Isaiah 66
66
1Thus said Jehovah: The heavens [are] My throne, And the earth My footstool, Where [is] this — the house that ye build for Me? And where [is] this — the place — My rest?
2And all these My hand hath made, And all these things are, An affirmation of Jehovah! And unto this one I look attentively, Unto the humble and bruised in spirit, And who is trembling at My word.
3Whoso slaughtereth the ox smiteth a man, Whoso sacrificeth the lamb beheadeth a dog, Whoso is bringing up a present — The blood of a sow, Whoso is making mention of frankincense, Is blessing iniquity. Yea, they have fixed on their own ways, And in their abominations their soul hath delighted.
4I also — I fix on their vexations, And their fears I bring in to them, Because I have called, and there is none answering, I spake, and they have not hearkened, And they do the evil things in Mine eyes, And on that which I desired not — fixed.
5Hear a word of Jehovah, Ye who are trembling unto His word, Said have your brethren who are hating you, Who are driving you out, for My name's sake: ‘Honoured is Jehovah, and we look on your joy,’ But they are ashamed.
6A voice of noise [is] from the city, a voice from the temple, The voice of Jehovah, giving recompence to His enemies.
7Before she is pained she hath brought forth, Before a pang cometh to her, She hath delivered a male.
8Who hath heard anything like this? Who hath seen anything like these? Is earth caused to bring forth in one day? Born is a nation at once? For she hath been pained, Zion also hath borne her sons.
9‘Do I bring to the birth, And not cause to bring forth?’ saith Jehovah, ‘Am not I He who is causing to beget? I have also restrained,’ said thy God.
10Rejoice ye with Jerusalem, And be glad in her, all ye loving her, Rejoice ye with her for joy, All ye are mourning for her,
11So that ye suck, and have been satisfied, From the breast of her consolations, So that ye wring out, and have delighted yourselves From the abundance of her honour.
12For thus said Jehovah: ‘Lo, I am stretching out to her peace as a river, And as an overflowing stream the honour of nations, And ye have sucked, on the side ye are carried, And on the knees ye are dandled.
13As one whom his mother comforteth, so do I comfort you, Yea, in Jerusalem ye are comforted.
14And ye have seen, and rejoiced hath your heart, And your bones as tender grass do flourish, And the hand of Jehovah hath been known unto His servants, And He hath been indignant with His enemies.
15For, lo, Jehovah in fire cometh, And as a hurricane His chariots, To refresh in fury His anger, And His rebuke in flames of fire.
16For by fire and by His sword, Doth Jehovah do judgment with all flesh. And many have been Jehovah's pierced ones.’
17Those sanctifying and cleansing themselves at the gardens, After Ahad in the midst, Eating flesh of the sow, And of the abomination, and of the mouse, Together are consumed, An affirmation of Jehovah.
18And I — their works and their thoughts, I come to gather all the nations and tongues, And they have come and seen My honour.
19And I have set among them a sign, And have sent out of them those escaping unto the nations, (Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, drawing bow, Tubal and Javan, the isles that are far off,) Who have not heard My fame, nor seen Mine honour, And they have declared Mine honour among nations.
20And they have brought all your brethren out of all the nations, A present to Jehovah, On horses, and on chariot, and on litters, And on mules, and on dromedaries, Unto My holy mountain Jerusalem, said Jehovah, As the sons of Israel bring the present in a clean vessel, Into the house of Jehovah.
21And also of them I take for priests, For Levites, said Jehovah.
22For, as the new heavens and the new earth that I am making, Are standing before Me, An affirmation of Jehovah! So remain doth your seed and your name.
23And it hath been from month to month, And from sabbath to sabbath, Come do all flesh to bow themselves before Me, Said Jehovah.
24And they have gone forth, And looked on the carcases of the men Who are transgressing against me, For their worm dieth not, And their fire is not quenched, And they have been an abhorrence to all flesh!
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Isaiah 66: YLT98
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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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