Isaiah 66
66
God Will Judge All Nations
1This is what the Lord says:
“The skies are my throne.
The earth is my footstool.
So do you think you can build a house for me?
There is no place where I need 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.
They are those who are not proud or stubborn.
They fear me and obey me.
3But those people who kill bulls as a sacrifice to me
are like those who kill men.
Those who kill sheep as a sacrifice to me
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.# God did not want his people to offer dogs and pigs as sacrifices because they were unclean animals.
Those who burn incense
are like those who worship idols.
These people choose their own ways—not mine.
They love the terrible things they do.
4So I will punish them.
I will punish them using what they fear most.
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.
They turned against you because you followed me.
Your brothers said, ‘When the Lord is honored,
we will come back and rejoice with you.’
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.
He is 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 she feels the pain of birth.
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 day.
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 enjoy her good things 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 flowing to her.
Like babies you will be nursed and held in my arms.
You will be 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.
You will grow like the grass.
The Lord’s servants will see his power.
But the Lord’s enemies will see his anger.
15Look, the Lord is coming with fire.
The Lord’s armies are coming 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.
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 false gods in their gardens. They follow each other into their special gardens. They eat the meat of pigs and rats and other hated 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. All people 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. I will send them 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. They have never 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. They will bring them to my holy mountain in Jerusalem. Your fellow Israelites will come on horses, donkeys, 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 some of these people to be priests and Levites,” says the Lord.
22“I will make new heavens and the new earth. And they 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. They 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. The fires that burn them will never stop. And everyone will hate to see those bodies.”
Isaiah 7
Isaiah 8
Isaiah 11
Isaiah 15
Isaiah 21
Isaiah 22
Isaiah 30
Isaiah 38
Isaiah 41
Isaiah 44
Isaiah 48
Isaiah 66
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Isaiah 66: ICB
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Copyright © 2015 by Tommy Nelson™, a Division of Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
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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