Isaiah65chapter 65

Isaiah 65:1

“Who then, one might say to the Jews, is he that was made manifest? For if it is the prophet, let them say just when he was hid, afterward to appear again. And what manner of prophet is this, who was not only openly made manifest from obscurity but also stretched out his hands on the cross? None surely of the righteous, save the Word of God only, who, incorporeal by nature, appeared for our sakes in the body and suffered for all.”

Isaiah 65:1

“I am sought of them that asked not for me,.... That this is a prophecy of the calling and conversion of the Gentiles is not to be doubted, since the Apostle Paul has quoted it, and applied it to that case, Rom 10:20 and is here mentioned as an aggravation of the sin of the Jews, in rejecting Christ, when the Gentiles received him; and was the reason of their being rejected of God, and the Gospel being taken away from them, and given to another people, and of the Lord's removing his presence from the one to the other.”

Isaiah 65:1

“But the Prophet intended to strip them of the foolish confidence of imagining that God was bound to the posterity of Abraham; for the Lord had not restricted himself to them but on an absolute condition, and if this were violated by them, they would be deprived, like covenant-breakers and traitors, of all the advantage derived from the covenant.”

Isaiah 65:2

“I have spread out my hands - To spread out the hands is an action denoting invitation or entreaty Pro 1:24. The sense is, that God had invited the Jews constantly to partake of his favors, but they had been rebellious, and had rejected his offers. All the day - I have not ceased to do it. The Chaldee renders this, ‘I sent my prophets all the day to a rebellious people.’ Unto a rebellious people - (See the notes at Isa 1:2).”

Isaiah 65:2

“When Christ was crucified his hands were spread out and stretched forth, as if he were preparing to receive returning sinners into his bosom; and this all the day, all the gospel-day. He waited to be gracious, and was not weary of waiting; even those that came in at the eleventh hour of the day were not rejected.”

Isaiah 65:3

“A people that provoketh me to anger continually to my face,.... They committed their sins openly, without any fear of the divine Being, and in defiance of him, not at all awed by his omniscience and omnipresence; they committed them in the open streets, and even in the temple, the place of the divine residence; and these they did constantly, which provoked him to anger and wrath against them; particularly the following sins: that sacrificeth in gardens; to idols, as the Targum, placed there, as they were under every green tree; or in groves, where idols were worshipped.”

Isaiah 65:3

“A people - This verse contains a specification of the reasons why God had rejected them, and brought the calamities upon them. That provoketh me to anger - That is, by their sins. They give constant occasion for my indignation. Continually - (תמיד tâmı̂yd). It is not once merely, but their conduct as a people is constantly such as to excite my displeasure. To my face - There is no attempt at concealment. Their abominations are public.”

Isaiah 65:3

“God was continually inviting them, and they continually offending Him (De 32:21). to my face--They made no attempt to hide their sin (Isa 3:9). Compare "before Me" (Ex 20:3). in gardens--(See on Isa 1:29; Le 17:5). altars of brick--Hebrew, "bricks." God had commanded His altars to be of unhewn stone (Ex 20:25).”

Isaiah 65:4

“Which remain among the graves - “For the purpose of evoking the dead. They lodged in desert places that demons might appear to them; for demons do appear in such places, to those who do believe in them.” - Kimchi. In the monuments “In the caverns” - בנצורים bannetsurim, a word of doubtful signification. An ancient MS. has בצורים batstsurim, another בצרים batstsurim, “in the rocks;” and Le Clec thinks the Septuagint had it so in their copy.”

Isaiah 65:4

“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.”

Isaiah 65:5

“Which say, Stand by thyself - Who at the time that they engage in these abominations are distinguished for spiritual pride. The most worthless people are commonly the most proud; and they who have wandered farthest from God have in general the most exalted idea of their own goodness. It was a characteristic of a large part of the Jewish nation, and especially of the Pharisees, to be self-righteous and proud.”

Isaiah 65:5

“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] (Ps 18:8).”

Isaiah 65:6

“Behold, it is written before me - Their sin is registered in heaven, calling aloud for the punishment due to it. I will - recompense into their bosom - The bosom is the place where the Asiatics have their pockets, and not in their skirts like the inhabitants of the west. Their loose flowing garments have scarcely any thing analogous to skirts. Into their bosom - For על al, ten MSS. and five editions have אל el. So again at the end of this verse, seventeen MSS. and four editions have אל al. - L.”

Isaiah 65:6

“This is expounded by St. Paul, Rom. xi. 1-5 , where, when, upon occasion of the rejection of the Jews, it is asked, Hath God then cast away his people? he answers, No; for at this time there is a remnant according to the election of grace. This prophecy has reference to that distinguished remnant.”

Isaiah 65:7

“Your iniquities - Their idolatry and their forsaking God, and their arts of necromancy. And the iniquities of your fathers together - The consequences of your own sins, and of the long defection of the nation from virtue and pure religion, shall come rushing upon you like accumulated floods. This is in accordance with the Scripture doctrine everywhere, that the consequences of the sins of ancestors pass over and visit their posterity (see Exo 20:5; Exo 34:7; Num 14:18; Job 21:19; Luk 11:50-51; the notes at Rom 5:19).”

Isaiah 65:7

“Their sin had been accumulating from age to age until God at last repaid it in full. mountains-- (Isa 57:7; 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 Isa 49:4).”

Isaiah 65:8

“A blessing is in it - The Hebrews call all things which serve for food ברכה berachah, “a blessing.” On this verse Kimchi remarks: “As the cluster of grapes contains, besides the juice, the bark, and the kernels, so the Israelites have, besides the just, sinners among them. Now as the cluster must not be destroyed because there is a blessing, a nutritive part in it; so Israel shall not be destroyed, because there are righteous persons in it.”

Isaiah 65:9

“And I will bring forth a seed - I will give descendants to Jacob, who shall share my favor and repossess the land. An inheritor of my mountains - The mountains of Palestine - Jerusalem and the vicinity - called the mountains of God because he claimed that land as his special residence, and the place where his holy religion was established. And mine elect - They who have been chosen by me to maintain my religion in the world.”

Isaiah 65:10

“Third, as to the fertility of their pastures: and the plains, and the valley of Achor, so called, because they stoned Achan there (Josh 7:24–26); I will give them the valley of Achor for an opening of hope (Hos 2:15).”

Isaiah 65:10

“Sharon - and the valley of Achor - Two of the most fertile parts of Judea; famous for their rich pastures; the former to the west, not far from Joppa; the latter north of Jericho, near Gilgal.”

Isaiah 65:11

“But ye are they that forsake the Lord - Or rather, ‘Ye who forsake Yahweh, and who forget my holy mountain, I will number to the sword.’ The design of this verse is to remind them of their idolatries, and to assure them that they should not escape unpunished. That forget my holy mountain - Mount Moriah, the sacred mountain on which the temple was built.”

Isaiah 65:11

“Forget - To forget God's holy mountains, signifies not to regard the true worship of God. God calls Zion his holy mountain. That troop - The idols of the ten tribes, and of the Assyrians, were a troop, where as the God of Israel was one God.”

Isaiah 65:12

Therefore will I number you - Referring to Meni, which signifies number “Rabbi Eliezar said to his disciples, Turn to God one day before you die. His disciples said, How call a man know the day of his death? He answered, Therefore it is necessary that you should turn to God to-day, for possibly ye may die to-morrow.”

Isaiah 65:12

“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 (Isa 64:7); yet even then none "answered" (Pr 1:24). Contrast with this God and His people's mutual fellowship in prayer (Isa 65:24).”

Isaiah 65:13

“Therefore, thus saith the Lord God - The design of this verse is to show what would be the difference between those who kept and those who forsook his commandments. The one would be objects of his favor, and have abundance; the other would be objects of his displeasure, and be subjected to the evils of poverty, grief, and want. My servants shall eat - Shall have abundance. They shall be objects of my favor. But ye - Ye who revolt from me, and who worship idols. Shall be hungry - Shall be subjected to the evils of want.”

Isaiah 65:13

“This may refer to the siege of Jerusalem under Titus, when 1,100,000 are said to have perished by famine; thus Isa 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, Isa 65:17, implies.”

Isaiah 65:14

“Second, in joy of heart: behold my servants shall rejoice, and you shall be confounded: repenting, and groaning for anguish of spirit (Wis 5:3).”

Isaiah 65:14

“Shall sing for joy of heart - They who serve me shall have abundant occasion of rejoicing. But ye - shall howl. You shall shriek under the anguish and distress that shall come upon you. For vexation of spirit - Margin, as in Hebrew, ‘Breaking.’ That is, your spirit shall be broken and crushed under the weight of the calamities that shall come upon you.”

Isaiah 65:15

“And ye shall leave your name for a curse unto my chosen - To my people; to those whom I have selected to be my friends. The word rendered here ‘curse’ (שׁבועה shebû‛âh) means properly “an oath,” or “a swearing”; and then “an imprecation” or “a curse” (see Num 5:21; Dan 9:11). The sense here seems to be, that their punishment would be so great that it would become the subject of imprecation when others wished to bind themselves in the most solemn manner by an oath.”

Isaiah 65:15-16

“To his judgment they shall refer their cause, from whom every man's judgment doth proceed. Secondly, They shall give honour to him as the God of truth, the God of the Amen (so the word is); some understand it of Christ who is himself the Amen, the faithful witness ( Rev. iii. 14 ), and in whom all the promises are yea and amen, 2 Cor. i.”

Isaiah 65:16

“The world is yours if you be Christ's, 1 Cor. iii. When God is reconciled to us, which gives us a new heaven, the creatures too are reconciled to us, which gives us a new earth. The future glory of the saints will be so entirely different from what they ever knew before that it may well be called new heavens and a new earth, 2 Pet. iii.”

Isaiah 65:17

“For behold - The idea in this verse is, that there should be a state of glory as great as if a new heaven and a new earth were to be made. I create new heavens - Calamity and punishment in the Bible are often represented by the heavens growing dark, and being rolled up like as a scroll, or passing away (see the notes at Isa 13:10; Isa 34:4).”

Isaiah 65:17-19

“THIS passage, like the rest of Isaiah's closing chapters, will have complete fulfillment in the latter days when Christ shall come, when the whole company of His elect ones shall have been gathered out from the world, when the whole creation shall have been renewed, when new heavens and a new earth shall be the product of the Savior's power, when, forever and forever, perfected saints of God shall behold His face and joy and rejoice in Him.”

Isaiah 65:17

“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 (Isa 34:4; Heb 12:26-28 Re 21:1). not be remembered--See on Isa 65:16, note on "troubles"; the words here answer to "the former . . . forgotten," &c.”

Isaiah 65:18

“Rejoice for ever in that which I create “Exult in the age to come which I create” - So in Isa 9:5 אבי עד abi ad, πατηρ του μελλοντος αιωνος, “the father of the age to come,” Sept. See Bishop Chandler, Defence of Christianity, p. 136.”

Isaiah 65:19

“And I will rejoice in Jerusalem - (See the notes at Isa 62:5). And the voice of weeping shall no more be heard - (See the notes at Isa 25:7-8).”

Isaiah 65:19

“And, as for old men, it is promised that they shall fill their days with the fruits of righteousness, which they shall still bring forth in old age, to show that the Lord is upright, and then it is a good old age.”

Isaiah 65:19

“If this relate to any state of the church in this life, it means no more than that the former occasions of grief shall not return, but God's people shall long enjoy an uninterrupted tranquillity. But in heaven it shall have a full accomplishment, in respect both of the perfection and the perpetuity of the promised joy; there all tears shall be wiped away.”

Isaiah 65:20

“There shall be no more thence - The Septuagint, the Syriac, and the Vulgate, read this, ‘There shall not be there.’ The change requires the omission of a single letter in the present Hebrew text, and the sense seems to demand it. The design of the prophet here is, to describe the times of happiness and prosperity which would succeed the calamities under which the nation had been suffering. This he does by a great variety of images, all denoting substantially the same thing.”

Isaiah 65:20

“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.”

Isaiah 65:22

“They shall not build, and another inhabit - The reverse of the curse denounced on the disobedient, Deu 28:30: “Thou shalt build a house, and thou shalt not dwell therein; thou shalt plant a vineyard, and shalt not gather the grapes thereof.” For as the days of a tree - It is commonly supposed that the oak, one of the most longlived of the trees, lasts about a thousand years; being five hundred years growing to full perfection, and as many decaying: which seems to be a moderate and probable computation. See Evelyn, Sylva, B. 3 chap.”

Isaiah 65:23

“He will make the times that come after comfortable to their children. As they shall be good, so it shall be well with them; they shall not be brought forth to days of trouble; nor shall it ever be said, Blessed is the womb that bore not. In the gospel church Christ's name shall be borne up by a succession.”

Isaiah 65:24

“Before they call - God promised, chap. lviii, 9, to answer them, when they called: here he promises to answer the words, as soon as they should be formed in their hearts before they could get them out of their lips.”

Isaiah 65:24

“These are high expressions of God's readiness to hear prayer; and this appears much more in the grace of the gospel than it did under the law; we owe the comfort of it to the mediation of Christ as our advocate with the Father and are obliged in gratitude to give a ready ear to God's calls.”

Isaiah 65:25

“The wolf and the lamb shall feed together - (See the notes at Isa. 11.) And the lion shall eat straw - Shall eat hay or provender like the ox. The food of the lion now is flesh. Changes shall take place as great as if his nature were changed, and he should graze with the herds of the field. See a full illustration of this sentiment from the classic writors in the notes at Isa 11:6. Like the bullock - Or the ox - the cattle that herd together - for so the Hebrew word (בקר bâqâr) means.”

Isaiah 65:25

“And dust - God promises a time of tranquility to his church under the metaphor of serpents eating the dust, their proper meat, Gen. iii, 14, instead of flying upon men: it signifies such a time, when wicked men shall no more eat up the people of God.”

Isaiah 65:25

“All the enemies of God's church, that are subtle and venomous as serpents, shall be conquered and subdued, and be made to lick the dust, Christ shall reign as Zion's King till all the enemies of his kingdom be made his footstool, and theirs too.”