Isaiah 65:13

Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: “My servants will eat, but you will go hungry; My servants will drink, but you will go thirsty; My servants will rejoice, but you will be put to shame.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The Lord GOD addresses a rebellious audience that consistently ignored His calls and chose evil, delivering a judgment oracle that contrasts their fate with that of His faithful servants. This declaration follows a warning of impending slaughter for the disobedient and precedes a description of the servants’ joy versus the rebels’ mourning.

The words — לָ/כֵ֞ן (la/Khen) renders “therefore,” anchoring the following contrast to the prior refusal to listen. יֹאכֵ֙לוּ֙ (yo.Khe.lu) means “they will eat,” directly stating the servants’ provision against the audience’s coming hunger.

The thread — The sharp division between those who serve God and those who reject Him reappears in Malachi 3:18, while the theme of servants receiving joy instead of shame echoes Isaiah 61:7 and Isaiah 66:14.

Why it lands — The text demands a clear choice between the path of obedient listening and the path of defiant rejection. Readers must recognize that ignoring divine instruction results in deprivation and shame, while alignment with God’s servants yields provision and joy.

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

Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, my servants shall eat, but ye shall be hungry: behold, my servants shall drink, but ye shall be thirsty: behold, my servants shall rejoice, but ye shall be ashamed:

Cross-references

Malachi 3:18 So you will again distinguish between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.”
Isaiah 66:14 When you see, you will rejoice, and you will flourish like grass; then the hand of the LORD will be revealed to His servants, but His wrath will be shown to His enemies.
Isaiah 61:7 Instead of shame, My people will have a double portion, and instead of humiliation, they will rejoice in their share; and so they will inherit a double portion in their land, and everlasting joy will be theirs.
Luke 16:24 So he cried out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue. For I am in agony in this fire.’
Isaiah 66:5 You who tremble at His word, hear the word of the LORD: “Your brothers who hate you and exclude you because of My name have said, ‘Let the LORD be glorified that we may see your joy!’ But they will be put to shame.”
Isaiah 44:9 All makers of idols are nothing, and the things they treasure are worthless. Their witnesses fail to see or comprehend, so they are put to shame.
Luke 14:23 So the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedges and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full.
Psalms 34:10 Young lions go lacking and hungry, but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.
Psalms 37:19 In the time of evil they will not be ashamed, and in the days of famine they will be satisfied.
Isaiah 1:19 If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best of the land.