Isaiah 66

The Humble and Contrite in Spirit

66^aThus says the Lord:

^b“Heaven is my throne,

and the earth is my footstool;

what is the house that you would build for me,

and what is the place of my rest?

^2cAll these things my hand has made,

and so all these things came to be,

declares the Lord.

^dBut this is the one to whom I will look:

he who is humble and contrite in spirit

and trembles at my word.

^3e“He who slaughters an ox is like one who kills a man;

he who sacrifices a lamb, like one who breaks a dog’s neck;

he who presents a grain offering, like one who offers ^fpig’s blood;

he who makes a memorial offering of frankincense, like one who blesses an idol.

^gThese have chosen their own ways,

and their soul delights in their abominations;

^4hI also will choose harsh treatment for them

and bring ⁱtheir fears upon them,

^jbecause when I called, no one answered,

when I spoke, they did not listen;

^kbut they did what was evil in my eyes

and chose that in which I did not delight.”

⁵Hear the word of the Lord,

you who tremble at his word:

“Your brothers who hate you

and cast you out for my name’s sake

have said, ^l‘Let the Lord be glorified,

that we may see your joy’;

but it is they who shall be put to shame.

⁶“The sound of an uproar from the city!

A sound from the temple!

The sound of the Lord,

^mrendering recompense to his enemies!

Rejoice with Jerusalem

⁷ⁿ“Before she was in labor

she gave birth;

before her pain came upon her

she delivered a son.

⁸Who has heard such a thing?

Who has seen such things?

Shall a land be born in one day?

Shall a nation be brought forth in one moment?

For ⁿas soon as Zion was in labor

she brought forth her children.

⁹Shall I bring to the point of birth and not cause to bring forth?”

says the Lord;

“shall I, who cause to bring forth, shut the womb?”

says your God.

^10o“Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad for her,

all you who love her;

rejoice with her in joy,

all you who mourn over her;

¹¹that you may nurse and be satisfied

from her consoling breast;

that you may drink deeply with delight

from her glorious abundance.”¹

¹²For thus says the Lord:

^p“Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river,

and the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream;

and ^qyou shall nurse, you shall be carried upon her hip,

and bounced upon her knees.

¹³As one whom his mother comforts,

so ^rI will comfort you;

you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.

¹⁴You shall see, and your heart shall rejoice;

^syour bones shall flourish like the grass;

and ^tthe hand of the Lord shall be known to his servants,

and he shall show his indignation against his enemies.

Final Judgment and Glory of the Lord

¹⁵“For behold, ^uthe Lord will come in fire,

and ^vhis chariots like the whirlwind,

to render his anger in fury,

and his rebuke with flames of fire.

¹⁶For ^wby fire ^xwill the Lord enter into judgment,

and by his sword, with all flesh;

and those slain by the Lord shall be many.

^17y“Those who sanctify and purify themselves to go into the gardens, following one in the midst, ^zeating pig’s flesh and the abomination and mice, shall come to an end together, declares the Lord.

¹⁸“For I know² their works and their thoughts, and the time is coming^{3 a}to gather all nations and tongues. And they shall come and shall see my glory, ¹⁹and I will set a sign among them. And from them ^bI will send survivors to the nations, to ^cTarshish, ^dPul, and ^dLud, who draw the bow, to ^eTubal and ^eJavan, ^fto the coastlands far away, ^gthat have not heard my fame or seen my glory. And they shall declare my glory among the nations. ^20hAnd they shall bring all your brothers from all the nations ⁱas an offering to the Lord, on horses and in chariots and in litters and on mules and on dromedaries, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, says the Lord, just as the Israelites bring their grain offering in a clean vessel to the house of the Lord. ^21jAnd some of them also I will take for priests and for Levites, says the Lord.

²²“For as ^kthe new heavens and the new earth

that I make

shall remain before me, says the Lord,

so ^lshall your offspring and your name remain.

^23mFrom new moon to new moon,

and from Sabbath to Sabbath,

all flesh shall come to worship before me,

declares the Lord.

²⁴“And they shall go out and look on the dead bodies of the men who have rebelled against me. For ⁿtheir worm shall not die, ^otheir fire shall not be quenched, and they shall be an abhorrence to all flesh.”