Isaiah 66:6
in Isaiah 66Hear the uproar from the city; listen to the voice from the temple! It is the voice of the LORD, repaying His enemies what they deserve!
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
A voice of tumult from the city, a voice from the temple, a voice of Jehovah that rendereth recompense to his enemies.
KJV
A voice of noise from the city, a voice from the temple, a voice of the Lord that rendereth recompence to his enemies.
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This verse in Isaiah 66
Commentary
11 notes on this verseA voice of noise from the city, a voice from the temple, a voice of the Lord - It is very remarkable that similar words were spoken by Jesus, son of Ananias, previously to the destruction of Jerusalem. See his very affecting history related by Josephus, War, B. vi., chap. v.
This site's exposition
Hear the uproar from the city
Three sounds are named in one verse, the uproar from the city, the voice from the temple, and the voice of the LORD. The temple becomes the source of judgment, “repaying His enemies what they deserve”. The repayment answers the empty sacrifices of verses 3 and 4.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
(Verse 6) The voice (of the common people) cries out from the city, the voice from the Temple, the voice of the Lord giving retribution to his enemies. They put "LXX" in place of "cries out" and "clamor", and so on. We want to know what the confusion of the Jews is, who said: Let the Lord be glorified, so that we may see your joy and the triumphs of your king, not in vain through promises, but with our own eyes.
For it was the Lord's voice that said, "rendering recompense to his enemies," ordering and exhorting those who destroy to spare none of those captured, savagely attacking the enemies and not only simply with the wrath of warriors but also with the will of the Sovereign. For this was only the means of their captivity and suffering.
The Medieval Church1 voice
In this manner, because a voice of the people, fearing, the voice of the Lord, as to the tumult of their enemies: the voice of the day of the Lord is bitter (Zeph 1:14).
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
He that, &c. - Solomon, Prov. xv, 8, gives a full commentary on the whole verse; The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord. As if - From hence it is plain, that the prophet is not here reflecting upon idolatrous worship, but formal worship: upon those who in a formality worshipped the true God, and by acts which he had appointed.
Some think this prophecy was fulfilled in the prodigies that went before that destruction of Jerusalem, related by Josephus in his History of the Wars of the Jews (4.388 and 6.311), that the temple-doors flew open suddenly of their own accord, and the priests heard a noise of motion or shifting in the most holy place, and presently a voice, saying, Let us depart hence.
4 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
A voice - The expression of a prophetical extasy, as if he said, I hear a sad and affrighting noise; it comes not from the city only, but from the temple, wherein these formalists have so much gloried. There is a noise of soldiers slaying, and of the poor people shrieking or crying out.
A voice of noise from the city,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
God, from Jerusalem and His "temple," shall take vengeance on the enemy (Eze 43:1-8; The abrupt language of this verse marks the suddenness with which God destroys the hostile Gentile host outside: as Isa 66:5 refers to the confounding of the unbelieving Jews. voice of noise--that is, the Lord's loud-sounding voice (Ps 68:33;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
A voice of noise from the city - That is, from the city of Jerusalem. The prophet sees in a vision a tumult in the city. He hears a voice that issues from the temple. His manner and language are rapid and hurried - such as a man would evince who should suddenly see a vast tumultuous assemblage, and hear a confused sound of many voices. There is also a remarkable abruptness in the whole description here. The preceding verse was calm and solemn. It was full of affectionate assurance of the divine favor to those whom the prophet saw to be persecuted. Here the scene suddenly changes. The vision passes to the agitating events which were occurring in the city and the temple, and to the great and sudden change which would be produced in the condition of the church of God. But to whom or what this refers has been a subject of considerable difference of opinion. Grotius understands it of the sound of triumph of Judas Maccabeus, and of his soldiers, rejoicing that the city was forsaken by Antiochus, and by the party of the Jews who adhered to him. Rosenmuller understands it of the voice of God, who is seen by the prophet taking vengeance on his foes. There can be no doubt that the prophet, in vision, sees Yahweh taking recompence on his enemies - for that is expressly specified. Still it is not easy to determine the exact time referred to, or the exact scene which passes before the mind of the prophet. […]
The words behind it
10 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ק֤וֹל | kol | a sound of | H6963 → | 506 times |
| שָׁאוֹן֙ | shaon | an uproar | H7588 → | 18 times |
| מֵעִ֔יר | meir | from [the] city | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| ק֖וֹל | kol | a sound | H6963 → | 506 times |
| מֵֽהֵיכָ֑ל | meheikhal | from [the] temple | H1964 → | 80 times |
| ק֣וֹל | kol | [the] sound of | H6963 → | 506 times |
| יְהוָ֔ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| מְשַׁלֵּ֥ם | meshalem | repaying | H7999 → | 116 times |
| גְּמ֖וּל | gemul | recompense | H1576 → | 19 times |
| לְאֹיְבָֽיו׃ | leoyevav | to enemies his | H341 → | 282 times |
ק֤וֹלa sound of
kolH6963 →506 times
שָׁאוֹן֙an uproar
shaonH7588 →18 times
מֵעִ֔ירfrom [the] city
meirH5892 →1090 times
ק֖וֹלa sound
kolH6963 →506 times
מֵֽהֵיכָ֑לfrom [the] temple
meheikhalH1964 →80 times
ק֣וֹל[the] sound of
kolH6963 →506 times
יְהוָ֔הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
מְשַׁלֵּ֥םrepaying
meshalemH7999 →116 times
גְּמ֖וּלrecompense
gemulH1576 →19 times
לְאֹיְבָֽיו׃to enemies his
leoyevavH341 →282 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Amos 1:2He said: “The LORD roars from Zion and raises His voice from Jerusalem; the pastures of the shepherds mourn, and the summit of Carmel withers.”
it leads to
- Joel 3:16
The LORD will roar from Zion and raise His voice from Jerusalem; heaven and earth will tremble. But the LORD will be a refuge for His people, a stronghold for the people of Israel.
- Jeremiah 25:30
So you are to prophesy all these words against them and say to them: ‘The LORD will roar from on high; He will raise His voice from His holy habitation. He will roar loudly…
- Isaiah 42:13
The LORD goes forth like a mighty one; He stirs up His zeal like a warrior. He shouts; yes, He roars in triumph over His enemies:
- Joel 3:16
Through
Isaiah 59:18So He will repay according to their deeds: fury to His enemies, retribution to His foes, and recompense to the islands.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 17:10
I, the LORD, search the heart; I examine the mind to reward a man according to his way, by what his deeds deserve.
- Isaiah 63:6
I trampled the nations in My anger; in My wrath I made them drunk and poured out their blood on the ground.”
- Romans 2:6
God “will repay each one according to his deeds.”
- Jeremiah 17:10
Through
Isaiah 34:8For the LORD has a day of vengeance, a year of recompense for the cause of Zion.
it leads to
- Isaiah 63:4
For the day of vengeance was in My heart, and the year of My redemption had come.
- Isaiah 61:2
to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of our God’s vengeance, to comfort all who mourn,
- Isaiah 63:4
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Isaiah
This page draws on 11 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Isaiah; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Cyril of Alexandria, COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 5:6.66:6; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Calvin, Commentary on the Book of the Prophet Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.