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Isaiah 65:13

in Isaiah 65

Therefore this is what the Lord GOD 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.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah, 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 put to shame;

KJV

Therefore 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:

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This verse in Isaiah 65

Commentary

10 notes on this verse
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.

This site's exposition

My servants will eat, but you will go hungry

on Isaiah 65:13-16

Four times the LORD sets His servants against the rest: “My servants will eat, but you will go hungry”. The line runs inside the one covenant people. Blessings and oaths will be made “by the God of truth”, the Hebrew word Amen, as Henry and Barnes note.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers3 voices

A commentator

Jerome

Commentary on Isaiah · Written before 420.

proposed

(Verse 13, 14.) Therefore, thus says the Lord God: Behold, my servants will eat, and you will be hungry. Behold, my servants will drink, and you will be thirsty. Behold, my servants will rejoice, and you will be put to shame. Behold, my servants will praise with the exultation of the heart, and you will cry out because of the pain of the heart, and because of the brokenness of the spirit you will howl. LXX: Therefore, thus says the Lord: Behold, my servants will eat, but you will be hungry. Behold, my servants will drink, but you will be thirsty. Behold, my servants will rejoice, but you will be confounded. Behold, my servants will exult in joy, but you will cry out because of the pain in your hearts, and because of the brokenness of your spirits you will wail. Not only will you fall by the sword, you who have forsaken the Lord and done evil in his sight, and refused to listen to his words, but you will also see a great difference between yourselves and the multitude of the nations. For those who serve me will eat and drink, rejoice and praise with exultation of the heart. But on the contrary, you will hunger and thirst, you will be confused and cry out in pain of heart and contrition of spirit. They think that all these things will be accomplished in a thousand years, believing that food and drink are the kingdom of God, without understanding that which is written: Labor not for the food which perishes, but for the bread of life and truth (John VI, 27), desiring to eat the flesh of Christ and the fruit of the tree of life. About which the Savior speaks: I am the bread that came down from heaven (John 6:33). And the Ecclesiastes says: Open your eyes and be satisfied with bread (Proverbs 20:13). And the Psalmist says: I was young, and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread. […]

A commentator

Fulgentius of Ruspe

LETTER TO MONIMUS 1:25.3-4 · Written before 533.

proposed

In all these things, whatever has been predicted only, not promised, pertains to the persons of the wicked. Nor should that which because of the merit of wickedness, severity threatens to be inflicted, be said to have been promised by the generosity of goodness. If …

A commentator

Jerome

Commentary on Isaiah, Book Eighteen · Written before 420.

proposed

I am not ignorant of how great a diversity of opinions exists among humans.

The Medieval Church1 voice

A commentator

Thomas Aquinas

Commentary on Isaiah · Written before 1274.

proposed

And he threatens the punishment of separation. First, in satisfaction of the body: therefore thus says the Lord God: behold my servants shall eat, and you shall be hungry: the rich have wanted, and have suffered hunger: but they that seek the Lord shall not …

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

Therefore thus saith the Lord God,....
3 more voices on this verse

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

(1.) God's servants may well think themselves happy, and for ever indebted to that free grace which made them so, when they see how miserable some of their neighbours are for want of that grace, who are hardened, and likely to perish for ever in unbelief, and what a narrow escape they had of being among them.

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

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.

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

My servants shalt eat, but ye shall be hungry - Rabbi Joachan ben Zachai said in a parable: There was a king who invited his servants, but set them no time to come to the feast. The prudent and wary who were among them adorned themselves; and, standing at the gate of the king’s house, said, Is there any thing lacking in the king’s house? i.e., Is there any work to be done in it? But the foolish which were among them went, and mocking said, When shall the feast be, in which there is no labor? Suddenly, the king sought out his servants: they who were adorned entered in, and they who were still polluted entered in also. The king was glad when he met the prudent, but he was angry when he met the foolish. Therefore he said, Let those sit down, and let them eat; but let these stand and look on. This parable is very like that of the wise and foolish virgins, Matthew 25, and that of the marriage of the king’s son, Matthew 22.

The words behind it

20 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • לָכֵ֞ן<to> therefore

    lakhenH3651 →771 times

  • כֹּה־thus

    koh-H3541 →577 times

  • אָמַ֣ר׀he says

    ʾamarH559 →5305 times

  • אֲדֹנָ֣י[the] Lord

    ʾadonaiH136 →440 times

  • יְהוִ֗הYahweh

    yahwehH3069 →306 times

  • הִנֵּ֨הhere!

    hinehH2009 →843 times

  • עֲבָדַ֤י׀servants my

    ʾavadaiH5650 →799 times

  • יֹאכֵ֙לוּ֙they will eat

    yokheluH398 →810 times

  • וְאַתֶּ֣םand you

    veatemH859 →1094 times

  • תִּרְעָ֔בוּyou will be hungry

    tiravuH7456 →13 times

  • הִנֵּ֧הhere!

    hinehH2009 →843 times

  • עֲבָדַ֛יservants my

    ʾavadaiH5650 →799 times

  • יִשְׁתּ֖וּthey will drink

    yishtuH8354 →217 times

  • וְאַתֶּ֣םand you

    veatemH859 →1094 times

  • תִּצְמָ֑אוּyou will be thirsty

    titzmauH6770 →10 times

  • הִנֵּ֧הhere!

    hinehH2009 →843 times

  • עֲבָדַ֛יservants my

    ʾavadaiH5650 →799 times

  • יִשְׂמָ֖חוּthey will rejoice

    yismachuH8055 →155 times

  • וְאַתֶּ֥םand you

    veatemH859 →1094 times

  • תֵּבֹֽשׁוּ׃you will be ashamed

    tevoshuH954 →127 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

18 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Matthew 5:6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.24 worksPsalms 128:2For when you eat the fruit of your labor, blessings and prosperity will be yours.13 worksMalachi 3:18So you will again distinguish between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.”10 worksPsalms 22:26The poor will eat and be satisfied; those who seek the LORD will praise Him. May your hearts live forever!10 worksLuke 6:25Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will hunger. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep.9 worksIsaiah 66:14When you see, you will rejoice, and you will flourish like grass; then the hand of the LORD will be revealed to His servants, but His wrath will be shown to His enemies.6 works
The other 12 cross-references, with their words ▾
Luke 16:24–25So he cried out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue. For I am in agony in this fire.’5 worksIsaiah 61:7Instead of shame, My people will have a double portion, and instead of humiliation, they will rejoice in their share; and so they will inherit a double portion in their land, and everlasting joy will be theirs.5 worksRevelation 2:17He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who overcomes, I will give the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone inscribed with a new name, known only to the one who receives it.5 worksMicah 6:14You will eat but not be satisfied, and your hunger will remain with you. What you acquire, you will not preserve; and what you save, I will give to the sword.5 worksPsalms 118:15Shouts of joy and salvation resound in the tents of the righteous: “The right hand of the LORD performs with valor!5 worksIsaiah 66:5You who tremble at His word, hear the word of the LORD: “Your brothers who hate you and exclude you because of My name have said, ‘Let the LORD be glorified that we may see your joy!’ But they will be put to shame.”4 worksRevelation 7:16‘Never again will they hunger, and never will they thirst; nor will the sun beat down upon them, nor any scorching heat.’4 worksLuke 14:23–24So the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedges and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full.3 worksIsaiah 44:9All makers of idols are nothing, and the things they treasure are worthless. Their witnesses fail to see or comprehend, so they are put to shame.3 worksSong of Solomon 5:1I have come to my garden, my sister, my bride; I have gathered my myrrh with my spice. I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey; I have drunk my wine with my milk. Eat, O friends, and drink; drink freely, O beloved.3 worksPsalms 37:19–20In the time of evil they will not be ashamed, and in the days of famine they will be satisfied.2 worksPsalms 34:10Young lions go lacking and hungry, but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each 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

    Isaiah 61:7

    Instead of shame, My people will have a double portion, and instead of humiliation, they will rejoice in their share; and so they will inherit a double portion in their land, and everlasting joy…

    it leads to

    • Job 42:10

      After Job had prayed for his friends, the LORD restored his prosperity and doubled his former possessions.

    • Zechariah 9:12

      Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope; even today I declare that I will restore to you double.

    • Isaiah 40:2

      “Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her forced labor has been completed; her iniquity has been pardoned. For she has received from the hand of the LORD double for all her…

    • Isaiah 60:19–20

      No longer will the sun be your light by day, nor the brightness of the moon shine on your night; for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your…

    • Psalms 16:11

      You have made known to me the path of life; You will fill me with joy in Your presence, with eternal pleasures at Your right hand.

  • Through

    Malachi 3:18

    So you will again distinguish between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.”

    it leads to

    • Matthew 25:46

      And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

    • Psalms 58:10–11

      The righteous will rejoice when they see they are avenged; they will wash their feet in the blood of the wicked.

    • Genesis 18:25

      Far be it from You to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from You! Will not the…

Where this verse is studied

About Isaiah

The Prophet Isaiah, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
The Prophet Isaiah, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
Isaiah: the study guide →Read Isaiah 65 →
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Isaiah; Fulgentius of Ruspe, LETTER TO MONIMUS 1:25.3-4; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah, Book Eighteen; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.

Read on in Isaiah 65 →