Isaiah 66

Berean Standard Bible · Compare translations · 700 BC – 500 BC · Return & rebuilding · Tap a verse to copy, share or highlight ·

24 verses · 773 words · ~4 min read · ~5 min listen

Heaven Is My Throne

¹This is what the Lord says:

“Heaven is My throne,

and earth is My footstool.

What kind of house will you build for Me?

Or where will My place of repose be?

²Has not My hand made all these things?

And so they came into being,”

declares the Lord.

“This is the one I will esteem:

he who is humble and contrite in spirit,

who trembles at My word.

³Whoever slaughters an ox is like one who slays a man;

whoever sacrifices a lamb is like one who breaks a dogʼs neck;

whoever presents a grain offering is like one who offers pigʼs blood;

whoever offers frankincense is like one who blesses an idol.

Indeed, they have chosen their own ways

and delighted in their abominations.

⁴So I will choose their punishment

and I will bring terror upon them,

because I called and no one answered,

I spoke and no one listened.

But they did evil in My sight

and chose that in which I did not delight.”

⁵You who tremble at His word,

hear the word of the Lord:

“Your brothers who hate you

and exclude you because of My name

have said, ‘Let the Lord be glorified

that we may see your joy!’

But they will be put to shame.”

⁶Hear the uproar from the city;

listen to the voice from the temple!

It is the voice of the Lord,

repaying His enemies what they deserve!

Rejoice with Jerusalem

⁷“Before she was in labor, she gave birth;

before she was in pain, she delivered a boy.

⁸Who has heard of such as this?

Who has seen such things?

Can a country be born in a day

or a nation be delivered in an instant?

Yet as soon as Zion was in labor,

she gave birth to her children.

⁹Shall I bring a baby to the point of birth and not deliver it?”

says the Lord.

“Or will I who deliver close the womb?”

says your God.

¹⁰Be glad for Jerusalem and rejoice over her,

all who love her.

Rejoice greatly with her,

all who mourn over her,

¹¹so that you may nurse and be satisfied

at her comforting breasts;

you may drink deeply and delight yourselves

in her glorious abundance.

¹²For this is what the Lord says:

“I will extend peace to her like a river,

and the wealth of nations like a flowing stream;

you will nurse and be carried on her arm,

and bounced upon her knees.

¹³As a mother comforts her son,

so will I comfort you,

and you will be consoled over Jerusalem.”

¹⁴When you see, you will rejoice,

and you will flourish like grass;

then the hand of the Lord will be revealed to His servants,

but His wrath will be shown to His enemies.

Final Judgments against the Wicked

¹⁵For behold, the Lord will come with fire—

His chariots are like a whirlwind—

to execute His anger with fury

and His rebuke with flames of fire.

¹⁶For by fire and by His sword,

the Lord will execute judgment on all flesh,

and many will be slain by the Lord.

¹⁷“Those who consecrate and purify themselves to enter the groves—to follow one in the center of those who eat the flesh of swine and vermin and rats—will perish together,” declares the Lord.

¹⁸“And I, knowing their deeds and thoughts, am coming to gather all nations and tongues, and they will come and see My glory.

¹⁹I will establish a sign among them, and I will send survivors from among them to the nations—to Tarshish, Put, and the archers of Lud; to Tubal, Javan, and the islands far away who have not heard of My fame or seen My glory.

So they will proclaim My glory among the nations. ²⁰And they will bring all your brothers from all the nations as a gift to the Lord on horses and chariots and wagons, on mules and camels, to My holy mountain Jerusalem,” says the Lord, “just as the Israelites bring an offering in a clean vessel to the house of the Lord.”

²¹“And I will select some of them as priests and Levites,” says the Lord.

²²“For just as the new heavens and the new earth,

which I will make, will endure before Me,”

declares the Lord,

“so your descendants and your name will endure.

²³From one New Moon to another

and from one Sabbath to another,

all mankind will come to worship before Me,”

says the Lord.

²⁴“As they go forth, they will see the corpses

of the men who have rebelled against Me;

for their worm will never die,

their fire will never be quenched,

and they will be a horror

to all mankind.”

Footnotes (5)

a v2 Cited in Acts 7:49–50
b v18 Literally And I, their deeds and their thoughts, am coming
c v19 Or coastlands
d v22 LXX the new heaven and the new earth; see also Isaiah 65:17and Revelation 21:1.
e v24 Cited in Mark 9:48

Study notes on this chapter · 2

Prophecy & fulfillmentLinked by the New Testament

New heavens and a new earth

Isaiah promises that God will create new heavens and a new earth, and former things will not be remembered. Peter says believers wait for these according to his promise, and John sees a new heaven and earth with no more sea. Christians differ on whether the new creation renews this world or replaces it.

When: Isaiah, c. 700–540 BC; 2 Peter, c. AD 60–68; Revelation, c. AD 90s.

Original passageIsaiah 65:17–25Isaiah 66:22

Where the New Testament applies it2 Peter 3:10–13Revelation 21:1–5

Ways people read this (3)

Renewal: the present creation is transformed and purified, as a resurrected body is continuous with the old.
Replacement: the present heavens and earth are destroyed and a new creation takes their place.
Isaiah 65:20 describes death and birth in the new age, which some take as symbolic and others as a stage before the final state.

Editorial note by BibleWay. Interpretations vary; dates are approximate scholarly estimates.

QuotationLinked by the New Testament

Heaven is my throne

Stephen cites Isaiah to argue that the Most High does not dwell in houses made with hands. Isaiah's words, that heaven is God's throne and earth his footstool, relativize any building, including the temple.

When: Isaiah, c. 700–540 BC; Stephen's speech, c. AD 31–35.

Original passageIsaiah 66:1–2

Where the New Testament applies itActs 7:47–50

Editorial note by BibleWay. Interpretations vary; dates are approximate scholarly estimates.

See all prophecy & fulfillment notes →