Isaiah 66 · WEB

The Lord's Final Glory and Judgment

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Thus says Yahweh, "Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house would you build for me? Where will I rest?

²For my hand has made all these things, and so all these things came to be," says Yahweh. "But I will look to this man, even to him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at my word.

³He who kills an ox is as he who kills a man; he who sacrifices a lamb, as he who breaks a dog's neck; he who offers a grain offering, as he who offers pig's blood; he who burns frankincense, as he who blesses an idol. Yes, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delights in their abominations.

⁴I also will choose their delusions, and will bring their fears on them, because when I called, no one answered; when I spoke, they didn't listen; but they did that which was evil in my eyes, and chose that in which I didn't delight."

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

⁶A voice of tumult from the city, a voice from the temple, the voice of Yahweh who renders recompense to his enemies.

⁷"Before she travailed, she gave birth. Before her pain came, she delivered a son.

⁸Who has heard of such a thing? Who has seen such things? Shall a land be born in one day? Shall a nation be brought forth at once? For as soon as Zion travailed, she gave birth to her children.

⁹Shall I bring a child to the point of birth, and not cause them to be delivered?" says Yahweh. "Shall I who cause delivery shut up the womb?" says your God.

¹⁰"Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad for her, all you who love her. Rejoice for joy with her, all you who mourn over her;

¹¹that you may nurse and be satisfied at the comforting breasts; that you may drink deeply, and be delighted with the abundance of her glory."

¹²For thus says Yahweh, "Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream. You will nurse. You will be carried on her side, and will be dandled on her knees.

¹³As one whom his mother comforts, so will I comfort you. You will be comforted in Jerusalem."

¹⁴You will see it, and your heart will rejoice, and your bones will flourish like the tender grass. Yahweh's hand will be known toward his servants, and he will have indignation against his enemies.

¹⁵For, behold, Yahweh will come with fire, and his chariots will be like the whirlwind; to render his anger with fierceness, and his rebuke with flames of fire.

¹⁶For Yahweh will execute judgment by fire and by his sword on all flesh; and those slain by Yahweh will be many.

¹⁷"Those who sanctify themselves and purify themselves to go to the gardens, behind one in the middle, eating pig's flesh, and the abomination, and the mouse, they shall come to an end together," says Yahweh.

¹⁸"For I know their works and their thoughts. The time comes that I will gather all nations and languages, and they will come, and will see my glory.

¹⁹"I will set a sign among them, and I will send those who escape of them to the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, who draw the bow, to Tubal and Javan, to far-away islands, who haven't heard my fame, and haven't seen my glory; and they will declare my glory among the nations.

²⁰They will bring all your brothers out of all the nations for an offering to Yahweh, on horses, in chariots, in litters, on mules, and on camels, to my holy mountain Jerusalem," says Yahweh, "as the children of Israel bring their offering in a clean vessel into Yahweh's house.

²¹Of them I will also take for priests and for Levites," says Yahweh.

²²"For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me," says Yahweh, "so your offspring and your name shall remain.

²³It shall happen that from one new moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, all flesh will come to worship before me," says Yahweh.

²⁴"They will go out, and look at the dead bodies of the men who have transgressed against me; for their worm will not die, nor will their fire be quenched, and they will be loathsome to all mankind."

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Summary

Isaiah 66 closes the entire book with a sweeping vision of God's sovereignty and final purposes. God declares that no earthly temple can contain him — he inhabits heaven and earth — but he values the humble and contrite heart over empty religious ritual. He promises the miraculous, instant birth of Zion's restored community, abundant comfort flowing to his people, and the sending of survivors to proclaim his glory among all the nations. The book ends with the sobering contrast between those who worship before God and the dead bodies of the rebellious — a final call to choose faithfulness over self-willed religion.

Themes

God's transcendence and his delight in the humble and contrite heart
The rejection of empty ritual and self-willed religion
The miraculous restoration and comfort of Zion
The universal mission — God's glory proclaimed to all nations
Final judgment and the enduring community of the redeemed
The new creation as the permanent dwelling of God's people

Key verses

Isa 66:1-2 — “Thus says Yahweh, 'Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool... but I will look to this man, even to him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at my word.'”
Isa 66:18 — “I know their works and their thoughts. The time comes that I will gather all nations and languages, and they will come, and will see my glory.”
Isa 66:22 — “For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, so your offspring and your name shall remain.”
Isa 66:8 — “Shall a land be born in one day? Shall a nation be brought forth at once? For as soon as Zion travailed, she gave birth to her children.”

Context & background

Isaiah 66 serves as the grand conclusion not only to the book's final section (chapters 56–66) but to the entire sixty-six-chapter prophecy. The original audience was Israel facing judgment and later exile in Babylon (modern central Iraq), longing for restoration to Jerusalem (modern Israel). The nations named in verse 19 — Tarshish (likely southern Spain or the western Mediterranean), Pul/Put (Libya in northern Africa), Lud (possibly western Turkey or Libya), Tubal (central Turkey), and Javan (Greece) — represent the remotest corners of the known ancient world, underscoring that God's glory will reach every people. The birth-in-a-moment imagery in verses 7–9 echoes earlier Isaianic promises (Isa 54; 60) of sudden, miraculous national restoration. The closing image of undying worms and unquenched fire (v. 24) was later cited by Jesus (Mark 9:48) to describe Gehenna, grounding New Testament teaching on final judgment in this ancient text.

Cross-references

Acts 2:1-11 — Pentecost echoes the sudden birth of God's community (Isa 66:8) as people from every nation hear in their own language
Isa 57:15 — God dwells with the high and lofty but also with the contrite — thematic pair with 66:1-2
Isa 65:17-25 — The new heavens and new earth promised just one chapter earlier, fulfilled and confirmed in 66:22-23
Mark 9:48 — Jesus quotes Isaiah 66:24 ("their worm does not die, their fire is not quenched") in his warnings about hell
Rev 21:1-4 — John's vision of the new heavens and new earth and the holy city draws directly on Isaiah's closing vision

The Lord's Final Glory and Judgment

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