I will destine you for the sword, and you will all kneel down to be slaughtered, because I called and you did not answer, I spoke and you did not listen; you did evil in My sight and chose that in which I did not delight.”
Parallel translations
- WEB I will destine you to the sword, and you will all bow down to the slaughter; because when I called, you didn’t answer. When I spoke, you didn’t listen; but you did that which was evil in my eyes, and chose that in which I didn’t delight.”
- KJV Therefore will I number you to the sword, and ye shall all bow down to the slaughter: because when I called, ye did not answer; when I spake, ye did not hear; but did evil before mine eyes, and did choose that wherein I delighted not.
- NKJV Therefore I will number you for the sword, And you shall all bow down to the slaughter; Because, when I called, you did not answer; When I spoke, you did not hear, But did evil before My eyes, And chose that in which I do not delight.”
- NASB I will destine you for the sword, And all of you will bow down to the slaughter. Because I called, but you did not answer; I spoke, but you did not listen. Instead, you did evil in My sight And chose that in which I did not delight.”
- NLT now I will ‘destine’ you for the sword. All of you will bow down before the executioner. For when I called, you did not answer. When I spoke, you did not listen. You deliberately sinned—before my very eyes— and chose to do what you know I despise.”
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 will destine the rebellious to the sword because they refused to answer when He called. It matters because it shows judgment falls on those who reject God's gracious call.
Overview
There is a sobering wordplay: those who serve 'Destiny' (verse 11) God will 'destine' to the sword. Their guilt is that they ignored God's repeated calling and chose evil. The verse underscores human responsibility in rejecting God's invitation, a warning carried into the gospel call that must be heeded (Hebrews 2:3; Proverbs 1:24-31).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 24
- Jer 7:13And now, because you have done all these things, declares the LORD, and because I have spoken to you again and again but you would not listen, and I have called to you but you would not answer,
- 2 Chr 36:15–16Again and again the LORD, the God of their fathers, sent word to His people through His messengers because He had compassion on them and on His dwelling place.
- Isa 50:2Why was no one there when I arrived? Why did no one answer when I called? Is My hand too short to redeem you? Or do I lack the strength to deliver you? Behold, My rebuke dries up the sea; I turn the rivers into a desert; the fish rot for lack of water and die of thirst.
- Zech 7:11–13But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder; they stopped up their ears from hearing.
- Matt 21:34–43When the harvest time drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his share of the fruit.
- Zeph 1:4–6“I will stretch out My hand against Judah and against all who dwell in Jerusalem. I will cut off from this place every remnant of Baal, the names of the idolatrous and pagan priests—
- Isa 3:25Your men will fall by the sword, and your warriors in battle.
- Jer 18:21Therefore, hand their children over to famine; pour out the power of the sword upon them. Let their wives become childless and widowed; let their husbands be slain by disease, their young men struck down by the sword in battle.
- Jer 16:17For My eyes are on all their ways. They are not hidden from My face, and their guilt is not concealed from My eyes.
- Matt 22:3He sent his servants to call those he had invited to the banquet, but they refused to come.
- Deut 32:25Outside, the sword will take their children, and inside, terror will strike the young man and the young woman, the infant and the gray-haired man.
- Jer 34:17Therefore this is what the LORD says: You have not obeyed Me; you have not proclaimed freedom, each man for his brother and for his neighbor. So now I proclaim freedom for you, declares the LORD—freedom to fall by sword, by plague, and by famine! I will make you a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth.
- Isa 66:3–4Whoever slaughters an ox is like one who slays a man; whoever sacrifices a lamb is like one who breaks a dog’s neck; whoever presents a grain offering is like one who offers pig’s blood; whoever offers frankincense is like one who blesses an idol. Indeed, they have chosen their own ways and delighted in their abominations.
- Prov 1:24–33Because you refused my call, and no one took my outstretched hand,
- Zech 7:7Are these not the words that the LORD proclaimed through the earlier prophets, when Jerusalem and its surrounding towns were populous and prosperous, and the Negev and the foothills were inhabited?’”
- Ezek 14:17–21Or if I bring a sword against that land and say, ‘Let a sword pass through it,’ so that I cut off from it both man and beast,
- Isa 1:16Wash and cleanse yourselves. Remove your evil deeds from My sight. Stop doing evil!
- Isa 27:1In that day the LORD will take His sharp, great, and mighty sword, and bring judgment on Leviathan the fleeing serpent—Leviathan the coiling serpent—and He will slay the dragon of the sea.
- Isa 65:3to a people who continually provoke Me to My face, sacrificing in the gardens and burning incense on altars of brick,
- Isa 10:4Nothing will remain but to crouch among the captives or fall among the slain. Despite all this, His anger is not turned away; His hand is still upraised.
- Isa 41:28When I look, there is no one; there is no counselor among them; when I ask them, they have nothing to say.
- John 1:11He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.
- Lev 26:25And I will bring a sword against you to execute the vengeance of the covenant. Though you withdraw into your cities, I will send a plague among you, and you will be delivered into the hand of the enemy.
- Matt 22:7The king was enraged, and he sent his troops to destroy those murderers and burn their city.
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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 65:12 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.