Isaiah 66:10-14

66:10 Be happy for Jerusalem

and rejoice with her, all you who love her!

Share in her great joy,

all you who have mourned over her!

66:11 For ¹  you will nurse from her satisfying breasts and be nourished; ² 

you will feed with joy from her milk-filled breasts. ³ 

66:12 For this is what the Lord says:

“Look, I am ready to extend to her prosperity that will flow like a river,

the riches of nations will flow into her like a stream that floods its banks. ⁴ 

You will nurse from her breast ⁵  and be carried at her side;

you will play on her knees.

66:13 As a mother consoles a child, ⁶ 

so I will console you,

and you will be consoled over Jerusalem.”

66:14 When you see this, you will be happy, ⁷ 

and you will be revived. ⁸ 

The Lord will reveal his power to his servants

and his anger to his enemies. ⁹ 

Isaiah 66:18-22

66:18 “I hate their deeds and thoughts! So I am coming ¹⁰  to gather all the nations and ethnic groups; ¹¹  they will come and witness my splendor. 66:19 I will perform a mighty act among them ¹²  and then send some of those who remain to the nations – to Tarshish, Pul, ¹³  Lud ¹⁴  (known for its archers ¹⁵ ), Tubal, Javan, ¹⁶  and to the distant coastlands ¹⁷  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 ¹⁸  from all the nations as an offering to the Lord. They will bring them ¹⁹  on horses, in chariots, in wagons, on mules, and on camels ²⁰  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.

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¹ tn Or “in order that”; ASV, NRSV “that.”

² tn Heb “you will suck and be satisfied, from her comforting breast.”

³ tn Heb “you will slurp and refresh yourselves from her heavy breast.”

sn Zion’s residents will benefit from and enjoy her great material prosperity. See v. 12.

⁴ tn Heb “Look, I am ready to extend to her like a river prosperity [or “peace”], and like an overflowing stream, the riches of nations.”

⁵ tn The words “from her breast” are supplied in the translation for clarification (see v. 11).

⁶ tn Heb “like a man whose mother comforts him.”

⁷ tn “and you will see and your heart will be happy.”

⁸ tn Heb “and your bones like grass will sprout.”

⁹ tn Heb “and the hand of the Lord will be made known to his servants, and anger to his enemies.”

¹⁰ 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).

¹¹ tn Heb “and the tongues”; KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV “and tongues.”

¹² 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).

¹³ tn Some prefer to read “Put” (i.e., Libya).

¹⁴ sn That is, Lydia (in Asia Minor).

¹⁵ tn Heb “drawers of the bow” (KJV and ASV both similar).

¹⁶ sn Javan is generally identified today as Greece (so NIV, NCV, NLT).

¹⁷ tn Or “islands” (NIV).

¹⁸ tn Heb “brothers” (so NIV); NCV “fellow Israelites.”

¹⁹ tn The words “they will bring them” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

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