Isaiah 65:15
“And ye shall leave your name for a curse unto my chosen: for the Lord GOD shall slay thee, and call his servants by another name:”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →The names of the unfaithful will become synonymous with curse, while God's servants receive a new name.
Context
This verse concludes the judgment section and the contrast between the rebellious and the faithful, emphasizing the permanent reversal of status that will come.
What Does Isaiah 65:15 Mean?
To have one's name become a curse is to be erased from memory with dishonor. When people swear an oath, they will say, 'May the Lord do so to you as He did to them,' using the names of the unfaithful as a byword for judgment. But the servants of God will be called by another name—a name that reflects their new identity, their election, their belonging to God. In Scripture, new names mark new covenant status: Abram becomes Abraham, Simon becomes Peter, Saul becomes Paul. The new name is a gift and a promise.
This is the final word of the reversal. Everything is inverted: the proud are laid low, the faithful are exalted. The names that seemed important—the claims to holiness, the pride in lineage—are forgotten or remembered only as cautionary tales. But the servants, perhaps unknown and humble in their day, are renamed and remembered forever in God's purposes. Their name is written in the Lamb's book of life. In the new creation, only the redeemed will remember the old names, and only as a backdrop to God's gracious reversal.
In the Original Language
curse (קללה, kelilah) -- a curse, imprecation; the word suggests both the spoken curse and the state of being under divine judgment.
Application
Do not live for a name that the world will remember. Live for the name God will give you, written in eternity.