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Isaiah 66
Contemporary English Version
Isaiah 66
Contemporary English Version
True Worship
66 (A)(B) 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?
2 I have made everything;
that's how it all came to be.[a]
I, the Lord, have spoken.
The people I treasure most
are the humble—
they depend only on me
and tremble when I speak.
3 You 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.[b]
You have made your own choice
to do these disgusting things
that you enjoy so much.
4 You 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[c] you
in a way you dread the most.
The Lord Will Help Jerusalem
5 If 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.’[d]
But those who say these things
will be terribly ashamed.”
6 Do 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 (C) Have you ever heard of a woman
who gave birth to a child
before having labor pains?
8 Who 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.
9 The Lord is the one
who makes birth possible.
And he will see that Zion
has many more children.
The Lord has spoken.
10 If you love Jerusalem,
celebrate and shout!
If you were in sorrow
because of the city,
you can now be glad.
11 She will nurse and comfort you,
just like your own mother,
until you are satisfied.
You will fully enjoy
her wonderful glory.
12 The 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.
13 I will comfort you there
like a mother
comforting her child.”
14 When 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.
15 The Lord will come down
like a whirlwind
with his flaming chariots.
He will be furiously angry
and punish his enemies
with fire.
16 The Lord's fiery sword
will bring justice
everywhere on this earth
and execute many people.
A Threat and a Promise
17 Some of you get yourselves ready and go to a garden to worship a foreign goddess.[e] You eat the meat of pigs, lizards, and mice. But I, the Lord, will destroy you for this.
18 I know everything you do and think! The time has now come[f] to bring together the people of every language and nation and to show them my glory 19 by proving what I can do.[g] I will send the survivors to Tarshish, Pul,[h] Lud, Meshech,[i] Tubal, Javan,[j] and to the distant islands. I will send them to announce my wonderful glory to nations that have never heard about me.
20 They 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.[k] It will be like the people of Israel bringing the right offering to my temple. 21 I promise that some of them will be priests and others will be helpers in my temple. I, the Lord, have spoken.
22 (D) 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. 23 On the first day of each month and on each Sabbath, everyone will worship me. I, the Lord, have spoken.
24 (E) 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.
Footnotes
- 66.2 that's … be: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 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.”
- 66.4 punish: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 66.5 Some … happy: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 66.17 Some … goddess: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 66.18 I … come: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 66.19 by … do: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 66.19 Pul: Hebrew; one ancient translation “Put,” a country in Africa, but neither the location of Pul or Put is known for certain.
- 66.19 Meshech: One ancient translation; Hebrew “those who use bows and arrows.”
- 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.
- 66.20 camels: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
Isaiah 66
New International Version
Isaiah 66
New International Version
Judgment and Hope
66 This is what the Lord says:
“Heaven is my throne,(A)
and the earth is my footstool.(B)
Where is the house(C) you will build for me?
Where will my resting place be?
2 Has not my hand made all these things,(D)
and so they came into being?”
declares the Lord.
“These are the ones I look on with favor:
those who are humble and contrite in spirit,(E)
and who tremble at my word.(F)
3 But whoever sacrifices a bull(G)
is like one who kills a person,
and whoever offers a lamb
is like one who breaks a dog’s neck;
whoever makes a grain offering
is like one who presents pig’s(H) blood,
and whoever burns memorial incense(I)
is like one who worships an idol.
They have chosen their own ways,(J)
and they delight in their abominations;(K)
4 so I also will choose harsh treatment for them
and will bring on them what they dread.(L)
For when I called, no one answered,(M)
when I spoke, no one listened.
They did evil(N) in my sight
and chose what displeases me.”(O)
5 Hear the word of the Lord,
you who tremble at his word:(P)
“Your own people who hate(Q) you,
and exclude you because of my name, have said,
‘Let the Lord be glorified,
that we may see your joy!’
Yet they will be put to shame.(R)
6 Hear that uproar from the city,
hear that noise from the temple!
It is the sound(S) of the Lord
repaying(T) his enemies all they deserve.
7 “Before she goes into labor,(U)
she gives birth;
before the pains come upon her,
she delivers a son.(V)
8 Who has ever heard of such things?
Who has ever seen(W) things like this?
Can a country be born in a day(X)
or a nation be brought forth in a moment?
Yet no sooner is Zion in labor
than she gives birth to her children.(Y)
9 Do I bring to the moment of birth(Z)
and not give delivery?” says the Lord.
“Do I close up the womb
when I bring to delivery?” says your God.
10 “Rejoice(AA) with Jerusalem and be glad for her,
all you who love(AB) her;
rejoice greatly with her,
all you who mourn(AC) over her.
11 For you will nurse(AD) and be satisfied
at her comforting breasts;(AE)
you will drink deeply
and delight in her overflowing abundance.”(AF)
12 For this is what the Lord says:
“I will extend peace(AG) to her like a river,(AH)
and the wealth(AI) of nations like a flooding stream;
you will nurse and be carried(AJ) on her arm
and dandled on her knees.
13 As a mother comforts her child,(AK)
so will I comfort(AL) you;
and you will be comforted over Jerusalem.”
14 When you see this, your heart will rejoice(AM)
and you will flourish(AN) like grass;
the hand(AO) of the Lord will be made known to his servants,(AP)
but his fury(AQ) will be shown to his foes.
15 See, the Lord is coming with fire,(AR)
and his chariots(AS) are like a whirlwind;(AT)
he will bring down his anger with fury,
and his rebuke(AU) with flames of fire.
16 For with fire(AV) and with his sword(AW)
the Lord will execute judgment(AX) on all people,
and many will be those slain(AY) by the Lord.
17 “Those who consecrate and purify themselves to go into the gardens,(AZ) following one who is among those who eat the flesh of pigs,(BA) rats(BB) and other unclean things—they will meet their end(BC) together with the one they follow,” declares the Lord.
18 “And I, because of what they have planned and done,(BD) am about to come[a] and gather the people of all nations(BE) and languages, and they will come and see my glory.(BF)
19 “I will set a sign(BG) among them, and I will send some of those who survive(BH) to the nations—to Tarshish,(BI) to the Libyans[b] and Lydians(BJ) (famous as archers), to Tubal(BK) and Greece,(BL) and to the distant islands(BM) that have not heard of my fame or seen my glory.(BN) They will proclaim my glory among the nations. 20 And they will bring(BO) all your people, from all the nations, to my holy mountain(BP) in Jerusalem as an offering to the Lord—on horses, in chariots and wagons, and on mules and camels,”(BQ) says the Lord. “They will bring them, as the Israelites bring their grain offerings, to the temple of the Lord in ceremonially clean vessels.(BR) 21 And I will select some of them also to be priests(BS) and Levites,” says the Lord.
22 “As the new heavens and the new earth(BT) that I make will endure before me,” declares the Lord, “so will your name and descendants endure.(BU) 23 From one New Moon to another and from one Sabbath(BV) to another, all mankind will come and bow down(BW) before me,” says the Lord. 24 “And they will go out and look on the dead bodies(BX) of those who rebelled(BY) against me; the worms(BZ) that eat them will not die, the fire that burns them will not be quenched,(CA) and they will be loathsome to all mankind.”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 66:18 The meaning of the Hebrew for this clause is uncertain.
- Isaiah 66:19 Some Septuagint manuscripts Put (Libyans); Hebrew Pul
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