Isaiah 66

Judgment and Hope

66This is what the Lord says:

“Heaven is my throne,^g

and the earth is my footstool.^h

Where is the houseⁱ you will build for me?

Where will my resting place be?

²Has not my hand made all these things,^j

and so they came into being?”

declares the Lord.

“These are the ones I look on with favor:

those who are humble and contrite in spirit,^k

and who tremble at my word.^l

³But whoever sacrifices a bull^m

is like one who kills a person,

and whoever offers a lamb

is like one who breaks a dog’s neck;

whoever makes a grain offering

is like one who presents pig’sⁿ blood,

and whoever burns memorial incense^o

is like one who worships an idol.

They have chosen their own ways,^p

and they delight in their abominations;^q

⁴so I also will choose harsh treatment for them

and will bring on them what they dread.^r

For when I called, no one answered,^s

when I spoke, no one listened.

They did evil^t in my sight

and chose what displeases me.”^u

⁵Hear the word of the Lord,

you who tremble at his word:^v

“Your own people who hate^w you,

and exclude you because of my name, have said,

‘Let the Lord be glorified,

that we may see your joy!’

Yet they will be put to shame.^x

⁶Hear that uproar from the city,

hear that noise from the temple!

It is the sound^y of the Lord

repaying^z his enemies all they deserve.

⁷“Before she goes into labor,^a

she gives birth;

before the pains come upon her,

she delivers a son.^b

⁸Who has ever heard of such things?

Who has ever seen^c things like this?

Can a country be born in a day^d

or a nation be brought forth in a moment?

Yet no sooner is Zion in labor

than she gives birth to her children.^e

⁹Do I bring to the moment of birth^f

and not give delivery?” says the Lord.

“Do I close up the womb

when I bring to delivery?” says your God.

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

all you who love^h her;

rejoice greatly with her,

all you who mournⁱ over her.

¹¹For you will nurse^j and be satisfied

at her comforting breasts;^k

you will drink deeply

and delight in her overflowing abundance.”^l

¹²For this is what the Lord says:

“I will extend peace^m to her like a river,ⁿ

and the wealth^o of nations like a flooding stream;

you will nurse and be carried^p on her arm

and dandled on her knees.

¹³As a mother comforts her child,^q

so will I comfort^r you;

and you will be comforted over Jerusalem.”

¹⁴When you see this, your heart will rejoice^s

and you will flourish^t like grass;

the hand^u of the Lord will be made known to his servants,^v

but his fury^w will be shown to his foes.

¹⁵See, the Lord is coming with fire,^x

and his chariots^y are like a whirlwind;^z

he will bring down his anger with fury,

and his rebuke^a with flames of fire.

¹⁶For with fire^b and with his sword^c

the Lord will execute judgment^d on all people,

and many will be those slain^e by the Lord.

¹⁷“Those who consecrate and purify themselves to go into the gardens,^f following one who is among those who eat the flesh of pigs,^g rats^h and other unclean things—they will meet their endⁱ together with the one they follow,” declares the Lord.

¹⁸“And I, because of what they have planned and done,^j am about to come^a and gather the people of all nations^k and languages, and they will come and see my glory.^l

¹⁹“I will set a sign^m among them, and I will send some of those who surviveⁿ to the nations—to Tarshish,^o to the Libyans^b and Lydians^p (famous as archers), to Tubal^q and Greece,^r and to the distant islands^s that have not heard of my fame or seen my glory.^t They will proclaim my glory among the nations. ²⁰And they will bring^u all your people, from all the nations, to my holy mountain^v in Jerusalem as an offering to the Lord—on horses, in chariots and wagons, and on mules and camels,”^w says the Lord. “They will bring them, as the Israelites bring their grain offerings, to the temple of the Lord in ceremonially clean vessels.^{x 21}And I will select some of them also to be priests^y and Levites,” says the Lord.

²²“As the new heavens and the new earth^z that I make will endure before me,” declares the Lord, “so will your name and descendants endure.^{a 23}From one New Moon to another and from one Sabbath^b to another, all mankind will come and bow down^c before me,” says the Lord. ²⁴“And they will go out and look on the dead bodies^d of those who rebelled^e against me; the worms^f that eat them will not die, the fire that burns them will not be quenched,^g and they will be loathsome to all mankind.”