Isaiah 66

Chapter 66

Heaven Is God’s Throne

¹Thus says the Lord,

“^aHeaven is My throne and the earth is My footstool.

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 the Lord.

“But to this one I will look,

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

Hypocrisy Rebuked

³“But he who kills an ox is like one who slays a man;

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

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

He who ^1bburns incense is like the one who blesses an idol.

As they have chosen their ^cown ways,

And their soul delights in their ^dabominations,

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 ^devil in My sight

And chose that in which I did not delight.”

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

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

Have said, ‘Let the Lord be glorified, that we may see your joy.’

But ^dthey will be put to shame.

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

The voice of the Lord who is ^arendering recompense to His enemies.

⁷“Before she travailed, ^ashe brought forth;

Before her pain came, ^bshe gave birth to a boy.

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

Can a land be ¹born in one day?

Can a nation be brought forth all at once?

As soon as Zion travailed, she also brought forth her sons.

⁹“Shall I bring to the point of birth and ^anot give delivery?” says the Lord.

“Or shall I who gives delivery shut the womb?” says your God.

Joy in Jerusalem’s Future

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

Be exceedingly ^cglad 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 the Lord, “Behold, I extend ^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 fondled 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 glad,

And your ^cbones will flourish like the new grass;

And the ^dhand of the Lord will be made known to His servants,

But He will be ^eindignant toward His enemies.

¹⁵For behold, the Lord will come in ^afire

And His ^bchariots like the whirlwind,

To render His anger with fury,

And His rebuke with flames of fire.

¹⁶For the Lord will execute judgment by ^afire

And by His ^bsword on all flesh,

And those slain by the Lord 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 the Lord.

¹⁸“For 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 survivors from them to the nations: ^bTarshish, ¹Put, ^cLud, ²Meshech, ^dTubal and ³Javan, to the distant ^ecoastlands that have neither heard My fame nor seen My glory. And they will ^fdeclare My glory among the nations.

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

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

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

Which I make will endure before Me,” declares the Lord,

“So your ^boffspring 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 ^bbow down before Me,” says the Lord.

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 ^eabhorrence to all ²mankind.”