66 ^(A)Thus 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?
^2 (C)All these things my hand has made,
    and so all these things came to be,
declares the Lord.
^(D)But this is the one to whom I will look:
    he who is humble and contrite in spirit
    and trembles at my word.
^3 (E)“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 ^(F)pig's blood;
    he who makes a memorial offering of frankincense, like one who blesses an idol.
^(G)These have chosen their own ways,
    and their soul delights in their abominations;
^4 (H)I also will choose harsh treatment for them
    and bring ^(I)their fears upon them,
^(J)because when I called, no one answered,
    when I spoke, they did not listen;
^(K)but they did what was evil in my eyes
    and chose that in which I did not delight.”
⁵ Hear 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,
    ^(M)rendering recompense to his enemies!

^7 (N)“Before she was in labour
    she gave birth;
before her pain came upon her
    she delivered a son.
⁸ Who 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 ^(O)as soon as Zion was in labour
    she brought forth her children.
⁹ Shall 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.
^10 (P)“Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad for her,
    all you who love her;
rejoice with her in joy,
    all you who mourn over her;
¹¹ that you may nurse and be satisfied
    from her consoling breast;
that you may drink deeply with delight
    from her glorious abundance.”^[a]
12 For thus says the Lord:
^(Q)“Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river,
    and the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream;
and ^(R)you shall nurse, you shall be carried upon her hip,
    and bounced upon her knees.
¹³ As one whom his mother comforts,
    so ^(S)I will comfort you;
    you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.
¹⁴ You shall see, and your heart shall rejoice;
    ^(T)your bones shall flourish like the grass;
and ^(U)the hand of the Lord shall be known to his servants,
    and he shall show his indignation against his enemies.

¹⁵ “For behold, ^(V)the Lord will come in fire,
    and ^(W)his chariots like the whirlwind,
to render his anger in fury,
    and his rebuke with flames of fire.
¹⁶ For ^(X)by fire ^(Y)will the Lord enter into judgement,
    and by his sword, with all flesh;
    and those slain by the Lord shall be many.

²² “For as ^(AN)the new heavens and the new earth
    that I make
shall remain before me, says the Lord,
    so ^(AO)shall your offspring and your name remain.
^23 (AP)From new moon to new moon,
    and from Sabbath to Sabbath,
all flesh shall come to worship before me,
declares the Lord.