Isaiah 65:5
New International Version
who say, ‘Keep away; don’t come near me, for I am too sacred for you!’ Such people are smoke in my nostrils, a fire that keeps burning all day.

New Living Translation
Yet they say to each other, ‘Don’t come too close or you will defile me! I am holier than you!’ These people are a stench in my nostrils, an acrid smell that never goes away.

English Standard Version
who say, “Keep to yourself, do not come near me, for I am too holy for you.” These are a smoke in my nostrils, a fire that burns all the day.

Berean Standard Bible
They say, ‘Keep to yourself; do not come near me, for I am holier than you!’ Such people are smoke in My nostrils, a fire that burns all day long.

King James Bible
Which say, Stand by thyself, come not near to me; for I am holier than thou. These are a smoke in my nose, a fire that burneth all the day.

New King James Version
Who say, ‘Keep to yourself, Do not come near me, For I am holier than you!’ These are smoke in My nostrils, A fire that burns all the day.

New American Standard Bible
“Who say, ‘Keep to yourself, do not come near me, For I am holier than you!’ These are smoke in My nostrils, A fire that burns all the day.

NASB 1995
“Who say, ‘Keep to yourself, do not come near me, For I am holier than you!’ These are smoke in My nostrils, A fire that burns all the day.

NASB 1977
“Who say, ‘Keep to yourself, do not come near me, For I am holier than you!’ These are smoke in My nostrils, A fire that burns all the day.

Legacy Standard Bible
Who say, ‘Keep to yourself, do not come near me, For I am holier than you!’ These are smoke in My nostrils, A fire that burns all the day.

Amplified Bible
Who say, ‘Keep to yourself, do not come near me, For I am too holy for you [and you might defile me]!’ These [people] are smoke in My nostrils, A fire that burns all the day.

Christian Standard Bible
They say, ‘Keep to yourself, don’t come near me, for I am too holy for you! ’ These practices are smoke in my nostrils, a fire that burns all day long.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
They say, ‘Keep to yourself, don’t come near me, for I am too holy for you!’ These practices are smoke in My nostrils, a fire that burns all day long.

American Standard Version
that say, Stand by thyself, come not near to me, for I am holier than thou. These are a smoke in my nose, a fire that burneth all the day.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And they were saying, “Go far away; do not come near to me, because I am hallowed!” These were smoke in my rage and a fire burning every day

Brenton Septuagint Translation
who say, Depart from me, draw not nigh to me, for I am pure. This is the smoke of my wrath, a fire burns with it continually.

Contemporary English Version
And then they say to others, "Don't come near us! We're dedicated to God." Such people are like smoke, irritating my nose all day.

Douay-Rheims Bible
That say: Depart from me, come not near me, because thou art unclean: these shall be smoke in my anger, a fire burning all the day.

English Revised Version
which say, Stand by thyself, come not near to me, for I am holier than thou: these are a smoke in my nose, a fire that burneth all the day.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
They said, "Stay away! Don't touch me! I'm holier than you are." They have become like smoke in my nose, like a smoldering fire all day long.

Good News Translation
And then they say to others, 'Keep away from us; we are too holy for you to touch!' I cannot stand people like that--my anger against them is like a fire that never goes out.

International Standard Version
who say, 'Keep to yourself!' 'Don't touch me!' and 'I am too holy for you!' "Such people are smoke in my nostrils, a fire that keeps burning all day long.

JPS Tanakh 1917
That say: 'Stand by thyself, Come not near to me, for I am holier than thou'; These are a smoke in My nose, A fire that burneth all the day.

Literal Standard Version
Who are saying, Keep to yourself, do not come near to me, | For I have declared you unholy. These [are] smoke in My anger, | A fire burning all the day.

Majority Standard Bible
They say, ‘Keep to yourself; do not come near me, for I am holier than you!’ Such people are smoke in My nostrils, a fire that burns all day long.

New American Bible
Crying out, “Hold back, do not come near me, lest I render you holy!” These things are smoke in my nostrils, a fire that burns all the day.

NET Bible
They say, 'Keep to yourself! Don't get near me, for I am holier than you!' These people are like smoke in my nostrils, like a fire that keeps burning all day long.

New Revised Standard Version
who say, “Keep to yourself, do not come near me, for I am too holy for you.” These are a smoke in my nostrils, a fire that burns all day long.

New Heart English Bible
who say, 'Keep your distance, do not come near to me, for I am holier than you.' These are a smoke in my nose, a fire that burns all the day.

Webster's Bible Translation
Which say, Stand by thyself, come not near to me; for I am holier than thou. These are a smoke in my nose, a fire that burneth all the day.

World English Bible
who say, ‘Stay by yourself, don’t come near to me, for I am holier than you.’ These are smoke in my nose, a fire that burns all day.

Young's Literal Translation
Who are saying, 'Keep to thyself, come not nigh to me, For I have declared thee unholy.' These are a smoke in Mine anger, A fire burning all the day.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Judgments and Promises
4sitting among the graves, spending nights in secret places, eating the meat of pigs and polluted broth from their bowls. 5They say, ‘Keep to yourself; do not come near me, for I am holier than you!’ Such people are smoke in My nostrils, a fire that burns all day long. 6Behold, it is written before Me: I will not keep silent, but I will repay; I will pay it back into their laps,…

Cross References
Matthew 9:11
When the Pharisees saw this, they asked His disciples, "Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?"

Luke 7:39
When the Pharisee who had invited Jesus saw this, he said to himself, "If this man were a prophet, He would know who this is and what kind of woman is touching Him--for she is a sinner!"

Luke 18:9
To some who trusted in their own righteousness and viewed others with contempt, He also told this parable:

Proverbs 30:12
There is a generation of those who are pure in their own eyes and yet unwashed of their filth.


Treasury of Scripture

Which say, Stand by yourself, come not near to me; for I am holier than you. These are a smoke in my nose, a fire that burns all the day.

stand

Matthew 9:11
And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners?

Luke 5:30
But their scribes and Pharisees murmured against his disciples, saying, Why do ye eat and drink with publicans and sinners?

Luke 7:39
Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him: for she is a sinner.

these

Proverbs 6:16,17
These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: …

Proverbs 10:26
As vinegar to the teeth, and as smoke to the eyes, so is the sluggard to them that send him.

Proverbs 16:5
Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD: though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished.

nose, or anger a fire

Deuteronomy 29:20
The LORD will not spare him, but then the anger of the LORD and his jealousy shall smoke against that man, and all the curses that are written in this book shall lie upon him, and the LORD shall blot out his name from under heaven.

Deuteronomy 32:20-22
And he said, I will hide my face from them, I will see what their end shall be: for they are a very froward generation, children in whom is no faith…

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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














(5) Which say, Stand by thyself . . .--The picture, in its main outlines, reminds us of the proud exclusiveness of the later Pharisees, and the root-evil is, of course, identical. Here, however, the ground of the exclusiveness is not the consciousness of the peculiar privileges of Israel, but rests on what was an actual apostasy. Those of whom Isaiah speaks boasted of their initiation into heathen mysteries (Baal, Thammuz, or the like) as giving them a kind of consecrated character, and separating them from the profanum vulgus of the Israelites, who were faithful to the God of their fathers.

I am holier than thou.--Literally, I am holy to thee: i.e., one whom thou mayest not approach. (Comp. Leviticus 21:8.) By some commentators the verb is taken as transitive, I make thee holy: i.e., have power to impart holiness; but this is less satisfactory, both grammatically and as to meaning.

These are a smoke in my nose . . .--The point of the clause is that the punishment is represented as not future. The self-exalting idolaters are already as those who are being consumed in the fire of the Divine wrath, and their smoke is "a savour of death" in the nostrils of Jehovah.

Verse 5. - Stand by thyself; i.e. "keep aloof - come not into contact with me; for mine is a higher holiness than thine, and I should be polluted by thy near approach." Initiation into heathen mysteries was thought to confer on the initiated a holiness unattainable otherwise. Thus the heathenized Jew claimed to be holier than the true servants of Jehovah. These are a smoke... a fire (comp. Psalm 18:8, "There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured; coals were kindled by it"). The heathenized Jews are fuel for the wrath of God, which kindles a fire wherein they burn continually (comp. Isaiah 66:24).

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
They say,
הָאֹֽמְרִים֙ (hā·’ō·mə·rîm)
Article | Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine plural
Strong's 559: To utter, say

‘Keep
קְרַ֣ב (qə·raḇ)
Verb - Qal - Imperative - masculine singular
Strong's 7126: To come near, approach

to yourself,
אֵלֶ֔יךָ (’ê·le·ḵā)
Preposition | second person masculine singular
Strong's 413: Near, with, among, to

do not
אַל־ (’al-)
Adverb
Strong's 408: Not

come near me,
תִּגַּשׁ־ (tig·gaš-)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - second person masculine singular
Strong's 5066: To draw near, approach

for
כִּ֣י (kî)
Conjunction
Strong's 3588: A relative conjunction

I am holier than you!’
קְדַשְׁתִּ֑יךָ (qə·ḏaš·tî·ḵā)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - first person common singular | second person masculine singular
Strong's 6942: To be set apart or consecrated

Such people
אֵ֚לֶּה (’êl·leh)
Pronoun - common plural
Strong's 428: These, those

are smoke
עָשָׁ֣ן (‘ā·šān)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 6227: Smoke

in My nostrils,
בְּאַפִּ֔י (bə·’ap·pî)
Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular construct | first person common singular
Strong's 639: The nose, nostril, the face, a person, ire

a fire
אֵ֥שׁ (’êš)
Noun - common singular
Strong's 784: A fire

that burns
יֹקֶ֖דֶת (yō·qe·ḏeṯ)
Verb - Qal - Participle - feminine singular
Strong's 3344: To be kindled, to burn

all day long.
כָּל־ (kāl-)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 3605: The whole, all, any, every


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OT Prophets: Isaiah 65:5 Who say Stand by yourself don't come (Isa Isi Is)
Isaiah 65:4
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