Isaiah 66
66
True Worship and False
1Thus says the Lord:
#1 Kin. 8:27; 2 Chr. 6:18; Ps. 11:4; Matt. 5:34; Acts 17:24“Heaven is My throne,
And earth is My footstool.
Where is the house that you will build Me?
And where is the place of My rest?
2For all those things My hand has made,
And all those things exist,”
Says the Lord.
#Ps. 34:18; (Is. 57:15; 61:1; Matt. 5:3, 4; Luke 18:13, 14)“But on this one will I look:
#Ps. 34:18; 51:17On him who is poor and of a contrite spirit,
And who trembles at My word.
3“He#(Is. 1:10–17; 58:1–7; Mic. 6:7, 8) who kills a bull is as if he slays a man;
He who sacrifices a lamb, as if he #Deut. 23:18breaks a dog’s neck;
He who offers a grain offering, as if he offers swine’s blood;
He who burns incense, as if he blesses an idol.
Just as they have chosen their own ways,
And their soul delights in their abominations,
4So will I choose their delusions,
And bring their fears on them;
#Prov. 1:24; Is. 65:12; Jer. 7:13Because, when I called, no one answered,
When I spoke they did not hear;
But they did evil before My eyes,
And chose that in which I do not delight.”
The Lord Vindicates Zion
5Hear the word of the Lord,
You who tremble at His word:
“Your brethren who #Ps. 38:20; Is. 60:15; (Luke 6:22, 23)hated you,
Who cast you out for My name’s sake, said,
#Is. 5:19‘Let the Lord be glorified,
That #(2 Thess. 1:10; Titus 2:13)we may see your joy.’
But they shall be ashamed.”
6The sound of noise from the city!
A voice from the temple!
The voice of the Lord,
Who fully repays His enemies!
7“Before she was in labor, she gave birth;
Before her pain came,
She delivered a male child.
8Who has heard such a thing?
Who has seen such things?
Shall the earth be made to give birth in one day?
Or shall a nation be born at once?
For as soon as Zion was in labor,
She gave birth to her children.
9Shall I bring to the time of birth, and not cause delivery?” says the Lord.
“Shall I who cause delivery shut up the womb?” says your God.
10“Rejoice with Jerusalem,
And be glad with her, all you who love her;
Rejoice for joy with her, all you who mourn for her;
11That you may feed and be satisfied
With the consolation of her bosom,
That you may drink deeply and be delighted
With the abundance of her glory.”
12For thus says the Lord:
“Behold, #Is. 48:18; 60:5I will extend peace to her like a river,
And the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream.
Then you shall #Is. 60:16feed;
On her sides shall you be #Is. 49:22; 60:4carried,
And be dandled on her knees.
13As one whom his mother comforts,
So I will #Is. 51:3; (2 Cor. 1:3, 4)comfort you;
And you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.”
The Reign and Indignation of God
14When you see this, your heart shall rejoice,
And #Ezek. 37:1your bones shall flourish like grass;
The hand of the Lord shall be known to His servants,
And His indignation to His enemies.
15#Is. 9:5; (2 Thess. 1:8)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.
16For by fire and by #Is. 27:1His sword
The Lord will judge all flesh;
And the slain of the Lord shall be #Is. 34:6many.
17“Those#Is. 65:3–8 who sanctify themselves and purify themselves,
To go to the gardens
After an idol in the midst,
Eating swine’s flesh and the abomination and the mouse,
Shall be consumed together,” says the Lord.
18“For I know their works and their #Is. 59:7thoughts. It shall be that I will #Is. 45:22–25; Jer. 3:17gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come and see My glory. 19#Luke 2:34I will set a sign among them; and those among them who escape I will send to the nations: to Tarshish and Pul and Lud, who draw the bow, and Tubal and Javan, to the coastlands afar off who have not heard My fame nor seen My glory. #Mal. 1:11And they shall declare My glory among the Gentiles. 20Then they shall #Is. 49:22bring all your brethren #Is. 18:7; (Rom. 15:16)for an offering to the Lord out of all nations, on horses and in chariots and in litters, on mules and on camels, to My holy mountain Jerusalem,” says the Lord, “as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the Lord. 21And I will also take some of them for #Ex. 19:6; Is. 61:6; 1 Pet. 2:9; Rev. 1:6priests and Levites,” says the Lord.
22“For as #Is. 65:17; Heb. 12:26, 27; 2 Pet. 3:13; Rev. 21:1the new heavens and the new earth
Which I will make shall remain before Me,” says the Lord,
“So shall your descendants and your name remain.
23And #Zech. 14:16it shall come to pass
That from one New Moon to another,
And from one Sabbath to another,
#Zech. 14:17–21All flesh shall come to worship before Me,” says the Lord.
24“And they shall go forth and look
Upon the corpses of the men
Who have transgressed against Me.
For their #Is. 14:11; Mark 9:44, 46, 48worm does not die,
And their fire is not quenched.
They shall be an abhorrence to all flesh.”
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Isaiah 66: NKJV
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The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
Isaiah 66
66
True Worship
1 #
3 Macc 2.15; Mt 5.34; 23.22;
Mt 5.35. #Ac 7.49,50. The Lord said:
Heaven is my throne;
the earth is my footstool.
What kind of house
could you build for me?
In what place will I rest?
2I have made everything;
that's how it all came to be.#66.2 that's … be: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
I, the Lord, have spoken.
The people I treasure most
are the humble—
they depend only on me
and tremble when I speak.
3You sacrifice oxen to me,
and you commit murder;
you sacrifice lambs to me
and dogs to other gods;
you offer grain to me
and pigs' blood to idols;
you burn incense to me
and praise your idols.#66.3 You sacrifice oxen … idols: Or “Sacrificing oxen to me is the same as murder; sacrificing lambs to me is the same as sacrificing dogs to other gods; offering grain to me is the same as offering pigs' blood to idols; and burning incense to me is the same as praising idols.”
You have made your own choice
to do these disgusting things
that you enjoy so much.
4You refused to answer
when I called out;
you paid no attention
to my instructions.
Instead, you did what I hated,
knowing it was wrong.
Now I will punish#66.4 punish: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text. you
in a way you dread the most.
The Lord Will Help Jerusalem
5If you tremble
when the Lord speaks,
listen to what he says:
“Some of your own people hate
and reject you because of me.
They make fun and say,
‘Let the Lord show his power!
Let us see him
make you truly happy.’#66.5 Some … happy: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
But those who say these things
will be terribly ashamed.”
6Do you hear that noise
in the city and those shouts
coming from the temple?
It is the Lord shouting
as he punishes his enemies.
7 #
Rev 12.5. Have you ever heard of a woman
who gave birth to a child
before having labor pains?
8Who ever heard of such a thing
or imagined it could happen?
Can a nation be born in a day
or come to life in a second?
Jerusalem is like a mother
who gave birth to her children
as soon as she was in labor.
9The Lord is the one
who makes birth possible.
And he will see that Zion
has many more children.
The Lord has spoken.
10If you love Jerusalem,
celebrate and shout!
If you were in sorrow
because of the city,
you can now be glad.
11She will nurse and comfort you,
just like your own mother,
until you are satisfied.
You will fully enjoy
her wonderful glory.
12The Lord has promised:
“I will flood Jerusalem
with the wealth of nations
and make the city prosper.
Zion will nurse you at her breast,
carry you in her arms,
and hold you in her lap.
13I will comfort you there
like a mother
comforting her child.”
14When you see this happen,
you will celebrate;
your strength will return
faster than grass can sprout.
Then everyone will know
that the Lord provides help
for his servants,
but he is angry
with his enemies.
15The Lord will come down
like a whirlwind
with his flaming chariots.
He will be furiously angry
and punish his enemies
with fire.
16The Lord's fiery sword
will bring justice
everywhere on this earth
and execute many people.
A Threat and a Promise
17Some of you get yourselves ready and go to a garden to worship a foreign goddess.#66.17 Some … goddess: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text. You eat the meat of pigs, lizards, and mice. But I, the Lord, will destroy you for this.
18I know everything you do and think! The time has now come#66.18 I … come: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text. to bring together the people of every language and nation and to show them my glory 19by proving what I can do.#66.19 by … do: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text. I will send the survivors to Tarshish, Pul,#66.19 Pul: Hebrew; one ancient translation “Put,” a country in Africa, but neither the location of Pul or Put is known for certain. Lud, Meshech,#66.19 Meshech: One ancient translation; Hebrew “those who use bows and arrows.” Tubal, Javan,#66.19 Tarshish … Javan: Tarshish may have been a Phoenician city in Spain; Put (see note on Pul) and Lud were African people; Meshech and Tubal were regions south or southeast of the Black Sea; the Javan were people of Asia Minor and the Greek islands. and to the distant islands. I will send them to announce my wonderful glory to nations that have never heard about me.
20They will bring your relatives from the nations as an offering to me, the Lord. They will come to Jerusalem, my holy mountain, on horses, chariots, wagons, mules, and camels.#66.20 camels: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text. It will be like the people of Israel bringing the right offering to my temple. 21I promise that some of them will be priests and others will be helpers in my temple. I, the Lord, have spoken.
22 #
Is 65.17; 2 P 3.13; Rev 21.1. I also promise that you will always have descendants and will never be forgotten, just as the new heavens and the new earth that I create will last forever. 23On the first day of each month and on each Sabbath, everyone will worship me. I, the Lord, have spoken.
24 #
Jdt 16.17; Mk 9.48. My people will go out and look at the dead bodies of those who turned against me. The worms there never die, the fire never stops burning, and the sight of those bodies will be disgusting to everyone.
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© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.