Isaiah 65:20

Old Testament Major Prophet ASV (1901)

What does Isaiah 65:20 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days; for the child shall die a hundred years old, and the sinner being a hundred years old shall be accursed.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days; for the child shall die a hundred years old, and the sinner being a hundred years old shall be accursed.
Isaiah 65:20 — American Standard Version

Context — Isaiah 65

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
20There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days; for the child shall die a hundred years old, and the sinner being a hundred years old shall be accursed.

What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“There shall be no more thence an infant of days, &c.] That is, there shall no more be carried out from thence, from Jerusalem, or any other place where the church of God is, to the grave, in order to be interred, an infant that has lived but a few days, a very common thing now; but, in the latter day, such instances will be rare, or rather there will be none at all; every child born will live to the age of man, and not be cut off by any premature death, either by any natural disease, or by famine, or sword, or any other calamity, which will now have no place: nor an old man that hath not filled his days; who, though he may in some sense, or in comparison of others, be said to be old, yet has…”
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“The longevity of men in the first age of the world shall be enjoyed again. thence--from that time forward. infant of days--that is, an infant who shall only complete a few days; short-lived. filled . . . days--None shall die without attaining a full old age. child . . . die . . . hundred years--that is "he that dieth an hundred years old shall die a mere child" [LOWTH]. sinner . . . hundred . . . be accursed--"The sinner that dieth at an hundred years shall be deemed accursed," that is, his death at so early an age, which in those days the hundredth year will be regarded, just as if it were mere childhood, shall be deemed the effect of God's special visitation in wrath [ROSENMULLER]. This…”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“There shall be no more thence - The Septuagint, the Syriac, and the Vulgate, read this, ‘There shall not be there.’ The change requires the omission of a single letter in the present Hebrew text, and the sense seems to demand it. The design of the prophet here is, to describe the times of happiness and prosperity which would succeed the calamities under which the nation had been suffering. This he does by a great variety of images, all denoting substantially the same thing. In Isaiah 65:17, the change is represented to be as great as if a new heaven and a new earth should be created; in this verse the image is, that the inhabitants would reach a great age, and that the comparatively happy…”
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Wesley's Explanatory Notes
John Wesley (1703–1791) · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament and Old Testament notes · 18th-century historical commentary
“An infant - Those that were now children, shall die at a great age. But - Yet none of these things shall be of any advantage to wicked men, but if any of them shall live to be an hundred years old, yet they shall die accursed. Isaiah 65:23”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“There shall: Deu 4:40; Job 5:26; Psa 34:12 but: Isa 3:11; Ecc 8:12; Rom 2:5-9 Isaiah 65:21”
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Keil & Delitzsch
C. F. Keil & F. Delitzsch · Commentary on the Old Testament · 19th-century historical commentary
“There will be a different measure then, and a much greater one, for measuring the period of life and grace. "And there shall no more come thence a suckling of a few days, and an old man who has not lived out all his days; for the youth in it will die as one a hundred years old, and the sinner be smitten with the curse as one a hundred years old." Our editions of the text commence Isa 65:20 with לא־יהיה, but according to the Masora (see Mas. finalis, p. 23, col. 7), which reckons five ולא־יהיה at the commencement of verses, and includes our v. among them, it must read ולא־יהיה, as it is also rendered by the lxx and Targum. The meaning and connection are not affected by this various reading.…”
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Related study paths

Sources and verification