But you are they that forsake the LORD, that forget my holy mountain, that prepare a table for that troop, and that furnish the drink offering to that number.
they that
Isaiah 1:28 And the destruction of the transgressors and of the sinners shall be together, and they that forsake the LORD shall be consumed.
Deuteronomy 29:25 Then men shall say, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD God of their fathers, which he made with them when he brought them forth out of the land of Egypt:
1 Chronicles 28:9 And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the LORD searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever.
my holy
Isaiah 65:25 The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the LORD.
Isaiah 2:2 And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD'S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.
Isaiah 11:9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.
prepare
Isaiah 57:5-10 Enflaming yourselves with idols under every green tree, slaying the children in the valleys under the clifts of the rocks? …
Deuteronomy 32:17 They sacrificed unto devils, not to God; to gods whom they knew not, to new gods that came newly up, whom your fathers feared not.
Jeremiah 2:28 But where are thy gods that thou hast made thee? let them arise, if they can save thee in the time of thy trouble: for according to the number of thy cities are thy gods, O Judah.
troop.
who forget My holy mountain
The "holy mountain" refers to Mount Zion, the site of the temple in Jerusalem, which was the center of worship and the symbol of God's presence among His people. Forgetting the holy mountain implies neglecting the worship and commandments of God, as well as disregarding the significance of the temple as a place of divine encounter (Psalm 48:1-2). This forgetfulness can be seen as a metaphor for spiritual amnesia, where the people have lost sight of their identity and calling as God's chosen nation.
who set a table for Fortune
Setting a table for Fortune indicates the practice of idolatry, specifically the worship of the god of luck or fate, known in some ancient Near Eastern cultures as Gad. This practice involved rituals and offerings to secure prosperity and success, reflecting a reliance on pagan deities rather than trust in the LORD. Such syncretism was condemned by the prophets, as it violated the first commandment to have no other gods before Yahweh (Exodus 20:3).
and fill bowls of mixed wine for Destiny
Filling bowls of mixed wine for Destiny refers to the worship of another deity associated with fate or destiny, possibly Meni. This act of offering wine signifies a ritualistic devotion to these gods, seeking their favor and guidance. The mixing of wine could symbolize the blending of religious practices, which was common in the ancient world but strictly forbidden in Israelite worship (Deuteronomy 18:9-14). This phrase underscores the people's misplaced trust in false gods rather than in the sovereign LORD, who alone controls the future and destiny of His people.
• Isaiah pictures people who once knew the covenant God yet willfully walk away (Isaiah 1:4; Jeremiah 17:13).
• Turning aside is never neutral—abandoning the LORD opens the door to self-rule and idolatry (2 Chronicles 15:2).
• The warning is direct: God sees forsaking Him as a personal offense, not merely a lifestyle choice (Deuteronomy 28:20).
• The verse contrasts sharply with the faithful remnant in the same chapter (Isaiah 65:8-10), underscoring that each heart makes a decisive choice.
• “My holy mountain” points to Zion, the God-chosen place of worship and presence (Psalm 132:13-14; Isaiah 56:7).
• Forgetting isn’t mere absent-mindedness; it is deliberate neglect of corporate worship and God’s ordained priorities (Psalm 137:5-6).
• When the center of worship is ignored, moral drift follows (Micah 4:1-2).
• God links memory of His presence with obedience; forgetting Him and His place leads to spiritual amnesia (Deuteronomy 8:11-14).
• “Fortune” (Gad) was a pagan deity of luck; setting a table implies a feast in honor of that false god (Deuteronomy 32:17; Isaiah 57:7).
• The table imagery exposes a counterfeit communion—people serving idols rather than sharing the LORD’s table (1 Corinthians 10:21).
• Idolatry often masquerades as harmless cultural practice, yet God calls it spiritual adultery (Exodus 34:15; Ezekiel 20:28).
• Today, anything we arrange our lives around to secure luck, wealth, or success can become our “table for Fortune.”
• “Destiny” (Meni) was another deity, tied to fate; pouring out mixed wine was a ritual offering (Jeremiah 44:17-18).
• The act mimics the true drink offerings commanded by God, substituting superstition for covenant loyalty (Leviticus 23:13).
• Mixed wine hints at in-toxication—idolatry dulls discernment (Proverbs 20:1; Revelation 17:2).
• By honoring Destiny, the people sought control over the future apart from the Lord who alone directs steps (Proverbs 16:9; Isaiah 65:12).
Isaiah 65:11 exposes a heart progression: forsaking the LORD leads to forgetting His worship, which then embraces counterfeit gods promising luck and control over fate. The verse calls believers to renewed loyalty—remembering God’s presence, gathering at His true table, and trusting His sovereign hand for our future.
(11) That forget my holy mountain . . .--The words imply, like Isaiah 65:3-5, the abandonment of the worship of the Temple for a heathen ritual, but those that follow point, it will be seen, to Canaanite rather than Babylonian idolatry, and, so far, are in favour of the earlier date of the chapter. The same phrase occurs, however, as connected with the exiles in Psalm 137:5.That prepare a table for that troop.--Hebrew, "for the Gad," probably the planet Jupiter, worshipped as the "greater fortune," the giver of good luck. The LXX. renders "for the demon" or "Genius." The name of Baal-Gad (Joshua 11:17; Joshua 12:17) indicates the early prevalence of the worship in Syria. Ph?nician inscriptions have been found with the names Gad-Ashtoreth and Gad-Moloch. The "table" points to the lectisternium (or "feast"), which was a prominent feature in Assyrian and other forms of polytheism.
Unto that number.- Here, again, we have in the proper name of a Syrian deity, probably of the planet Venus as the "lesser fortune." Some scholars have found a name Manu in Babylonian inscriptions; and Manat, one of the three deities invoked by the Arabs in the time of Mahomet, is probably connected with Meni the it (Cheyne). See Sayce, as in Note on Isaiah 65:4. . . .
Verses 11-16. - A MIXTURE OF THREATS WITH PROMISES. The prophet returns, in the main, to his former attitude, and resumes his denunciations (vers. 11, 12); but, with ver. 13, he begins to intermingle promises of favour to God's servants with threats against the rebellious, and finally (in ver. 16) turns wholly towards the side of grace and favour, announcing the coming of a time when "the former troubles" will be altogether "forgotten," and the kingdom of truth and right will be established. Verse 11. - But ye are they that forsake the Lord; rather, but as for you who forsake the Lord. And forget my holy mountain; i.e. either, literally, forget Zion. being absent from it so long (Psalm 137:5), or, possibly, neglect Zion, though you might worship there if you pleased. That prepare a table for that troop; rather, that prepare a table for Gad. There is ground for believing that "Gad" was a Phoenician deity, perhaps "the god of good fortune" (Cheyne), though this is not clearly ascertained; sometimes worshipped as an aspect of Baal, whence the name, Baal-Gad (Joshua 11:17; Joshua 12:7); sometimes connected with other deities, as Moloch and Ashtoreth. The practice of "preparing tables" for the heathen gods was a common one, and appears in Herod., 1:181; in Baruch 6:30; in Bel and the Dragon, ver. 11; and in the Roman lectisternia. The tables prepared for the dead in Egyptian tombs were not very different, and implied a qualified worship of ancestors (Rawlinson, 'History of Ancient Egypt,' vol. 1. pp. 423, 424; vol. 2 p. 39). And that furnish the drink offering unto that number; rather, and that fill up mixed drink for M'ni. M'ni appears, like Gad, to have been a Syrian deity, the name Ebed-M'ni, "servant of M'ni," occurring on Aramaeo-Persian coins of the Achaemenian period (Rodiger, in 'Addenda to Gesenius' Thesaurus,' p. 97). The word may be suspected to be cognate to the Arabic "Manat," a god recognized in the Koran as a mediator with Allah; but can scarcely have any connection with the Aryan names for the moon deity, Μήν Μήνη, Mena, and the like. Its root is probably the Semitic manah, "to number" or" apportion," the word designating a deity who" apportions" men's fortunes to them (τύχη, LXX.).