Thus saith the Lord: Heaven is my throne, and the earth my footstool: what is this house that you will build to me? and what is this place of my rest?

“"Heaven is my throne, while the earth is my footstool." … Haven't you also read that other text, "Who measured the heaven with the palm of his hand?" … Whoever sat in the palm of his own hand?…Does the same heaven become wide when he is sitting in it and narrow when he is measuring it? Or is God the same size in his seat as he is in his palm? If that is the case, God did not make us in his own likeness, because we have palms that are much narrower than the part of the body we sit with. But if he is as broad in the palm as he is broad in the beam, then he made very unequal parts for us. No, that is not where the likeness lies. Such an idol should be ashamed of itself in a Christian mind. So then, take "heaven" as standing for all the saints, since earth too stands for all who are on the earth, "Let all the earth worship you."”

“The prophet, in this chapter, again rebukes the wicked people. The heaven is my throne. We know that the glory of the Lord filleth heaven and earth; but by the words the heaven is my throne the prophet indicates, that the destinies of the whole world come from above, as it were by decrees, which the king, sitting on his throne, sends forth. The earth is my footstool. The earth is in my power, is mine. Since all is mine, Where is a house, etc., and where is a place, etc. Repetition of the same idea.”

“Thus says the Lord. Here he determines the manner of the execution of the sentence already given: and first specifically as regards the Jews; second universally as regards all: but I, their works and thoughts. The first is divided into two: in the first he excludes false confidence; second he sets forth and determines the sentence given, as to the manner of its execution: Hear the word of the Lord. Concerning the first there are two parts. First he excludes false confidence in the holiness of the temple, showing that the temple is not the place of God: both from the greatness of God, who fills all things — whose seat heaven is called, because it shares abundantly in his goodness, just as a seat holds the greater part of the one sitting; while earth is his footstool, because the earth shares least in his goodness, just as the outermost part reaches only to the footstool — or by heaven the saints are meant, and by earth the earthly-minded. 3 Kings 8: if heaven and the heaven of heavens do not contain you. Jeremiah 23: I fill heaven and earth. Acts 17: not in the hand-made things of the temple. Then from rest: because each thing rests in the place that is its own place; but God does not rest in anything, rather all things rest in him, as made by him. And what is his place? Above, ch. 40: lift up on high. And he gives a useful remedy: but to whom — the poor one, that is, the humble man who considers himself small as to the present; the contrite, as to past sins; the trembling, as to his resolve concerning what is to be done in the future. Ecclesiasticus 15: his eyes are upon those who fear him. Second, he excludes the confidence they had conceived from the rite of sacrifices: and first he sets down their reprobation: he who sacrifices an ox — as if he were to say: their sacrifices are so abominable, as if they were doing something against the law, because they were offering the same things to idols. He who blesses — that is, praises and venerates. Above, ch. 1: do not offer sacrifice any more. Second, he shows the reason for the reprobation, first setting down their fault: they have chosen all these things — namely, the sacrifices — walking in their own ways, evil ones. Proverbs 2: they rejoice when they have done evil, and exult in the worst of things. Second, he threatens punishment: hence, and I — Proverbs 3: he himself will mock the mockers. Job 3: the fear that I feared has come upon me, and what I dreaded has happened to me. Third, he charges the sinners with hardness of heart: because I called — Proverbs 1: I called, and you refused. Hear the word of the Lord. Here he carries out the manner of executing the sentence already given: and first as to the rewards of the good; second as to the punishments of the wicked: and it shall be known. The first is in two parts. First he rouses attention: you who tremble, out of reverence for his words. Ecclesiasticus 2: you who fear the Lord, believe in him. Second, he pursues the promise: and first as to vengeance upon the mockers, setting down their mockery: your brothers have said. Let him be glorified — as if to say: let the glory of the Lord appear, which you expect — as if to say: it will never appear. Above, ch. 5: he will come quickly and swiftly, he will not fail nor grow weary in it. And foretelling their confusion: but they shall be confounded, in this way: a voice of the people, fearing; a voice of the Lord, as to the tumult of enemies. Zephaniah 1: the voice of the day of the Lord is bitter. Second, he carries out the promise as to the abundance of good things: and first as to the reuniting of the people, setting down the promise: before she was in labor — that is, suddenly, and at once, the children of Jerusalem shall be gathered to her, just as if a woman should suddenly bring forth a son, with no labor going before. Above, ch. 37: the children have come as far as the birth. Mystically it is expounded of the childbearing of the Blessed Virgin, and of the childbearing of the Church in the conversion of the faithful, and of the bringing-forth of the eternal generation. And he introduces a question of wonder: who has ever heard such things? Above, ch. 49: who has begotten for me? And he sets down the answer in the person of the Lord: shall not I myself bring forth? — gathering the Jews, or converting the faithful, or the Son from eternity. Similarly, Psalm 93: he who planted the ear, shall he not hear? Or he who formed the eye, does he not consider? And these arguments hold, if that which is of perfection in creatures is attributed to him, with everything that belongs to imperfection removed. Second, he promises immense consolation to those gathered. And first he invites others to rejoice with them: rejoice with Jerusalem — in her, as in the object of joy — setting down the condition of those who rejoice together, as to affection: you who love. Canticle of Canticles 5: eat, O friends, and drink, and be inebriated, dearest ones. As to the sign of affection: you who mourn. Matthew 5: blessed are they who mourn, for they shall be comforted. And the fruit of that shared rejoicing, as to the sharing of gladness, or of peace: that you may suck — Canticle of Canticles 1: your breasts are better than wine. As to the sharing of glory: that you may milk it out, as those who milk out milk. Job 22: then you shall abound in delights over the Almighty. Second, he promises a copious bestowal of peace: for thus says the Lord: I will turn — so that it may be called an overflow, like a river which, though it comes down with great force, does not overflow. And of glory, and as it were a torrent. Above, ch. 48: it would have been made like a river. Third, he promises the full reception of consolation. First as to the administering of the nations: which you shall suck — unto the glory of the nations, because the kings of the nations themselves shall comfort you, and shall sustain you. Hence there follows, at the breasts. Mystically he speaks of the apostles, who rejoiced in the glory of the nations swiftly converted, and carried them, as it were, to the breasts by gentle admonitions. Above, ch. 60: you shall suck milk. Second, as to the divine protection: as if to someone, a mother. Hebrews 12: you have forgotten the consolation. Third, as to the enjoyment of good things: you shall see — the good things given you by God; your bones — you who in adversity were like dry bones. Ezekiel 37: dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Or, you shall see the divine essence. Ecclesiastes 11: light is sweet, and it is delightful for the eyes to see the sun. Bones, unto the resurrection. And it shall be known. Here he promises punishments to the wicked: and first he threatens punishment, setting down the indignation of the judge: the hand, afflicting the wicked among his servants. Or, the hand of consolation, among his servants, through its effect. Above, ch. 27: there is no indignation in me. He also sets down the greatness of the punishment: for behold, the Lord — in fire, by which the city was to be burned, or by which the world was to be purged. Chariots — the army of the Chaldeans, in which God comes, as it were; or the Angels who will come with him to judgment. Psalm 96: fire shall go before him. Amos 9: they shall perish by the sword of God. He also sets down the multitude of those punished: they shall be multiplied. Above, ch. 34: for the victim of the Lord is in Bosra, and a great slaughter in the land of Edom. Second, he reproaches their guilt: who were sanctifying themselves, thinking to cleanse themselves from uncleanness by waters, or even by the sacrifices of idols, in the gardens, in which they worshipped idols, or gave themselves over to pleasure, after one, coupling with women after the manner of beasts. Or, behind the door — literally, the mouse, the dormouse, against the law, Leviticus 11. Above, ch. 65: they eat swine's flesh, and unclean broth. But I. Here he pursues the manner of the discernment as regards all in common: and first he proclaims the universal judgment: their works and thoughts — judging, as it were, for both together; I come, on the day of judgment. Or, the various kingdoms of your enemies, and destroying the wicked among you. They shall come, to Jerusalem after your return, or to judgment, or to the faith. Joel 3: behold, I will raise them up out of the place in which you sold them. Second, he sets down the summons: and I will set among them — that is, among the Jews who shall be with Zerubbabel and the other leaders — a sign, the edict of Cyrus, to the nations, to which the Jews had been scattered; to Lydia, those who hold the arrow, because they are good archers; my glory, which shall appear in your deliverance. Above, ch. 11: he shall lift up a sign among the nations. Or, he sets the sign of the cross among the apostles, that all may be turned to God, as it were preparing them for judgment. Third, he sets down the preparation of those who are to be judged: and first as to the good; second as to the wicked: and they shall go forth, and shall see. The first is in two parts. First, as to the Jews, setting down their honorable return: they shall bring them on horses — by which are signified the aids which those returning had from the Gentiles. Baruch 5: the Lord shall bring these to you. Or there are signified the various conditions of those who are converted to the faith, as the Gloss expounds. Second, the exaltation of their return, first as to dignity: and I will take — which was fulfilled literally in the Jews, and also in the apostles. Above, ch. 61: you shall be called the priests of the Lord; it shall be said of you, ministers of our God. Second, as to the preservation of their offspring: for as the new heavens, as above, ch. 65 — so shall it stand, forever. Jeremiah 31: if these laws shall fail before me, says the Lord, then the seed of Israel also shall fail. Or, the saints shall stand forever, renewed like heaven and earth. Third, as to the duration of their glory: and it shall be month — as though month shall succeed month, and feast shall succeed feast, in your prosperity. Above, ch. 29: year has been added to year, and the solemnities have run their course. Mystically, the Church after the end; spiritual rest after carnal. Second, as to the Gentiles: and all shall come — because from the various nations they came to Jerusalem to worship the Lord. Psalm 85: all the nations shall come and shall adore before you, O Lord. Or, on the day of judgment: and they shall go forth. Here he sets down the second judgment, as regards the wicked: and first the outflow of the punishment: and they shall go forth, coming to Jerusalem, and they shall see, in the ancient tombs, and in the fields, the bones of their dead fathers. Above, ch. 34: their slain shall be cast out, and from their carcasses a stench shall rise. Or, the saints shall see the damned falling into damnation. Second, he sets down the duration of the punishment: their worm — of conscience, by which even the dead shall be tormented; and fire — of hell. Judith 16: he will give fire and worms into their flesh. Third, the delight taken in these punishments, as regards those who see them: and they shall be unto satiety to all flesh — that is, to the saints. Psalm 57: the just shall rejoice when he shall see the revenge. From these punishments may he free us, who has granted both to begin and to complete. And thus ends the sentence and the literal exposition on Isaiah according to Brother Thomas Aquinas, which Brother Iacobinus of Asti, of the province of Lombardy, at that time a student in the general house of studies at Naples, transcribed into legible letters, completing the authorities. He also arranged collations at certain places upon each of the lectures, and this he did for the benefit of the friars of our order, and that copies of the said writings might be had. Therefore, praise be to him who granted both to begin and to complete. Amen.”

“Here, I. The temple is slighted in comparison with a gracious soul, Isa 66:1, Isa 66:2. The Jews in the prophet's time, and afterwards in Christ's time, gloried much in the temple and promised themselves great things from it; to humble them therefore, and to shake their vain confidence, both the prophets and Christ foretold the ruin of the temple, that God would leave it and then it would soon be desolate. After it was destroyed by the Chaldeans it soon recovered itself and the ceremonial services were revived with it; but by the Romans it was made a perpetual desolation, and the ceremonial law was abolished with it. That the world might be prepared for this, they were often told, as here, of what little account the temple was with God. 1. That he did not need it. Heaven is the throne of his glory and government; there he sits, infinitely exalted in the highest dignity and dominion, above all blessing and praise. The earth is his footstool, on which he stands, over-ruling all the affairs of it according to his will. If God has so bright a throne, so large a footstool, where then is the house they can build unto God, that can be the residence of his glory, or where is the place of his rest? What satisfaction can the Eternal Mind take in a house made with men's hands? What occasion has he, as we have, for a house to repose himself in, who faints not neither is weary, who neither slumbers nor sleeps? Or, if he had occasion, he would not tell us (Psa 50:12), for all these things hath his hand made, heaven and all its courts, earth and all its borders, and all the hosts of both. All these things have been, have had their beginning, by the power of God, who was happy from eternity before they were, and therefore could not be benefited by them. All these things are (so some read it); they still continue, upheld by the same power that made them; so that our goodness extends not to him. If he required a house for himself to dwell in, he would have made one himself when he made the world; and, if he had made one, it would have continued to this day, as other creatures do, according to his ordinance; so that he had no need of a temple made with hands. 2. That he would not heed it as he would a humble, penitent, gracious heart. He has a heaven and earth of his own making, and a temple of man's making; but he overlooks them all, that he may look with favour to him that is poor in spirit, humble and serious, self-abasing and self-denying, whose heart is truly contrite for sin, penitent for it, and in pain to get it pardoned, and who trembles at God's word, not as Felix did, with a transient qualm that was over when the sermon was done, but with an habitual awe of God's majesty and purity and an habitual dread of his justice and wrath. Such a heart is a living temple for God; he dwells there, and it is the place of his rest; it is like heaven and earth, his throne and his footstool. II. Sacrifices are slighted when they come from ungracious hands. The sacrifice of the wicked is not only unacceptable, but it is an abomination to the Lord (Pro 15:8); this is largely shown here, v. 3, 4. Observe, 1. How detestable their sacrifices were to God. The carnal Jews, after their return out of captivity, though they relapsed not to idolatry, grew very careless and loose in the service of God; they brought the torn, and the lame, and the sick for sacrifice (Mal 1:8, Mal 1:13), and this made their services abominable to God; they had no regard to their sacrifices, and therefore how could they think God would have any regard to them? The unbelieving Jews, after the gospel was preached and in it notice given of the offering up of the great sacrifice, which put an end to all the ceremonial services, continued to offer sacrifices, as if the law of Moses had been still in force and could make the comers thereunto perfect: this was an abomination. He that kills an ox for his own table is welcome to do it; but he that now kills it, that thus kills it, for God's altar, is as if he slew a man; it is as great an offence to God as murder itself; he that does it does in effect set aside Christ's sacrifice, treads under foot the blood of the covenant, and makes himself accessory to the guilt of the body and blood of the Lord, setting up what Christ died to abolish. He that sacrifices a lamb, if it be a corrupt thing, and not the male in his flock, the best he has, if he think to put God off with any thing, he affronts him, instead of pleasing him; it is as if he cut off a dog's neck, a creature in the eye of the law so vile that, whereas an ass might be redeemed, the price of a dog was never to be brought into the treasury, Deu 23:18. He that offers an oblation, a meat offering or drink-offering, is as if he thought to make atonement with swine's blood, a creature that must not be eaten nor touched, the broth of it was abominable (Isa 65:4), much more the blood of it. He that burns incense to God, and so puts contempt upon the incense of Christ's intercession, is as if he blessed an idol; it was as great an affront to God as if they had paid their devotions to a false god. Hypocrisy and profaneness are as provoking as idolatry. 2. What their wickedness was which made their sacrifices thus detestable. It was because they had chosen their own ways, the ways of their own wicked hearts, and not only their hands did but their souls delighted in their abominations. They were vicious and immoral in their conversations, chose the way of sin rather than the way of God's commandments, and took pleasure in that which was provoking to God; this made their sacrifices so offensive to God, Isa 1:11-15. Those that pretend to honour God by a profession of religion, and yet live wicked lives, put an affront upon him, as if he were the patron of sin. And that which was an aggravation of their wickedness was that they persisted in it, notwithstanding the frequent calls given them to repent and reform; they turned a deaf ear to all the warnings of divine justice and all the offers of divine grace: When I called, none did answer, as before, Isa 65:12. And the same follows here that did there: They did evil before my eyes. Being deaf to what he said, they cared not what he saw, but chose that in which they knew he delighted not. How could those expect to please him in their devotions who took no care to please him in their conversations, but, on the contrary, designed to provoke him? 3. The doom passed upon them for this. Theychose their own ways, therefore, says God, I also will choose their delusions. They have made their choice (as Mr. Gataker paraphrases it), and now I will make mine; they have taken what course they pleased with me, and I will take what course I please with them. I will choose their illusions, or mockeries (so some); as they have mocked God and dishonoured him by their wickedness, so God will give them up to their enemies, to be trampled upon and insulted by them. Or they shall be deceived by those vain confidences with which they have deceived themselves. God will make their sin their punishment; they shall be beaten with their own rod and hurried into ruin by their own delusions. God will bring their fears upon them, that is, will bring upon them that which shall be a great terror to them, or that which they themselves have been afraid of and thought to escape by sinful shifts. Unbelieving hearts, and unpurified unpacified consciences, need no more to make them miserable than to have their own fears brought upon them.”

“Thus saith the Lord, the heaven is my throne,.... The third heaven, the heaven of heavens, where angels and glorified saints are, and some in bodies, as Enoch and Elijah, and where now Christ is in human nature; this is the seat of the divine Majesty, where he in a most illustrious manner displays his glory; and therefore we are to look upwards to God in heaven, and direct all our devotion to him there, and not imagine that he dwells in temples made with hands; or is confined to any place, and much less to any on earth, as the temple at Jerusalem, the Jews boasted of, and trusted in; and which were the unworthy notions they had of God in the times of Christ and his disciples; to confute which these words are here said, and for this purpose are quoted and applied by Stephen, Act 7:48. See Gill on Act 7:48, Act 7:49, Act 7:50, and the earth is my footstool: on which he treads, is below him, subject to him, and at his dispose; and therefore is not limited to any part of it, or included in any place in it; though he for a while condescended to make the cherubim his throne, and the ark his footstool, in the most holy place in the temple; which were all figurative of other and better things, and so no more used: where is the house that ye build unto me? what house can be built for such an immense Being? and how needless as well as fruitless is it to attempt it? where can a place be found to build one in, since the heaven is his throne, and the earth his footstool? and therefore, if any place, it must be some that is without them both, and that can hold both; but what space can be conceived of that can contain such a throne and footstool, and much less him that sits thereon? see Kg1 8:27, and where is the place of my rest? for God to take up his rest and residence in, as a man does in his house? no such place can be found for him, nor does he need any; indeed the temple was built for an house of rest for the ark of the Lord, which before was moved from place to place; but then this was merely typical of the church, which God has chosen for his rest, and where he will dwell, as well as of heaven, the resting place of his people with him to all eternity; no place on earth is either his rest or theirs.”

“House. This is a prophecy that the temple should be cast off. (Challoner) — Isaias alludes to the return of the captives, as to a figure of the Church. They had flattered themselves with the idea of building a magnificent temple. God regards it not, as long as they follow their own wills and cherish pride. (Calmet) — He is pleased with the piety of his servants, which may be exhibited any where, though the temple is the most proper place. See Acts vii., and xiv. After the gospel, the sacrifices of the law became unlawful. (Worthington)”

“Although the note on which this prophecy opens is a different one from any that has yet been struck, there are many points in which it coincides with the preceding prophecy. For not only is Isa 65:12 repeated here in Isa 66:4, but the sharp line of demarcation drawn in chapter 65, between the servants of Jehovah and the worldly majority of the nation with reference to the approaching return to the Holy Land, is continued here. As the idea of their return is associated immediately with that of the erection of a new temple, there is nothing at all to surprise us, after what we have read in Isa 65:8., in the fact that Jehovah expresses His abhorrence at the thought of having a temple built by the Israel of the captivity, as the majority then were, and does so in such words as those which follow in Isa 66:1-4 : "Thus saith Jehovah: The heaven is my throne, and the earth my footstool. What kind of house is it that ye would build me, and what kind of place for my rest? My hand hath made all these things; then all these thing arose, saith Jehovah; and at such persons do I look, at the miserable and broken-hearted, and him that trembleth at my word. He that slaughtereth the ox is the slayer of a man; he that sacrificeth the sheep is a strangler of dogs; he that offereth a meat-offering, it is swine's blood; he that causeth incense to rise up in smoke, blesseth idols. As they have chosen their ways, and their soul cheriseth pleasure in their abominations; so will I choose their ill-treatments, and bring their terrors upon them, because I called and no one replied, I spake and they did not hear, and they did evil in mine eyes, and chose that in which I took no pleasure." Hitzig is of opinion that the author has broken off here, and proceeds quite unexpectedly to denounce the intention to build a temple for Jehovah. Those who wish to build he imagines to be those who have made up their minds to stay behind in Chaldea, and who, whilst their brethren who have returned to their native land are preparing to build a temple there, want to have one of their own, just as the Jews in Egypt built one for themselves in Leontopolis. Without some such supposition as this, Hitzig thinks it altogether impossible to discover the thread which connects the different vv. together. This view is at any rate better than that of Umbreit, who imagines that the prophet places us here "on the loftiest spiritual height of the Christian development." "In the new Jerusalem," he says, "there will be no temple seen, nor any sacrifice; Jehovah forbids these in the strongest terms, regarding them as equivalent to mortal sins." But the prophet, if this were his meaning, would involve himself in self-contradiction, inasmuch as, according to Isa 56:1-12 and 60, there will be a temple in the new Jerusalem with perpetual sacrifice, which this prophecy also presupposes in Isa 66:20. (cf., Isa 66:6); and secondly, he would contradict other prophets, such as Ezekiel and Zechariah, and the spirit of the Old Testament generally, in which the statement, that whoever slaughters a sacrificial animal in the new Jerusalem will be as bad as a murderer, has no parallel, and is in fact absolutely impossible. According to Hitzig's view, on the other hand, v. 3a affirms, that the worship which they would be bound to perform in their projected temple would be an abomination to Jehovah, however thoroughly it might be made to conform to the Mosaic ritual. But there is nothing in the text to sustain the idea, that there is any intention here to condemn the building of a temple to Jehovah in Chaldaea, nor is such an explanation by any means necessary to make the text clear. The condemnation on the part of Jehovah has reference to the temple, which the returning exiles intend to build in Jerusalem. The prophecy is addressed to the entire body now ready to return, and says to the whole without exception, that Jehovah, the Creator of heaven and earth, does not stand in need of any house erected by human hands, and then proceeds to separate the penitent from those that are at enmity against God, rejects in the most scornful manner all offerings in the form of worship on the part of the latter, and threatens them with divine retribution, having dropped in Isa 66:3-4 the form of address to the entire body. Just as in the Psalm of Asaph (Ps 50) Jehovah refuses animal and other material offerings as such, because the whole of the animal world, the earth and the fulness thereof, are His possession, so here He addresses this question to the entire body of the exiles: What kind of house is there that ye could build, that would be worthy of me, and what kind of place that would be worthy of being assigned to me as a resting-place? On mâqōm menūchâthı̄, locus qui sit requies mea (apposition instead of genitive connection). He needs no temple; for heaven is His throne, and the earth His footstool. He is the Being who filleth all, the Creator, and therefore the possessor, of the universe; and if men think to do Him a service by building Him a temple, and forget His infinite majesty in their concern for their own contemptible fabric, He wants to temple at all. "All these" refer, as if pointing with the finger, to the world of visible objects that surround us. ויּהיוּ (from היה, existere, fieri) is used in the same sense as the ויהי which followed the creative יהי. In this His exaltation He is not concerned about a temple; but His gracious look is fixed upon the man who is as follows (zeh pointing forwards as in Isa 58:6), viz., upon the mourner, the man of broken heart, who is filled with reverential awe at the word of His revelation. We may see from Psa 51:9 what the link of connection is between Isa 66:2 and Isa 66:3. So far as the mass of the exiles were concerned, who had not been humbled by their sufferings, and whom the preaching of the prophet could not bring to reflection, He did not want any temple or sacrifice from them. The sacrificial acts, to which such detestable predicates are here applied, are such as end with the merely external act, whilst the inward feelings of the person presenting the sacrifice are altogether opposed to the idea of both the animal sacrifice and the meat-offering, more especially to that desire for salvation which was symbolized in all the sacrifices; in other words, they are sacrificial acts regarded as νεκρὰ ἔργα, the lifeless works of men spiritually dead. The articles of hasshōr and hasseh are used as generic with reference to sacrificial animals. The slaughter of an ox was like the slaying (makkēh construct with tzere) of a man (for the association of ideas, see Gen 49:6); the sacrifice (zōbhēăch like shâchat is sometimes applied to slaughtering for the purpose of eating; here, however, it refers to an animal prepared for Jehovah) of a sheep like the strangling of a dog, that unclean animal (for the association of ideas, see Job 30:1); the offerer up (me‛ōlēh) of a meat-offering (like one who offered up) swine's blood, i.e., as if he was offering up the blood of this most unclean animal upon the altar; he who offered incense as an 'azkârâh (see at Isa 1:13) like one who blessed 'âven, i.e., godlessness, used here as in Sa1 15:23, and also in Hosea in the change of the name of Bethel into Beth 'Aven, for idolatry, or rather in a concrete sense for the worthless idols themselves, all of which, according to Isa 41:29, are nothing but 'âven. Rosenmller, Gesenius, Hitzig, Stier, and even Jerome, have all correctly rendered it in this way, "as if he blessed an idol" (quasi qui benedicat idolo); and Vitringa, "cultum exhibens vano numini" (offering worship to a vain god). Such explanations as that of Luther, on the other hand, viz., "as if he praised that which was wrong," are opposed to the antithesis, and also to the presumption of a concrete object to מברך (blessing); whilst that of Knobel, "praising vainly" ('âven being taken as an acc. Adv.), yields too tame an antithesis, and is at variance with the usage of the language. In this condemnation of the ritual acts of worship, the closing prophecy of the book of Isaiah coincides with the first (Isa 1:11-15). But that it is not sacrifices in themselves that are rejected, but the sacrifices of those whose hearts are divided between Jehovah and idols, and who refuse to offer to Him the sacrifice that is dearest to Him (Psa 51:19, cf., Psa 50:23), is evident from the correlative double-sentence that follows in Isa 66:3 and Isa 66:4, which is divided into two masoretic verses, as the only means of securing symmetry. Gam ... gam, which means in other cases, "both ... and also," or in negative sentences "neither ... nor," means here, as in Jer 51:12, "as assuredly the one as the other," in other words, "as ... so." They have chosen their own ways, which are far away from those of Jehovah, and their soul has taken pleasure, not in the worship of Jehovah, but in all kinds of heathen abominations (shiqqūtsēhem, as in many other places, after Deu 29:16); therefore Jehovah wants no temple built by them or with their co-operation, nor any restoration of sacrificial worship at their hands. But according to the law of retribution, He chooses tha‛ălūlēhem, vexationes eorum (lxx τὰ ἐμπαίγματα αὐτῶν: see at Isa 3:4), with the suffix of the object: fates that will use them ill, and brings their terrors upon them, i.e., such a condition of life as will inspire them with terror (megūrōth, as in Psa 34:5).”