The Humble and Contrite in Spirit

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?
(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.

(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;
(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.”

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.

“The sound of an uproar from the city!
    A sound from the temple!
The sound of the Lord,
    (M)rendering recompense to his enemies!

Rejoice with Jerusalem

(N)“Before she was in labor
    she gave birth;
before her pain came upon her
    she delivered a son.
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 labor
    she brought forth her children.
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.

Final Judgment and Glory of the Lord

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 judgment,
    and by his sword, with all flesh;
    and those slain by the Lord shall be many.

17 (Z)“Those who sanctify and purify themselves to go into the gardens, following one in the midst, (AA)eating pig's flesh and the abomination and mice, shall come to an end together, declares the Lord.

18 “For I know[b] their works and their thoughts, and the time is coming[c] (AB)to gather all nations and tongues. And they shall come and shall see my glory, 19 and I will set a sign among them. And from them (AC)I will send survivors to the nations, to (AD)Tarshish, (AE)Pul, and (AF)Lud, who draw the bow, to (AG)Tubal and (AH)Javan, (AI)to the coastlands far away, (AJ)that have not heard my fame or seen my glory. And they shall declare my glory among the nations. 20 (AK)And they shall bring all your brothers from all the nations (AL)as 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. 21 (AM)And some of them also I will take for priests and for Levites, says the Lord.

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.

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

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 66:11 Or breast
  2. Isaiah 66:18 Septuagint, Syriac; Hebrew lacks know
  3. Isaiah 66:18 Hebrew and it is coming

66 Thus saith Hashem, HaShomayim is My kisse, and ha’aretz is My footstool; where is the Beis that ye build for Me? And where is the Makom of My Menuchah?

For all those things hath Mine hand made, and so came they all into being, saith Hashem; but to this man will I look, even to him that is oni and of a contrite ruach, and trembleth at My Devar.

He that slaughtereth the bull is the slayer of a man; he that sacrificeth a seh, is a strangler of dogs; he that offereth a minchah, it is dahm chazir; he that burneth incense, blesseth idols. As they have chosen their own ways, and their nefesh delighteth in their shikkutzim (abominations),

I also will choose their illtreatments, and will bring their terrors upon them; because when I called, no one did answer; when I spoke, they did not hear; but they did the rah before Mine eyes, and chose that in which I took no pleasure.

Hear the Devar Hashem, ye that tremble at His word; Your achim that hated you, that cast you out from them l’ma’an Shemi, said, Let Hashem get honor, that we may see your simcha; they shall be ashamed.

Sound of tumult from the Ir, a sound from the Heikhal, a sound of Hashem that rendereth gemul (retribution) to His enemies.

Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her chevel (pain) came, she was delivered of a zachar (man child).

Who hath heard such a thing? Who hath seen such things? Shall Eretz be born in yom echad? Or shall a nation be born in a moment? For as soon as Tziyon travailed in labor, she gave birth to her banim.

Shall I bring to the moment of birth, and not cause to bring delivery? saith Hashem. Shall I cause to bring forth, and shut the womb? saith thy G-d.

10 Rejoice ye with Yerushalayim, and be glad with her, all ye that love her; rejoice for joy with her, all ye that mourn for her;

11 That ye may nurse, and be satisfied with the breasts of her consolations; that ye may drink in, be delighted with the abundance of her kavod.

12 For thus saith Hashem, Hineni, I will extend shalom to her like a river, and the kavod of the Goyim like an overflowing stream; then shall ye nurse, ye shall be borne upon arms, and be fondled upon her knees.

13 As one whom his em comforteth, so will I comfort you; and ye shall be comforted in Yerushalayim.

14 And when ye see this, your lev shall rejoice, and your atzmot shall flourish like herbage; and the yad Hashem shall be made known to His avadim, and His indignation toward His enemies.

15 For, hinei, Hashem will come with eish, with His merkavot like the whirlwind, to render His anger in fury, His rebuke in flames of eish.

16 For by eish and by His cherev will Hashem execute judgment on kol basar; and the slain of Hashem shall be many.

17 They that set themselves apart as kodesh, and purify themselves to go into the ganot, following the one in the midst, eating basar hachazir, and the sheketz, and the akhbar (mouse), shall be consumed together, saith Hashem.

18 For I know their ma’asim and their machshevot; it shall come to pass, that I will gather kol Goyim and leshonot; they shall come, and see My kavod.

19 And I will set an ot (sign) among them, and I will send away those that escape of them unto the Goyim, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud (that draw the bow), to Tuval, and Yavan [Greece], to the isles afar off, that have not heard My fame, neither have seen My kavod; and they shall declare My kavod among the Goyim.

20 And they shall bring all your achim out of all heathen nations for a minchah unto Hashem upon susim, and in chariots, and in wagons, and upon mules, and upon camels, to My Har Kodesh, to Yerushalayim, saith Hashem, as the Bnei Yisroel bring the minchah in a keli tahor into the Beis Hashem.

21 And I will also take of them for kohanim and for Levi’im, saith Hashem.

22 For as the Shomayim HaChadashim and HaAretz HaChadashah, which I will make, shall continue before Me, saith Hashem, so shall your zera and your shem remain.

23 And it shall come to pass, that from one Rosh Chodesh to another, and from one Shabbos to another, kol basar shall come to bow down before Me, saith Hashem.

24 And they shall go forth, and look upon the pigrei ha’anashim that have rebelled against Me; for their tola’at (worm) shall not die, neither shall their eish be quenched; and they shall be dera’on (loathsome, an abomination) to kol basar [See also on Gehinnom Dan 12:2].