Isaiah 66

The Humble and Contrite in Spirit

1 a Thus says the Lord:
b "Heaven is my throne,
and the earth is my footstool;
what is the house that you would build for me,
and what is the place of my rest?
2 c All these things my hand has made,
and so all these things came to be,
declares the Lord.
d But this is the one to whom I will look:
he who is humble and contrite in spirit
and trembles at my word.

3 e "He who slaughters an ox is like one who kills a man;
he who sacrifices a lamb, like one who breaks a dog's neck;
he who presents a grain offering, like one who offers f pig's blood;
he who makes a memorial offering of frankincense, like one who blesses an idol.
g These have chosen their own ways,
and their soul delights in their abominations;
4 h I also will choose harsh treatment for them
and bring i their fears upon them,
j because when I called, no one answered,
when I spoke, they did not listen;
k but they did what was evil in my eyes
and chose that in which I did not delight."

5 Hear the word of the Lord,
you who tremble at his word:
"Your brothers who hate you
and cast you out for my name's sake
have said, l 'Let the Lord be glorified,
that we may see your joy';
but it is they who shall be put to shame.

6 "The sound of an uproar from the city!
A sound from the temple!
The sound of the Lord,
m rendering recompense to his enemies!

Rejoice with Jerusalem

7 n "Before she was in labor
she gave birth;
before her pain came upon her
she delivered a son.
8 Who has heard such a thing?
Who has seen such things?
Shall a land be born in one day?
Shall a nation be brought forth in one moment?
For n as soon as Zion was in labor
she brought forth her children.
9 Shall I bring to the point of birth and not cause to bring forth?"
says the Lord;
"shall I, who cause to bring forth, shut the womb?"
says your God.

10 o "Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad for her,
all you who love her;
rejoice with her in joy,
all you who mourn over her;
11 that you may nurse and be satisfied
from her consoling breast;
that you may drink deeply with delight
from her glorious abundance." 1

12 For thus says the Lord:
p "Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river,
and the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream;
and q you shall nurse, you shall be carried upon her hip,
and bounced upon her knees.
13 As one whom his mother comforts,
so r I will comfort you;
you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.
14 You shall see, and your heart shall rejoice;
s your bones shall flourish like the grass;
and t the hand of the Lord shall be known to his servants,
and he shall show his indignation against his enemies.

Final Judgment and Glory of the Lord

15 "For behold, u the Lord will come in fire,
and v his chariots like the whirlwind,
to render his anger in fury,
and his rebuke with flames of fire.
16 For w by fire x will the Lord enter into judgment,
and by his sword, with all flesh;
and those slain by the Lord shall be many.

17 y "Those who sanctify and purify themselves to go into the gardens, following one in the midst, z eating pig's flesh and the abomination and mice, shall come to an end together, declares the Lord.

18 "For I know 2 their works and their thoughts, and the time is coming 3 a to gather all nations and tongues. And they shall come and shall see my glory, 19 and I will set a sign among them. And from them b I will send survivors to the nations, to c Tarshish, d Pul, and d Lud, who draw the bow, to e Tubal and e Javan, f to the coastlands far away, g that have not heard my fame or seen my glory. And they shall declare my glory among the nations. 20 h And they shall bring all your brothers from all the nations i as an offering to the Lord, on horses and in chariots and in litters and on mules and on dromedaries, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, says the Lord, just as the Israelites bring their grain offering in a clean vessel to the house of the Lord. 21 j And some of them also I will take for priests and for Levites, says the Lord.

22 "For as k the new heavens and the new earth
that I make
shall remain before me, says the Lord,
so l shall your offspring and your name remain.
23 m From new moon to new moon,
and from Sabbath to Sabbath,
all flesh shall come to worship before me,
declares the Lord.

24 "And they shall go out and look on the dead bodies of the men who have rebelled against me. For n their worm shall not die, o their fire shall not be quenched, and they shall be an abhorrence to all flesh."

  1. Cross References
    Acts 7:49 - 50
    'Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord, or what is the place of my rest?
    1 Kings 8:27
    But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you; how much less this house that I have built!
    Acts 17:24
    The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man.
  2. Cross References
    Matthew 5:34 - 35
    But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God.
  3. Cross References
    1 Chronicles 29:14
    But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able thus to offer willingly? For all things come from you, and of your own have we given you.
  4. Cross References
    Isaiah 57:15
    For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: "I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.
    Psalms 34:18
    The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.
  5. Cross References
    Isaiah 1:11
    What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices? says the Lord ; I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed beasts; I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of goats.
  6. Cross References
    Isaiah 65:4
    Who sit in tombs, and spend the night in secret places; who eat pig's flesh, and broth of tainted meat is in their vessels.
  7. Cross References
    Jeremiah 7:24
    But they did not obey or incline their ear, but walked in their own counsels and the stubbornness of their evil hearts, and went backward and not forward.
  8. Cross References
    Isaiah 30:16
    And you said, "No! We will flee upon horses"; therefore you shall flee away; and, "We will ride upon swift steeds"; therefore your pursuers shall be swift.
  9. Cross References
    Isaiah 51:12
    I, I am he who comforts you; who are you that you are afraid of man who dies, of the son of man who is made like grass.
  10. Cross References
    Isaiah 65:12
    I will destine you to the sword, and all of you shall bow down to the slaughter, because, when I called, you did not answer; when I spoke, you did not listen, but you did what was evil in my eyes and chose what I did not delight in.
  11. Cross References
    Jeremiah 7:31
    And they have built the high places of Topheth, which is in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire, which I did not command, nor did it come into my mind.
  12. Cross References
    Isaiah 5:19
    Who say: "Let him be quick, let him speed his work that we may see it; let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw near, and let it come, that we may know it!
  13. Cross References
    Isaiah 63:4
    For the day of vengeance was in my heart, and my year of redemption had come.
    Isaiah 65:6
    Behold, it is written before me: "I will not keep silent, but I will repay; I will indeed repay into their bosom
  14. Cross References
    Isaiah 13:8
    They will be dismayed: pangs and agony will seize them; they will be in anguish like a woman in labor. They will look aghast at one another; their faces will be aflame.
  15. Cross References
    Isaiah 66:7
    Before she was in labor she gave birth; before her pain came upon her she delivered a son.
  16. Cross References
    Isaiah 65:19
    I will rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in my people; no more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping and the cry of distress.
  17. Cross References
    Isaiah 48:18
    Oh that you had paid attention to my commandments! Then your peace would have been like a river, and your righteousness like the waves of the sea.
  18. Cross References
    Isaiah 60:16
    You shall suck the milk of nations; you shall nurse at the breast of kings; and you shall know that I, the Lord, am your Savior and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.
  19. Cross References
    Isaiah 51:12
    I, I am he who comforts you; who are you that you are afraid of man who dies, of the son of man who is made like grass.
    Isaiah 35:10
    And the ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
  20. Cross References
    Isaiah 58:11
    And the Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.
  21. Cross References
    Ezra 8:22
    For I was ashamed to ask the king for a band of soldiers and horsemen to protect us against the enemy on our way, since we had told the king, "The hand of our God is for good on all who seek him, and the power of his wrath is against all who forsake him.
    Ezra 8:31
    Then we departed from the river Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month, to go to Jerusalem. The hand of our God was on us, and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy and from ambushes by the way.
  22. Cross References
    Isaiah 33:14
    The sinners in Zion are afraid; trembling has seized the godless: "Who among us can dwell with the consuming fire? Who among us can dwell with everlasting burnings?
    Malachi 3:1 - 2
    Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts.
    2 Thessalonians 1:7 - 8
    And to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels
  23. Cross References
    Psalms 68:17
    The chariots of God are twice ten thousand, thousands upon thousands; the Lord is among them; Sinai is now in the sanctuary.
  24. Cross References
    Psalms 97:3
    Fire goes before him and burns up his adversaries all around.
  25. Cross References
    Joel 3:2
    I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. And I will enter into judgment with them there, on behalf of my people and my heritage Israel, because they have scattered them among the nations and have divided up my land.
  26. Cross References
    Isaiah 65:3
    A people who provoke me to my face continually, sacrificing in gardens and making offerings on bricks.
    Isaiah 65:5
    Who say, "Keep to yourself, do not come near me, for I am too holy for you." These are a smoke in my nostrils, a fire that burns all the day.
  27. Cross References
    Isaiah 65:4
    Who sit in tombs, and spend the night in secret places; who eat pig's flesh, and broth of tainted meat is in their vessels.
  28. Cross References
    Isaiah 2:2
    It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be lifted up above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it.
    Zechariah 14:16
    Then everyone who survives of all the nations that have come against Jerusalem shall go up year after year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Booths.
  29. Cross References
    Isaiah 45:20
    Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, you survivors of the nations! They have no knowledge who carry about their wooden idols, and keep on praying to a god that cannot save.
  30. Cross References
    1 Kings 10:22
    For the king had a fleet of ships of Tarshish at sea with the fleet of Hiram. Once every three years the fleet of ships of Tarshish used to come bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.
  31. Cross References
    Jeremiah 46:9
    Advance, O horses, and rage, O chariots! Let the warriors go out: men of Cush and Put who handle the shield, men of Lud, skilled in handling the bow.
    Ezekiel 27:10
    Persia and Lud and Put were in your army as your men of war. They hung the shield and helmet in you; they gave you splendor.
  32. Cross References
    Jeremiah 46:9
    Advance, O horses, and rage, O chariots! Let the warriors go out: men of Cush and Put who handle the shield, men of Lud, skilled in handling the bow.
    Ezekiel 27:10
    Persia and Lud and Put were in your army as your men of war. They hung the shield and helmet in you; they gave you splendor.
  33. Cross References
    Genesis 10:2
    The sons of Japheth: Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras.
    Ezekiel 27:13
    Javan, Tubal, and Meshech traded with you; they exchanged human beings and vessels of bronze for your merchandise.
  34. Cross References
    Genesis 10:2
    The sons of Japheth: Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras.
    Ezekiel 27:13
    Javan, Tubal, and Meshech traded with you; they exchanged human beings and vessels of bronze for your merchandise.
  35. Cross References
    Genesis 10:5
    From these the coastland peoples spread in their lands, each with his own language, by their clans, in their nations.
  36. Cross References
    Romans 15:20 - 21
    And thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else's foundation.
  37. Cross References
    Isaiah 14:2
    And the peoples will take them and bring them to their place, and the house of Israel will possess them in the Lord 's land as male and female slaves. They will take captive those who were their captors, and rule over those who oppressed them.
    Isaiah 49:22
    Thus says the Lord God : "Behold, I will lift up my hand to the nations, and raise my signal to the peoples; and they shall bring your sons in their bosom, and your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders.
  38. Cross References
    Romans 15:16
    To be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
  39. Cross References
    Isaiah 61:6
    But you shall be called the priests of the Lord ; they shall speak of you as the ministers of our God; you shall eat the wealth of the nations, and in their glory you shall boast.
    Exodus 19:6
    And you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.
    1 Peter 2:9
    But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
    Revelation 1:6
    And made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
  40. Cross References
    Isaiah 65:17
    For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind.
  41. Cross References
    Isaiah 53:10
    Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
    Psalms 89:29
    I will establish his offspring forever and his throne as the days of the heavens.
  42. Cross References
    Psalms 86:9
    All the nations you have made shall come and worship before you, O Lord, and shall glorify your name.
    Zechariah 14:16
    Then everyone who survives of all the nations that have come against Jerusalem shall go up year after year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Booths.
  43. Cross References
    Mark 9:48
    'where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.'
  44. Cross References
    Revelation 21:8
    But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.
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