Bible Strands
Isaiah 65:11
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,
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The prophet delivers God's judgment to the rebellious Israelites who have broken covenant loyalty. This declaration immediately follows a promise of restoration for the faithful (Isaiah 65:10) and precedes a warning of slaughter for the disobedient (Isaiah 65:12).
The words — עֹזְבֵי ('o.ze.Vei) literally means "forsaking," and הַ/עֹרְכִ֤ים (ha./'o.re.Khim) means "who arrange." The text identifies the people by these two concrete actions before describing their ritual offerings.
The thread — The accusation of abandoning Yahweh recurs in Isaiah 1:28, while the contrast between divine worship and foreign altars echoes Deuteronomy 32:17. The motif of the holy mountain as God's dwelling place appears in Isaiah 2:2.
Why it lands — The text demands a clear choice between covenant loyalty and idolatrous ritual. It requires the reader to recognize that religious performance cannot replace exclusive devotion to God.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
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.
Cross-references
- Deuteronomy 32:17 They sacrificed to demons, not to God, to gods they had not known, to newly arrived gods, which your fathers did not fear.
- Isaiah 1:28 But rebels and sinners will together be shattered, and those who forsake the LORD will perish.
- Isaiah 2:2 In 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.
- 1 Corinthians 10:20 No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God. And I do not want you to be participants with demons.
- Deuteronomy 29:24 So all the nations will ask, ‘Why has the LORD done such a thing to this land? Why this great outburst of anger?’
- 1 Chronicles 28:9 As 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.
- Psalms 132:13 For the LORD has chosen Zion; He has desired it for His home:
- Isaiah 11:9 They 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.
- Isaiah 56:7 I 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.”
- Isaiah 57:5 who burn with lust among the oaks, under every luxuriant tree, who slaughter your children in the valleys, under the clefts of the rocks?