Isaiah 66:16-17

God will punish evil behaviour wherever he finds it (see Isaiah 13:11; Isaiah 30:27-33).

Verse 17b (the second part of verse 17)

To eat such meat was against God’s law (see my notes on Isaiah 65:4b).

True *worship

The end of the Book of Isaiah returns to the subjects in Isaiah 4:2-6. These final verses leave *Israelites and foreigners alike with a serious question to answer. People can decide to live by God’s standard of right behaviour. Or they can simply continue to live in an evil manner. In other words, they can refuse to obey God’s orders. All people must remember that God’s judgement is a reality for everyone.

• Other *prophets make the choice very clear in their final verses (see Hosea 14:9; Jonah 4:11; Malachi 4:6).

v18 ‘I am well aware of their evil deeds and wicked thoughts. Therefore I myself am coming to gather people from all nations and languages. When they have come together, they will see the result of my great power. They will know that I am punishing them. v19 But I will not *destroy them all. Some I will send to distant countries that have not heard of my fame. Nor have they seen my greatness or my power in action. They will take my message to Spain and to Libya. They will know danger from the arrows of skilled fighters in Lydia. They will go to Tubal and to Greece. To all these foreign nations they will declare my greatness’, says the *Lord. v20 ‘They will bring back all your families from every country. They will travel on horses and on *camels. They will ride in *chariots and in wagons. They will be coming to the New *Jerusalem, to my holy mountain *Zion,’ says the *Lord. ‘To me they will be like the great many gifts of grain that flow into the *Temple during the harvest. And they will be holy, like the clean pots that contain the grain. v21 And some of the men who return I will appoint as my priests and *Levites in the *Temple in the New *Jerusalem.

v22 The new heavens and the new earth that I am creating will always continue to exist by my power. That is a sure fact. And just as surely, you will continue to be my special people (that is, the people whom I have chosen). Your name will never disappear. v23 On the special days called New Moon (every month) and *Sabbath (every week), all the people will humbly come to my *Temple. They will come from every nation to give me honour,’ says the *Lord. v24 ‘But on their way out of the *Temple they will see the dead bodies of people who refused to obey me. For those dead bodies, the *worm that eats them will never die. And the fire that burns them will never go out. The terrible fate that these dead people suffer is an awful example to everyone else.’