Isaiah 65:15 tells us that God’s own people, the ones who have turned away from him, will leave behind a name that becomes a byword for a curse, while God’s faithful servants will be known by a different name. In plain terms, the verse says that God will judge the unfaithful and honor the faithful, and that the faithful will receive a new identity from him. The prophet Isaiah speaks these words for the LORD, addressed to the people of Judah who have chosen evil over the God who called them.
You will leave your name for a curse to my chosen; and the Lord the LORD will kill you. He will call his servants by another name…
Isaiah 65:15 (WEB)
What Isaiah 65:15 Means
The verse begins with a sober sentence: those who rejected God will leave their name as a curse for others to repeat. In the ancient world, a name carried a person’s reputation and family legacy, so to be remembered only as a curse was a serious judgment. The verse then says the Lord will bring death upon them, which signals that the consequence is not just social but final for those who persist in rebellion.
The second half turns toward hope. God will call his servants by another name, a new identity that replaces the old one and marks them as belonging to him. The verse does not promise ease for believers or describe every detail of how this will unfold. What it does affirm is that God sees the difference between those who serve him and those who do not, and that he will act on that difference.
The Context of Isaiah 65:15
Isaiah 65 belongs to the latter part of the book of Isaiah, which many scholars associate with a period after the return from Babylonian exile, though the book is traditionally attributed to the eighth-century prophet Isaiah. The chapter addresses a community that has been summoned by God but has refused to answer, choosing their own practices over his will. The surrounding verses describe a reversal: the servants of God will eat, drink, rejoice, and sing, while those who rejected him will go hungry, thirsty, and sorrowful.
Read in this setting, verse 15 is the hinge of that reversal. The curse falls on those who abandoned God, and the new name belongs to those who stayed faithful. The verses that follow, speaking of new heavens and a new earth, show that God is not only judging but also renewing and creating a people for joy. That larger movement of hope makes the verse read less as a threat and more as the announcement of a clear division God is bringing about.
Key Phrases in Isaiah 65:15
Revelation 2:17
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies. To him who overcomes, to him I will give of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written, which no one knows but he who receives it.
(WEB)
This verse also speaks of a new name given by God to those who overcome, showing that the promise of a new identity continues into the New Testament. Reading it alongside Isaiah 65:15 reveals a consistent picture of God calling his faithful people by a name that belongs to him alone.
Isaiah 62:2
The nations will see your righteousness, and all kings your glory, and you will be called by a new name, which the LORD‘s mouth will name.
(WEB)
In this earlier chapter of Isaiah, the prophet speaks of Zion receiving a new name from the mouth of the LORD, echoing the theme of renewed identity. It helps show that the promise in chapter 65 belongs to a larger prophetic hope for God’s restored people.
A Short Prayer From Isaiah 65:15
Lord, you see the difference between those who turn to you and those who turn away, and I ask that you keep my heart on the side of faithfulness. Where I have grown careless or tempted to chase what seems easier, bring me back to the path of your will. Give me the courage to live in a way that honors you, even when no one else is watching or understands.
Thank you that your judgment is just and your mercy is real, and that you give your servants a new name rooted in your own love. Let my identity rest in what you have said about me rather than in what others say. Amen.
