Behold, my servants shall sing for joy of heart, but ye shall cry for sorrow of heart, and shall howl for vexation of spirit.

ISAIAH 65:14KJV
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Isaiah 65:14 (KJV)

What does Isaiah 65:14 mean?

Isaiah 65:14 describes a sharp contrast between two groups: God’s servants will rejoice and sing with joy in their hearts, while others will cry out in deep sorrow and distress of spirit. The verse highlights a division in experience based on people’s relationship to God, with joy for the faithful and anguish for those who have rejected Him.

In this part of Isaiah, God is speaking through the prophet to the people of Israel, addressing both those who remain loyal to Him and those who have turned away. The verse uses vivid language to show the emotional outcomes for each group: singing and joy for God’s servants, but weeping and anguish for others. This contrast is part of a larger message about God’s justice and the consequences of people’s choices.

The Hebrew behind Isaiah 65:14

  • "Servants" (עֶבֶד, ʿeved): This word refers to those who serve God faithfully. In Isaiah, it often points to people who remain loyal even when others do not.
  • "Sing" (רָנַן, ranan): This verb means to shout or sing out with joy, not just quiet happiness but a loud, public expression of gladness.
  • "Howl" (יָלַל, yalal): This word means to wail or cry out in grief, a strong term for deep, uncontrollable sorrow.
  • "Vexation" (שֶׁבֶר, shever): This word means breaking or crushing, here describing a spirit that is shattered or overwhelmed by distress.

Why Isaiah 65:14 matters

  • Isaiah 65:14 clarifies that God’s response to people is not random but based on their choices and relationship to Him, emphasizing personal responsibility.
  • The verse highlights the emotional reality of God’s justice, showing that the consequences are not just physical but deeply affect the heart and spirit.
  • This contrast ties into the wider themes of Isaiah 65, where God promises restoration and blessing for the faithful while warning of sorrow for those who persist in rejecting Him.

Where else these words appear

“sorrow” Hebrew H3511 · used in 6 verses

  • Job 2:13 So they sat down with him upon the ground seven days and seven nights, and none spake a word unto him: for they saw that his grief was very great.
  • Job 16:6 Though I speak, my grief is not asswaged: and though I forbear, what am I eased?
  • Isaiah 17:11 In the day shalt thou make thy plant to grow, and in the morning shalt thou make thy seed to flourish: but the harvest shall be a heap in the day of grief and of desperate sorrow.

“howl” Hebrew H3213 · used in 29 verses

  • Isaiah 13:6 Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty.
  • Isaiah 52:5 Now therefore, what have I here, saith the LORD, that my people is taken away for nought? they that rule over them make them to howl, saith the LORD; and my name continually every day is blasphemed.
  • Ezekiel 21:12 Cry and howl, son of man: for it shall be upon my people, it shall be upon all the princes of Israel: terrors by reason of the sword shall be upon my people: smite therefore upon thy thigh.

“joy” Hebrew H2898 · used in 31 verses

  • Genesis 24:10 And the servant took ten camels of the camels of his master, and departed; for all the goods of his master were in his hand: and he arose, and went to Mesopotamia, unto the city of Nahor.
  • Nehemiah 9:35 For they have not served thee in their kingdom, and in thy great goodness that thou gavest them, and in the large and fat land which thou gavest before them, neither turned they from their wicked works.
  • Psalms 145:7 They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness, and shall sing of thy righteousness.

“vexation” Hebrew H7667 · used in 41 verses

  • Leviticus 21:19 Or a man that is brokenfooted, or brokenhanded,
  • Isaiah 30:26 Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day that the LORD bindeth up the breach of his people, and healeth the stroke of their wound.
  • Jeremiah 30:15 Why criest thou for thine affliction? thy sorrow is incurable for the multitude of thine iniquity: because thy sins were increased, I have done these things unto thee.