In Chapter 64, we find ourselves in the midst of the people’s cry and lament, which began in the previous chapter (the division into chapters here is artificial, as the flow of the text is seamless). In Chapter 65, we encounter God's response, which unfolds in two distinct stages — each with a dramatically different tone.

Chapters 63–64 present a long and painful speech from the people. Israel is frustrated and lost. They ask God: Where are all Your mighty deeds? Why do You not reveal Yourself to save us? Our chapter opens with an expectation of a dramatic revelation of God, including the tearing of the heavens and the melting of mountains. These descriptions are reminiscent of other biblical depictions of God's revelation, such as in some of the Tehillim recited during Kabbalat Shabbat: “Mountains melt like wax before the Lord, before Master of all the earth” (Tehillim 97:5). The speaker turns to God, attempting to remind Him that the people of Israel are His children: “Now, Lord, You are our Father... Do not rage against us, Lord, with such a fury, or remember forever our sin. Please - look on and see all of us, Your people” (64:7–8), and of the dire state of the Temple: “Our holy House, our glory, where our ancestors sang Your praise become a great conflagration; and all we hold dear – ruin” (64:10).

God’s response in Chapter 65 consists of two stages, each addressing the people’s complaints from the previous chapter. The first part of the response opens with a counter-rebuke: Only now you remember to turn to Me and wonder why I do not appear to save you? “Though no one looked for Me, still I was found. For those who did not seek Me, I was there. I am here - I said am here, to a nation that never called My name” (65:1). God is essentially saying: For a long time, I have been calling out to you, saying, "I am here, I am here" — yet you refused to listen! In this sense, the current situation, where Israel feels they are calling to God and He is not answering, is a form of measure for measure. The chapter continues with a rebuke of the people's sins: idol worship, eating pig flesh and more. In response to the complaint about the Temple’s destruction, the prophet tells the people that they themselves neglected the Temple: “You who forsake the Lord, forgetting My holy mountain” (65:11). The prophecy then distinguishes between "My servants," who are the righteous, and "you," whom the prophet addresses — those who have forsaken God and will not merit to be part of the salvation.

In the second part of God's response, there is a dramatic shift. This section of the prophecy corresponds both to the people's claim in the previous chapter and to broader themes in Sefer Yeshayahu. It begins with a new creation: “For I am creating new heavens, a new earth, and the first ones will not be  remembered, will not be taken to heart” (65:17), which connects to the themes of renewal and rectification of creation that we have seen in multiple prophecies throughout the book (e.g., Chapters 11 and 30). It continues with a prophecy of longevity: “There will not be any youth or old person who does not live out his days; a man will die young one hundred years old, and a sinner a hundred years old die accursed” (65:20), which ties into the prophecy we already encountered: “He will swallow up death forever” (25:8).

The chapter reaches a climax in the following verse: “Before they call out to Me, I shall answer - while they are yet speaking, I shall respond” (65:24). If in their lament, the people wondered why God was not responding to their cries, and in the first part of the response, God described the reverse situation — where He called out to the people and they did not respond — here, we encounter an ideal and moving verse addressing precisely this concern: God will answer the people’s prayers generously, even before they call out to Him, or even while they are still speaking. The chapter naturally concludes with two essential motifs that cannot be omitted: the peace in the natural world, reminiscent of Chapter 11, which in our chapter reads: “Wolf and lamb will pasture as one, and lion, like ox, will feed upon straw, and dust will be the serpent's bread” (65:25), and of course, the Lord’s mountain sealing the prophecy: “There will be no wrong or violence on all My holy mountain, says the Lord” (ibid.).