Isaiah 65:16
in Isaiah 65Whoever invokes a blessing in the land will do so by the God of truth, and whoever takes an oath in the land will swear by the God of truth. For the former troubles will be forgotten and hidden from My sight.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
so that 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.
KJV
That 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.
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This verse in Isaiah 65
Commentary
12 notes on this verseIn reference to satiety, which is called Sabaa in Hebrew, others have interpreted it as an oath; a word that has many meanings and is varied according to the different accents. It is understood as both an oath and satiety, and fullness, and many, and seven. We have spoken about it in the book of Genesis, and in this volume (Chapter IV), where seven women took hold of one man. Again, because it is translated by the Septuagint, it is true, and in Hebrew it is called Amen; Aquila translates it as πεπιστωμένως, that is, faithfully.
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
will swear by the God of truth
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown connect the God of truth with Christ, who is called the Amen in Revelation 3:14. Jerome records the Septuagint rendering, true, beside a Greek rendering, faithfully. Aquinas reads the former troubles as forgotten because good things have taken their place.
The record, by era
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
Because the former distresses are forgotten. Here he promises rewards seen. And first, in general, as to the removal of evils: because the former distresses are forgotten, not because of lack of knowledge, but because they have been succeeded by good things, above: you shall …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 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.
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.
God of truth - Because they shall see what God promised is fulfilled. Are hid - That is, they are at an end.
4 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
That he who blesseth himself in the earth,....
(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
Hebrew, Amen: the very name of Messiah (2Co 1:20; Re 3:14), faithful to His promises (Joh 1:17; Real, substantial, spiritual, eternal, as opposed to the shadowy types of the law. sweareth, &c.--God alone shall be appealed to as God (Isa 19:18;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
That he who blesseth himself in the earth - That is, he who shall invoke blessings on himself. Shall bless himself in the God of truth - Or by the true God. He shall not seek a blessing from a false god; but he shall come before the true God, and seek a blessing at his hand. And he that sweareth - Every oath that is taken in the land shall be by the true God. There shall be no swearing by idols; but the true God shall be everywhere acknowledged.
The words behind it
18 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אֲשֶׁ֨ר | ʾasher | that | H834 → | 5497 times |
| הַמִּתְבָּרֵ֜ךְ | hamitbarekh | the [one who] blesses himself | H1288 → | 330 times |
| בָּאָ֗רֶץ | baaretz | in the land | H776 → | 2504 times |
| יִתְבָּרֵךְ֙ | yitbarekh | he will bless himself | H1288 → | 330 times |
| בֵּאלֹהֵ֣י | belohei | by [the] God of | H430 → | 2601 times |
| אָמֵ֔ן | ʾamen | surely | H543 → | |
| וְהַנִּשְׁבָּ֣ע | vehanishba' | and the [one who] swears an oath | H7650 → | 186 times |
| בָּאָ֔רֶץ | baaretz | in the land | H776 → | 2504 times |
| יִשָּׁבַ֖ע | yishava' | he will swear an oath | H7650 → | 186 times |
| בֵּאלֹהֵ֣י | belohei | by [the] God of | H430 → | 2601 times |
| אָמֵ֑ן | ʾamen | surely | H543 → | |
| כִּ֣י | ki | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| נִשְׁכְּח֗וּ | nishkechu | they will be forgotten | H7911 → | 102 times |
| הַצָּרוֹת֙ | hatzarot | the troubles | H6869 → | 73 times |
| הָרִ֣אשֹׁנ֔וֹת | harishonot | <the> former | H7223 → | 182 times |
| וְכִ֥י | vekhi | and for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| נִסְתְּר֖וּ | nisteru | they will be hidden | H5641 → | 80 times |
| מֵעֵינָֽי׃ | meeinai | from eyes my | H5869 → | 887 times |
אֲשֶׁ֨רthat
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
הַמִּתְבָּרֵ֜ךְthe [one who] blesses himself
hamitbarekhH1288 →330 times
בָּאָ֗רֶץin the land
baaretzH776 →2504 times
יִתְבָּרֵךְ֙he will bless himself
yitbarekhH1288 →330 times
בֵּאלֹהֵ֣יby [the] God of
beloheiH430 →2601 times
אָמֵ֔ןsurely
ʾamenH543 →
וְהַנִּשְׁבָּ֣עand the [one who] swears an oath
vehanishba'H7650 →186 times
בָּאָ֔רֶץin the land
baaretzH776 →2504 times
יִשָּׁבַ֖עhe will swear an oath
yishava'H7650 →186 times
בֵּאלֹהֵ֣יby [the] God of
beloheiH430 →2601 times
אָמֵ֑ןsurely
ʾamenH543 →
כִּ֣יthat
kiH3588 →4482 times
נִשְׁכְּח֗וּthey will be forgotten
nishkechuH7911 →102 times
הַצָּרוֹת֙the troubles
hatzarotH6869 →73 times
הָרִ֣אשֹׁנ֔וֹת<the> former
harishonotH7223 →182 times
וְכִ֥יand for
vekhiH3588 →4482 times
נִסְתְּר֖וּthey will be hidden
nisteruH5641 →80 times
מֵעֵינָֽי׃from eyes my
meeinaiH5869 →887 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
Philippians 2:11and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
it leads to
- 1 John 4:15
If anyone confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.
- Romans 14:11
It is written: “As surely as I live, says the Lord, every knee will bow before Me; every tongue will confess to God.”
- John 13:13
You call Me Teacher and Lord, and rightly so, because I am.
- Romans 14:9
For this reason Christ died and returned to life, that He might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.
- 1 John 4:2
By this you will know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God,
- 1 John 4:15
Through
Psalms 31:5Into Your hands I commit my spirit; You have redeemed me, O LORD, God of truth.
it leads to
- Luke 23:46
Then Jesus called out in a loud voice, “Father, into Your hands I commit My Spirit.” And when He had said this, He breathed His last.
- Acts 7:59
While they were stoning him, Stephen appealed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”
- Deuteronomy 32:4
He is the Rock, His work is perfect; all His ways are just. A God of faithfulness without injustice, righteous and upright is He.
- Luke 23:46
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies10
About Isaiah
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Isaiah; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); 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 and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.