Isaiah 66
66
The Lord Will Judge All Nations
1This is what the Lord says:
“Heaven is my throne,
and the earth is my footstool.
So do you think you can build a house for me?
Do I need a place to rest?
2My hand made all things.
All things are here because I made them,”
says the Lord.
“These are the people I am pleased with:
those who are not proud or stubborn
and who fear my word.
3But those people who kill bulls as a sacrifice to me
are like those who kill people.
Those who kill sheep as a sacrifice
are like those who break the necks of dogs.
Those who give me grain offerings
are like those who offer me the blood of pigs.
Those who burn incense
are like those who worship idols.
These people choose their own ways, not mine,
and they love the terrible things they do.
4So I will choose their punishments,
and I will punish them with what they fear most.
This is because I called to them, but they did not listen.
I spoke to them, but they did not hear me.
They did things I said were evil;
they chose to do things I did not like.”
5You people who obey the words of the Lord,
listen to what he says:
“Your brothers hated you
and turned against you because you followed me.
Your brothers said, ‘Let the Lord be honored
so we may see you rejoice,’
but they will be punished.
6Listen to the loud noise coming from the city;
hear the noise from the Temple.
It is the Lord punishing his enemies,
giving them the punishment they should have.
7“A woman does not give birth before she feels the pain;
she does not give birth to a son before the pain starts.
8No one has ever heard of that happening;
no one has ever seen that happen.
In the same way no one ever saw a country begin in one day;
no one has ever heard of a new nation beginning in one moment.
But Jerusalem will give birth to her children
just as soon as she feels the birth pains.
9In the same way I will not cause pain
without allowing something new to be born,” says the Lord.
“If I cause you the pain,
I will not stop you from giving birth to your new nation,” says your God.
10“Jerusalem, rejoice.
All you people who love Jerusalem, be happy.
Those of you who felt sad for Jerusalem
should now feel happy with her.
11You will take comfort from her and be satisfied,
as a child is nursed by its mother.
You will receive her good things
and enjoy her wealth.”
12This is what the Lord says:
“I will give her peace that will flow to her like a river.
The wealth of the nations will come to her like a river overflowing its banks.
Like babies you will be nursed and held in my arms
and bounced on my knees.
13I will comfort you
as a mother comforts her child.
You will be comforted in Jerusalem.”
14When you see these things, you will be happy,
and you will grow like the grass.
The Lord’s servants will see his power,
but his enemies will see his anger.
15Look, the Lord is coming with fire
and his armies with clouds of dust.
He will punish those people with his anger;
he will punish them with flames of fire.
16The Lord will judge the people with fire,
and he will destroy many people with his sword;
he will kill many people.
17“These people make themselves holy and pure to go to worship their gods in their gardens. Following each other into their special gardens, they eat the meat of pigs and rats and other hateful things. But they will all be destroyed together,” says the Lord.
18“I know they have evil thoughts and do evil things, so I am coming to punish them. I will gather all nations and all people, and they will come together and see my glory.
19“I will put a mark on some of the people, and I will send some of these saved people to the nations: to Tarshish, Libya, Lud (the land of archers), Tubal, Greece, and all the faraway lands. These people have never heard about what I have done nor seen my glory. So the saved people will tell the nations about my glory. 20And they will bring all your fellow Israelites from all nations to my holy mountain in Jerusalem. Your fellow Israelites will come on horses, donkeys, and camels and in chariots and wagons. They will be like the grain offerings that the people bring in clean containers to the Temple,” says the Lord. 21“And I will choose even some of these people to be priests and Levites,” says the Lord.
22“I will make new heavens and the new earth, which will last forever,” says the Lord. “In the same way, your names and your children will always be with me. 23All people will come to worship me every Sabbath and every New Moon,” says the Lord. 24“They will go out and see the dead bodies of the people who sinned against me. The worms that eat them will never die, and the fires that burn them will never stop, and everyone will hate to see those bodies.”
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Isaiah 66: NCV
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The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
Isaiah 66
66
Heaven Is God’s Throne
1This is what the Lord says,
“Heaven is My throne and the earth is My footstool.
Where, then, is a house that you could build for Me?
And where will My resting place be?
2For all these things My hand has made,
So all these things came into being [by and for Me],” declares the Lord.
“But to this one I will look [graciously],
To him who is humble and contrite in spirit, and who [reverently] trembles at My word and honors My commands.
Hypocrisy Rebuked
3“He who kills an ox [for pagan sacrifice] is [as guilty] as one who kills a man;
He who sacrifices a lamb, as one who breaks a dog’s neck;
He who offers a grain offering, as one who offers swine’s blood;
He who offers incense, as one who blesses an idol.
Such people have chosen their own ways,
And their soul delights in their repulsive acts;
4So I will choose their punishments,
And will bring the things they dread upon them
Because I called, but no one answered;
I spoke, but they did not listen or obey.
But they did evil in My sight
And chose that in which I did not delight.”
5Hear the word of the Lord, you who tremble [with awe-filled reverence] at His word:
“Your brothers who hate you, who exclude you for My Name’s sake,
Have said, ‘Let the Lord be glorified, that we may see your joy.’
But they will be put to shame.
6The sound of an uproar from the city! A voice from the temple!
The voice of the Lord, providing retribution to His enemies.
7“Before she (Zion) was in labor, she gave birth;
Before her labor pain came, she gave birth to a boy.
8Who has heard of such a thing? Who has seen such things?
Can a land #As foretold here and in Ezek 37:21, 22, Israel became a recognized nation, actually “born in one day.” After being away from their homeland for almost 2,000 years, the Jews were given a national homeland in Palestine by the Balfour Declaration in November 1917. In 1922, the League of Nations gave Great Britain the mandate over Palestine. On May 14, 1948, Great Britain withdrew her mandate, and immediately Israel was declared a sovereign state, and her growth and importance among nations was astonishing.be born in one day?
Or can a nation be brought forth in a moment?
As soon as Zion was in labor, she also brought forth her sons.
9Shall I bring to the moment of birth and not give delivery?” says the Lord.
“Or shall I who gives delivery shut the womb?” says your God.
Joy in Jerusalem’s Future
10“Rejoice with Jerusalem and be glad for her, all you who love her;
Rejoice greatly with her, all you who mourn over her,
11That you may nurse and be satisfied with her comforting breasts,
That you may drink deeply and be delighted with her bountiful bosom.”
12For the Lord says this, “Behold, I extend peace to her (Jerusalem) like a river,
And the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream;
And you will be nursed, you will be carried on her hip and [playfully] rocked on her knees.
13As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you;
And you will be comforted in Jerusalem.”
14When you see this, your heart will rejoice;
Your bones will flourish like new grass.
And the [powerful] hand of the Lord will be revealed to His servants,
But His indignation will be toward His enemies.
15For indeed, the Lord will come in fire
And His chariots will be like the stormy wind,
To render His anger with rage,
And His rebuke with flames of fire.
16For the Lord will execute judgment by fire
And by His sword on all mankind,
And those slain by the Lord will be many.
17“Those who [vainly attempt to] sanctify and cleanse themselves to go to the gardens [to sacrifice to idols],
Following after #Perhaps referring to the image of the Syrian god Adad. Some commentators also suggest that this may refer to the cultic leader in the center who shows by his example how to conduct the ceremonies.one in the center,
Who eat swine’s flesh, #This may refer to a reptile of some kind.detestable things and mice,
Will come to an end together,” says the Lord.
18“For I know their works and their thoughts. The time is coming to gather all nations and languages, and they will come and see My glory. 19I will set up a [miraculous] sign among them, and from them I will send survivors to the nations: Tarshish, Pul (Put), Lud, Meshech, Tubal and Javan, to the distant islands and coastlands that have not heard of My fame nor seen My glory. And they will declare and proclaim My glory among the nations. 20Then they shall bring all your countrymen (children of Israel) from all the nations as a grain offering to the Lord—on horses, in chariots, in litters, on mules and on camels—to My holy mountain Jerusalem,” says the Lord, “just as the sons of Israel bring their grain offering in a clean vessel to the house of the Lord. 21I will also take some of them as priests and Levites,” says the Lord.
22“For just as the new heavens and the new earth
Which I make will remain and endure before Me,” declares the Lord,
“So your offspring and your name will remain and endure.
23And it shall be that from New Moon to New Moon
And from Sabbath to Sabbath,
All mankind will come to bow down and worship before Me,” says the Lord.
24“Then they will go forth and look
Upon the dead bodies of the [rebellious] men
Who have transgressed against Me;
For their worm (maggot) will not die,
And their fire will not go out;
And they will be an abhorrence to all mankind.”
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