Isaiah 66

Isaiah

66 ¹Thus says the LORD,

The Lord

“Heaven is My throne,
and the earth is My footstool.

Where is the House that you will build for Me?
And where is My resting place?

²My hand has made all these things,
and so, all these things exist,”

Isaiah

declares the LORD.

The Lord

“And to this one I look—
to the humble and the contrite in spirit,
who trembles at My word.

³Whoever slaughters an ox
is like one who smites a man;

whoever sacrifices a lamb
is like one who breaks a dog’s neck;

whoever presents a cereal offering
is like one who offers swine’s blood;

whoever makes a memorial offering of frankincense
is like one who blesses an idol.

These have chosen their own ways,
and in their abominations their soul delights.

⁴I also will choose affliction for them,
and I will bring upon them what they dread,

because when I called, no one answered;
I spoke, but they did not listen;

they did what was evil in My eyes,
and they chose that in which I do not delight.”

Isaiah

⁵Hear the word of the LORD,
you who tremble at His word:

The Lord

“Your brothers who hate you
and cast you out for My name’s sake have said,”

Haters

“Let the LORD be glorified that we may see your rejoicing.”

The Lord

“But they will be put to shame.”

Isaiah

⁶The sound of a roar in the city,
a voice from the Temple,
the sound of the LORD dealing punishment to His enemies.

Isaiah

⁷Before she {Zion}was in labor, she gave birth;
before her labor pang came upon her, she delivered a son.

⁸Who has heard such a thing?
Who has seen such things?

Is the land born in one day,
a nation brought forth in one moment?

For Zion was in labor;
she also brought forth her children.

The Lord

⁹“Will I who bring on labor not bring forth birth?”

Isaiah

says the LORD.

The Lord

“Will I who cause birth to shut the womb?”

Isaiah

says your God.

¹⁰Rejoice with Jerusalem, and all who love her be joyful for her;
exult with her with exultation, all who mourn over her,

¹¹that you may nurse and be satisfied with her comforting breast,
that you may drink deeply with delight from her glorious abundance[1].

¹²For thus says the LORD,

The Lord

“Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river,
and the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream,

and you will be nursed and be carried on her side,
and you will be bounced on her knees.

¹³As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you;
you will be comforted in Jerusalem.

And you will see, and your heart will exult,
and your bones will flourish like the grass.”

Isaiah

¹⁴The hand of the LORD will be known to His servants,
but His indignation against His enemies.

¹⁵For behold, the LORD will come with fire,
His chariots like a whirlwind,

to render His anger with fury
and His rebuke with flames of fire.

¹⁶For with fire and by His sword the LORD will execute judgment on all flesh,
and those pierced by the LORD will be many.

The Lord

¹⁷“Those who sanctify themselves
and purify themselves in the gardens,

behind one in the center,
eating pig’s flesh and abominable things and the mouse,
they will come to an end together,”

Isaiah

declares the LORD.

The Lord

¹⁸“For I know their works
and their thoughts.”

The Lord

¹⁸“{The time} is coming to gather all nations
and tongues.

And they will come,
and they will see My glory.

¹⁹And I will set a token among them,[2]
and from them I will send survivors to the nations,

to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, who draw the bow,
to Tubal, Javan, to the distant islands

that have not heard My fame or seen My glory;
and they will declare My glory among the nations.

²⁰And they will bring all your brothers from all nations, as an offering to the LORD, on horses, and in chariots, and in covered wagons, and upon mules, and upon dromedaries, to My holy mountain in Jerusalem,”

Isaiah

says the LORD,

The Lord

“just as the children of Israel bring the offering in a pure vessel to the House of the LORD. ²¹And some of them I will also take for priests and for Levites,”

Isaiah

says the LORD.

The Lord

²²“For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I make, will remain before Me,”

Isaiah

declares the LORD,

The Lord

“so, your offspring and your name will remain.

²³And it will come to pass, from new moon[3] to new moon,
and from Sabbath to Sabbath, all flesh will come to worship before Me,”

Isaiah

says the LORD.

The Lord

²⁴“And they will go forth and look on the dead bodies of the men who have rebelled against Me, for their worm will not die, their fire will not be quenched, and they will be an abhorrence to all flesh.”