Isaiah 66
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 66
True and False Worship
1 Thus says the Lord:
The heavens are my throne
and the earth is my footstool.
What house could you build for me?
What is to be my resting place?
2 All these things were made by me,
and so all these things are mine,
says the Lord.
The one for whom I have regard
is humble and contrite in spirit
and trembles at my word.
3 Whoever slaughters an ox
is like one who kills a man;
whoever sacrifices a lamb
is like one who breaks a dog’s neck;
whoever presents an offering of grain
is like one who offers a swine’s blood;
whoever burns incense as a memorial
is like one who blesses an idol.
These people have chosen their own ways,
and they delight in their loathsome abominations.
4 I in turn will choose to punish them harshly
and bring upon them what they fear
because, when I called, no one answered,
and when I spoke, they refused to listen.
Rather, they did what was evil in my sight
and chose what displeased me.
5 Hear the word of the Lord,
you who tremble at his word.
Your brethren who hate you
and reject you because of my name, have said,
“Let the Lord be glorified
so that we may witness your joy”;
however, they themselves will be put to shame.
6 Listen! There is an uproar from the city,
a voice from the temple.
Such is the sound of the Lord
bringing retribution to his enemies.
Mother Zion
7 Before she entered into labor,
she gave birth.
Before she experienced the birth pains,
she delivered a son.
8 Who ever heard of such a thing?
Who has ever seen anything like this?
Can a country be born in a single day?
Can a nation be delivered in a single moment?
Yet Zion was scarcely in labor
when she brought forth her children.
9 Shall I open the womb and not deliver?
says the Lord.
Shall I close the womb at the moment of delivery?
says your God.
10 Rejoice with Jerusalem and be glad for her,
all you who love her.
Be joyful as you rejoice with her,
all you who mourned over her,
11 so that you may suck fully and be satisfied
from her consoling breast,
as you drink deeply with delight
at her abundant bosom.
12 For thus says the Lord:
I will make prosperity flow over her like a river,
and the wealth of the nations
like a turbulent overflowing stream.
You will be nursed and carried in her arms
and fondled in her lap.
13 As a mother comforts her child,
so will I comfort you;
in Jerusalem you will find your comfort.
14 When you behold this, your heart will rejoice,
and your bodies will flourish like grass in spring.
The Lord will make his power known to his servants
but reveal his wrath to his enemies.
15 Behold the Lord as he comes in fire,
his chariots like the whirlwind,
to enact retribution with his furious anger
and his rebukes with fiery flames.
16 For the Lord will execute his judgment
on all mankind with fire and sword,
and many will be those slain by the Lord.
17 Those who sanctify and purify themselves to enter the groves and follow the one in the center, consuming the flesh of pigs, vermin, and rats—they will all perish together, says the Lord, along with their deeds and their thoughts.[a]
18 Glory among the Nations. I am coming to gather every nation and every language. They will come forth to behold my glory. 19 I will set a sign among them, and I will send some of their survivors to the nations: to Tarshish,[b] Put and Lud, Mosoch, Tubal, and Javan, to the distant coasts and islands that have never heard of me or seen my glory.
They will proclaim my glory among the nations, 20 and from all the nations they will bring all your kindred as an offering to the Lord, on horses and in chariots, in carts and on mules and camels, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, says the Lord, just as the Israelites themselves bring their grain offerings in clean vessels to the house of the Lord. 21 Some of these I will appoint as priests and Levites, says the Lord.
Eternal Reward and Punishment
22 As the new heavens and the new earth
that I am making
will endure before me, says the Lord,
so will your descendants and your name endure.
23 From new moon to new moon
and from one Sabbath to another,
all mankind will come to worship before me,
says the Lord.
24 And as they go out,
they will see the corpses
of those who rebelled against me.
For their worm will never die,
nor will their fire be quenched,
and they will be abhorrent to all humanity.[c]
Footnotes
- Isaiah 66:17 A condemnation of pagan mystery cults.
- Isaiah 66:19 Tarshish: a large island in the western Mediterranean or simply a faraway place.
- Isaiah 66:24 A reference to the Valley of Ben-hinnom (Gehenna) outside the walls of ancient Jerusalem. In Mk 9:48, the images of the worm and the fire are used to signify an eternal punishment.
Isaiah 66
King James Version
66 Thus saith the Lord, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest?
2 For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the Lord: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.
3 He that killeth an ox is as if he slew a man; he that sacrificeth a lamb, as if he cut off a dog's neck; he that offereth an oblation, as if he offered swine's blood; he that burneth incense, as if he blessed an idol. Yea, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delighteth in their abominations.
4 I also will choose their 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 evil before mine eyes, and chose that in which I delighted not.
5 Hear the word of the Lord, ye that tremble at his word; Your brethren that hated you, that cast you out for my name's sake, said, Let the Lord be glorified: but he shall appear to your joy, and they shall be ashamed.
6 A voice of noise from the city, a voice from the temple, a voice of the Lord that rendereth recompence 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 the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born 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 the Lord: shall I cause to bring forth, and shut the womb? saith thy God.
10 Rejoice ye with Jerusalem, 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 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 the Lord, Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream: then shall ye suck, ye shall be borne upon her sides, and be dandled upon her knees.
13 As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you; and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem.
14 And when ye see this, your heart shall rejoice, and your bones shall flourish like an herb: and the hand of the Lord shall be known toward his servants, and his indignation toward his enemies.
15 For, behold, the Lord will come with fire, and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire.
16 For by fire and by his sword will the Lord plead with all flesh: and the slain of the Lord shall be many.
17 They that sanctify themselves, and purify themselves in the gardens behind one tree in the midst, eating swine's flesh, and the abomination, and the mouse, shall be consumed together, saith the Lord.
18 For I know their works and their thoughts: it shall come, that I will 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 those that 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 Gentiles.
20 And they shall bring all your brethren for an offering unto the Lord out of all nations upon horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and upon mules, and upon swift beasts, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, saith the Lord, as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the Lord.
21 And I will also take of them for priests and for Levites, saith the Lord.
22 For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the Lord, 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 the Lord.
24 And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases 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.
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