Yesaya 66:7-18

66:7 Before she goes into labor, she gives birth!

Before her contractions begin, she delivers a boy!

66:8 Who has ever heard of such a thing?

Who has ever seen this?

Can a country ¹  be brought forth in one day?

Can a nation be born in a single moment?

Yet as soon as Zion goes into labor she gives birth to sons!

66:9 “Do I bring a baby to the birth opening and then not deliver it?”

asks the Lord.

“Or do I bring a baby to the point of delivery and then hold it back?”

asks your God. ² 

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 ³  you will nurse from her satisfying breasts and be nourished; ⁴ 

you will feed with joy from her milk-filled breasts. ⁵ 

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. ⁶ 

You will nurse from her breast ⁷  and be carried at her side;

you will play on her knees.

66:13 As a mother consoles a child, ⁸ 

so I will console you,

and you will be consoled over Jerusalem.”

66:14 When you see this, you will be happy, ⁹ 

and you will be revived. ¹⁰ 

The Lord will reveal his power to his servants

and his anger to his enemies. ¹¹ 

66:15 For look, the Lord comes with fire,

his chariots come like a windstorm, ¹² 

to reveal his raging anger,

his battle cry, and his flaming arrows. ¹³ 

66:16 For the Lord judges all humanity ¹⁴ 

with fire and his sword;

the Lord will kill many. ¹⁵ 

66:17 “As for those who consecrate and ritually purify themselves so they can follow their leader and worship in the sacred orchards, ¹⁶  those who eat the flesh of pigs and other disgusting creatures, like mice ¹⁷  – they will all be destroyed together,” ¹⁸  says the Lord. 66:18 “I hate their deeds and thoughts! So I am coming ¹⁹  to gather all the nations and ethnic groups; ²⁰  they will come and witness my splendor.

[66:8]  ¹ tn Heb “land,” but here אֶרֶץ (’erets) stands metonymically for an organized nation (see the following line).

[66:9]  ² sn The rhetorical questions expect the answer, “Of course not!”

[66:11]  ³ tn Or “in order that”; ASV, NRSV “that.”

[66:11]  ⁴ tn Heb “you will suck and be satisfied, from her comforting breast.”

[66:11]  ⁵ tn Heb “you will slurp and refresh yourselves from her heavy breast.”

[66:11]  sn Zion’s residents will benefit from and enjoy her great material prosperity. See v. 12.

[66:12]  ⁶ 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.”

[66:12]  ⁷ tn The words “from her breast” are supplied in the translation for clarification (see v. 11).

[66:13]  ⁸ tn Heb “like a man whose mother comforts him.”

[66:14]  ⁹ tn “and you will see and your heart will be happy.”

[66:14]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and your bones like grass will sprout.”

[66:14]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and the hand of the Lord will be made known to his servants, and anger to his enemies.”

[66:15]  ¹² sn Chariots are like a windstorm in their swift movement and in the way that they kick up dust.

[66:15]  ¹³ tn Heb “to cause to return with the rage of his anger, and his battle cry [or “rebuke”] with flames of fire.”

[66:16]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “flesh” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV); NIV “upon all men”; TEV “all the people of the world.”

[66:16]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “many are the slain of the Lord.”

[66:17]  ¹⁶ 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]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “ones who eat the flesh of the pig and the disgusting thing and the mouse.”

[66:17]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “together they will come to an end.”

[66:18]  ¹⁹ 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]  ²⁰ tn Heb “and the tongues”; KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV “and tongues.”