Bible Society of South Africa
Xanthe Galanis

Come to Me – Day 19

Hear the word of the Lord

Se(di)ngolwa (t)sa Bibele

ESAYA 66

2Ntho tsena tsohle di entswe ke nna,

ka di etsa, mme jwale di teng,”

ho rialo Morena.

“Ya tjena ke yena eo ke mo ratang:

Ya ikokobeditseng,

ya moya o robehileng,

ya thothomelang

ha a utlwa lentswe la ka.

3Empa ya etsang mahlabelo ka poho,

o tshwana le mmolai wa motho;

ya etsang nyehelo ka konyana,

o tshwana le ya robang ntja molala;

ya etsang nyehelo ka dijo,

o tshwana le ya nyehelang

ka madi a kolobe;

ya tjhesang mokubetso

ho etsa kgopotso,

o tshwana le ya kgumamelang

modimo wa bohata.

E, ba ikgethetse tsela tsa bona,

meya ya bona

e thabela manyala a bona.

ESAYA 66:2-3SSO89SOBula ka mmadi wa Bibele

ESAYA 66

18“Ke tseba diketso tsa bona

le mehopolo ya bona;

nako e tla fihla,

ke kgobokanye ditjhaba,

le ba dipuo tsohle,

bohle ba tla tla

ba bohe tlotla ya ka.

19“Ke tla etsa pontsho hara bona,

ba phonyohileng

ke ba romele ditjhabeng

tsa Tarshishe, le Pule, le Lode,

e leng tsona tse tummeng

ka ho fula ka metsu.

Ke tla ba romela Tubale le Jafane,

le dihlekehlekeng tse hole,

tse eso utlwe botumo ba ka,

tse eso bone le yona tlotla ya ka;

ba tla phatlalatsa

tlotla ya ka hara ditjhaba.

20Ba tla tlisa bana babo lona bohle,

ba ba tlise ba etswa ditjhabeng,

ba ba tlise ho Morena e le nyehelo,

ba ba tlise ba palame dipere,

le kariki tsa ntwa le makoloi,

ba ba tlise

ba palame dimmeile le dikamele,

ba ba tlise Jerusalema,

thabeng ya ka e halalelang,”

ho rialo Morena.

“Ba tla ba tlisa sa bana ba Iseraele,

ba tlisa nyehelo,

ba e tlisa ka Tempeleng ya Morena,

ba e tlisa

e le ka janeng se hlwekileng.

21Ba bang ba bona

ke tla ba etsa baprista,

ke ba etse Balevi,”

ho rialo Morena.

22“Jwalokaha mahodimo a matjha

le lefatshe le letjha,

e leng dintho tseo ke tla di bopa,

di tla ba kapele ho nna kamehla,”

ho rialo Morena,

“ditloholo tsa ona

di tla hlola jwalo,

le lona lebitso la lona

le hlole jwalo.”

23Morena o re:

“Batho bohle ba tla nkgumamela,

ba nkgumalele

ha kgwedi ka nngwe e thwasa;

ba nkgumamele

ka Sabatha se seng le se seng.

24Ba tla tsamaya, ba yo bona ditopo,

topo tsa ba ileng ba ntshitelwa;

boko tse ba jang

ha di ka ke tsa eshwa,

mollo o ba tjhesang

ha o ka ke wa tima,

mme batho bohle

ba tla ba nyonya.”

ESAYA 66:18-24SSO89SOBula ka mmadi wa Bibele

Isaiah ends with a picture of God’s final judgement and the reward of the righteous in the earth made new. God’s glory will be proclaimed to all nations and people from all nations will come to him and worship. A new heaven and a new earth are revealed. What a marvellous conclusion to this beautiful word declared through Isaiah!

However, although Isaiah 66 ends on a note of apocalyptic decisiveness and hope (66:18-24), the beginning of the chapter provides one more warning: “This is the one I esteem,” God says, “he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word” (66:2). A few verses later, Isaiah directly addresses the faithful as “you who tremble at his word” (66:5). They are contrasted with those who do not answer or listen when the Lord calls and speaks (66:4). These key verses summarise Isaiah’s message – the opposite of sin is not religion, but humble obedience.

In every generation, what ultimately distinguishes the true from the false, among God’s people, is not those who put on the best show of being a Christian, it is those who remain faithful to the word of God.

Do you tremble at God’s word? Do you take God’s words seriously or do you expect God to conform to your own wishes, desires and expectations? Do you accept those parts of the Bible that you agree with and reject those that you consider inconvenient or wrong? If God’s word conflicts with your culture, which do you follow?

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