They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.

ISAIAH 65:22KJV
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Isaiah 65:22 (KJV)

What does Isaiah 65:22 mean?

Isaiah 65:22 describes a future in which God’s people can live securely and benefit from their own work. The homes they build and the food they grow will not be taken over by others, and their lives will be long enough to enjoy them.

God is speaking through Isaiah about the future of his people. The comparison with a tree pictures a long life, like that of a tree that stands for many years. Coming after the promise of homes and vineyards in verse 21, Isaiah 65:22 stresses that the builders and planters themselves will benefit from them.

The Hebrew behind Isaiah 65:22

  • “elect” — בָּחִיר (baḥir): This word means “chosen.” In the verse, “mine elect” is another way God refers to “my people.”
  • “long enjoy” — בָּלָה (balah): This word can carry the sense of using something until it wears out. Here it helps picture people having the use of what their hands have made for a long time.

Why Isaiah 65:22 matters

  • Isaiah’s promise reverses a familiar fear: that someone else might take the fruit of a person’s labor. Deuteronomy 28:30 describes building a house and planting a vineyard without benefiting from them.
  • The promise includes ordinary work and daily life. “The work of their hands” gives a concrete picture of what security would mean for people who built homes and grew food.
  • The tree is a picture of long life, not a calculation of an exact number of years. Isaiah 65:22 says “as the days of a tree” without naming a particular kind of tree.

Where else these words appear

“elect” Hebrew H972 · used in 13 verses

  • 2 Samuel 21:6 Let seven men of his sons be delivered unto us, and we will hang them up unto the LORD in Gibeah of Saul, whom the LORD did choose. And the king said, I will give them.
  • Psalms 105:43 And he brought forth his people with joy, and his chosen with gladness:
  • Isaiah 43:20 The beast of the field shall honour me, the dragons and the owls: because I give waters in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert, to give drink to my people, my chosen.

“enjoy” Hebrew H1086 · used in 15 verses

  • Genesis 18:12 Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?
  • 1 Chronicles 17:9 Also I will ordain a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, and they shall dwell in their place, and shall be moved no more; neither shall the children of wickedness waste them any more, as at the beginning,
  • Psalms 49:14 Like sheep they are laid in the grave; death shall feed on them; and the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning; and their beauty shall consume in the grave from their dwelling.

“plant” Hebrew H5193 · used in 55 verses

  • Genesis 2:8 And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.
  • Psalms 94:9 He that planted the ear, shall he not hear? he that formed the eye, shall he not see?
  • Jeremiah 12:2 Thou hast planted them, yea, they have taken root: they grow, yea, they bring forth fruit: thou art near in their mouth, and far from their reins.