Isaiah 66:7-14
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Blessings of Prosperity and Consolation
7 [a]Before she is in labor,
she gives birth;(A)
Before her pangs come upon her,
she delivers a male child.
8 Who ever heard of such a thing,
or who ever saw the like?
Can a land be brought forth in one day,
or a nation be born in a single moment?
Yet Zion was scarcely in labor
when she bore her children.
9 Shall I bring a mother to the point of birth,
and yet not let her child be born? says the Lord.
Or shall I who bring to birth
yet close her womb? says your God.
10 [b]Rejoice with Jerusalem and be glad because of her,
all you who love her;
Rejoice with her in her joy,
all you who mourn over her—(B)
11 So that you may nurse and be satisfied
from her consoling breast;
That you may drink with delight
at her abundant breasts!
12 For thus says the Lord:
I will spread prosperity over her like a river,
like an overflowing torrent,
the wealth of nations.
You shall nurse, carried in her arms,
cradled upon her knees;
13 As a mother comforts her child,
so I will comfort you;
in Jerusalem you shall find your comfort.(C)
14 You will see and your heart shall exult,
and your bodies shall flourish like the grass;
The Lord’s power shall be revealed to his servants,
but to his enemies, his wrath.
Footnotes
- 66:7–9 The renewal of Zion is pictured in terms of a miraculous, instantaneous birth, facilitated by God’s intervention.
- 66:10–16 The poet addresses the children born of Jerusalem, their mother. In v. 13 the metaphor switches to the Lord as mother (cf. 49:15), comforting her charges but destroying the enemies.
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