Isaiah 66:1

“Thus says YHWH: “The heavens are my throne, and the earth the footstool of my feet. Where is this house that you would build for me, and where is this place of my rest?”
Isaiah 66:1 · direct translation from the Hebrew

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God, whose throne is heaven, looks to the afflicted and downcast who tremble at his wordHumility and Service

With the Hebrew beneath

ThusכֹּהsaysאָמַרYHWH:יְהוָה“The heavensהַשָּׁמַיִםare my throne,כִּסְאִיand the earthוְהָאָרֶץthe footstoolהֲדֹםof my feet.רַגְלָיWhereאֵיis thisזֶהhouseבַיִתthatאֲשֶׁרyou would buildתִּבְנוּfor me,לִיand whereוְאֵיis thisזֶהplaceמָקוֹםof my rest?מְנוּחָתִי

Allusion · Matthew 5:35

Go to Matthew 5:35

Both texts call the earth “the footstool of his feet.”

They share words that are rare in the original, without a quotation.

אָרֶץaretsH776γῇgēiG1093“earth, land”
הֲדֹםhadomH1916ὑποπόδιόνhypopodionG5286“footstool”
רַגְלָraglaH7272ποδῶνpodōnG4228“foot; time”

Quotation · Acts 7:49-50

Go to Acts 7:49-50

Stephen quotes Isaiah 66:1-2. He ends with a question (“Did not my hand make all these things?”) where the Hebrew makes a statement.

Formula: καθὼς ὁ προφήτης λέγει “as the prophet says” (Acts 7:48)

See the original texts

Greek of the New Testament: Ὁ οὐρανός μοι θρόνος ἡ δὲ γῆ ὑποπόδιον τῶν ποδῶν μου ποῖον οἶκον οἰκοδομήσετέ μοι λέγει κύριος ἢ τίς τόπος τῆς καταπαύσεώς μου οὐχὶ ἡ χείρ μου ἐποίησεν ταῦτα πάντα

Hebrew (Masoretic text): כֹּה אָמַר יְהוָה הַשָּׁמַיִם כִּסְאִי וְהָאָרֶץ הֲדֹם רַגְלָי אֵי זֶה בַיִת אֲשֶׁר תִּבְנוּ לִי וְאֵי זֶה מָקוֹם מְנוּחָתִי וְאֶת כָּל אֵלֶּה יָדִי עָשָׂתָה וַיִּהְיוּ כָל אֵלֶּה נְאֻם יְהוָה וְאֶל זֶה אַבִּיט אֶל עָנִי וּנְכֵה רוּחַ וְחָרֵד עַל דְּבָרִי

Septuagint (Isaiah 66:1-2 in the Septuagint numbering): Οὕτως λέγει Κύριος Ὁ οὐρανός μοι θρόνος, ἡ δὲ γῆ ὑποπόδιον τῶν ποδῶν μου· ποῖον οἶκον οἰκοδομήσετέ μοι; ἢ ποῖος τόπος τῆς καταπαύσεώς μου; πάντα γὰρ ταῦτα ἐποίησεν ἡ χείρ μου, καί ἐστιν ἐμὰ πάντα ταῦτα, λέγει Κύριος· καὶ ἐπὶ τίνα ἐπιβλέψω ἀλλ’ ἢ ἐπὶ τὸν ταπεινὸν καὶ ἡσύχιον καὶ τρέμοντα τοὺς λόγους μου;

The Greek of the NT matches the Septuagint word for word in 15 consecutive words: “Ὁ οὐρανός μοι θρόνος ἡ δὲ γῆ ὑποπόδιον τῶν ποδῶν μου ποῖον οἶκον οἰκοδομήσετέ μοι.”

Septuagint, Swete’s text, First1KGreek transcription (with reading errors), CC BY-SA 4.0

Isaiah 66:1, word by word

saysאָמַרamar

say

To say with the mouth to someone what one thinks or wants, or to answer him.

Where else “amar” appears

YHWHיְהוָהyehva

YHWH

The personal name of the God of Israel, written in Hebrew with four letters, Y-H-W-H, without vowels. Out of reverence Jews stopped pronouncing it and read "Adonai" (Lord), so many Bibles put "the LORD" or "Jehovah". This translation keeps the four letters. The name is related to the verb "to be" (Exodus 3:14-15). He is not a god other than Elohim: "YHWH Elohim" is the same Creator God, called by his name.

Where else “yehva” appears

“The heavensשָּׁמַיִםshamayim

heaven

God's dwelling, from which he is called "the Elohim of the heavens".

Where else “shamayim” appears

are my throneכִּסְאִkisi

throne

Literally "the seat": the king's chair, or YHWH's, from which he rules.

Where else “kisi” appears

and the earthאָרֶץarets

earth

The whole world, everything under the sky.

Where else “arets” appears

the footstoolהֲדֹםhadom

footstool

Footstool: a low stool on which the feet of someone seated rest. The Bible uses it as an image: the ark, the temple, or the earth is God's "footstool," that is, the place where his throne touches the earth.

Where else “hadom” appears

of my feetרַגְלָragla

foot

The part of the body that supports and makes one walk.

Where else “ragla” appears

houseבַיִתvayit

temple

The temple: "the house of YHWH".

Where else “vayit” appears

you would buildתִּבְנוּtivnu

build

To raise a house, a city or an altar, setting stone on stone.

Where else “tivnu” appears

placeמָקוֹםmakom

place

A place, a spot.

Where else “makom” appears

of my restמְנוּחָתִmenuchati

rest, resting place

Rest, a place of rest.

Where else “menuchati” appears

Translation note

Stephen quotes 66:1-2 in Acts 7:49-50.

Parallel passages

Other books that tell the same thing or quote these words.

Quotation · Acts 7:49-50

Stephen quotes Isaiah 66:1-2. He ends with a question (“Did not my hand make all these things?”) where the Hebrew makes a statement.

See them side by side

Isaiah 66:1

¹Thus says YHWH: “The heavens are my throne, and the earth the footstool of my feet. Where is this house that you would build for me, and where is this place of my rest?

Acts 7:49-50

⁴⁹‘Heaven is my throne, and the earth is a footstool for my feet. What kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord, or what is the place of my rest?

The context

1 · This verse (above)

2And all these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares YHWH. But to this one I will look: to the afflicted and the stricken in spirit, and the one who trembles at my word.

Read all of Isaiah 66

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