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Isaiah 66 Bible study: Heaven is my throne
In Isaiah 66 the one whose throne is heaven says whom he looks to: "he who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at my word" (66:2), where contrite is a Hebrew word used elsewhere only of a man "lame in his feet" (2 Samuel 9:3). And the book's last comfort is the LORD's own: "As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you" (66:13).
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“For my hand has made all these things, and so all these things came to be,” says the LORD: “but I will look to this man, even to he who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at my word.”
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“Isaiah 66:4 says, "when I called, no one answered."”
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What's really going on
Heaven is his throne, and he looks to the lowly
"Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool" (66:1) (tap footstool). The LORD asks, "What kind of house will you build to me? Where will I rest?" (66:1), and goes on, "For my hand has made all these things" (66:2). Then he says whom he looks to: "but I will look to this man, even to he who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at my word" (66:2) (tap look). Here is what almost everyone misses: in Hebrew contrite is nakheh, a word the Hebrew Bible has only three times, and the other two are of Jonathan's son, "who was lame in his feet" (2 Samuel 4:4) (tap contrite). And trembles is chared, which Isaiah has only here and in 66:5: "Hear the LORD’s word, you who tremble at his word" (66:5) (tap tremble). The one whose throne is heaven says he looks to the one who trembles at his word.
Where it leads to Jesus
The worm and the fire
Isaiah 66:24leads toMark 9:48
The book's last verse has the words "for their worm will not die, nor will their fire be quenched" (Isaiah 66:24). In Mark 9, after John speaks to him (Mark 9:38), "Jesus said" (Mark 9:39), and in the words that follow he says, "where their worm doesn’t die, and the fire is not quenched" (Mark 9:48); the WEB has the same words at Mark 9:44 and 9:46 too. Jesus doesn't name Isaiah or say "it is written", so setting the two verses side by side is a reading. Some read Mark 9:48 as Jesus giving the words of Isaiah's last verse. Others read Jesus's words in their own setting in Mark 9, and Isaiah 66:24 in its own chapter, without reading one through the other. These notes teach nothing about judgment beyond the words of the two verses, and pick neither reading.
Honest questions
Questions people ask about Isaiah 66
That was a taste
The rest of Isaiah 66 is waiting in Favor
- Chosen, and called
- As a mother comforts
- My glory, among the nations
- Stephen quotes 66:1-2
- The first chapter and the last
- New heavens, twice
- 14 questions as you read
- 11 more Hebrew words
- A short check at the end
- Your notes, saved as you go
Favor reads the Bible in order, so you'll reach Isaiah 66 with everything before it in view. First week free, then $10 a month per person.
The Hebrew word behind it
חָרֵדcharedsay kha-RAYD
Brown-Driver-Briggs: "trembling". Strong's: "fearful; also reverential". "but I will look to this man, even to he who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at my word" (66:2), and "Hear the LORD’s word, you who tremble at his word" (66:5). The Hebrew Bible has the word six times, and Isaiah only in these two verses. In both it stands with the LORD's word; Ezra has it with "the words of the God of Israel" (Ezra 9:4) and with "the commandment of our God" (Ezra 10:3). The chapter on Judges 7 studies it at "Whoever is fearful and trembling" (Judges 7:3).
For your group
Isaiah 66 Bible study questions
- 1"but I will look to this man, even to he who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at my word" (66:2). What do you think it looks like to tremble at the LORD's word?
- 2"As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you" (66:13). What does this picture of the LORD's comfort mean to you?
- 3"they shall declare my glory among the nations" (66:19). What does it mean to you that the book, near its end, speaks of the LORD's glory told to those "who have not heard my fame" (66:19)?
Leading a group? In Favor, everyone reads Isaiah 66 during the week and answers these questions privately. Answers stay sealed until you meet, then appear together, and you can print the week's sheet.
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Questions
What is Favor?
Favor is a Bible study app that explains every chapter as you read: the Hebrew and Greek behind the words, the details most readers miss, and how each part of the Bible leads to Jesus. Read on your own, or start a Bible study with friends, family or your church.
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Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Hebrew and Greek words are checked against the original-language texts and public-domain lexicons. What we believe · Favor home