Isaiah 65:1
in Isaiah 65“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!’
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
I am inquired of by 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.
KJV
I 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.
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This verse in Isaiah 65
Commentary
5 notes on this verseA commentator
Athanasius of Alexandria296–373
On the Incarnation of the Word 38:2 · Written before 373.
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.
This site's exposition
I am sought of them that asked not for me
on Isaiah 65:1-2
The chapter opens as the Lord's own answer to the plea that closed chapter sixty-four, and Paul quotes both verses of the Gentiles at Romans 10:20 and 10:21, verified: I am found of them that sought me not applied to a nation that was not called by my name, and the hands spread out all the day applied to Israel's own long refusal. The Lord names himself sought by strangers before he answers the covenant people's own complaint, an order Paul reads as the calling of the Gentiles standing beside Israel's continuing summons rather than replacing it. The patience is total: spread out my hands all the day describes not a moment's appeal but a standing posture toward a people who walked after their own thoughts.
The record, by era
The Reformation1 voice
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.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
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.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
this is the passage which was quoted by the Apostle Paul in the 10th chapter of his Epistle to the Romans. At the 20th verse of that chapter he says—"Isaiah is very bold, and says, I was found of them that sought Me not; I was made manifest unto them that asked not after Me. But to Israel He says, All day long I have stretched forth My hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people." The Apostle followed the Septuagint translation, but altered the position of the clauses. We learn on Inspired authority that this is a very bold passage.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
I allowed Myself to be sought by those who did not ask The Holy One, blessed be He, replies to him, It is impossible not to avenge Myself on them, for I allowed Myself to be sought by them by reproving them through My prophets, but they did not ask.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
I am asked concerning my WORD of them that have not asked after me; I am inquired of for instruction in my law, of them who have not sought my fear: I will say, Behold, I am inquired after continually, all the day, of a people that hath not prayed in my name.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
14 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| נִדְרַ֙שְׁתִּי֙ | nidrashti | I let myself be consulted | H1875 → | 164 times |
| לְל֣וֹא | lelo' | by [those who] not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| שָׁאָ֔לוּ | shaalu | they had asked | H7592 → | 171 times |
| נִמְצֵ֖אתִי | nimtzeti | I let myself be found | H4672 → | 455 times |
| לְלֹ֣א | lelo' | by [those who] not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| בִקְשֻׁ֑נִי | vikshuni | they had sought me | H1245 → | 225 times |
| אָמַ֙רְתִּי֙ | ʾamarti | I said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| הִנֵּ֣נִי | hineni | here [am] I | H2005 → | 316 times |
| הִנֵּ֔נִי | hineni | here [am] I | H2005 → | 316 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| גּ֖וֹי | goy | a nation | H1471 → | 561 times |
| לֹֽא־ | lo'- | [which] not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| קֹרָ֥א | kora' | it had been called | H7121 → | 733 times |
| בִשְׁמִֽי׃ | vishmi | by name my | H8034 → | 864 times |
נִדְרַ֙שְׁתִּי֙I let myself be consulted
nidrashtiH1875 →164 times
לְל֣וֹאby [those who] not
lelo'H3808 →5168 times
שָׁאָ֔לוּthey had asked
shaaluH7592 →171 times
נִמְצֵ֖אתִיI let myself be found
nimtzetiH4672 →455 times
לְלֹ֣אby [those who] not
lelo'H3808 →5168 times
בִקְשֻׁ֑נִיthey had sought me
vikshuniH1245 →225 times
אָמַ֙רְתִּי֙I said
ʾamartiH559 →5305 times
הִנֵּ֣נִיhere [am] I
hineniH2005 →316 times
הִנֵּ֔נִיhere [am] I
hineniH2005 →316 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
גּ֖וֹיa nation
goyH1471 →561 times
לֹֽא־[which] not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
קֹרָ֥אit had been called
kora'H7121 →733 times
בִשְׁמִֽי׃by name my
vishmiH8034 →864 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Hosea 1:10Yet the number of the Israelites will be like the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or counted. And it will happen that in the very place where it was said to…
it leads to
- 2 Corinthians 6:18
And: “I will be a Father to you, and you will be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”
- Galatians 4:6–7
And because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!”
- John 1:12
But to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God—
- Romans 9:25–28
As He says in Hosea: “I will call them ‘My People’ who are not My people, and I will call her ‘My Beloved’ who is not My beloved,”
- 1 Peter 2:9–10
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, to proclaim the virtues of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.
- 2 Corinthians 6:18
Through
Romans 10:20And Isaiah boldly says: “I was found by those who did not seek Me; I revealed Myself to those who did not ask for Me.”
it leads to
- Isaiah 65:1–2
“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…
- Romans 9:30
What then will we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith;
- Isaiah 65:1–2
Through
1 Peter 2:10Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
it leads to
- Hosea 2:23
And I will sow her as My own in the land, and I will have compassion on ‘No Compassion.’ I will say to those called ‘Not My People,’ ‘You are My people,’ and they…
- Hosea 2:23
Where this verse is studied
1 study on this verse
Also on Isaiah 65: 3 studies that walk through this chapter ▾
About Isaiah
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Isaiah; Athanasius of Alexandria, On the Incarnation of the Word 38:2; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 1919: “The Very Bold Prophecy” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); John Calvin, Commentary on the Book of the Prophet Isaiah; John Calvin, Commentaries and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).