Isaiah 65:20 Word Study
Author: Michele at ScriptureStudy.Guide
Posted: April 25, 2022. Updated September 1, 2022.
Isaiah 65:20 is an extremely problematic verse. It has been used to support a non-scriptural “Millennial Reign” after Jesus’ second coming, and interpreted to mean there will no longer be abortions in some different future earthly world.
Isaiah 65:20 reads as follows:
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. -KJV
Hebrew to English Translation
Below is the verse as written in the KJV with the Strong’s numbers following each word or phrase.
There shall beH1961 noH3808 moreH5750 thenceH4480 H8033 an infantH5764 of days,H3117 nor an old manH2205 thatH834 hath notH3808 filledH4390 (H853) his days:H3117 forH3588 the childH5288 shall dieH4191 an hundredH3967 yearsH8141 old;H1121 but the sinnerH2398 being an hundredH3967 yearsH8141 oldH1121 shall be accursed.H7043
Below is the verse in the original Hebrew language, also with the Strong’s numbers after each word/phrase. Normally the Hebrew is read from the right to the left, but WordPress changed it to left to right when I pasted it here.
Isaiah 65:20 לאH3808 יהיהH1961 משׁםH8033 עודH5750 עולH5764 ימיםH3117 וזקןH2205 אשׁרH834 לאH3808 ימלאH4390 אתH853 ימיוH3117 כיH3588 הנערH5288 בןH1121 מאהH3967 שׁנהH8141 ימותH4191 והחוטאH2398 בןH1121 מאהH3967 שׁנהH8141 יקלל׃H7043
Points of Note
- The H1121 word “old” is actually the word “son.”
- The word H853 was not used in the English because we have no equivalent for this complex Hebrew word. It seems to mean “purpose of self” or “self entity.”
- The word H4480 added to the word “thence” is not in the original language. They want it to read “after then” when it actually just reads “there” or “then.”
- H2398 does not mean “a sinner” which is a noun because the word is a verb meaning “to sin.”
Here is the original Hebrew translated into English in the order in which it was written:
Isaiah 65:20 NoH3808 shall beH1961 thereH8033 moreH5750 infantH5764 daysH3117 aged [man]H2205 thatH834 noH3808 filledH4390 purpose of selfH853 daysH3117 forH3588 childH5288 sonH1121 hundredH3967 yearsH8141 dieH4191 to sinH2398 sonH1121 hundredH3967 yearsH8141 cursedH7043
So in the original language, we have:
No shall be there more infant days
Aged men that no filled purpose-of-self days
For child son hundred years die
Sinning son hundred years cursed.
If we read Isaiah chapter 65, we see that the word child here is a “child of God.” So you have a child-of-God son and a son of sin mentioned in the latter half of this verse.
Translation in Context
So the phrase “There shall be no more thence an infant of days,” means that there is no age in the spiritual kingdom — all souls/spirits are spiritually mature in the eternal kingdom. This also means that infants who die can go into the lake of fire on Judgment Day if their spirit was not already preordained for salvation through Jesus Christ (please see the article Hell is Not Eternal).
The phrase “nor an old man that hath not filled his days:” means there will not be aged men who have failed to meet their purpose for they are spiritually mature in the eternal kingdom.
The phrase “for the child shall die an hundred years old;” means that when a child of God dies a physical death, their spirit will be mature as if it were 100 years old.
“but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed.” This phrase means that a wicked man at 100 years has been spiritually dead the entire time so is detestable — he will have wasted his earthly life because he was never a child of God. Nothing but the second death in the lake of fire awaits his spirit when he dies.
In Summary
This verse is making the point that all of the righteous who die a physical death will live on together with their Father, all having the same level of spiritual maturity regardless of their age of physical death. The righteous will never die.
It also makes the point that no matter how long a man of sin lives on earth, it will be in vain for his spirit is dead the entire time — he cannot escape the curse that awaits him when he dies his physical death. For further study, see Hell is not Eternal and God Created Evil.
In Closing
The huge message that believers in a Millennial Reign should take from this verse is that there are no babies, children or immaturity after Jesus returns — even an infant will be a mature spirit in the eternal kingdom, and will receive the same infallible body as all of the righteous at the second coming of Jesus Christ.
This refutes false dispensationalist teachings and the popular artwork of Jesus sitting in a future Garden of Eden with a child on his lap and children surrounding Him. There are no 100-year-old children in a future earthly realm. The wolf (deceptive unbelievers) and the lamb (those indwelt with the Holy Spirit) are lying together NOW during this church age, just like the wheat is growing among the tares.
[A full Millennial Reign study can be found here: Part 1 and Part 2.]
The deception out there is just horrible (see this article). Please study each word in the passages of scripture that mean the most to you. Much of the meaning of God’s true inspired word has been buried in human translation and will require a word study to dig it out. God did not tell us to read His word but to study it (2 Timothy 2:15). May the Holy Spirit lead you into the Truth. God bless.
Source: I sought the help of Jim Brown with Grace and Truth Ministries with the interpretation of this verse. You can find his teachings on YouTube here, and his website is here.
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