Isaiah 65:23 (WEB)
They will not labor in vain nor give birth for calamity; for they are the offspring of the LORD’s blessed and their descendants with them.
As quoted in the map (KJV)
Isaiah 65:23 (KJV)
They shall not labour in vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for they are the seed of the blessed of the LORD, and their offspring with them.
Key words
- לֹא יִיגְעוּ לָרִיקlo yig'u lariq · Hebrew
- 'They shall not labour in vain' — the reversal of Adam's toil (Genesis 3:17–19).
- וְלֹא יֵלְדוּ לַבֶּהָלָהvelo yeledu labbehalah · Hebrew
- 'nor bring forth for trouble' — the reversal of Eve's painful childbearing (Genesis 3:16).
Why it matters
In the new creation no one labours in vain and no woman bears children for calamity — the two chief effects of the fall are undone. Pitre uses the verse to explain why Isaiah's next chapter foretells a birth before labour pains (pp 120–121): pain in childbirth belongs to the old creation, and its absence marks the new. Jewish sources (Leviticus Rabbah 14:9) say the same of the world to come.