But you who forsake the LORD, who forget My holy mountain, who set a table for Fortune and fill bowls of mixed wine for Destiny,
Parallel translations
- WEB “But you who forsake Yahweh, who forget my holy mountain, who prepare a table for Fortune, and who fill up mixed wine to Destiny;
- KJV But ye are they that forsake the LORD, that forget my holy mountain, that prepare a table for that troop, and that furnish the drink offering unto that number.
- NKJV “But you are those who forsake the Lord, Who forget My holy mountain, Who prepare a table for Gad, And who furnish a drink offering for Meni.
- NASB “But as for you who abandon the Lord, Who forget My holy mountain, Who set a table for Fortune, And fill a jug of mixed wine for Destiny,
- NLT “But because the rest of you have forsaken the Lord and have forgotten his Temple, and because you have prepared feasts to honor the god of Fate and have offered mixed wine to the god of Destiny,
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God rebukes those who forsake Him and worship the gods of Fortune and Destiny. It matters because it warns against trusting luck or fate instead of the living God.
Overview
In contrast to the seeking remnant, these have abandoned God for pagan deities of luck and fate, setting tables of offering to them. The verse exposes the folly of trusting impersonal forces rather than the sovereign Lord. It calls God's people to wholehearted devotion to Him alone, the same exclusive loyalty the gospel demands toward God in Christ (Matthew 6:24).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 17
- Deut 32:17They sacrificed to demons, not to God, to gods they had not known, to newly arrived gods, which your fathers did not fear.
- Isa 2:2In the last days the mountain of the house of the LORD will be established as the chief of the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and all nations will stream to it.
- Isa 1:28But rebels and sinners will together be shattered, and those who forsake the LORD will perish.
- 1 Cor 10:20–21No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God. And I do not want you to be participants with demons.
- Isa 56:7I will bring them to My holy mountain and make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on My altar, for My house will be called a house of prayer for all the nations.”
- Isa 57:5–10who burn with lust among the oaks, under every luxuriant tree, who slaughter your children in the valleys, under the clefts of the rocks?
- Jer 17:13O LORD, the hope of Israel, all who abandon You will be put to shame. All who turn away will be written in the dust, for they have abandoned the LORD, the fountain of living water.
- Ps 132:13For the LORD has chosen Zion; He has desired it for His home:
- Jer 2:28But where are the gods you made for yourselves? Let them rise up in your time of trouble and save you if they can; for your gods are as numerous as your cities, O Judah.
- Deut 29:24–25So all the nations will ask, ‘Why has the LORD done such a thing to this land? Why this great outburst of anger?’
- Isa 65:25The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox, but the food of the serpent will be dust. They will neither harm nor destroy on all My holy mountain,” says the LORD.
- Isa 57:13When you cry out, let your companies of idols deliver you! Yet the wind will carry off all of them, a breath will take them away. But he who seeks refuge in Me will inherit the land and possess My holy mountain.”
- Ezek 23:41–42You sat on a couch of luxury with a table spread before it, on which you had set My incense and My oil,
- 1 Chr 28:9As for you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve Him wholeheartedly and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches every heart and understands the intent of every thought. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever.
- Heb 12:22Instead, you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to myriads of angels
- Isa 11:9They will neither harm nor destroy on all My holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the sea is full of water.
- Rev 21:2–3I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
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Christ at the center
Isaiah sees him most clearly: the virgin's son Immanuel, the child on David's throne, the shoot from Jesse, the light to the nations, and above all the Suffering Servant pierced for our transgressions (ch. 53).
How Isaiah 65:11 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.