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They will build houses and dwell in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
Isaiah 65:21 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB They will build houses, and inhabit them. They will plant vineyards, and eat their fruit.
  • KJV And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them.
  • NKJV They shall build houses and inhabit them; They shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
  • NASB “They will build houses and inhabit them; They will also plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
  • NLT In those days people will live in the houses they build and eat the fruit of their own vineyards.

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's people will build homes and plant vineyards and securely enjoy them. It matters because it promises the settled, fruitful life that sin and judgment had taken away.

Overview

This reverses the covenant curses of dispossession, where invaders consumed what Israel built (Deuteronomy 28:30). In the renewed creation, the people enjoy the fruit of their own labor in peace. It pictures the secure inheritance God grants his people, an inheritance ultimately guaranteed in Christ.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 8

  • Amos 9:14I will restore My people Israel from captivity; they will rebuild and inhabit the ruined cities. They will plant vineyards and drink their wine; they will make gardens and eat their fruit.
  • Isa 62:8–9The LORD has sworn by His right hand and by His mighty arm: “Never again will I give your grain to your enemies for food, nor will foreigners drink the new wine for which you have toiled.
  • Jer 31:4–5Again I will build you, and you will be rebuilt, O Virgin Israel. Again you will take up your tambourines and go out in joyful dancing.
  • Isa 32:18Then my people will dwell in a peaceful place, in safe and secure places of rest.
  • Isa 37:30And this will be a sign to you, O Hezekiah: This year you will eat what grows on its own, and in the second year what springs from the same. But in the third year you will sow and reap; you will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
  • Judg 6:1–6Again the Israelites did evil in the sight of the LORD; so He delivered them into the hand of Midian for seven years,
  • Lev 26:16then this is what I will do to you: I will bring upon you sudden terror, wasting disease, and fever that will destroy your sight and drain your life. You will sow your seed in vain, because your enemies will eat it.
  • Deut 28:30–33You will be pledged in marriage to a woman, but another man will violate her. You will build a house but will not live in it. You will plant a vineyard but will not enjoy its fruit.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (1)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Isaiah videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Isaiah 65:21YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on IsaiahMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

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 65:21 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.