The Meaning of Isaiah 65:20 Explained

Isaiah 65:20

KJV: There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed.

YLT: There is not thence any more a suckling of days, And an aged man who doth not complete his days, For the youth a hundred years old dieth, And the sinner, a hundred years old, is lightly esteemed.

Darby: There shall be no more thenceforth an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not completed his days; for the youth shall die a hundred years old, and the sinner being a hundred years old shall be accursed.

ASV: There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days; for the child shall die a hundred years old, and the sinner being a hundred years old shall be accursed.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

There shall be no more thence an infant  of days,  nor an old man  that hath not filled  his days:  for the child  shall die  an hundred  years  old;  but the sinner  [being] an hundred  years  old  shall be accursed. 

What does Isaiah 65:20 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Specifically, death will not have the power that it has had. Infant mortality will be virtually unknown, and people"s life-spans will be much longer. This seems to describe a return to conditions before the Flood, when people lived hundreds of years ( Genesis 5). In short, one of the sources of sorrow and weeping, namely, Death, will suffer defeat. Christians need not fear the second death even now. Believers alive in the Millennium will live longer on this earth than they do now, but they will die. [1] And in the eternal state, even physical death will be gone.
". . . Isaiah 65:20 expresses a double thought: death will have no more power and sin no more presence." [2]
"This prediction requires the conditions of an earthly city, where babies are born and older people die (even though the average lifespan is to be much prolonged)." [3]

Context Summary

Isaiah 65:13-25 - A New Earth For God's Servants
Notice the wide difference that religion makes to the soul. The children of God are secured against the evils which visit all others. They eat; they drink; they rejoice; they sing; they are called by another name, Isaiah 65:13-15.
Behold a new creation, Isaiah 65:17-25! The present dispensation is ended. Jerusalem, restored to her former glory, sings for very joy; and her rejoicing sends a thrill of joy through the nature of God. Long years of life and security of tenure are granted again to man. The red rapine of the forest is ended, for creation is emancipated from its bondage and participates in the glorious liberty of the sons of God. Peace shall reign in the forest glades, never again to abdicate her throne, Isaiah 65:25. But, best of all, there shall be such unity between man and God that prayer will be anticipated, and the pleading soul shall be conscious of the listening ear of God. Hasten, O day of days, for which creation groans, and the saints groan with inexpressible desire! [source]

Chapter Summary: Isaiah 65

1  The calling of the Gentiles,
2  and the rejection of the Jews, for their incredulity, idolatry, and hypocrisy
8  A remnant shall be saved
11  Judgments on the wicked, and blessings on the godly
17  The blessed state of the new Jerusalem

What do the individual words in Isaiah 65:20 mean?

No shall [live] from there more an infant [but a few] days nor an old man who not has fulfilled - his days for the child old a hundred years shall die but the sinner [being] old years shall be accursed
לֹא־ יִֽהְיֶ֨ה מִשָּׁ֜ם ע֗וֹד ע֤וּל יָמִים֙ וְזָקֵ֔ן אֲשֶׁ֥ר לֹֽא־ יְמַלֵּ֖א אֶת־ יָמָ֑יו כִּ֣י הַנַּ֗עַר בֶּן־ מֵאָ֤ה שָׁנָה֙ יָמ֔וּת וְהַ֣חוֹטֶ֔א בֶּן־ שָׁנָ֖ה יְקֻלָּֽל

לֹא־  No 
Parse: Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
יִֽהְיֶ֨ה  shall  [live] 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
מִשָּׁ֜ם  from  there 
Parse: Preposition-m, Adverb
Root: שָׁם  
Sense: there, thither.
ע֗וֹד  more 
Parse: Adverb
Root: עֹוד  
Sense: a going round, continuance adv.
ע֤וּל  an  infant 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: עוּל  
Sense: suckling, sucking child.
יָמִים֙  [but  a  few]  days 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: יׄום 
Sense: day, time, year.
וְזָקֵ֔ן  nor  an  old  man 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adjective, masculine singular
Root: זָקֵן  
Sense: old.
יְמַלֵּ֖א  has  fulfilled 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: מָלֵא 
Sense: to fill, be full.
אֶת־  - 
Parse: Direct object marker
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
יָמָ֑יו  his  days 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, third person masculine singular
Root: יׄום 
Sense: day, time, year.
הַנַּ֗עַר  the  child 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: נַעַר  
Sense: a boy, lad, servant, youth, retainer.
בֶּן־  old 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
מֵאָ֤ה  a  hundred 
Parse: Number, feminine singular
Root: מֵאָה 
Sense: hundred.
שָׁנָה֙  years 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: שָׁנָה  
Sense: year.
יָמ֔וּת  shall  die 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: מוּת  
Sense: to die, kill, have one executed.
וְהַ֣חוֹטֶ֔א  but  the  sinner 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Article, Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: חָטָא 
Sense: to sin, miss, miss the way, go wrong, incur guilt, forfeit, purify from uncleanness.
בֶּן־  [being]  old 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
שָׁנָ֖ה  years 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: שָׁנָה  
Sense: year.
יְקֻלָּֽל  shall  be  accursed 
Parse: Verb, Pual, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: קָלַל  
Sense: to be slight, be swift, be trifling, be of little account, be light.