ... days--None shall die without attaining a full old age.
child ... die ... hundred years--that is, "he that dieth an hundred years old shall die a mere child" [Lowth].
sinner ... hundred ... be accursed--"The sinner that dieth at an hundred years shall be deemed accursed," that is, his death at so early an age, which in those days the hundredth year will be regarded, just as if it were mere childhood, shall be deemed the effect of God's special visitation in wrath [Rosenmuller]. This passage proves that the better age to come on earth, though much superior to the present will not be a perfect state; sin and death shall have place in it (compare Re 20:7, 8), but much less frequently than now.
21And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them.
21. (See on Is 62:8; Am 9:14).
22They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.
22. They shall not experience the curse pronounced (Le 26:16; De 28:30).
tree--among the most long-lived of objects in nature. They shall live as long as the trees they "plant" (compare Is 61:3, end of verse; Psa 92:12).
enjoy--Hebrew, "consume," "wear out"; they shall live to enjoy the last of it (Is 62:9).
23They shall not labour in vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for they are the seed of the blessed of the LORD, and their offspring with them.
23. bring forth for trouble--literally, "for terror," that is, "They shall not bring forth children for a sudden death" (Le 26:16; Jr 15:8).
seed ... blessed--(Is 61:9).
offspring with them--(Ho 9:12). "Their offspring shall be with themselves" [Maurer]; not "brought forth" only to be cut off by "sudden death" (see the parallel clause).
24And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.
24. Contrast Is 64:7, "none ... calleth," &c.; and see on Is 65:12, "I called, ye did not answer." Maurer translates, "They shall hardly (literally, "not yet") call, when (literally, "and") I will answer; they shall be still speaking, when I will hear" (Psa 32:5; Da 9:20, 21).
25The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent’s meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the LORD.
25. (See on Is 11:6).
and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock--(See on Is 11:7).
and dust--rather, "but dust," &c. The curse shall remain on the serpent [Horsley], (Ge 3:14; Mi 7:17). "To lick the dust" is figurative of the utter and perpetual degradation of Satan and his emissaries (Is 49:23; Psa 72:9). Satan fell self-tempted; therefore no atonement was contrived for him, as there was for man, who fell by his temptation (Jude 6; Joh 8:44). From his peculiar connection with the earth and man, it has been conjectured that the exciting cause of his rebellion was God's declaration that human nature was to be raised into union with the Godhead; this was "the truth" concerning the person of the Son of God which "he abode not in"; it galled his pride that a lower race was to be raised to that which he had aspired to (1Ti 3:6). How exultingly he might say, when man fell through him, "God would raise manhood into union with Himself; I have brought it down below the beasts by sin!" At that very moment and spot he was told that the seed of the abhorred race, man, should bruise his head (1Jo 3:8). He was raised up for this, to show forth God's glory (Ex 9:16; Ro 9:17). In his unfallen state he may have been God's vicegerent over the earth and the animal kingdom before man: this will account for his assuming the form of a serpent (Ge 3:1). Man succeeded to that office (Ge 2:19, 20), but forfeited it by sin, whence Satan became "prince of this world"; Jesus Christ supplants the usurper, and as "Son of man" regains the lost inheritance (Psa 8:4-8). The steps in Satan's overthrow are these: he is cast out, first, from heaven (Re 12:7-9) on earth; next, he is bound a thousand years (Re 20:2, 3); finally, he is cast into the lake of fire for ever (Re 20:10).
the serpent's meat--(See on Is 11:8).
They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain--(See on Is 11:9).