Isaiah 66
Lexham English Bible
Proper Worship
66 Thus says Yahweh:
“Heaven is my throne,
and the earth is the footstool for my feet.
Where is this house that you would build for me?
And where is this resting place for me?
2 And my hand has made all these things,
and all these came to be,”[a]
declares[b] Yahweh, “but[c] I look to this one:
to the humble and the contrite of spirit
and the one frightened at my word.
3 The one who slaughters a bull strikes a man;
the one who slaughters a lamb for sacrifice breaks the neck of a dog.
The one who offers an offering, the blood of swine;
the one who offers frankincense blesses an idol.
Indeed, they themselves have chosen their ways,
and their soul delights in their abhorrence.
4 Indeed, I myself I will choose their ill treatment,
and I will bring them objects of their dread,
because I called, and no one answered;[d]
I spoke and they did not listen,
but[e] they did the evil in my eyes,
and they chose that in which I do not delight.”
5 Hear the word of Yahweh, you who are frightened at his word:
Your brothers who hate you,
who exclude you for my name’s sake have said,
“Let Yahweh be honored so that[f] we may see your joy!”
But[g] they themselves shall be ashamed.
6 A voice, an uproar from the city!
A voice from the temple!
The voice of Yahweh paying back[h] his enemies!
Zion’s Delivery
7 Before she was in labor she gave birth;
before labor pains[i] came to her, she gave birth to a son.
8 Who has heard anything like this?
Who has seen anything like these things?
Can a land be born in one day?
Or can a nation be born in a moment?
Yet when she was in labor, Zion indeed gave birth to her children.
9 Shall I myself I break open and not deliver?”[j] says Yahweh,
“or I who delivers[k] lock up the womb?” says your God.
10 “Rejoice with Jerusalem
and shout in exultation with her, all those who love her!
Rejoice with her in joy, all those who mourn over her,
11 so that you may suck and be satisfied from her consoling breast,[l]
so that you may drink deeply and refresh yourselves from her heavy breast.”[m]
12 For thus says Yahweh:
“Look! I am about to spread prosperity out to her like a river,
and the wealth of the nations like an overflowing stream,
and you shall suck and be carried on the hip;
and you shall you shall be played with on the knees.
13 As a man whose mother comforts him, so I myself will comfort you,
and you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.
Yahweh’s Final Judgment
14 And you shall see and your heart shall rejoice,
and your bones shall flourish[n] like the grass,
and the hand of Yahweh shall make itself known to[o] his servants,
and he shall curse his enemies.
15 For look! Yahweh will come in fire,
and his chariots like the storm wind,
to give back[p] his anger in wrath,
and his rebuke in flames of fire.
16 For Yahweh enters into judgment on all flesh with fire and his sword,
and those slain by[q] Yahweh shall be many.
17 Those who sanctify themselves
and those who cleanse themselves to go into[r] the gardens after the one in the middle,
eating the flesh of swine
and detestable things[s] and rodents[t] together
shall come to an end!” declares[u] Yahweh.
18 “And I—their works and thoughts!—am about to come to gather all nations and tongues,
and they shall come and see my glory.
19 And I will set a sign among them,
and I will send survivors from them to the nations:
Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, who draw the bow;
Tubal and Javan, the faraway coastlands
that have not heard of my fame,
and have not seen my glory.
And they shall declare my glory among the nations, 20 and bring all your countrymen[v] from all the nations as an offering to Yahweh on horses and chariots[w] and in litters and on mules and camels, to[x] my holy mountain,[y] Jerusalem,” says Yahweh, “just as the sons of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel to the house of Yahweh. 21 And indeed, I will take some of them as priests and the Levites,” says Yahweh. 22 “For just as the new heavens and earth that I am about to make shall stand before me,” declares[z] Yahweh, “so shall your descendants[aa] and your name stand.
23 And this shall happen: From new moon to new moon[ab] and from Sabbath to Sabbath[ac] all flesh shall come to bow in worship before me,” says Yahweh. 24 “And they shall go out and look at the corpses of the people[ad] who have rebelled[ae] against me,
for their worm shall not die,
and their fire shall not be quenched,
and they shall be an abhorrence to all flesh.”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 66:2 Literally “were”
- Isaiah 66:2 Literally “declaration of”
- Isaiah 66:2 Or “and”
- Isaiah 66:4 Literally “there was no one who answers”
- Isaiah 66:4 Or “and”
- Isaiah 66:5 Or “and”
- Isaiah 66:5 Or “And”
- Isaiah 66:6 Literally “rewarding retribution to”
- Isaiah 66:7 Hebrew “pain”
- Isaiah 66:9 Literally “cause to bring forth”
- Isaiah 66:9 Literally “causes to bring forth”
- Isaiah 66:11 Literally “breast of consolation”
- Isaiah 66:11 Literally “breast of heaviness “
- Isaiah 66:14 Literally “sprout”
- Isaiah 66:14 Literally “with”
- Isaiah 66:15 Literally “cause to turn around”
- Isaiah 66:16 Literally “the slain of”
- Isaiah 66:17 Literally “toward”
- Isaiah 66:17 Hebrew “thing”
- Isaiah 66:17 Hebrew “rodent”
- Isaiah 66:17 Literally “declaration of”
- Isaiah 66:20 Or “brothers”
- Isaiah 66:20 Hebrew “chariot”
- Isaiah 66:20 Or “on”
- Isaiah 66:20 Literally “the mountain of holiness me”
- Isaiah 66:22 Literally “declaration of”
- Isaiah 66:22 Hebrew “descendant”
- Isaiah 66:23 Literally “enough of new moon in his new moon”
- Isaiah 66:23 Literally “enough of Sabbath in his Sabbath”
- Isaiah 66:24 Or “men”
- Isaiah 66:24 Literally “rebelling”
Isaiah 66
Christian Standard Bible
Final Judgment and Joyous Restoration
66 This is what the Lord says:
Heaven(A) is my throne,(B)
and earth is my footstool.(C)
Where could you possibly build a house for me?
And where would my resting place be?(D)
2 My hand made all these things,
and so they all came into being.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
I will look favorably on this kind of person:
one who is humble,(E) submissive[a] in spirit,(F)
and trembles at my word.
3 One person slaughters an ox, another kills a person;
one person sacrifices a lamb, another breaks a dog’s neck;
one person offers a grain offering, another offers pig’s blood;
one person offers incense, another praises an idol—
all these have chosen their ways
and delight in their abhorrent practices.(G)
4 So I will choose their punishment,
and I will bring on them what they dread
because I called and no one answered;
I spoke and they did not listen;
they did what was evil in my sight
and chose what I did not delight in.(H)
5 You who tremble at his word,(I)
hear the word of the Lord:(J)
“Your brothers who hate and exclude you
for my name’s sake have said,(K)
‘Let the Lord be glorified
so that we can see your joy!’
But they will be put to shame.”(L)
6 A sound of uproar from the city!
A voice from the temple—
the voice of the Lord,
paying back his enemies what they deserve!(M)
7 Before Zion was in labor, she gave birth;
before she was in pain, she delivered a boy.
8 Who has heard of such a thing?
Who has seen such things?
Can a land be born in one day
or a nation be delivered in an instant?
Yet as soon as Zion was in labor,
she gave birth to her sons.
9 “Will I bring a baby to the point of birth
and not deliver it?”
says the Lord;
“or will I who deliver, close the womb?”
says your God.
10 Be glad for Jerusalem and rejoice over her,
all who love her.(N)
Rejoice greatly with her,
all who mourn over her—
11 so that you may nurse and be satisfied
from her comforting breast
and drink deeply and delight yourselves
from her glorious breasts.
12 For this is what the Lord says:
I will make peace flow to her like a river,(O)
and the wealth[b] of nations like a flood;(P)
you will nurse and be carried on her hip(Q)
and bounced on her lap.
13 As a mother comforts her son,
so I will comfort you,(R)
and you will be comforted in Jerusalem.
14 You will see, you will rejoice,
and you[c] will flourish like grass;(S)
then the Lord’s power will be revealed to his servants,
but he will show his wrath against his enemies.
15 Look, the Lord will come with fire(T)—
his chariots are like the whirlwind(U)—
to execute his anger with fury
and his rebuke with flames of fire.
16 For the Lord will execute judgment
on all humanity(V) with his fiery sword,
and many will be slain by the Lord.
17 “Those who dedicate and purify themselves to enter the groves(W) following their leader,[d] eating meat from pigs, vermin,[e] and rats, will perish together.”
This is the Lord’s declaration.
18 “Knowing[f] their works and their thoughts, I have come to gather all nations and languages;(X) they will come and see my glory. 19 I will establish a sign among them, and I will send survivors from them to the nations—to Tarshish, Put,[g] Lud (who are archers), Tubal, Javan,(Y) and the coasts and islands far away—who have not heard about me or seen my glory. And they will proclaim my glory among the nations.(Z) 20 They will bring all your brothers from all the nations as a gift to the Lord on horses and chariots, in litters, and on mules and camels, to my holy mountain Jerusalem,”(AA) says the Lord, “just as the Israelites bring an offering in a clean vessel to the house of the Lord. 21 I will also take some of them as priests and Levites,”(AB) says the Lord.
22 “For just as the new heavens and the new earth,(AC)
which I will make,
will remain before me”—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
“so your offspring and your name will remain.
23 All humanity will come to worship me
from one New Moon to another
and from one Sabbath to another,”
says the Lord.
24 “As they leave, they will see the dead bodies of those who have rebelled against me;(AD) for their worm(AE) will never die, their fire will never go out,(AF) and they will be a horror to all humanity.”(AG)
Isaiah 66
New American Standard Bible
Heaven Is God’s Throne
66 This is what the Lord says:
“(A)Heaven is My throne and the earth is the footstool for My feet.
Where then is a (B)house you could build for Me?
And where is a place that [a]I may rest?
2 For (C)My hand made all these things,
So all these things came into being,” declares the Lord.
“But I will look to this one,
At one who is humble and (D)contrite in spirit, and who (E)trembles at My word.
Hypocrisy Rebuked
3 “But the one who slaughters an ox is like one who kills a person;
The one who sacrifices a lamb is like one who breaks a dog’s neck;
One who offers a grain offering is like one who offers (F)pig’s blood;
One who [b](G)burns incense is like one who blesses an idol.
As they have chosen their (H)own ways,
And their souls delight in their (I)abominations,
4 So I will (J)choose their [c]punishments
And (K)bring on them what they dread.
Because I called, but (L)no one answered;
I spoke, but they did not listen.
Instead, they did (M)evil in My sight
And chose that in which I did not delight.”
5 Hear the word of the Lord, you who (N)tremble at His word:
“Your brothers who (O)hate you, who (P)exclude you on account of My name,
Have said, ‘Let the Lord be glorified, so that we may see your joy.’
But (Q)they will be put to shame.
6 A sound of uproar from the city, a voice from the temple,
The voice of the Lord who is (R)dealing retribution to His enemies.
7 “Before she was in labor, (S)she delivered;
Before her pain came, (T)she gave birth to a boy.
8 (U)Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things?
Can a land be [d]born in one day?
Can a nation be given birth all at once?
As soon as Zion was in labor, she also delivered her sons.
9 Shall I bring to the point of birth but (V)not give delivery?” says the Lord.
“Or shall I who gives delivery shut the womb?” says your God.
Joy in Jerusalem’s Future
10 “Be (W)joyful with Jerusalem and rejoice for her, all you who (X)love her;
Be exceedingly (Y)glad with her, all you who mourn over her,
11 So that you may nurse and (Z)be satisfied with her comforting breasts,
So that you may drink fully and be delighted with her (AA)bountiful breasts.”
12 For this is what the Lord says: “Behold, I extend (AB)peace to her like a river,
And the (AC)glory of the nations like an overflowing stream;
And you will [e]be nursed, you will be (AD)carried on the [f]hip and rocked back and forth on the knees.
13 As one whom his mother comforts, so I will (AE)comfort you;
And you will be comforted in Jerusalem.”
14 Then you will (AF)see this, and your (AG)heart will be glad,
And your (AH)bones will flourish like the new grass;
And the (AI)hand of the Lord will be made known to His servants,
But He will be (AJ)indignant toward His enemies.
15 For behold, the Lord will come in (AK)fire,
And His (AL)chariots like the whirlwind,
To render His anger with fury,
And His rebuke with flames of fire.
16 For the Lord will execute judgment by (AM)fire
And by His (AN)sword on [g]humanity,
And those put to death by the Lord will be many.
17 “Those who sanctify and purify themselves to go to the (AO)gardens,
[h]Following one in the center,
Who eat (AP)pig’s flesh, detestable things, and mice,
Will (AQ)come to an end altogether,” declares the Lord.
18 “For I [i]know their works and their (AR)thoughts; [j]the time is coming to (AS)gather all the nations and tongues. And they shall come and see My glory. 19 And I will put a (AT)sign among them and send survivors from them to the nations: (AU)Tarshish, [k]Put, (AV)Lud, [l]Meshech, (AW)Tubal, and [m]Javan, to the distant (AX)coastlands that have neither heard of My fame nor seen My glory. And they will (AY)declare My glory among the nations. 20 Then they shall (AZ)bring all your countrymen from all the nations as a grain offering to the Lord, on horses, in chariots, in litters, on mules, and on camels, to My (BA)holy mountain Jerusalem,” says the Lord, “just as the sons of Israel bring their grain offering in a (BB)clean vessel to the house of the Lord. 21 I will also take some of them as (BC)priests and Levites,” says the Lord.
22 “For just as the (BD)new heavens and the new earth,
Which I make, will endure before Me,” declares the Lord,
“So will your (BE)descendants and your (BF)name endure.
23 And it shall be from (BG)new moon to new moon
And from Sabbath to Sabbath,
All [n]mankind will come to (BH)bow down before Me,” says the Lord.
24 “Then they will go out and look
At the (BI)corpses of the people
Who have (BJ)rebelled against Me.
For their (BK)worm will not die
(BL)And their fire will not be extinguished;
And they will be an (BM)abhorrence to all [o]mankind.”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 66:1 Lit is My resting place?
- Isaiah 66:3 Lit offers a memorial of incense
- Isaiah 66:4 Lit ill treatments
- Isaiah 66:8 Lit born through labor-pains
- Isaiah 66:12 Lit nurse
- Isaiah 66:12 Lit side
- Isaiah 66:16 Lit all flesh
- Isaiah 66:17 Lit After
- Isaiah 66:18 As in LXX; know not found in MT
- Isaiah 66:18 Lit it is coming
- Isaiah 66:19 As in LXX; MT Pul
- Isaiah 66:19 As in LXX; MT those who draw the bow
- Isaiah 66:19 I.e., Greece
- Isaiah 66:23 Lit flesh
- Isaiah 66:24 Lit flesh
Isaiah 66
American Standard Version
66 Thus saith Jehovah, Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: what manner of house will ye build unto me? and what place shall be my rest? 2 For all these things hath my hand made, and so all these things came to be, saith Jehovah: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and that trembleth at my word. 3 He that killeth an ox is as he that slayeth a man; he that sacrificeth a lamb, as he that breaketh a dog’s neck; he that offereth [a]an oblation, as he that offereth swine’s blood; he that [b]burneth frankincense, as he that blesseth an idol. Yea, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delighteth in their abominations: 4 I also will choose their [c]delusions, and will bring their fears upon them; because when I called, none did answer; when I spake, they did not hear: but they did that which was evil in mine eyes, and chose that wherein I delighted not.
5 Hear the word of Jehovah, ye that tremble at his word: Your brethren that hate you, that cast you out for my name’s sake, have said, Let Jehovah be glorified, that we may see your joy; but it is they that shall be put to shame. 6 A voice of tumult from the city, a voice from the temple, a voice of Jehovah that rendereth recompense to his enemies.
7 Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of a man-child. 8 Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall a land be [d]born in one day? shall a nation be brought forth at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children. 9 Shall I bring to the birth, and not cause to bring forth? saith Jehovah: shall I that cause to bring forth shut the womb? saith thy God.
10 Rejoice ye with Jerusalem, and be glad for her, all ye that love her: rejoice for joy with her, all ye that mourn over her; 11 that ye may suck and be satisfied with the breasts of her consolations; that ye may milk out, and be delighted with the abundance of her glory. 12 For thus saith Jehovah, Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream: [e]and ye shall suck thereof; ye shall be borne upon the side, and shall be dandled upon the knees. 13 As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you; and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem. 14 And ye shall see it, and your heart shall rejoice, and your bones shall flourish like the tender grass: and the hand of Jehovah shall be known toward his servants; and he will have indignation against his enemies.
15 For, behold, Jehovah will come [f]with fire, and his chariots shall be like the whirlwind; to render his anger with fierceness, and his rebuke with flames of fire. 16 For by fire will Jehovah execute judgment, and by his sword, upon all flesh; and the slain of Jehovah shall be many. 17 They that sanctify themselves and purify themselves [g]to go unto the gardens, behind [h]one in the midst, eating swine’s flesh, and the abomination, and the mouse, they shall come to an end together, saith Jehovah.
18 For I know their works and their thoughts: the time cometh, that I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come, and shall see my glory. 19 And I will set a sign among them, and I will send such as escape of them unto the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, that draw the bow, to Tubal and Javan, to the isles afar off, that have not heard my fame, neither have seen my glory; and they shall declare my glory among the nations. 20 And they shall bring all your brethren out of all the nations for an oblation unto Jehovah, upon horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and upon mules, and upon dromedaries, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, saith Jehovah, as the children of Israel bring their oblation in a clean vessel into the house of Jehovah. 21 And of them also will I take for priests and for Levites, saith Jehovah.
22 For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith Jehovah, so shall your seed and your name remain. 23 And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith Jehovah. 24 And they shall go forth, and look upon the dead bodies of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 66:3 Or, a meal-offering
- Isaiah 66:3 Hebrew maketh a memorial of.
- Isaiah 66:4 Or, mockings
- Isaiah 66:8 Or, travailed with for but one day
- Isaiah 66:12 Or, then shall ye suck, ye etc.
- Isaiah 66:15 Or, in
- Isaiah 66:17 Or, in the
- Isaiah 66:17 Or, one tree (or Asherah; see Dt. 16:21)
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