Isaiah 66

CHAPTER 66

Heaven Is Yahweh’s Throne

¹Thus says Yahweh,

“^aHeaven is My throne, and the earth is the footstool of My feet.

Where then is a ^bhouse you could build for Me?

And where is a place that ¹I may rest?

²“For ^aMy hand made all these things,

Thus all these things came into being,” declares Yahweh.

“But to this one I will look,

To him who is humble and ^bcontrite of spirit, and who ^ctrembles at My word.

³“But he who slaughters an ox is the one who strikes down a man;

He who sacrifices a lamb is the one who breaks a dog’s neck;

He who offers a grain offering is the one who offers ^aswine’s blood;

He who ^boffers a memorial offering of frankincense is the one who blesses wickedness.

As they have chosen their ^cown ways,

And their soul takes pleasure in their ^ddetestable things,

⁴So I will ^achoose their ¹punishments

And will ^bbring on them what they dread,

Because I called, but ^cno one answered;

I spoke, but they did not listen.

And they did what was ^devil in My eyes

And chose that in which I did not take pleasure.”

⁵Hear the word of Yahweh, you who ^atremble at His word:

“Your brothers who ^bhate you, who ^cexclude you for My name’s sake,

Have said, ‘Let Yahweh be glorified, that we may see your gladness.’

But ^dthey will be put to shame.

⁶“A voice of rumbling from the city, a voice from the temple,

The voice of Yahweh who is ^apaying recompense to His enemies.

⁷“Before she was in labor pains, ^ashe gave birth;

Before her pangs came, ^bshe delivered a male child.

⁸“^aWho has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things?

Can a land be ¹brought forth through labor pains in one day?

Can a nation be born all at once?

As soon as Zion was in labor pains, she also gave birth to her sons.

⁹“Shall I bring to the point of breaking forth and ^anot cause birth?” says Yahweh.

“Or shall I who causes birth shut the womb?” says your God.

Joy in Jerusalem’s Future

¹⁰“Be ^aglad with Jerusalem and rejoice for her, all you who ^blove her;

Be exceedingly ^cjoyful with her, all you who mourn over her,

¹¹That you may nurse and ^abe satisfied with her comforting breasts,

That you may suck and be delighted with her ^bbountiful bosom.”

¹²For thus says Yahweh, “Behold, I stretch out ^apeace to her like a river,

And the ^bglory of the nations like an overflowing stream;

And you will ¹be nursed; you will be ^ccarried on the ²hip and played with on the knees.

¹³“As one whom his mother comforts, so I will ^acomfort you;

And you will be comforted in Jerusalem.”

¹⁴Then you will ^asee this, and your ^bheart will be joyful,

And your ^cbones will flourish like the new grass;

And the ^dhand of Yahweh will be made known to His slaves,

But He will be ^eindignant toward His enemies.

¹⁵For behold, Yahweh will come in ^afire

And His ^bchariots like the whirlwind,

To return His anger with wrath,

And His rebuke with flames of fire.

¹⁶For Yahweh will execute judgment by ^afire

And by His ^bsword on all flesh,

And those slain by Yahweh will be many.

¹⁷“Those who sanctify and purify themselves to go to the ^agardens,

¹Following one in the center,

Who eat ^bswine’s flesh, detestable things, and mice,

Will ^ccome to an end altogether,” declares Yahweh.

¹⁸“And I ¹know their works and their ^athoughts; ²the time is coming to ^bgather all nations and tongues. And they shall come and see My glory.

¹⁹“I will set a ^asign among them and will send those who have escaped from them to the nations: ^bTarshish, ¹Put, ^cLud, ²Meshech, ^dTubal, and ³Javan, to the distant ^ecoastlands that have neither heard My report nor seen My glory. And they will ^fdeclare My glory among the nations.

²⁰“Then they shall ^abring all your brothers from all the nations as a grain offering to Yahweh, on horses, in chariots, in litters, on mules, and on camels, to My ^bholy mountain Jerusalem,” says Yahweh, “just as the sons of Israel bring their grain offering in a ^cclean vessel to the house of Yahweh.

²¹“I will also take some of them for ^apriests and for Levites,” says Yahweh.

²²“For just as the ^anew heavens and the new earth

Which I make will endure before Me,” declares Yahweh,

“So your ^bseed and your ^cname will endure.

²³“And it shall be from ^anew moon to new moon

And from sabbath to sabbath,

All ¹mankind will come to ^bworship before Me,” says Yahweh.

²⁴“Then they will go forth and look

On the ^acorpses of the men

Who have ^1btransgressed against Me.

For their ^cworm will not die

^dAnd their fire will not be quenched;

And they will be an object of ^econtempt to all ²mankind.”