Isaiah 66:16-24

66:16 For the Lord judges all humanity ¹ 

with fire and his sword;

the Lord will kill many. ² 

66:17 “As for those who consecrate and ritually purify themselves so they can follow their leader and worship in the sacred orchards, ³  those who eat the flesh of pigs and other disgusting creatures, like mice ⁴  – they will all be destroyed together,” ⁵  says the Lord. 66:18 “I hate their deeds and thoughts! So I am coming ⁶  to gather all the nations and ethnic groups; ⁷  they will come and witness my splendor. 66:19 I will perform a mighty act among them ⁸  and then send some of those who remain to the nations – to Tarshish, Pul, ⁹  Lud ¹⁰  (known for its archers ¹¹ ), Tubal, Javan, ¹²  and to the distant coastlands ¹³  that have not heard about me or seen my splendor. They will tell the nations of my splendor. 66:20 They will bring back all your countrymen ¹⁴  from all the nations as an offering to the Lord. They will bring them ¹⁵  on horses, in chariots, in wagons, on mules, and on camels ¹⁶  to my holy hill Jerusalem,” says the Lord, “just as the Israelites bring offerings to the Lord’s temple in ritually pure containers. 66:21 And I will choose some of them as priests and Levites,” says the Lord. 66:22 “For just as the new heavens and the new earth I am about to make will remain standing before me,” says the Lord, “so your descendants and your name will remain. 66:23 From one month ¹⁷  to the next and from one Sabbath to the next, all people ¹⁸  will come to worship me,” ¹⁹  says the Lord. 66:24 “They will go out and observe the corpses of those who rebelled against me, for the maggots that eat them will not die, ²⁰  and the fire that consumes them will not die out. ²¹  All people will find the sight abhorrent.” ²² 

[66:16]  ¹ tn Heb “flesh” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV); NIV “upon all men”; TEV “all the people of the world.”

[66:16]  ² tn Heb “many are the slain of the Lord.”

[66:17]  ³ tn Heb “the ones who consecrate themselves and the ones who purify themselves toward the orchards [or “gardens”] after the one in the midst.” The precise meaning of the statement is unclear, though it is obvious that some form of idolatry is in view.

[66:17]  ⁴ tn Heb “ones who eat the flesh of the pig and the disgusting thing and the mouse.”

[66:17]  ⁵ tn Heb “together they will come to an end.”

[66:18]  ⁶ tc The Hebrew text reads literally “and I, their deeds and their thoughts, am coming.” The syntax here is very problematic, suggesting that the text may have suffered corruption. Some suggest that the words “their deeds and their thoughts” have been displaced from v. 17. This line presents two primary challenges. In the first place, the personal pronoun “I” has no verb after it. Most translations insert “know” for the sake of clarity (NASB, NRSV, NLT, ESV). The NIV has “I, because of their actions and their imaginations…” Since God’s “knowledge” of Israel’s sin occasions judgment, the verb “hate” is an option as well (see above translation). The feminine form of the next verb (בָּאָה, ba’ah) could be understood in one of two ways. One could provide an implied noun “time” (עֵת, ’et) and render the next line “the time is coming/has come” (NASB, ESV). One could also emend the feminine verb to the masculine בָּא (ba’) and have the “I” at the beginning of the line govern this verb as well (for the Lord is speaking here): “I am coming” (cf. NIV, NCV, NRSV, TEV, NLT).

[66:18]  ⁷ tn Heb “and the tongues”; KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV “and tongues.”

[66:19]  ⁸ tn Heb “and I will set a sign among them.” The precise meaning of this statement is unclear. Elsewhere “to set a sign” means “perform a mighty act” (Ps 78:43; Jer 32:20), “make [someone] an object lesson” (Ezek 14:8), and “erect a [literal] standard” (Ps 74:4).

[66:19]  ⁹ tn Some prefer to read “Put” (i.e., Libya).

[66:19]  ¹⁰ sn That is, Lydia (in Asia Minor).

[66:19]  ¹¹ tn Heb “drawers of the bow” (KJV and ASV both similar).

[66:19]  ¹² sn Javan is generally identified today as Greece (so NIV, NCV, NLT).

[66:19]  ¹³ tn Or “islands” (NIV).

[66:20]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “brothers” (so NIV); NCV “fellow Israelites.”

[66:20]  ¹⁵ tn The words “they will bring them” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[66:20]  ¹⁶ tn The precise meaning of this word is uncertain. Some suggest it refers to “chariots.” See HALOT 498 s.v. *כִּרְכָּרָה.

[66:23]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “new moon.” The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.

[66:23]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “all flesh” (so KJV, ASV, NRSV); NAB, NASB, NIV “all mankind”; NLT “All humanity.”

[66:23]  ¹⁹ tn Or “bow down before” (NASB).

[66:24]  ²⁰ tn Heb “for their worm will not die.”

[66:24]  ²¹ tn Heb “and their fire will not be extinguished.”

[66:24]  ²² tn Heb “and they will be an abhorrence to all flesh.”