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Isaiah 66

KJV · Chapter 66/66

1Thus saith the Lord, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest?

2For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the Lord: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.

3He that killeth an ox is as if he slew a man; he that sacrificeth a lamb, as if he cut off a dog’s neck; he that offereth an oblation, as if he offered swine’s blood; he that burneth incense, as if he blessed an idol. Yea, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delighteth in their abominations.

4I also will choose their delusions, and will bring their fears upon them; because when I called, none did answer; when I spake, they did not hear: but they did evil before mine eyes, and chose that in which I delighted not.

5Hear the word of the Lord, ye that tremble at his word; Your brethren that hated you, that cast you out for my name’s sake, said, Let the Lord be glorified: but he shall appear to your joy, and they shall be ashamed.

6A voice of noise from the city, a voice from the temple, a voice of the Lord that rendereth recompence to his enemies.

7Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of a man child.

8Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children.

9Shall I bring to the birth, and not cause to bring forth? saith the Lord: shall I cause to bring forth, and shut the womb? saith thy God.

10Rejoice ye with Jerusalem, and be glad with her, all ye that love her: rejoice for joy with her, all ye that mourn for her:

11That ye may suck, and be satisfied with the breasts of her consolations; that ye may milk out, and be delighted with the abundance of her glory.

12For thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream: then shall ye suck, ye shall be borne upon her sides, and be dandled upon her knees.

13As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you; and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem.

14And when ye see this, your heart shall rejoice, and your bones shall flourish like an herb: and the hand of the Lord shall be known toward his servants, and his indignation toward his enemies.

15For, behold, the Lord will come with fire, and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire.

16For by fire and by his sword will the Lord plead with all flesh: and the slain of the Lord shall be many.

17They that sanctify themselves, and purify themselves in the gardens behind one tree in the midst, eating swine’s flesh, and the abomination, and the mouse, shall be consumed together, saith the Lord.

18For I know their works and their thoughts: it shall come, that I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come, and see my glory.

19And I will set a sign among them, and I will send those that escape of them unto the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, that draw the bow, to Tubal, and Javan, to the isles afar off, that have not heard my fame, neither have seen my glory; and they shall declare my glory among the Gentiles.

20And they shall bring all your brethren for an offering unto the Lord out of all nations upon horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and upon mules, and upon swift beasts, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, saith the Lord, as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the Lord.

21And I will also take of them for priests and for Levites, saith the Lord.

22For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your name remain.

23And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord.

24And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

The book closes with God declaring that the heavens are his throne and the earth his footstool, valuing a humble heart above ritual sacrifices. He promises a sudden, miraculous restoration of Zion, gathering all nations to worship him, with a final warning about the eternal fate of the rebellious.

Explanation

The final chapter returns to the theme that God does not need temples or sacrifices as though he depended on them ("where is the house that ye build unto me?"), but values above all the one who is "poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word" — a summary of the whole book's message that genuine humility outweighs empty ritual. The image of a nation "born" in a single day is a powerful metaphor of instant, miraculous restoration, contrasting with the normally slow historical processes of national rebuilding. The end of the book broadens the vision to include "all nations and tongues" gathered to see God's glory, closing, however, with a solemn warning about those who rebel, whose "worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched" — an image quoted by Jesus in the New Testament (Mark 9:48) to describe eternal judgment. The book's final practical application is that true worship lies in a humble, obedient heart, and that God's promise of restoration, while it includes serious judgment on persistent rebellion, is ultimately a message of universal invitation into his glory.

Fun facts

  • The closing phrase about "their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched" is quoted directly by Jesus in Mark 9:48 to describe warnings about eternal judgment, making it one of the most frequently used images in Christian tradition on this subject.
  • The Great Isaiah Scroll found at Qumran (the Dead Sea Scrolls) preserves this final chapter almost identical to the Hebrew text used in modern translations, demonstrating remarkable fidelity in the transmission of the text over more than two thousand years.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Isaiah 66:1Heaven as a throne and earth as a footstool answers a question never actually asked. No temple built by human hands can truly contain God, however magnificent it may be.
  2. Isaiah 66:2After asking what temple could contain God, the text answers with a different standard of value: not the building, but whoever is poor, humble, and trembles at God’s word is who really matters.
  3. Isaiah 66:3Comparing permitted animal sacrifices to abominable acts, like offering pig’s blood or blessing an idol, is an extreme criticism: even the correct ritual loses its meaning when performed by someone who chooses their own way instead of obeying.
  4. Isaiah 66:4“I also will choose their delusions” and “will bring their fears upon them” describe a retribution that mirrors the rejection: just as the people chose to ignore God’s call, He chooses to let them face exactly what they feared.
  5. Isaiah 66:5Brothers who hate and exclude others “for my name’s sake” describe religious persecution within the people itself, and the promise that these persecutors will be put to shame comforts those who suffer this rejection.
  6. Isaiah 66:6“A voice of noise” coming from the city and the temple describes God’s action as a loud, public sound, the moment of retribution against His enemies announced audibly, not silently.
  7. Isaiah 66:7A birth without the labor pains that would normally come first describes the nation’s restoration as something sudden. It’s a way of saying this change will happen without the prolonged suffering that usually accompanies this kind of turnaround.
  8. Isaiah 66:8The question whether a land can “bring forth in one day” or a nation be “born at once” sets up the image of an instant, unprecedented birth, used to describe Zion’s sudden restoration.
  9. Isaiah 66:9“Shall I bring to the birth, and not cause to bring forth?” guarantees that God will not interrupt a process He Himself started, answering the birth image of the previous verse with a promise of certain completion.
  10. Isaiah 66:10Calling all who love and wept for Jerusalem to now rejoice with her marks the chapter’s shift in tone: from collective lament to collective celebration over the same city.
  11. Isaiah 66:11Nursing and being satisfied with “the breasts of her consolations” extends the image of Jerusalem as mother used in other chapters, here applied to the experience of finally enjoying the city’s restoration.
  12. Isaiah 66:12The image of nursing and being carried on the hip continues the comparison of Jerusalem to a mother, caring for the people like a small child. It’s another way of describing the care that follows so much time of exile and abandonment.
  13. Isaiah 66:13Comparing God’s comfort to that of a mother comforting her child is one of the book’s most direct and tender images, applied once again to Jerusalem itself as the place where this comfort will happen.
  14. Isaiah 66:14“Your bones shall flourish like an herb” describes physical, vital renewal, and the same event that brings joy to God’s servants brings indignation against His enemies — two sides of the same occurrence.
  15. Isaiah 66:15God arriving “with fire,” with chariots “like a whirlwind,” shifts the tone from comfort to judgment, an image of violent storm reserved for the second half of the chapter.
  16. Isaiah 66:16“By fire and by his sword” as instruments of judgment “with all flesh” extend the reach of judgment beyond Israel, including any nation or person under this final scrutiny.
  17. Isaiah 66:17The list of condemned practices, purification in gardens, pig’s flesh, mice, repeats religious criticisms already made in other chapters against rituals of pagan origin, gathered here as grounds for total destruction.
  18. Isaiah 66:18“I will gather all nations and tongues” expands the reach of God’s revelation far beyond Israel, going against any expectation that the final glory would be only for the people themselves.
  19. Isaiah 66:19Tarshish, Pul, Lud, Tubal, and Javan are names of peoples and distant regions known in that era’s geography, from the Mediterranean to Anatolia; sending survivors to these places describes a mission to announce God’s glory globally.
  20. Isaiah 66:20Bringing the “brethren” back on horses, chariots, litters, and camels, like an offering in clean vessels to the temple, turns the very return of the exiles into a kind of ceremonial offering to God.
  21. Isaiah 66:21Taking some from among the foreign nations to serve as “priests and for Levites” is a startling opening: a role once restricted to a specific lineage of Israel now comes to include people from outside.
  22. Isaiah 66:22New heavens and a new earth reappear here, echoing the same promise from chapter 65, now used to guarantee that the people’s descendants and name will last as long as this new creation.
  23. Isaiah 66:23Worshiping “from one new moon to another” and “from one sabbath to another” describes continuous, regular worship without interruption, practiced by “all flesh,” including the nations once left outside.
  24. Isaiah 66:24The bodies of those who rebelled against God, left outside the city and consumed by worm and fire that never stop, close the book as a scene of final judgment. It’s an image that echoes in later biblical texts about definitive punishment, but here without spelling out any afterlife doctrine.

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