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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Isaiah 66: CEVDCI
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.
Isaiah 66
66
Final Judgment and Joyous Restoration
1This is what the Lord says:
Heaven#Ac 7:49–50 is my throne,#Ps 11:4; Mt 5:34–35; 23:22
and earth is my footstool.#1Ch 28:2; Ps 99:5
Where could you possibly build a house for me?
And where would my resting place be?#2Sm 7:5; 1Kg 8:27; Jr 23:24
2My hand made all these things,
and so they all came into being.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
I will look favorably on this kind of person:
one who is humble,#Ps 86:1; Pr 16:19; Mt 11:29 submissive#66:2 Lit broken in spirit,#Ps 34:18; Mt 5:3; 1Tm 2:11
and trembles at my word.
3One person slaughters an ox, another kills a person;
one person sacrifices a lamb, another breaks a dog’s neck;
one person offers a grain offering, another offers pig’s blood;
one person offers incense, another praises an idol —
all these have chosen their ways
and delight in their abhorrent practices.#Am 5:21–25
4So I will choose their punishment,
and I will bring on them what they dread
because I called and no one answered;
I spoke and they did not listen;
they did what was evil in my sight
and chose what I did not delight in.#2Kg 21:2,6; Is 59:7; 65:12; Jr 7:30
5You who tremble at his word,#Ezr 9:4; 10:3
hear the word of the Lord:#Is 28:14
“Your brothers who hate and exclude you
for my name’s sake have said,#Mt 5:10–12; 10:22; Jn 9:34; 15:18–20
‘Let the Lord be glorified
so that we can see your joy!’
But they will be put to shame.”#Is 26:11; 44:9; 65:13
6A sound of uproar from the city!
A voice from the temple —
the voice of the Lord,
paying back his enemies what they deserve!#Is 59:18; 65:6; Jl 3:7
7Before Zion was in labor, she gave birth;
before she was in pain, she delivered a boy.
8Who has heard of such a thing?
Who has seen such things?
Can a land be born in one day
or a nation be delivered in an instant?
Yet as soon as Zion was in labor,
she gave birth to her sons.
9“Will I bring a baby to the point of birth
and not deliver it?”
says the Lord;
“or will I who deliver, close the womb?”
says your God.
10Be glad for Jerusalem and rejoice over her,
all who love her.#Ps 122:6; 137:6; Is 65:18
Rejoice greatly with her,
all who mourn over her —
11so that you may nurse and be satisfied
from her comforting breast
and drink deeply and delight yourselves
from her glorious breasts.
12For this is what the Lord says:
I will make peace flow to her like a river,#Ps 72:3,7; Is 48:18
and the wealth#66:12 Or glory of nations like a flood;#Is 61:6
you will nurse and be carried on her hip#Is 60:4–5
and bounced on her lap.
13As a mother comforts her son,
so I will comfort you,#Ps 86:17; Is 40:1; 49:13; 51:13; 52:9; 2Co 1:3–4
and you will be comforted in Jerusalem.
14You will see, you will rejoice,
and you#66:14 Lit your bones will flourish like grass;#Ps 72:16; Pr 11:28; Is 58:11
then the Lord’s power will be revealed to his servants,
but he will show his wrath against his enemies.
15Look, the Lord will come with fire#Is 33:14; Mal 3:1–2; 2Th 1:7–8; 2Pt 3:7 —
his chariots are like the whirlwind#Ps 68:17; Is 5:28; Hab 3:8 —
to execute his anger with fury
and his rebuke with flames of fire.
16For the Lord will execute judgment
on all humanity#Gn 6:12; Jr 12:12; 25:31; Ezk 20:48; 21:4–5 with his fiery sword,
and many will be slain by the Lord.
17“Those who dedicate and purify themselves to enter the groves#Is 65:3–5 following their leader,#66:17 Hb obscure eating meat from pigs, vermin,#66:17 Lit abhorrent things and rats, will perish together.”
This is the Lord’s declaration.
18“Knowing#66:18 LXX, Syr; MT omits Knowing their works and their thoughts, I have come to gather all nations and languages;#Is 45:22–25; Jr 3:17 they will come and see my glory. 19I will establish a sign among them, and I will send survivors from them to the nations — to Tarshish, Put,#66:19 LXX; MT reads Pul Lud (who are archers), Tubal, Javan,#Gn 10:2,5; 1Kg 10:22; Jr 46:9; Ezk 27:10,13 and the coasts and islands far away — who have not heard about me or seen my glory. And they will proclaim my glory among the nations.#1Ch 16:24; Ps 96:3 20They will bring all your brothers from all the nations as a gift to the Lord on horses and chariots, in litters, and on mules and camels, to my holy mountain Jerusalem,”#Ps 2:6; Is 56:7; Ezk 20:40; Jl 3:17 says the Lord, “just as the Israelites bring an offering in a clean vessel to the house of the Lord. 21I will also take some of them as priests and Levites,”#Ex 19:6; Is 61:6; 1Pt 2:5,9; Rv 1:6 says the Lord.
22“For just as the new heavens and the new earth,#Is 65:17; Heb 12:26–27; 2Pt 3:13; Rv 21:1
which I will make,
will remain before me” —
this is the Lord’s declaration —
“so your offspring and your name will remain.
23All humanity will come to worship me
from one New Moon to another
and from one Sabbath to another,”
says the Lord.
24“As they leave, they will see the dead bodies of those who have rebelled against me;#Is 1:2; 5:25; 34:3 for their worm#Jb 7:5; Is 14:11 will never die, their fire will never go out,#Mk 9:48 and they will be a horror to all humanity.”#Dn 12:2
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