Isaiah 65 Study Notes

65:15 Because of their sin, the wicked have a bad reputation (name). What they do to create that reputation becomes a curse for God’s people. On the other hand, God’s people will get a new name (see note at 62:2), a new start after the judgment.

65:16 Blessing, a pleasant and prosperous life, comes only through God, not through false gods like Fortune and Destiny (see note at vv. 11-12).

65:17 Just as God will give his people a “new name” after his judgment and restoration (see notes at v. 15; 62:2), so he will create a new heaven and a new earth. The past events are acts of sin by the people that resulted in God’s judgment.

65:18-19 God’s original intention for Jerusalem will be fulfilled (see Ps 48:1 where it is called “the joy of the whole earth”). Its sin and God’s judgment had reduced it to the point where it was “a horror to all the earth’s kingdoms” (Jr 34:17), but now it will be a joy.

65:20-22 The future blessing of Jerusalem includes long life for its inhabitants. Infant mortality rates will disappear and old people will survive even longer. If someone dies at age one hundred, it will be considered tragic because he was just a young man compared to others. Further blessing will come in the form of shelter and agricultural abundance.

65:23 In the past the labor of God’s people had been enjoyed by others as he allowed foreign nations to take them over. Their children had been born to disaster since the enemy would either kill them or deport them. But this will change in God’s “new heaven” and “new earth” (see note at v. 17). The blessing of work and of childbearing was first troubled at the time of the fall into sin (Gn 3:16-19). The language of this verse suggests a reversal of these curses.

65:24 The relationship with the Lord will be so close that he will anticipate their needs, and they will pray in accordance with his will.

65:25 The pronouncement uses language that suggests a restoration of Eden-like conditions. Wolves would normally eat lambs, but they will eat peacefully together. The lion, another predator, will eat straw rather than other animals. The serpent will eat dust, reminiscent of the serpent’s role in Gn 3. The similar language in Is 11:6-9 suggests a connection with the theme of the Messiah expressed in those verses.