Isaiah 65 — Dead Sea Scrolls
25 verses • 21 variants • 1QIsaᵃ columns L–LI
Scroll Overview
Summary
Isaiah 65 contains 25 verses spanning columns L-LI of 1QIsaiah-a. God responds to the lament of chapters 63-64 with a complex answer: He was ready to be found but Israel sought idols instead (vv. 1-7); a remnant will be preserved while rebels perish (vv. 8-16); and the chapter climaxes with the vision of new heavens and a new earth (vv. 17-25). This last section is one of the great eschatological passages of the Hebrew Bible, echoed in Revelation 21:1-4 and 2 Peter 3:13. The scroll shows mostly minor variants with a few moderate readings.
Notable Variants
Verse 1 is quoted in Romans 10:20 and the scroll confirms the MT reading. Verse 17 — 'new heavens and a new earth' — is stable between both texts. Verse 20 has a moderate variant in the description of lifespans in the new creation. Verse 25 echoes Isaiah 11:6-9 with the wolf and lamb imagery, preserved without variant.
Scroll Condition
Columns L-LI are in good condition. The text is fully legible throughout this chapter.
"I let Myself be sought by those who did not ask; I let Myself be found by those who did not seek Me. I said, 'Here I am! Here I am!' to a nation that did not call on My name."
Masoretic (WLC)
נִדְרַשְׁתִּי לְלוֹא שָׁאָלוּ נִמְצֵאתִי לְלֹא בִקְשֻׁנִי
I was ready to be sought by those who did not ask; I was ready to be found by those who did not seek Me
Dead Sea Scroll
נדרשתי ללוא שאלו נמצאתי ללוא בקשוני
I was ready to be sought by those who did not ask; I was ready to be found by those who did not seek Me
The scroll spells lo with waw-aleph (לוא) in both occurrences, per Qumran convention. The substantive reading is identical. Paul quotes this verse in Romans 10:20, applying it to Gentile inclusion: 'I was found by those who did not seek Me; I revealed Myself to those who did not ask for Me.' The scroll confirms that the Hebrew text Paul was drawing on (via the LXX) had the same reading as MT.
In its original Third Isaiah context, this verse likely refers to Israel's own failure to seek God properly, but Paul's re-reading applies it to the Gentile mission. The scroll provides no variant that would support or undermine either reading.
1QIsaᵃ col. L, line 5
"I spread out My hands all day long to a rebellious people who walk in a way that is not good, following their own devices —"
Masoretic (WLC)
פֵּרַשְׂתִּי יָדַי כָּל־הַיּוֹם
I spread out My hands all the day
Dead Sea Scroll
פרשתי ידי כול היום
I spread out My hands all the day
The scroll spells kol ('all') with waw as kol (כול). Paul quotes this verse in Romans 10:21. God's gesture of outstretched hands toward a rebellious people is identical in both texts.
1QIsaᵃ col. L, line 6
"a people who provoke Me to My face continually, who sacrifice in gardens and burn incense on bricks —"
Masoretic (WLC)
הָעָם הַמַּכְעִסִים אוֹתִי
a people who provoke Me
Dead Sea Scroll
העם המכעיסים אותי
a people who provoke Me
The scroll uses a fuller spelling for the participle hamakh'isim ('who provoke'). The catalogue of idolatrous practices — sacrificing in gardens and burning incense on bricks — is identical in both texts.
1QIsaᵃ col. L, line 7
"who sit among the graves and spend the night in secret places, who eat the flesh of swine, with broth of abominable things in their vessels —"
Masoretic (WLC)
הַיֹּשְׁבִים בַּקְּבָרִים
who sit in tombs
Dead Sea Scroll
היושבים בקברים
who sit in tombs
The scroll uses plene spelling for yoshvim ('those sitting'). The description of necromantic practices — sitting in tombs, spending nights in secret places, eating swine's flesh — is identical in both texts. These practices would have been particularly offensive to the Qumran community.
1QIsaᵃ col. L, line 8
"who say, 'Keep to yourself — do not come near me, for I am too holy for you!' These are smoke in My nostrils, a fire that burns all day long."
Masoretic (WLC)
קְרַב אֵלֶיךָ אַל־תִּגַּשׁ־בִּי כִּי קְדַשְׁתִּיךָ
Keep to yourself, do not come near me, for I am too holy for you
Dead Sea Scroll
קרב אליכה אל תגש בי כיא קדשתיכה
Keep to yourself, do not come near me, for I am too holy for you
The scroll uses fuller suffix forms -kha and spells ki as kia. The ironic self-righteousness of the idolaters who say 'I am too holy for you' provokes God's declaration: 'These are a smoke in My nostrils, a fire that burns all the day.' Both texts agree.
1QIsaᵃ col. L, line 9
"Behold, it is written before Me: I will not keep silent; I will repay — I will repay into their lap —"
No significant variant. God's declaration that judgment is written before Him and He will repay is identical in both texts.
1QIsaᵃ col. L, line 10
"your iniquities and the iniquities of your fathers together," says the LORD. "Because they burned incense on the mountains and mocked Me on the hills, I will measure into their lap the full payment for their former deeds."
Masoretic (WLC)
עֲוֺנֹתֵיכֶם וַעֲוֺנֹת אֲבוֹתֵיכֶם
your iniquities and your fathers' iniquities
Dead Sea Scroll
עוונותיכם ועוונות אבותיכם
your iniquities and your fathers' iniquities
The scroll uses plene spelling for awonot ('iniquities'). The punishment encompassing both their own and their fathers' sins is identical in both texts.
1QIsaᵃ col. L, line 11
This is what the LORD says: "As the new wine is found in the cluster, and someone says, 'Do not destroy it, for there is a blessing in it' — so I will do for the sake of My servants; I will not destroy them all."
Masoretic (WLC)
כַּאֲשֶׁר יִמָּצֵא הַתִּירוֹשׁ
as when new wine is found in the cluster
Dead Sea Scroll
כאשר ימצא התירוש
as when new wine is found in the cluster
No meaningful variant. The grape cluster metaphor — do not destroy it, for there is a blessing in it — introduces the remnant theology. God will not destroy the whole for the sake of the faithful.
1QIsaᵃ col. L, line 12
"I will bring forth offspring from Jacob, and from Judah an heir of My mountains. My chosen ones shall possess it, and My servants shall dwell there."
No significant variant. The promise of offspring from Jacob and an inheritor of God's mountains is identical in both texts.
1QIsaᵃ col. L, line 13
"Sharon shall become a pasture for flocks, and the Valley of Achor a resting place for herds, for My people who have sought Me."
Masoretic (WLC)
וְהָיָה הַשָּׁרוֹן לִנְוֵה צֹאן
Sharon shall be a pasture for flocks
Dead Sea Scroll
והיה השרון לנוה צואן
Sharon shall be a pasture for flocks
The scroll uses plene spelling for tso'n ('flocks'). The pastoral vision of Sharon and the Valley of Achor as places of rest for flocks is identical in both texts.
1QIsaᵃ col. L, line 14
"But you who forsake the LORD, who forget My holy mountain, who set a table for Fortune and fill cups of mixed wine for Destiny —"
Masoretic (WLC)
הַשֹּׁכְחִים אֶת־הַר קָדְשִׁי הַעֹרְכִים לַגַּד שֻׁלְחָן
who forget My holy mountain, who set a table for Gad
Dead Sea Scroll
השוכחים את הר קודשי העורכים לגד שלחן
who forget My holy mountain, who set a table for Gad
The scroll uses plene spellings for shokchim ('those forgetting') and qodshi ('My holiness'). The reference to 'Gad' (Fortune) and 'Meni' (Destiny) — pagan deities worshipped through ritual meals — is identical in both texts. These deities of fate/fortune are otherwise barely attested in the Hebrew Bible.
1QIsaᵃ col. L, line 15
"I will destine you for the sword, and all of you shall bow down to the slaughter, because I called and you did not answer, I spoke and you did not listen. You did what is evil in My eyes and chose what I did not delight in."
Masoretic (WLC)
וּמָנִיתִי אֶתְכֶם לַחֶרֶב
I will destine you to the sword
Dead Sea Scroll
ומניתי אתכם לחרב
I will destine you to the sword
No meaningful variant. The wordplay between Meni (the pagan deity of Destiny) and manithi ('I will destine') is preserved in both texts — God puns on the idol's name to declare judgment.
1QIsaᵃ col. L, line 16
Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: "Behold, My servants shall eat, but you shall be hungry; My servants shall drink, but you shall be thirsty; My servants shall rejoice, but you shall be put to shame."
No significant variant. The contrast between God's servants (who eat, drink, and rejoice) and the rebels (who hunger, thirst, and are put to shame) is identical in both texts.
1QIsaᵃ col. L, line 17
"Behold, My servants shall sing out of a glad heart, but you shall cry out from an anguished heart and wail from a broken spirit."
Masoretic (WLC)
מִטּוּב לֵב
from gladness of heart
Dead Sea Scroll
מטוב לב
from gladness of heart
No meaningful variant. The contrast continues: God's servants sing from gladness of heart, but the rebels cry out from pain of heart and wail from brokenness of spirit.
1QIsaᵃ col. L, line 18
"You shall leave your name as a curse-word for My chosen ones; the Lord GOD will put you to death. But His servants He will call by another name,"
Masoretic (WLC)
וְהִנַּחְתֶּם שִׁמְכֶם לִשְׁבוּעָה לִבְחִירָי
you shall leave your name as a curse to My chosen ones
Dead Sea Scroll
והנחתם שמכם לשבועה לבחירי
you shall leave your name as a curse to My chosen ones
No meaningful variant. The rebels' name becomes a curse formula, while God's servants receive a new name. The concept of divine renaming connects to 62:2.
1QIsaᵃ col. L, line 19
"so that whoever invokes a blessing in the land shall bless by the God of Amen, and whoever takes an oath in the land shall swear by the God of Amen. For the former troubles will be forgotten and will be hidden from My eyes."
Masoretic (WLC)
אֱלֹהֵי אָמֵן
the God of Amen (the God of truth)
Dead Sea Scroll
אלוהי אמן
the God of Amen (the God of truth)
The scroll uses plene spelling for elohei. The remarkable title 'God of Amen' (or 'God of truth/faithfulness') is identical in both texts. This is the only place in the Hebrew Bible where God is called by this title. The 'former troubles are forgotten and hidden from My eyes' prepares for the new creation vision that follows.
1QIsaᵃ col. L, line 20
"For behold, I am creating new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind."
Masoretic (WLC)
כִּי הִנְנִי בוֹרֵא שָׁמַיִם חֲדָשִׁים וָאָרֶץ חֲדָשָׁה
For behold, I am creating new heavens and a new earth
Dead Sea Scroll
כיא הנני בורא שמים חדשים וארץ חדשה
For behold, I am creating new heavens and a new earth
The scroll spells ki as kia but the substantive reading is identical. This is one of the most consequential verses in the Hebrew Bible for eschatology. The phrase 'new heavens and a new earth' (shamayim chadashim va-arets chadashah) is echoed in 2 Peter 3:13 and Revelation 21:1. The scroll — predating both NT texts by over a century — confirms this reading without variant.
The verb bore ('creating') uses the same root as Genesis 1:1 (bara), signaling that the new creation is an act of divine power equal to the original creation. Both texts preserve this connection.
1QIsaᵃ col. LI, line 1
"But be glad and rejoice forever in what I am creating! For behold, I am creating Jerusalem as a delight and her people as a joy."
Masoretic (WLC)
כִּי הִנְנִי בוֹרֵא אֶת־יְרוּשָׁלִַם גִּילָה
for behold, I am creating Jerusalem a rejoicing
Dead Sea Scroll
כיא הנני בורא את ירושלם גילה
for behold, I am creating Jerusalem a rejoicing
The scroll spells ki as kia. The parallel creation of Jerusalem as 'a rejoicing and her people a joy' is identical. The new creation is not merely cosmic but specifically Zion-centered.
1QIsaᵃ col. LI, line 2
"I will rejoice over Jerusalem and be glad over My people. No more shall the sound of weeping be heard in her, nor the sound of crying."
Masoretic (WLC)
וְגַלְתִּי בִירוּשָׁלִַם וְשַׂשְׂתִּי בְעַמִּי
and I will rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in My people
Dead Sea Scroll
וגלתי בירושלם וששתי בעמי
and I will rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in My people
No meaningful variant. The declaration that weeping and crying shall no longer be heard is identical in both texts. This is directly echoed in Revelation 21:4: 'He will wipe away every tear from their eyes.'
1QIsaᵃ col. LI, line 3
"No more shall there be an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not fill out his years. For the youth who dies at a hundred will be considered young, and the sinner who fails to reach a hundred will be considered cursed."
Masoretic (WLC)
כִּי הַנַּעַר בֶּן־מֵאָה שָׁנָה יָמוּת
for the young man shall die at a hundred years
Dead Sea Scroll
כיא הנער בן מאה שנה ימות
for the young man shall die at a hundred years
The scroll spells ki as kia and omits the maqqef. The vision of extended lifespans in the new creation — where dying at a hundred is considered dying young — is identical in both texts. The sinner who fails to reach a hundred is considered cursed. This suggests a transformed but not yet fully eschatological world, distinct from the 'no more death' of Revelation 21:4.
1QIsaᵃ col. LI, line 4
"They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit."
No significant variant. The promise of building houses and inhabiting them, planting vineyards and eating their fruit, is identical in both texts.
1QIsaᵃ col. LI, line 5
"They shall not build and another inhabit; they shall not plant and another eat. For as the days of a tree shall be the days of My people, and My chosen ones shall long enjoy the work of their hands."
Masoretic (WLC)
כִּימֵי הָעֵץ יְמֵי עַמִּי
like the days of a tree shall be the days of My people
Dead Sea Scroll
כימי העץ ימי עמי
like the days of a tree shall be the days of My people
No meaningful variant. The comparison of human lifespan to tree lifespan is identical. This reverses the metaphor of 64:6 where humans 'fade like a leaf.'
1QIsaᵃ col. LI, line 6
"They shall not labor in vain or bear children for calamity, for they are the offspring of those blessed by the LORD, and their descendants with them."
Masoretic (WLC)
לֹא יִיגְעוּ לָרִיק
they shall not labor in vain
Dead Sea Scroll
לוא ייגעו לריק
they shall not labor in vain
The scroll spells lo with waw-aleph. The promise that labor will not be in vain and children will not be born for calamity is identical in both texts.
1QIsaᵃ col. LI, line 7
"Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear."
Masoretic (WLC)
בְּטֶרֶם יִקְרָאוּ וַאֲנִי אֶעֱנֶה
before they call I will answer
Dead Sea Scroll
בטרם יקראו ואני אענה
before they call I will answer
No meaningful variant. The intimate promise of divine responsiveness — 'before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear' — is identical in both texts.
1QIsaᵃ col. LI, line 8
"The wolf and the lamb shall graze together; the lion shall eat straw like the ox, and dust shall be the serpent's food. They shall not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain," says the LORD.
Masoretic (WLC)
זְאֵב וְטָלֶה יִרְעוּ כְאֶחָד
the wolf and the lamb shall graze together
Dead Sea Scroll
זאב וטלה ירעו כאחד
the wolf and the lamb shall graze together
No meaningful variant. This verse recapitulates the peaceable kingdom vision of Isaiah 11:6-9 but with notable differences: here the wolf and lamb 'graze together' (not 'dwell together'), and the lion eats straw 'like the ox.' The closing declaration — 'They shall not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain, says the LORD' — directly quotes 11:9 and is preserved identically in both MT and the scroll.
The serpent eating dust ('dust shall be the serpent's food') echoes Genesis 3:14 and may signify the curse remaining on the serpent even in the new creation. Both texts agree.
1QIsaᵃ col. LI, line 9