Isaiah 65:23

23 They labour not for a vain thing, Nor do they bring forth for trouble, For the seed of the blessed of Jehovah [are] they, And their offspring with them.

Isaiah 65:23 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 65:23

They shall not labour in vain
As they do, who build houses, and enemies come and turn them out of them, and dwell in them themselves; or who plant vineyards, and sow their fields, and strangers come and devour them; or they are smitten with blasting and mildew: nor bring forth for trouble;
for death, as the Targum; or for a curse, as the Septuagint: the tense is, they shall not beget and bring forth children, that shall immediately die by some distemper or another, or be taken off by famine, sword, or pestilence, to the great grief and trouble of their parents; but these shall live, and outlive their parents, so that their death will never be a trouble to them: for they are the seed of the blessed of the Lord, and their offspring
with them;
or, "they are a seed, the blessed of the Lord" ^F9; or, "they are the seed blessed of God", or "the Lord", as the Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions; or, as the Targum,

``a seed whom the Lord hath blessed;''

a spiritual seed of the church, a seed raised up to serve the Lord, whom he blesses with temporal and spiritual blessings; and their offspring also, being made a spiritual seed by the grace of God, and succeeding them in the church, and treading in their steps.

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FOOTNOTES:

F9 (hmh hwhy ykwrb erz yk) "quia [sunt] semens, benedicti Domini ipsi"; which tension is most agreeable to the accents.

Isaiah 65:23 In-Context

21 And they have built houses, and inhabited, And planted vineyards, and eaten their fruit.

22 They do not build, and another inhabit, They do not plant, and another eat, For as the days of a tree [are] the days of My people, And the work of their hands wear out do My chosen ones.

23 They labour not for a vain thing, Nor do they bring forth for trouble, For the seed of the blessed of Jehovah [are] they, And their offspring with them.

24 And it hath come to pass, They do not yet call, and I answer, They are yet speaking, and I hear.

25 Wolf and lamb do feed as one, And a lion as an ox eateth straw, As to the serpent -- dust [is] its food, They do no evil, nor destroy, In all My holy mountain, said Jehovah!