Isaiah 65:1 - Exposition

I am sought ; rather, inquired of , or consulted (comp. Ezekiel 14:3 ; Ezekiel 20:3 , Ezekiel 20:31 ). The application of the text by St. Paul ( Romans 10:20 ) to the calling of the Gentiles will be felt by all believers in inspiration to preclude the interpretation which supposes Israel to be the subject of Isaiah 65:1 no less than of Isaiah 65:2-7 . I said, Behold me . This was the first step in the conversion of the Gentiles. God called them by his messengers, the apostles and evangelists. A nation that was not called by thy Name (so Gesenius, Delitzsch, Kay, and others). Bishop Lowth, Ewald, Diestel, and Mr. Cheyne, following the Septuagint and other ancient versions, render, "a nation that has not called upon thy Name." But this requires an alteration of the vowel-points, which seems unnecessary.