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 o 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  p “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.” ▼
▼ Or breast

 12  For thus says the  Lord:
r “Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river,
and the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream;
and s you shall nurse, you shall be carried upon her hip,
and bounced upon her knees.
 13 As one whom his mother comforts,
so t I will comfort you;
you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.
 14 You shall see, and your heart shall rejoice;
u your bones shall flourish like the grass;
and v 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, w the  Lord will come in fire,
and x his chariots like the whirlwind,
to render his anger in fury,
and his rebuke with flames of fire.
 16 For y by fire z will the  Lord enter into judgment,
and by his sword, with all flesh;
and those slain by the  Lord shall be many.

17  aa “Those who sanctify and purify themselves to go into the gardens, following one in the midst ab eating pig’s flesh and the abomination and mice, shall come to an end together, declares the  Lord.

18 “For I know ▼
▼ Septuagint, Syriac; Hebrew lacks  know
 their works and their thoughts, and the time is coming ▼
▼ Hebrew  and it is coming
 ae 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 af I will send survivors to the nations, to ag Tarshish, ah Pul, and ai Lud, who draw the bow, to aj Tubal and ak Javan, al to the coastlands far away, am that have not heard my fame or seen my glory. And they shall declare my glory among the nations. 20  an And they shall bring all your brothers from all the nations ao 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  ap And some of them also I will take for priests and for Levites, says the  Lord.

22  “For as aq the new heavens and the new earth
that I make
shall remain before me, says the  Lord,
so ar shall your offspring and your name remain.
 23  as 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 at their worm shall not die au their fire shall not be quenched, and they shall be an abhorrence to all flesh.”

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