66:1 Heaven is my throne Isaiah saw God’s heavenly throne in his vision in the temple in ch. 6 (see 6:1 and note).

earth is the footstool for my feet Compare Psa 99:5, where the temple is envisioned as God’s footstool. God is too great to be contained by any single earthly location.

66:2 the humble and the contrite of God chooses to dwell among the humble because they have the proper attitude of reverence toward Him (see Isa 57:15).

66:3 The one who slaughters a bull The prophet again focuses on the futility of rituals done with improper attitude (see 1:10–17).

the blood of swine Offering an unclean animal like a pig (see Lev 11:7) on the altar would profane the altar. The right rituals with the wrong attitude are tantamount to sacrilege and idol worship.

66:6 A voice from the temple Yahweh responds to their empty religiosity with judgment.

66:8 gave birth to her children Compare Isa 49:19–21; 54:1–3.

66:12 am about to spread prosperity out to her like a river See 48:18.

and you shall suck Similar imagery as 60:16, but applied to Jerusalem personified as a mother (see v. 8).

66:15 Yahweh will come in fire, and his chariots like the storm wind Fire and whirlwind are frequently associated with the presence of Yahweh and encounters with Yahweh (e.g., Exod 3:1–12; Job 38:1; 40:6). This instance and the extended passage (Isa 66:15–23) are an important backdrop to the day of Pentecost in Acts 2 and Paul’s desire to extend his mission to Spain (Rom 15:24, 28).

Prophetic Commissioning and the Divine Presence

Fire as a Motif of Divine Presence

66:17 Those who sanctify themselves and those who cleanse themselves to go into the gardens To offer idolatrous sacrifices. See Isa 65:3 and note.

eating the flesh of swine An example of violating dietary laws. See 65:4 and note.

66:18 gather all nations and tongues An event foreshadowed throughout Isaiah (e.g., 2:2–4; 11:10; 45:23). For an initial nt fulfillment, see Acts 2.

Tarshish Probably a Phoenician colony in Spain (see Isa 23:1 and note; Jonah 1:3 and note).

Pul Hebrew pul occurs only in this verse and may be a copyist’s error for put. Put was a region in North Africa, roughly corresponding to Libya. This idea is the basis for English translations referring to Put or Libya.

Lud Lud or Lydia is in Asia Minor (modern Turkey).

Tubal In Asia Minor (modern Turkey).

Javan Greece is understood as the land of the descendants of Javan, Noah’s grandson (Gen 10:2).

66:20 camels One-humped camels. See note on Gen 12:16.

66:22 the new heavens and earth See note on Isa 65:17.

66:23 all flesh See 49:26 and note.

66:24 they shall go out and look The setting may be the Valley of Hinnom outside of Jerusalem based on Jeremiah’s identification of that site as the location of future judgment for the wicked (see Jer 7:30–34; 19:6–7). The valley was condemned in the ot as a site of human sacrifice (see note on Jer 7:31; compare 2 Kgs 23:10).

the corpses of The corpses are left exposed to view, depriving them of the honor of burial. This exposure provides another link to the imagery of Jer 7 where the dead are left and became food for wild animals (see Jer 7:33 and note). The corpses of Gog’s army were also initially left exposed in the open field as food for scavenging wild animals (see Ezek 39:4–5).

their worm shall not die Possibly implying that there are so many corpses that the worms eating the bodies will never run out of food (compare Isa 14:11). In Ezekiel 39, the great size of Gog’s army was implied by stating that the people of Israel would need seven months to bury all of the bodies and that their weapons would provide fuel for Israel’s fires for seven years (see Ezek 39:9–16).

shall not be quenched This final verse in Isaiah echoes the sentiment of Isa 1:27–31, the closing verses of the first chapter. These literary connections tie the book of Isaiah together as a unified composition. Just as v. 24 declares the fire will not be quenched, so 1:27–31 announces that those who rebel against Yahweh will be consumed and burn with no one to quench them. The warning in 1:27–31 indicated that repentance was still possible. This closing verse may also serve as a warning that when Yahweh’s final judgment comes, there will be no more time for repentance.