Isaiah 66 — Legacy Standard Bible

Heaven Is Yahweh’s Throne

66Thus says Yahweh, “^aHeaven is My throne, and the earth is the footstool of My feet.Where then is a ^bhouse you could build for Me?And where is a place that ¹I may rest?

²“For ^aMy hand made all these things,Thus all these things came into being,” declares Yahweh.“But to this one I will look,To him who is humble and ^bcontrite of spirit, and who ^ctrembles at My word.³“But he who slaughters an ox is the one who strikes down a man;He who sacrifices a lamb is the one who breaks a dog’s neck;He who offers a grain offering is the one who offers ^aswine’s blood;He who ^boffers a memorial offering of frankincense is the one who blesses wickedness.As they have chosen their ^cown ways,And their soul takes pleasure in their ^ddetestable things,⁴So I will ^achoose their ¹punishmentsAnd will ^bbring on them what they dread,Because I called, but ^cno one answered;I spoke, but they did not listen.And they did what was ^devil in My eyesAnd chose that in which I did not take pleasure.”⁵Hear the word of Yahweh, you who ^atremble at His word:“Your brothers who ^bhate you, who ^cexclude you for My name’s sake,Have said, ‘Let Yahweh be glorified, that we may see your gladness.’But ^dthey will be put to shame.⁶“A voice of rumbling from the city, a voice from the temple,The voice of Yahweh who is ^apaying recompense to His enemies.⁷“Before she was in labor pains, ^ashe gave birth;Before her pangs came, ^bshe delivered a male child.⁸“^aWho has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things?Can a land be ¹brought forth through labor pains in one day?Can a nation be born all at once?As soon as Zion was in labor pains, she also gave birth to her sons.⁹“Shall I bring to the point of breaking forth and ^anot cause birth?” says Yahweh.“Or shall I who causes birth shut the womb?” says your God.

Joy in Jerusalem’s Future

¹⁰“Be ^aglad with Jerusalem and rejoice for her, all you who ^blove her;Be exceedingly ^cjoyful with her, all you who mourn over her,¹¹That you may nurse and ^abe satisfied with her comforting breasts,That you may suck and be delighted with her ^bbountiful bosom.”¹²For thus says Yahweh, “Behold, I stretch out ^apeace to her like a river,And the ^bglory of the nations like an overflowing stream;And you will ¹be nursed; you will be ^ccarried on the ²hip and played with on the knees.¹³“As one whom his mother comforts, so I will ^acomfort you;And you will be comforted in Jerusalem.”¹⁴Then you will ^asee this, and your ^bheart will be joyful,And your ^cbones will flourish like the new grass;And the ^dhand of Yahweh will be made known to His slaves,But He will be ^eindignant toward His enemies.¹⁵For behold, Yahweh will come in ^afireAnd His ^bchariots like the whirlwind,To return His anger with wrath,And His rebuke with flames of fire.¹⁶For Yahweh will execute judgment by ^afireAnd by His ^bsword on all flesh,And those slain by Yahweh will be many.¹⁷“Those who sanctify and purify themselves to go to the ^agardens,¹Following one in the center,Who eat ^bswine’s flesh, detestable things, and mice,Will ^ccome to an end altogether,” declares Yahweh.

¹⁸“And I ¹know their works and their ^athoughts; ²the time is coming to ^bgather all nations and tongues. And they shall come and see My glory. ¹⁹“I will set a ^asign among them and will send those who have escaped from them to the nations: ^bTarshish, ¹Put, ^cLud, ²Meshech, ^dTubal, and ³Javan, to the distant ^ecoastlands that have neither heard My report nor seen My glory. And they will ^fdeclare My glory among the nations. ²⁰“Then they shall ^abring all your brothers from all the nations as a grain offering to Yahweh, on horses, in chariots, in litters, on mules, and on camels, to My ^bholy mountain Jerusalem,” says Yahweh, “just as the sons of Israel bring their grain offering in a ^cclean vessel to the house of Yahweh. ²¹“I will also take some of them for ^apriests and for Levites,” says Yahweh.

²²“For just as the ^anew heavens and the new earthWhich I make will endure before Me,” declares Yahweh,“So your ^bseed and your ^cname will endure.²³“And it shall be from ^anew moon to new moonAnd from sabbath to sabbath,All ¹mankind will come to ^bworship before Me,” says Yahweh.²⁴“Then they will go forth and lookOn the ^acorpses of the menWho have ¹^,^btransgressed against Me.For their ^cworm will not die^dAnd their fire will not be quenched;And they will be an object of ^econtempt to all ²mankind.”