Isaiah 65:12

12 I will offer you to the sword. You will all bow down for slaughter, because I called and you didn't answer; I spoke and you wouldn't hear. You did what I considered evil, and chose what I didn't want.

Isaiah 65:12 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 65:12

Therefore will I number you to the sword
There is an elegancy in the expression, alluding to Meni, that number, they furnished a drink offering for, or trusted in; and since they did, God would number them, or appoint a number of them to the sword; or suffer them to be slain in great numbers, even from one end of their land to another, ( Jeremiah 12:12 ) , they should be numbered and told out, or care taken that none of them should escape the sword of the Romans, or not be taken by them: and ye shall all bow down to the slaughter;
be obliged to submit to the conqueror, and lay down their necks to be sacrificed by him: because, when I called, ye did not answer; when I spoke, ye did not
hear;
when Christ called unto them personally, to come and hear him, they turned a deaf ear to this charmer, charming so wisely, and would not attend upon his ministry, ( Proverbs 1:24 ) ( Matthew 23:37 ) , and when he called to them in the ministry of his apostles, they rejected him and his word with contempt; they put it away from them, contradicting and blaspheming it, ( Acts 13:45 Acts 13:46 ) . The Targum is,

``because I sent my prophets, and ye turned not; they prophesied, and ye did not receive them:''

but did evil before mine eyes, and did choose that wherein I delighted
not;
adhered to the traditions of the elders, and taught for doctrines the commandments of men; and which they chose and preferred to the word of God, and the Gospel of Christ; and these were things the Lord delighted not in, yea, abhorred; and their embracing and cleaving to them were evil in his sight; see ( Matthew 15:3-9 ) .

Isaiah 65:12 In-Context

10 Sharon will become a pasture for sheep, and the Achor Valley a resting place for cattle, for my people who seek me.

11 But you who abandon the LORD, who forget my holy mountain, who set a table for a god of good fortune, and fill cups of mixed wine for a god of fate:

12 I will offer you to the sword. You will all bow down for slaughter, because I called and you didn't answer; I spoke and you wouldn't hear. You did what I considered evil, and chose what I didn't want.

13 Therefore, the LORD God says: Look, my servants will eat, but you will hunger. My servants will drink, but you will thirst. My servants will rejoice, but you will be ashamed.

14 My servants will sing with contented hearts, but you will cry out from heartache; with broken spirits you will wail.