Isaiah 66
66
1This is what the Lord says:
“Heaven is my throne,
and the earth is my footstool.
Could you build me a temple as good as that?
Could you build me such a resting place?
2My hands have made both heaven and earth;
they and everything in them are mine.#66:2 As in Greek, Latin, and Syriac versions; Hebrew reads these things are.
I, the Lord, have spoken!
“I will bless those who have humble and contrite hearts,
who tremble at my word.
3But those who choose their own ways—
delighting in their detestable sins—
will not have their offerings accepted.
When such people sacrifice a bull,
it is no more acceptable than a human sacrifice.
When they sacrifice a lamb,
it’s as though they had sacrificed a dog!
When they bring an offering of grain,
they might as well offer the blood of a pig.
When they burn frankincense,
it’s as if they had blessed an idol.
4I will send them great trouble—
all the things they feared.
For when I called, they did not answer.
When I spoke, they did not listen.
They deliberately sinned before my very eyes
and chose to do what they know I despise.”
5Hear this message from the Lord,
all you who tremble at his words:
“Your own people hate you
and throw you out for being loyal to my name.
‘Let the Lord be honored!’ they scoff.
‘Be joyful in him!’
But they will be put to shame.
6What is all the commotion in the city?
What is that terrible noise from the Temple?
It is the voice of the Lord
taking vengeance against his enemies.
7“Before the birth pains even begin,
Jerusalem gives birth to a son.
8Who has ever seen anything as strange as this?
Who ever heard of such a thing?
Has a nation ever been born in a single day?
Has a country ever come forth in a mere moment?
But by the time Jerusalem’s#66:8 Hebrew Zion’s. birth pains begin,
her children will be born.
9Would I ever bring this nation to the point of birth
and then not deliver it?” asks the Lord.
“No! I would never keep this nation from being born,”
says your God.
10“Rejoice with Jerusalem!
Be glad with her, all you who love her
and all you who mourn for her.
11Drink deeply of her glory
even as an infant drinks at its mother’s comforting breasts.”
12This is what the Lord says:
“I will give Jerusalem a river of peace and prosperity.
The wealth of the nations will flow to her.
Her children will be nursed at her breasts,
carried in her arms, and held on her lap.
13I will comfort you there in Jerusalem
as a mother comforts her child.”
14When you see these things, your heart will rejoice.
You will flourish like the grass!
Everyone will see the Lord’s hand of blessing on his servants—
and his anger against his enemies.
15See, the Lord is coming with fire,
and his swift chariots roar like a whirlwind.
He will bring punishment with the fury of his anger
and the flaming fire of his hot rebuke.
16The Lord will punish the world by fire
and by his sword.
He will judge the earth,
and many will be killed by him.
17“Those who ‘consecrate’ and ‘purify’ themselves in a sacred garden with its idol in the center—feasting on pork and rats and other detestable meats—will come to a terrible end,” says the Lord.
18“I can see what they are doing, and I know what they are thinking. So I will gather all nations and peoples together, and they will see my glory. 19I will perform a sign among them. And I will send those who survive to be messengers to the nations—to Tarshish, to the Libyans#66:19a As in some Greek manuscripts, which read Put [that is, Libya]; Hebrew reads Pul. and Lydians#66:19b Hebrew Lud. (who are famous as archers), to Tubal and Greece,#66:19c Hebrew Javan. and to all the lands beyond the sea that have not heard of my fame or seen my glory. There they will declare my glory to the nations. 20They will bring the remnant of your people back from every nation. They will bring them to my holy mountain in Jerusalem as an offering to the Lord. They will ride on horses, in chariots and wagons, and on mules and camels,” says the Lord. 21“And I will appoint some of them to be my priests and Levites. I, the Lord, have spoken!
22“As surely as my new heavens and earth will remain,
so will you always be my people,
with a name that will never disappear,”
says the Lord.
23“All humanity will come to worship me
from week to week
and from month to month.
24And as they go out, they will see
the dead bodies of those who have rebelled against me.
For the worms that devour them will never die,
and the fire that burns them will never go out.
All who pass by
will view them with utter horror.”
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Isaiah 66: NLT
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Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation.
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Isaiah 66
66
LXVI
1Thus saith Jehovah:
The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my foot-stool;
Where is the house that ye could build unto me?
And where is the place of my rest?
2For all these things hath mine hand made;
And all these things have been, saith Jehovah:
But to this man will I look,
To him that is humble and of a contrite spirit,
And that trembleth at my word.
3He that slayeth an ox, killeth a man;
He that sacrificeth a lamb, beheadeth a dog;
He that offereth an oblation, offereth swine’s blood;
He that burneth incense, blesseth an idol.
Yea, they have chosen their own ways,
And their soul delighteth in their abominations.
4I will also choose their calamities,
And what they dread will I bring upon them;
Because, when I called, none did answer;
When I spake, they did not hearken;
But they did that which was evil in my sight,
And chose that in which I delighted not.
5Hear ye the word of Jehovah,
Ye that tremble at his word;
Your brethren who hate you,
Who cast you out for my name’s sake, have said,
Let Jehovah be glorified that we may see your joy!
But they shall be ashamed.
6A voice of tumult from the city!
A voice from the temple!
The voice of Jehovah! rendering recompense to his enemies.
7Before she was in travail, she brought forth;
Before her pangs came, she was delivered of a man child.
8Who hath heard such a thing?
Who hath seen the like of these things?
Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day?
Or shall a nation be born at once?
For no sooner was Zion in travail, than she brought forth her children.
9Shall I bring to the birth, and not cause to bring forth? saith Jehovah:
Shall I, who beget, restrain the birth? saith your God.
10Rejoice ye with Jerusalem,
And exult on her account, all ye that love her;
Joy with her exceedingly,
All ye that mourn over her;
11That ye may suck, and be satisfied, from the breast of her consolations;
That ye may press out, and be delighted with the abundant splendour of her glory.
12For thus saith Jehovah:
Behold! I will extend peace to her like a river,
And the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream;
And ye shall suck:
Ye shall be carried at the side;
And on the knees shall ye be dandled.
13As one whom his mother comforteth,
So will I comfort you;
And in Jerusalem shall ye be comforted.
14And ye shall see it, and your heart shall rejoice;
And your bones shall flourish, like the green herb:
And the hand of Jehovah shall be known to be with his servants;
And He will be moved with indignation against his enemies.
15For, behold! Jehovah shall come with fire,
And his chariots shall be like the whirlwind,
To render his anger with a burning heat,
And his rebuke with flames of fire.
16For with fire shall Jehovah contend,
And with his sword, with all flesh;
And the slain of Jehovah shall be many.
17They that sanctify themselves, and purify themselves
In the gardens, one after another openly,
Eating swine’s flesh, and what is abomination, and the mouse,
Shall perish together, saith Jehovah.
18For 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.
19And I will set a sign among them,
And I will send those that escape of them, unto the nations;
To Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, who 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.
20And they shall bring all your brethren,
From all the nations, for an oblation to Jehovah,
Upon horses, and in chariots, and in litters,
Upon mules, and upon dromedaries,
To my holy mountain Jerusalem, saith Jehovah,
As the children of Israel bring the oblation
In a clean vessel to the house of Jehovah.
21And I will also take of them
For priests, and for Levites, saith Jehovah.
22For 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.
23And it shall be, that from new moon to new moon,
And from sabbath to sabbath,
Shall all flesh come to worship before me,
Saith Jehovah.
24And they shall go forth, and shall see
The carcases of those men, who have rebelled against me:
For their worm shall not die,
Neither shall their fire be quenched;
And they shall be an abhorrence unto all flesh.
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Translated by Rev John Jones (Ioan Tegid).Published at Oxford in 1830, second edition 1842.