Isaiah 65:15
in Isaiah 65You will leave behind your name as a curse for My chosen ones, and the Lord GOD will slay you; but to His servants He will give another name.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And ye shall leave your name for a curse unto my chosen; and the Lord Jehovah will slay thee; and he will call his servants by another name:
KJV
And 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:
⋯
This verse in Isaiah 65
Commentary
16 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
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.
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.
This site's exposition
leave behind your name as a curse
The word for curse means an oath, Barnes explains, so the name becomes a byword in swearing, and Jamieson, Fausset & Brown compare Jeremiah 29:22. Cyril of Jerusalem and Theodoret read another name as Christian. That name was first given at Antioch in Acts 11:26.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers5 voices
These things are predicted to warn those not fearing the Lord and who do not turn to him, whereas those who serve me will not only weave another kind of outcome, but just as with the patriarchs, they will receive a name and on account …
But even if we are clearly something new, and this truly recent name of Christians has only recently been known among all the nations, our life and manner of conduct in accordance with the very teachings of our religion have not been recently fashioned by us, but, as it were, from the first creation of humanity have been established by the natural concepts of the God-favored people of old.… And by deeds more manifest than words is Abraham's manner of religion shown to be practiced at present among Christians alone.
He has already mentioned this name. It is new and not old. For after the appearance of Christ the master, those who believed were called Christians. They bore this in place of all approving words. When one wished to praise, they were accustomed to add …
All things have been made new in Christ—worship and life and the making of laws. For we no longer adhere to shadows and ineffective types, but rather we offer adoration and worship, in spirit and truth, to the God who is above all. We do not take our name like the physical descendants of Israel from one of the first ancestors or fathers, such as Ephraim, or Manasseh, or some other tribe; nor do we follow the path of the scribes and the Pharisees, who value the antiquity of the letter above all else; but we submit to Christ in the newness of the life of the gospel, and having been given his name, like a crown, we are called Christians. This celebrated and blessed name has spread throughout the world. And because we have been blessed by Christ, we, in turn, try to make him rejoice with blessings and ceaseless praises.
With the ungrudging generosity of his godhead, Christ has granted to all of us to bear his name. For whereas as human sovereigns have some special title of sovereignty that they keep exclusively from use by other people, Jesus Christ, being Son of God, has deigned to bestow on us the title of Christians.… But some will say, "The name of 'Christians' is new and was not previously in use": and new-fashioned phrases are often objected to on the score of strangeness. The prophet made this point safe beforehand, saying, "But on my servants shall a new name be called, which shall be blessed upon the earth."
8 more voices on this verse
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Vers. 15, 16.) And you shall dismiss your name in the oath to my chosen ones, and the Lord God will kill you, and He will call His servants by another name, in which whoever is blessed on earth will be blessed in God, amen: and whoever swears on earth will swear in God, amen. LXX: For you shall abandon your name to my chosen ones.
The Medieval Church1 voice
Third, in difference of name, and first, he sets out the sort of name the impious shall have: and you shall leave your name for an oath to my elect, that they might confirm their words thus: if it is not so, so shall it …
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
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.
A curse - They shall use your names as examples, of the eminent wrath of God upon sinners. Another name - He will not suffer his own people to be called by a name by which idolaters are known.
And ye shall leave your name for a curse unto my chosen,....
(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 & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
curse--The name of "Jew" has been for long a formula of execration (compare Jer 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).
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
Shall slay thee “Shall slay you” - For והמיתך vehemithecha, shall slay thee, the Septuagint and Chaldee read והמיתכם vehemithechem, shall slay you, plural.
The words behind it
11 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהִנַּחְתֶּ֨ם | vehinachtem | and you will leave | H5117 → | 142 times |
| שִׁמְכֶ֤ם | shimkhem | name your | H8034 → | 864 times |
| לִשְׁבוּעָה֙ | lishvuah | to a curse | H7621 → | |
| לִבְחִירַ֔י | livchirai | to chosen ones my | H972 → | 13 times |
| וֶהֱמִיתְךָ֖ | vehemitekha | and he will put to death you | H4191 → | 839 times |
| אֲדֹנָ֣י | ʾadonai | [the] Lord | H136 → | 440 times |
| יְהוִ֑ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3069 → | 306 times |
| וְלַעֲבָדָ֥יו | velaavadav | and <to> servants his | H5650 → | 799 times |
| יִקְרָ֖א | yikra' | he will call | H7121 → | 733 times |
| שֵׁ֥ם | shem | a name | H8034 → | 864 times |
| אַחֵֽר׃ | ʾacher | another | H312 → | 166 times |
וְהִנַּחְתֶּ֨םand you will leave
vehinachtemH5117 →142 times
שִׁמְכֶ֤םname your
shimkhemH8034 →864 times
לִשְׁבוּעָה֙to a curse
lishvuahH7621 →
לִבְחִירַ֔יto chosen ones my
livchiraiH972 →13 times
וֶהֱמִיתְךָ֖and he will put to death you
vehemitekhaH4191 →839 times
אֲדֹנָ֣י[the] Lord
ʾadonaiH136 →440 times
יְהוִ֑הYahweh
yahwehH3069 →306 times
וְלַעֲבָדָ֥יוand <to> servants his
velaavadavH5650 →799 times
יִקְרָ֖אhe will call
yikra'H7121 →733 times
שֵׁ֥םa name
shemH8034 →864 times
אַחֵֽר׃another
ʾacherH312 →166 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
Romans 9:26and, “It will happen that in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not My people,’ they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’”
it leads to
- Hosea 1:9–10
And the LORD said, “Name him Lo-ammi, for you are not My people, and I am not your God.
- Hosea 1:9–10
Through
Acts 11:26and when he found him, he brought him back to Antioch. So for a full year they met together with the church and taught large numbers of people. The disciples were first called Christians…
it leads to
- 1 Peter 4:16
But if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but glorify God that you bear that name.
- Acts 26:28
Then Agrippa said to Paul, “Can you persuade me in such a short time to become a Christian?”
- 1 Peter 4:16
Through
Isaiah 62:2Nations will see your righteousness, and all kings your glory. You will be called by a new name that the mouth of the LORD will bestow.
it leads to
- Isaiah 62:12
And they will be called the Holy People, the Redeemed of The LORD; and you will be called Sought Out, A City Not Forsaken.
- Genesis 17:5
No longer will you be called Abram, but your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations.
- Revelation 2:17
He 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…
- Isaiah 62:12
Through
Zechariah 8:13As you have been a curse among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so I will save you, and you will be a blessing. Do not be afraid; let your…
it leads to
- Genesis 12:2–3
I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.
- 1 Corinthians 16:13
Be on the alert. Stand firm in the faith. Be men of courage. Be strong.
- Genesis 12:2–3
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies5
About Isaiah
This page draws on 14 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; Cyril of Alexandria, COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 5:6.65:15; Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lecture 10:16; Eusebius of Caesarea, ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY 1:4; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Theodore of Heraclea, FRAGMENTS ON ISAIAH; Theodoret of Cyrus, COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 20:65.15-16 and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.