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Isaiah

About this book
Chapter 65

1 “I made myself available to those who did not ask for me; I appeared to those who did not look for me.⁠ I said, ‘Here I am! Here I am!’ to a nation that did not invoke my name. 2 I spread out my hands all day long to my rebellious people, who lived in a way that is morally unacceptable and who did what they desired. 3 These people continually and blatantly offend me as they sacrifice in their sacred orchards and burn incense on brick altars.⁠ 4 They sit among the tombs and keep watch all night long. They eat pork and broth from unclean sacrificial meat is in their pans. 5 They say, ‘Keep to yourself! Don’t get near me, for I am holier than you!’⁠ These people are like smoke in my nostrils, like a fire that keeps burning all day long. 6 Look, I have decreed: I will not keep silent, but will pay them back; I will pay them back exactly what they deserve,⁠ 7 for your sins and your ancestors’ sins,” says the Lord. “Because they burned incense on the mountains and offended me on the hills, I will punish them in full measure.” 8 This is what the Lord says: “When juice is discovered in a cluster of grapes, someone says, ‘Don’t destroy it, for it contains juice.’ So I will do for the sake of my servants—I will not destroy everyone. 9 I will bring forth descendants from Jacob and from Judah people to take possession of my mountains. My chosen ones will take possession of the land; my servants will live there. 10 Sharon will become a pasture for sheep, and the Valley of Achor a place where cattle graze; they will belong to my people, who seek me. 11 But as for you who abandon the Lord and forget about worshiping at my holy mountain, who prepare a feast for the god called ‘Fortune,’ and fill up wine jugs for the god called ‘Destiny’—⁠ 12 I predestine you to die by the sword, all of you will kneel down at the slaughtering block, because I called to you, and you did not respond; I spoke and you did not listen. You did evil before me; you chose to do what displeases me.” 13 So this is what the Sovereign Lord says: “Look, my servants will eat, but you will be hungry. Look, my servants will drink, but you will be thirsty. Look, my servants will rejoice, but you will be humiliated. 14 Look, my servants will shout for joy as happiness fills their hearts.⁠ But you will cry out as sorrow fills your hearts; you will wail because your spirits will be crushed. 15 Your names will live on in the curse formulas of my chosen ones. The Sovereign Lord will kill you, but he will give his servants another name.⁠ 16 Whoever pronounces a blessing in the earth will do so in the name of the faithful God; whoever makes an oath in the earth will do so in the name of the faithful God. For past problems will be forgotten; I will no longer think about them. 17 For look, I am ready to create new heavens and a new earth!⁠ The former ones will not be remembered; no one will think about them anymore.⁠ 18 But be happy and rejoice forever moreover what I am about to create! For look, I am ready to create Jerusalem to be a source of joy, and her people to be a source of happiness. 19 Jerusalem will bring me joy, and my people will bring me happiness. The sound of weeping or cries of sorrow will never be heard in her again.⁠ 20 Never again will one of her infants live just a few days or an old man die before his time. Indeed, no one will die before the age of one hundred; anyone who fails to reach the age of one hundred will be considered cursed.⁠ 21 They will build houses and live in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.⁠ 22 No longer will they build a house only to have another live in it, or plant a vineyard only to have another eat its fruit,⁠ for my people will live as long as trees, and my chosen ones will enjoy to the fullest what they have produced. 23 They will not work in vain or give birth to children that will experience disaster.⁠ For the Lord will bless their children and their descendants. 24 Before they even call out, I will respond; while they are still speaking, I will hear. 25 A wolf and a lamb will graze together; a lion, like an ox, will eat straw, and a snake’s food will be dirt.⁠ They will no longer injure or destroy on my entire royal mountain,” says the Lord.

Texts in conversation

Compare Isaiah 65:20 and Jubilees 23:28

Hebrew Bible · Pseudepigrapha, Hebrew Bible Expansions

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Summary

Jubilees echoes Isaiah 65 in its description of a future era when long life will be restored, and premature death will disappear. Both describe a renewed creation with lives extending beyond one hundred years yet still include the reality of death.

Passages

Isaiah 65:20

Hebrew Bible
19 Jerusalem will bring me joy, and my people will bring me happiness. The sound of weeping or cries of sorrow will never be heard in her again. 20 Never again will one of her infants live just a few days or an old man die before his time. Indeed, no one will die before the age of one hundred; anyone who fails to reach the age of one hundred will be considered cursed. 21 They will build houses and live in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
740–450 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Isaiah

Jubilees 23:28

Pseudepigrapha, Hebrew Bible Expansions
27 And the days shall begin to grow many and increase among those human beings Until their days approach to one thousand years. And to a greater number of years than (before) was the number of the days. 28 And there shall be no old man Nor one who has reached the end of his life, For all shall be (as) children and youths. 29 And they shall complete all their days and live in peace and in joy, And there shall be no Satan nor any evil destroyer; For all their days shall be days of blessing and healing.
170–125 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Jubilees

References

"... Implicit intertextuality between this chapter in Jubilees and the biblical text is found in several cases. The long life indicated in Jubilees 23:9 and 27 reflects the genealogy of Genesis 5. Traditional condemnation formulas used in Jubilees 23:22-23 agrees with formulas found in the Bible. The idea of nations who have no mercy or grace in Jubilees 23:23 repeat Jeremiah 6:23. The call to be saved from the hand of the sinners in Jubilees 23:24-25 agrees with the language and motifs used in Trito Isaiah. The description of seniors and young people in Jubilees 23:28 agrees with the ideas in Isaiah 65:20. The idea in Jubilees 23:31 that their bones will rest in the earth and their spirits will increase joy, is also found in Isaiah 66:14. The expression that God will show mercy to hundreds and thousands, to all who love him (Jubilees 23:31) is the same expression used in the Decalogue in Exodus 20:6 and Deuteronomy 5:10 ..."
Pieter M Venter, “Intertextuality in the Book of Jubilees,” HvTSt 63.2 (2007): 463–480.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Isaiah 65:20 and Jubilees 23:28

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