Comments on Isaiah 65 Chapter 65 forms the Lord's response to the pleas offered up in the previous two chapters. In those two chapters you have the Lord's servant pleading on behalf of Israel and the righteous among Israel pleading on their own behalf. The Lord's response is that He has always been there for them, despite their consistent rebellion from Him. He, the Lord, has continually sought them and not found them, not the other way around. And, He will still be there for them now, if they do His will (which has always been the condition). However, those that now fail to do his will shall be destroyed. v1-7 characterizes the Lord's response to the statements of the previous two chapters. He informs Israel, Judah specifically, that He has ever been available to them and only their own rebellion has stood in the way of their relationship. v1-2 Here, the Lord directly contradicts the statement of 64:11. The Lord has gone to great lengths to get Israel to return to Him, cp. 63:9-10. He has constantly said "Here I am", but they have consistently walked in the other direction, cf. 30:21, 55:6-7. These verses quoted by Paul in Romans 10:20-21. The JST/IV (not included in the LDS Edition KJV) differs from the KJV: KJV JST/IV --- ------ I am sought of them I am found of them that asked not for me; who seek after me. I give unto all them that ask of me; I am found of them I am not found of them that sought me not: that sought me not, or that inquireth not after me. I said, I said unto my servant, Behold me, behold me, Behold me, look upon me; unto a nation I will send you unto a nation, that was not called by my name. that is not called after my name, I have spread out my hands for I have spread out my hands all the day all the day unto a rebellious people, to a people who walketh not which walketh in a way in my ways, and their works are evil that was not good, and not good, and they walk after their own thoughts; after their own thoughts. The substance of verse 1 is changed, but is perfectly contextual. Nyman interprets the v. 2 to be saying that the Lord is tired of spreading His hands to a rebellious nation (i.e. Israel) so He is sending His servant to a nation that is not called after his name (i.e. the gentiles). This is certainly a possible reading, but it seems to me just as likely that the servant is being called to Israel, a nations which has not been invoking the Lord's name, cf. v. 1d, 64:6a-b. Inserting the gentiles into the interpretation seems acontextual to me as this chapter and the preceding ones as well are dealing with natural Israel. The gentiles are presented as being subservient to Israel to a degree or grafted in. In support of Nyman's interpretation, one could use 56:3-7, 62:10, 66:19. v2-4 depicts the Israelites as willfully rebellious and seeking their own will. If their will violates the Law (i.e. eating pork) then so be it, but if the Law is useful to them for self-promotion then so be it (see v5a-b below). Israel has chosen to follow in superstitious rites of their own devising rather than follow the Lord. v3a-b The WB states, "There are reminiscences of the language there used in the expressions 'to a faithless and rebellious nations', 'following their own thoughts' (Jer. 18:12) and 'to provoke God' (Deut. 4:25, Jer. 7:18; 11:7 etc.). 'TO my face continually' is a term used in worship: in a good sense of the shewbread, Ex. 28:29; cf. Ex. 30:8; Lev. 24:3,4,8; in a bad sense Jer. 6:7, cf. 52:2." v3c Idolatrous gardens in high places were to be removed entirely from Israel, cf. Deut. 12:2. Deut. 13 generally required Israel to be fastidious about eliminating idolatry from within. For similar indictments, cp. 1:29, 66:17. v4a-b The AB states, "It was a common practice to spend the night in a temple or shrine in the hope of receiving an oracular dream." The practice was called "incubation", and implied necromancy when one did so in a tomb. v4a Necromancy prohibited in Lev. 19:31, Lev. 20:6, Deut. 18:10-12. v4c Eating pork prohibited in Lev. 17:11. v4d "unclean things", the JST/IV has "beasts" instead of the KJV "things", cp. 66:17. v5a-b Consecration and defilement were communicated by contact according to the Law. Here, the people selectively use aspects of the Law in a twisted self-righteous, self-promoting manner, cp. 66:17. The self identification of holiness or of being consecrated is considered blasphemy to the Semitic mind, cf. Korah's rebellion in Num. 16. v5c-d Compare 5:24, 13:13, Deut. 32:22, Jer. 17:4. v6 The Lord indicates that He pays attention to their actions and records them. Only with the subject of v. 16 are their actions forgotten. v6c, v7f The phrase "into their bosom(s)" means they are being paid their wages, as in a measure of grain, cf. Ruth 3:15, Jer. 32:18. Compare 3:11. v7a "the sins of their fathers", this is probably a comparison of contemporary Israel to ancient Israel. With the exodus from Egypt, Israel made the golden calf, tested the Lord repeatedly, failed to abolish all idolatry cults from the promised land and so on. Contemporary Israel is pretty much doing the same. It is possible that the reference is derivative of statements like Exod. 20:5 and Num. 14:18. However, here they are cut off quickly so the wickedness of the fathers only has time to go to the immediate offspring rather than to be passed to the third and fourth generation. v7d "upon the hills", compare 57:5-6. v8-16 Based on the chiasm developed for ch. 57-66, I presented this section of text as a parenthesis. The text can be arranged as follows: v. 8-10 Introductory allegory based on first fruits v. 11-12 The idolaters who abandon the Lord described v. 13-15 The rebellious contrasted with faithful v. 16 The faithful who adhere to the Lord described\ This same kind of antithetical presentation appears in 66:1-5. v8 The AB states, "This saying, like most popular sayings, is obscure. The first fruits of animals (including men) and plants had a sacred character, which made them the property of Yahweh, to whom they were offered. The first appearance of life was a tangible token of the presence and activity of Yahweh. The first clusters of the grapes might contain undesirable grapes, but because they were first they contained the blessing of the renewed gift of life. So Israel had good and bad Israelites, but Israel contains a blessing, the promises of Yahweh and those Israelites who were faithful to him." And also, "Since it is among the first clusters to be harvested, it contains a blessing, the token of Yahweh's favor manifested in the harvest." For references where the Lord lays claim to the first fruits, cf. Exod. 23:16-19, Lev. 2:12, Lev. 23:10. See also 5:1-7 for the parable of the vineyard and 28:23-28 for the parable of the farmer. v8d "my servants", v. 10c defines these people as "My people who seek Me", also see v. 13, 41:8, 62:6, 63:17. v8e Compare 48:9. v9 indicates only the chosen servants of Judah and Jacob shall be preserved and become heirs to the Lord's Temple. v10 Sharon is referenced as a pasture in 1 Chron. 27:29. Since they are already a pasture, the JPS offers an emendation in the footnote following the Millennial Eden theme. The AB states the valley of Achor is probably located just to the south of the immediate neighborhood of the city of Jerusalem. For the general meaning of the verse, cp. 30:23. v11-15 "you", the "you" of these verses is rebellious Israel, those who have "forsake[n] the Lord", cp. 1:28. v11-12 The sin here is the sin of idolatry, a sin that they were specifically enjoined against, cf. Deut. 4:24-31. Their rejection of the Lord results in His rejection of them. The only sin specifically categorized here is idol worship. However since all other sins are rejection of the Lord as is idol worship they are all equated. Idol worship is simply the most obvious formal rejection of the Lord. Chapters 1, 5, 29, 56, 58, 59 all go into greater detail as to the specific sins of Israel. v11 This verse presents the Lord and His Temple as antithesis to the idolatrous gods of Luck and Destiny. The verse is loaded with irony as the Lord is an established sure thing, and instead Israel is gambling itself away on false gods of fortune. v12a-b The imagery here implies foreign invasion as the people are slaughtered by the sword and forced to kneel for execution. The text invokes the imagery developed earlier in the book of Isaiah with eschatological Assyria, cf. ch. 10, 34:6-7. v13 For a more physical interpretation, cf. v. 18, 62:8-9. For a more spiritual interpretation, cf. v. 11-12, 5:11-14, 55:1-2. Those who indulge in materialism, opulence, idolatry and gluttony are spiritually starving and will be cursed and left desolate by the Lord. v14 Compare 66:14. v15 Where the faithful Israelites obtain an new name (cp. 56:5, 62:2), a name of blessing (cp. Gen. 12:2, 18:18 and 22:18), the unfaithful Israelites have their name stereotyped with being cursed, cp. 1:10. This reversal of the promise of the Abrahamic covenant shows that rebellious Israel is utterly cut off from lineage-based blessings. See Jer. 29:22 for an example of such a cursing. v16 invokes the theme of Deut. 6, especially Deut. 6:4-15. Doing so draws in the anti-idolatry theme of that chapter. v16a "in the land", indicates the righteous remnant of Israel is in their land of inheritance. v16b, d "the true God", compare 45:23. The Lord's words and covenants are true because He keeps them and fulfills them. v17-25 Just as v. 13-16 present an antithesis between the rebellious and the faithful, this section presents an antithesis of Israel's history and future. Israel's history if full of mourning and lamenting as a result of rebellion, but their future will be just the opposite as they fully reconcile themselves to the Lord and He embraces them. v17a-b The new heaven and new earth, cp. 66:22, Rev. 21:1, 2 Peter 3:10-13, 3 Ne. 26:3, D&C 101:23-25. In general the "new earth" reference is to the Garden of Eden which the Lord blesses the earth with during the millennium, cf. ch. 35. The "new heavens" is referring to the subject of 34:5. Aside from the subject of the prediction, this particular prediction follows suit with previous predictions of the Lord's actions and represents the fulfillment of all of them, cp. 41:20, 42:9, 43:19, 48:6. v17c-d Compare 43:18. v18 Compare D&C 101:29. v18c-d Jerusalem is called "joy" and her people "delight", similar to the statement in 60:15, 62:2-4. v19 Compare 25:8, 62:5, and is paraphrased in Rev. 21:4. The restored Jerusalem will be a place of peace and prosperity. v20 The AB states, "In popular belief a long life was a sign of Yahweh's favor and a reward for virtue, and a premature death was a sign of Yahweh's anger and judgement. But in the new Jerusalem the normal life span will approach the span of the antediluvian.... The line means that one who dies at the age of one hundred will be considered to have died in boyhood. But no one will die such a premature death unless he is a sinner and therefore under a curse. The line is paradoxical; the new Jerusalem will have no sinners within it [because they will be disposed of quickly]." The WB follows the AB rendering, "Here the participle "hahote'" can only mean 'the one who does not reach (it)'. The words thus mean that if a person happens not to attain to a hundred years, there must be some exceptional reason for this." Contrast this situation with that of 13:15-16. The JST/IV differs from the KJV: KJV JST/IV --- ------ In those days There shall be no more thence there shall be no more thence an infant of days, an infant of days, nor an old man nor an old man that hath not filled his days: that hath not filled his days; for the child shall die for the child shall not die but shall live to be an hundred years old; an hundred years old; but the sinner being but the sinner, an hundred years old living to be an hundred years old, shall be accursed. shall be accursed. The JST changes the meaning to all people shall live long lives, but the sinners will be cursed regardless. This rendering eliminates the sin causes physical death or ailment tradition, following John 9. v21-22 Compare 3:10, 33:18, 62:8-9. Israel will never be forced into servitude and never be plundered again. Paraphrased in D&C 101:99- 101. v22-23 See Jer 29:4-7 for a similar statement where the Lord tells Judah, which has just been exiled to Babylon, that they should stay there and take advantage of their new position. v22c-d The references to outliving a tree are probably derivative of the same semitism employed in Job 14:7-12. There trees are said to outlive men, here man outlives the trees. v23 Israel will have many offspring who will be safe, the promise issued to Abraham. Lines b and d of this verse indicate the children will not go into captivity or be sold into slavery. On line c, compare 61:9. v24 Contrast the implied condition of Israel here with the implied condition of Israel in v. 1-2. Compare 58:9, D&C 101:27. v25 Compare 11:6-9 and my lengthy comments on Isaiah's animals in ch. 34. A figurative spiritual interpretation on lines a-b is favored given the obvious quote of Gen. 3:14 in line c. With the elimination of the wicked, the righteous remnant will live in peace and the serpent will hold no power over the people as they continually worship the Lord in His Temple. However, see D&C 101:26 for a physical interpretation.