Isaiah 66
Good News Translation
The Lord Judges the Nations
66 (A)The Lord says, “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house, then, could you build for me, what kind of place for me to live in? 2 I myself created the whole universe! I am pleased with those who are humble and repentant, who fear me and obey me.
3 “The people do as they please. It's all the same to them whether they kill a bull as a sacrifice or sacrifice a human being; whether they sacrifice a lamb or break a dog's neck; whether they present a grain offering or offer pigs' blood; whether they offer incense or pray to an idol. They take pleasure in disgusting ways of worship. 4 So I will bring disaster upon them—the very things they are afraid of—because no one answered when I called or listened when I spoke. They chose to disobey me and do evil.”
5 Listen to what the Lord says, you that fear him and obey him: “Because you are faithful to me, some of your own people hate you and will have nothing to do with you. They mock you and say, ‘Let the Lord show his greatness and save you, so that we may see you rejoice.’ But they themselves will be disgraced! 6 Listen! That loud noise in the city, that sound in the Temple, is the sound of the Lord punishing his enemies!
7 (B)“My holy city is like a woman who suddenly gives birth to a child without ever going into labor. 8 Has anyone ever seen or heard of such a thing? Has a nation ever been born in a day? Zion will not have to suffer long, before the nation is born. 9 Do not think that I will bring my people to the point of birth and not let them be born.” The Lord has spoken.
10 Rejoice with Jerusalem; be glad for her,
all you that love this city!
Rejoice with her now,
all you that have mourned for her!
11 You will enjoy her prosperity,
like a child at its mother's breast.
12 The Lord says, “I will bring you lasting prosperity; the wealth of the nations will flow to you like a river that never goes dry. You will be like a child that is nursed by its mother, carried in her arms, and treated with love. 13 I will comfort you in Jerusalem, as a mother comforts her child. 14 When you see this happen, you will be glad; it will make you strong and healthy. Then you will know that I, the Lord, help those who obey me, and I show my anger against my enemies.”
15 The Lord will come with fire. He will ride on the wings of a storm to punish those he is angry with. 16 By fire and sword he will punish all the people of the world whom he finds guilty—and many will be put to death.
17 The Lord says, “The end is near for those who purify themselves for pagan worship, who go in procession to sacred gardens,[a] and who eat pork and mice and other disgusting foods. 18 I know[b] their thoughts and their deeds. I am coming[c] to gather the people of all the nations. When they come together, they will see what my power can do 19 and will know that I am the one who punishes them.
“But I will spare some of them and send them to the nations and the distant lands that have not heard of my fame or seen my greatness and power: to Spain, Libya,[d] and Lydia, with its skilled archers, and to Tubal and Greece. Among these nations they will proclaim my greatness. 20 They will bring back all your people from the nations as a gift to me. They will bring them to my sacred hill[e] in Jerusalem on horses, mules, and camels, and in chariots and wagons, just as Israelites bring grain offerings to the Temple in ritually clean containers. 21 I will make some of them priests and Levites.
22 (C)“Just as the new earth and the new heavens will endure by my power, so your descendants and your name will endure. 23 On every New Moon Festival and every Sabbath people of every nation will come to worship me here in Jerusalem,” says the Lord. 24 (D)“As they leave, they will see the dead bodies of those who have rebelled against me. The worms that eat them will never die, and the fire that burns them will never be put out. The sight of them will be disgusting to all people.”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 66:17 See 1.29.
- Isaiah 66:18 Some ancient translations I know; Hebrew I.
- Isaiah 66:18 Some ancient translations I am coming; Hebrew He is coming.
- Isaiah 66:19 One ancient translation Libya; Hebrew Pul.
- Isaiah 66:20 See 2.3.
Isaiah 66
Complete Jewish Bible
66 “Heaven is my throne,” says Adonai,
“and the earth is my footstool.
What kind of house could you build for me?
What sort of place could you devise for my rest?
2 Didn’t I myself make all these things?
This is how they all came to be,”
says Adonai.
“The kind of person on whom I look with favor
is one with a poor and humble spirit,
who trembles at my word.
3 Those others might as well kill a person as an ox,
as well break a dog’s neck as sacrifice a lamb,
as well offer pig’s blood as offer a grain offering,
as well bless an idol as burn incense.
Just as these have chosen their ways
and enjoy their disgusting practices,
4 so I will enjoy making fools of them,
and bring on them the very things they fear.
For when I called, no one answered;
when I spoke, they did not hear.
Instead they did what was evil in my sight
and chose what did not please me.”
5 Hear the word of Adonai,
you who tremble at his word:
“Your brothers, who hate you and reject you
because of my name, have said:
‘Let Adonai be glorified,
so we can see your joy.’
But they will be put to shame.”
6 That uproar in the city,
that sound from the temple,
is the sound of Adonai repaying
his foes what they deserve.
7 Before going into labor, she gave birth;
before her pains came, she delivered a male child.
8 Who ever heard of such a thing?
Who has ever seen such things?
Is a country born in one day?
Is a nation brought forth all at once?
For as soon as Tziyon went into labor,
she brought forth her children.
9 “Would I let the baby break through
and not be born?” asks Adonai.
“Would I, who cause the birth,
shut the womb?” asks your God.
10 Rejoice with Yerushalayim!
Be glad with her, all you who love her!
Rejoice, rejoice with her,
all of you who mourned for her;
11 so that you nurse and are satisfied
by her comforting breast,
drinking deeply and delighting
in the overflow of her glory.
12 For Adonai says, “I will spread shalom
over her like a river,
and the wealth of nations
like a flooding stream;
you will nurse and be carried in her arm
and cuddled in her lap.
13 Like someone comforted by his mother,
I will comfort you;
in Yerushalayim
you will be comforted.”
14 Your heart will rejoice at the sight,
your bodies will flourish like newly sprouted grass.
It will be known that the hand of Adonai
is with his servants; but with his enemies, his fury.
15 For — look! — Adonai will come in fire,
and his chariots will be like the whirlwind,
to render his anger furiously,
his rebuke with blazing fire.
16 For Adonai will judge all humanity
with fire and with the sword,
and those slain by Adonai will be many.
17 “Those who consecrate and purify themselves
in order to enter the gardens,
then follow the one who was already there,
eating pig meat, reptiles and mice,
will all be destroyed together,” says Adonai.
18 “For I [know] their deeds and their thoughts.
“[The time] is coming when I will gather together all nations and languages. They will come and see my glory, 19 and I will give them a sign. I will send some of their survivors to the nations of Tarshish, Pul, Lud (these are archers), Tuval, Greece and more distant coasts, where they have neither heard of my fame nor seen my glory. They will proclaim my glory in these nations; 20 and they will bring all your kinsmen out of all the nations as an offering to Adonai — on horses, in chariots, in wagons, on mules, on camels — to my holy mountain Yerushalayim,” says Adonai, “just as the people of Isra’el themselves bring their offerings in clean vessels to the house of Adonai. 21 I will also take cohanim and L’vi’im from them,” says Adonai.
22 “For just as the new heavens and the new earth that I am making will continue in my presence,” says Adonai, “so will your descendants and your name continue.
23 “Every month on Rosh-Hodesh
and every week on Shabbat,
everyone living will come
to worship in my presence,” says Adonai.
24 “As they leave, they will look on the corpses
of the people who rebelled against me.
For their worm will never die,
and their fire will never be quenched;
but they will be abhorrent
to all humanity.”
[“Every month on Rosh-Hodesh
and every week on Shabbat,
everyone living will come
to worship in my presence,” says Adonai.]
Isaiah 66
GOD’S WORD Translation
The People of the Lord’s New Creation
66 This is what the Lord says:
Heaven is my throne.
The earth is my footstool.
Where can you build a house or resting place for me?
2 I have made all these things.
“That is why all these things have come into being,”
declares the Lord.
I will pay attention to those
who are humble and sorry ⌞for their sins⌟
and who tremble at my word.
3 Whoever kills a bull is like someone who kills a person.
Whoever sacrifices a lamb is like someone who breaks a dog’s neck.
Whoever offers a grain sacrifice
is like someone who ⌞offers⌟ pig’s blood.
Whoever burns incense is like someone who worships an idol.
People have certainly chosen their own ways,
and their souls delight in detestable things.
4 So I will choose harsh treatment for them
and bring on them what they fear.
I called, but no one answered.
I spoke, but they didn’t listen.
They did what I consider evil.
They chose what I don’t like.
5 Listen to the Lord’s word, all who tremble at his word.
Your relatives, who hate you and exclude you for my name’s sake, say,
“Let the Lord show his glory; then we will see your joy.”
But they will be put to shame.
6 Listen to the uproar from the city.
Listen to the sound from the temple.
It is the sound of the Lord
paying back his enemies as they deserve.
7 Before a woman goes into labor, she gives birth.
Before she has labor pains, she delivers a child.
8 Who has heard of such a thing?
Who has seen such things?
Can a country be born in one day?
Can a nation be born in a moment?
When Zion went into labor,
she also gave birth to her children.
9 “Do I bring a mother to the moment of birth
and not let her deliver?” asks the Lord.
“Do I cause a mother to deliver
and then make her unable to have children?” asks your God.
10 All who love Jerusalem, be happy and rejoice with her.
All who mourn for her, be glad with her.
11 You will nurse and be satisfied from her comforting breasts.
You will nurse to your heart’s delight at her full breasts.
12 This is what the Lord says:
I will offer you peace like a river
and the wealth of the nations like an overflowing stream.
You will nurse and be carried in Jerusalem’s arms
and cuddled on her knees.
13 As a mother comforts her child,
so will I comfort you.
You will be comforted in Jerusalem.
14 When you see it, your heart will rejoice
and you will flourish like new grass.
The power of the Lord will be made known to his servants,
but he will condemn his enemies.
15 The Lord will come with fire
and with his chariots like a thunderstorm.
He will pay them back with his burning anger
and punish them with flames of fire.
16 The Lord will judge with fire,
and he will judge all people with his sword.
Many people will be struck dead by the Lord.
17 People make themselves holy
and prepare themselves for their garden rituals.
They go into the garden
and devour pork, disgusting things, and mice.
“They will come to an end at the same time,”
declares the Lord.
18 Because of their actions and their thoughts,
I am coming to gather the nations of every language.
They will come and see my glory.
19 I will set up a sign among them
and send some of their survivors to the nations:
to Tarshish, Put and Lud, Meshech, Rosh, Tubal, Javan,
and to the distant coastlands
who have not heard of my fame or seen my glory.
They will tell about my glory among the nations.
20 They will bring all your relatives
from every nation like a grain offering to the Lord.
“They will come on horses, in chariots, in wagons,
on mules and camels to my holy mountain, Jerusalem,”
declares the Lord.
They will come like the people of Israel who bring
their grain offerings in clean dishes to the Lord’s temple.
21 “I will make some of them priests and Levites,” declares the Lord.
22 “The new heaven and earth that I am about to make
will continue in my presence,” declares the Lord.
“So your descendants and your name
will also continue in my presence.
23 From one month to the next and from one week to the next
all people will come to worship me,” declares the Lord.
24 Then they will go out
and look at the corpses of those who have rebelled against me.
The worms that eat them will not die.
The fire that burns them will not go out.
All humanity will be disgusted by them.
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.
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