A New Creation: Joy and Peace
Isaiah 65:17-25
Isa.65.17 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כי: CONJ
- הנני: PRT+PRON,1,sg
- בורא: VERB,qal,ptcp,m,sg
- שמים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- חדשים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- וארץ: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- חדשה: ADJ,f,sg,abs
- ולא: CONJ
- תזכרנה: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,pl
- הראשנות: ADJ,f,pl,def
- ולא: CONJ
- תעלינה: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,pl
- על: PREP
- לב: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Isa.66.22 (structural): Closely parallels and restates the promise within Isaiah: God will create new heavens and a new earth (continuation/recapitulation of Isa.65:17).
- Isa.43.19 (thematic): Shares the motif of God doing a 'new thing'—emphasizing divine action that brings about a transformed creation and restoration.
- Rev.21.1 (quotation): John's vision directly echoes Isaiah's language and concept of a 'new heaven and a new earth' replacing the first heavens and earth.
- Rev.21.5 (verbal): The declaration 'Behold, I make all things new' reflects the same divine creative-renewal theme found in Isa.65:17.
- 2 Pet.3.13 (allusion): Peter alludes to the prophetic promise of 'new heavens and a new earth' as the eschatological consummation where righteousness dwells.
Alternative generated candidates
- For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; the former things shall not be remembered, nor shall they come into mind.
- For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; the former things shall not be remembered, nor shall they come into mind.
Isa.65.18 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כי: CONJ
- אם: CONJ
- שישו: VERB,qal,imp,2,pl
- וגילו: VERB,qal,imp,2,pl
- עדי: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- עד: PREP
- אשר: PRON,rel
- אני: PRON,1,sg
- בורא: VERB,qal,ptcp,m,sg
- כי: CONJ
- הנני: PRT+PRON,1,sg
- בורא: VERB,qal,ptcp,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- ירושלם: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- גילה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ועמה: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- משוש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Isaiah 62:4-5 (verbal): Uses similar language and imagery of Israel/Jerusalem being renamed and transformed into joy and gladness (Hephzibah, marriage imagery) — a close prophetic counterpart to God 'creating Jerusalem a rejoicing.'
- Isaiah 66:10 (verbal): Calls the faithful to 'rejoice with Jerusalem' and be glad with her, echoing the command to rejoice in the Jerusalem God creates in Isa 65:18.
- Zephaniah 3:14-17 (thematic): Proclaims singing, exultation, and the Lord rejoicing over Jerusalem with gladness and singing — thematically parallel in celebrating God’s restoration that makes the city a source of joy.
- Jeremiah 33:10-11 (verbal): Speaks of the 'voice of joy and gladness' and the sounds of celebration returning to Judah and Jerusalem at restoration, closely matching Isaiah’s motif of created rejoicing.
- Revelation 21:2-4 (allusion): The vision of the New Jerusalem where God dwells and there is no more mourning or crying functions as a eschatological fulfillment of the motif in Isa 65:18 of God creating Jerusalem as eternal joy.
Alternative generated candidates
- But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy, and her people to be a delight.
- But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem as a joy, and her people as gladness.
Isa.65.19 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- וגלתי: CONJ+VERB,qal,perf,1,m,sg
- בירושלם: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- וששתי: CONJ+VERB,qal,perf,1,m,sg
- בעמי: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,poss,1
- ולא: CONJ
- ישמע: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- בה: PREP+PRON,3,f,sg
- עוד: ADV
- קול: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בכי: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- וקול: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- זעקה: NOUN,f,sg,const
Parallels
- Isaiah 25:8 (verbal): God will 'swallow up death' and 'wipe away the tears from all faces'—a close verbal parallel about removal of weeping and ultimate restoration.
- Revelation 21:4 (quotation): 'He will wipe away every tear...there shall be no more death, mourning, crying, or pain'—a New Testament echo of the Isaiah promise that mourning and crying in Jerusalem will cease.
- Zechariah 8:19 (thematic): God promises to turn former days of fasting and sorrow into days of gladness and joy for Jerusalem—theme of transformation from weeping to rejoicing.
- Jeremiah 31:13 (thematic): Jerusalem's daughters are promised gladness and shouts of joy instead of sorrow, anticipating restored joy in the city.
- Isaiah 35:10 (thematic): The redeemed return to Zion with everlasting joy and sorrow and sighing flee away—similar motif of final rejoicing and the end of weeping.
Alternative generated candidates
- I will rejoice in Jerusalem and take delight in my people; there shall no longer be heard in her the sound of weeping or the cry of distress.
- I will rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in my people; there shall no longer be heard in her the voice of weeping or the cry of distress.
Isa.65.20 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- לא: PART_NEG
- יהיה: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- משם: PREP
- עוד: ADV
- עול: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ימים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- וזקן: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אשר: PRON,rel
- לא: PART_NEG
- ימלא: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- ימיו: NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,3,m,sg
- כי: CONJ
- הנער: NOUN,m,sg,def
- בן: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מאה: NUM,f,sg,abs
- שנה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ימות: VERB,qal,juss,3,m,sg
- והחוטא: NOUN,m,sg,def
- בן: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מאה: NUM,f,sg,abs
- שנה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- יקלל: VERB,qal,imperf,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Isaiah 65:22 (thematic): Same prophetic section promising stability and long life for God’s people — continuity of the theme that the righteous will enjoy full days and enduring habitation.
- Isaiah 65:17 (structural): Contextual parallel framing Isaiah’s vision as a ‘new heavens and new earth,’ setting the background for the reversal of premature death and suffering in v.20.
- Isaiah 25:8 (thematic): Declares that God will ‘swallow up death forever,’ thematically echoing v.20’s promise that early death will no longer occur in the restored order.
- Psalm 92:14 (thematic): Affirms longevity and fruitfulness for the righteous in old age, paralleling v.20’s contrast between long-lived faithful and the fate of the wicked.
- Revelation 21:4 (allusion): New Testament fulfillment language — ‘there shall be no more death’ — echoes Isaiah’s prophetic hope that death and its effects will be abolished in the eschatological future.
Alternative generated candidates
- There shall no more be there an infant who lives but a few days, nor an old man who does not fill out his days; for one who dies at a hundred years shall be thought a youth, and one who fails to reach a hundred shall be regarded as accursed.
- There shall no more be there an infant who lives but a few days, nor an old man who does not fill out his days; for the young shall die a hundred years old, and the sinner a hundred years old shall be accursed.
Isa.65.21 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ובנו: CONJ+VERB,qal,perf,3,pl
- בתים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- וישבו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- ונטעו: CONJ+VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- כרמים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- ואכלו: VERB,qal,imp,2,mp
- פרים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
Parallels
- Amos 9:14 (verbal): Closely parallel language of restoration—people will rebuild and inhabit houses, plant vineyards and eat their fruit (near-verbatim imagery).
- Jeremiah 29:5-7 (verbal): Exilic instruction/comfort to 'build houses and dwell in them; plant gardens and eat their fruit,' echoing Isaiah's promise of settled prosperity after judgment.
- Jeremiah 31:5 (verbal): Restoration oracle that includes planting vineyards and eating their fruit, paralleling the motif of renewed life and enjoyment of land.
- Psalm 107:37 (thematic): Describes those delivered by God planting fields and vineyards and receiving a fruitful yield—similar agricultural imagery of blessing and provision.
- Zechariah 8:12 (thematic): Speaks of productive sowing and fruitful vines as marks of God's blessing and peace, echoing Isaiah's theme of settled, prosperous life.
Alternative generated candidates
- They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
- They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
Isa.65.22 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- לא: PART_NEG
- יבנו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- ואחר: CONJ
- ישב: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- לא: PART_NEG
- יטעו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- ואחר: CONJ
- יאכל: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- כי: CONJ
- כימי: NOUN,m,pl,cs+sim
- העץ: NOUN,m,sg,def
- ימי: NOUN,m,pl,cs
- עמי: NOUN,m,sg,abs+1s
- ומעשה: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ידיהם: NOUN,f,pl,abs+3,m,pl
- יבלו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- בחירי: NOUN,1s,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Isaiah 65:21 (structural): Immediate parallel/continuation within the same oracle: v.21 speaks of building houses and planting vineyards, which v.22 reframes—no dispossession, long enjoyment of labors.
- Psalm 92:12–14 (thematic): Uses tree-imagery to describe the righteous' longevity and ongoing fruitfulness—'they will still bear fruit in old age,' echoing 'as the days of a tree are the days of my people.'
- Jeremiah 17:7–8 (verbal): Compares the blessed person to a tree planted by water whose leaves do not wither—similar metaphor of a tree as symbol of sustained life and stability under God's care.
- Psalm 37:29 (thematic): Promises that the righteous will 'inherit the land' and dwell there forever, resonating with Isaiah's theme that God's people will long enjoy the work of their hands and not be displaced.
Alternative generated candidates
- They shall not build and another inhabit, nor plant and another eat; for as the days of a tree shall be the days of my people, and the work of their hands my chosen ones shall long enjoy.
- They shall not build for another to inhabit, nor plant for another to eat; for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, so the work of their hands shall long endure for them.
Isa.65.23 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- לא: PART_NEG
- ייגעו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- לריק: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ולא: CONJ
- ילדו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- לבהלה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- כי: CONJ
- זרע: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ברוכי: ADJ,ptc,pass,m,pl,cons
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- המה: PRON,3,m,pl
- וצאצאיהם: CONJ+NOUN,m,pl,abs+3mp
- אתם: PRON,2,m,pl
Parallels
- Psalm 127:3-5 (verbal): Children are described as a heritage/fruit of the womb and the blessing of the LORD; the psalm echoes the idea that offspring are a divine blessing rather than a source of vain labor or calamity.
- Deuteronomy 28:4,11 (thematic): In the blessing/cursing schema of Deuteronomy the fruit of the womb and increase of offspring are presented as signs of divine blessing—paralleling Isaiah’s assurance that descendants belong to the blessed of Yahweh.
- Psalm 128:3-4 (thematic): Speaks of a wife bearing children and grandchildren as part of the blessings for those who fear the LORD, resonating with Isaiah’s promise about fruitful, secure offspring for the blessed.
- Isaiah 54:13 (structural): Promises enduring instruction and security for the family ('all your children shall be taught by the LORD'), complementing Isaiah 65’s theme of a secure, blessed progeny within God’s restoration.
- Genesis 17:7 (allusion): God’s covenant promise to be God to Abraham and his offspring links to the motif that descendants are under God’s blessing and care—background for Isaiah’s language about the seed of the blessed of Yahweh.
Alternative generated candidates
- They shall not toil in vain or bear children to calamity; for they are the offspring of those blessed by the LORD, and their descendants are with them.
- They shall not labor in vain, nor bear children to calamity; for they are the offspring of those blessed by the LORD, and their descendants are with them.
Isa.65.24 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- והיה: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,sg
- טרם: ADV
- יקראו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- ואני: PRON,1,sg
- אענה: VERB,qal,impf,1,_,sg
- עוד: ADV
- הם: PRON,personal,3,m,pl
- מדברים: VERB,qal,ptcp,3,m,pl
- ואני: PRON,1,sg
- אשמע: VERB,qal,impf,1,_,sg
Parallels
- Jer.33:3 (verbal): God invites people to call on him and promises to answer—language closely parallels Isaiah’s offer of immediate response ("call... I will answer").
- Jer.29:12 (verbal): Contains the promise "you will call upon me... and I will hear you," echoing Isaiah’s assurance that God will hear and answer prayer.
- Ps.50:15 (thematic): "Call upon me in the day of trouble, and I will deliver you"—a similar promise of God's prompt help when people call, reflecting the same theme of responsive divine intervention.
- Matt.7:7-8 (thematic): Jesus’ teaching "Ask, and it will be given... for everyone who asks receives" parallels the broader biblical motif in Isaiah of God's readiness to hear and answer petitioners.
Alternative generated candidates
- Before they call I will answer; while they are yet speaking, I will hear.
- Before they call I will answer; while they are yet speaking I will hear.
Isa.65.25 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- זאב: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- וטלה: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ירעו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- כאחד: PREP
- ואריה: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- כבקר: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יאכל: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- תבן: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ונחש: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- עפר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לחמו: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs,poss:3,m,sg
- לא: PART_NEG
- ירעו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- ולא: CONJ
- ישחיתו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- בכל: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הר: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- קדשי: NOUN,m,pl,cons
- אמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Isaiah 11:6-9 (verbal): Virtually identical imagery (wolf and lamb, lion and ox/calf, child with serpent) and the same promise that they shall not hurt nor destroy on my holy mountain — a parallel formulation of eschatological peace.
- Hosea 2:18 (allusion): Speaks of making a covenant with the beasts, birds and creeping things and removing instruments of war — an earlier prophetic motif of restored harmony between creatures.
- Micah 4:3-4 (thematic): Foretells a future age of peace when nations turn swords into plowshares and no more war is done — thematically parallel to universal peace in Isaiah 65.
- Revelation 21:1-4 (thematic): Describes the new heavens and new earth with no more death, mourning or pain — New Testament realization of Isaiah’s vision of cosmic renewal and peace.
- Romans 8:19-22 (thematic): Portrays creation groaning for liberation and future freedom from decay, anticipating the restored harmony of the new creation reflected in Isaiah 65:25.
Alternative generated candidates
- The wolf and the lamb shall graze together; the lion shall eat straw like the ox, and the serpent’s food shall be dust. They shall do no harm and no destruction in all my holy mountain, says the LORD.
- The wolf and the lamb shall feed together; the lion shall eat straw like the ox, and the serpent’s food shall be dust. They shall do no harm and no destruction on all my holy mountain, says the LORD.
For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; the former things shall not be remembered, nor shall they come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy, and her people to be a gladness.
I will rejoice in Jerusalem and will delight in my people; there shall no more be heard in her the voice of weeping or the cry of distress.
There shall no longer be there an infant who lives but a few days, nor an old man who does not fill his days; for the one who dies at a hundred shall be deemed a youth, and the one who falls short of a hundred shall be counted accursed.
They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
They shall not build and another inhabit, nor plant and another eat; for as the days of a tree shall be the days of my people, and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands.
They shall not labor in vain, nor bear children for calamity; for they are a people blessed by the LORD, and their offspring are with them.
Before they call I will answer; while they are yet speaking, I will hear.
The wolf and the lamb shall graze together; the lion shall eat straw like the ox, and the serpent’s food shall be dust. They shall do no harm or destroy in all my holy mountain, says the LORD.