651 I sought out those who didn't seek me, and said to them, "Look at me, look at me."
2 But they were rebellious and thought their own thoughts.
4 They ate swine's flesh, and a broth of abominable things.
5 They say to me, "Stay away from me. I am holier than thou."
They are smoke in my nose.
Bow down to the slaughter
11 You have forsaken me and my holy mountain.
12 So I will slaughter you with the sword.
13 My servants will eat, but still be hungry; drink, but still be thirsty; rejoice, but be ashamed.
14 My servants sing with joy, but you will cry and howl.
15 You'll be a curse to my chosen people. I'll kill you and call my servants by another name.
The lion shall eat straw
17 I'm creating a new heaven and a new earth. The old earth will be forgotten.
18 I'll create a new Jerusalem, where everyone will be happy.
19 There will be no more crying.
20 There will be no more childhood deaths, and people will have lifespans of at least 100 years.
(Those who will die younger than 100 will be considered accursed. )
17 Those who purify themselves in gardens while eating swine flesh, the abomination, and mice will all be killed together.
Come see my glory
18 I know all their thoughts. I'll gather everyone together and show them my glory.
19 I'll set a sign among them.
20 Everyone will come with their horses, chariots, mules, and swift beasts to my holy mountain.
23 They'll all come to worship me.
Immortal worms
24 And they'll see all the carcasses of those who have offended me. The worms that are eating the dead bodies will never die. And the fire that burns them will never be extinguished. It'll be disgusting for everyone to see.
Lucilia sericata larva
A few more words about this episode
Don't let the eunuch say, “I am a dry tree.” (56:1)
As I say in Strange Flesh: The Bible and Homosexuality, these verses make it clear that "God prefers eunchs to everyone else, and will give them a better place and an everlasting name. Eunuchs should be proud of being eunuchs, fight for eunuch rights, and march in eunuch pride marches."
The spirit of the Lord is upon me (61:1)
Jesus applied these words to himself in Luke 4:16-21 in his hometown of Nazareth. The people reacted by trying to throw him off a cliff.
The worms that are eating the dead bodies will never die. (66:24)
The worms that Isaiah is referring to here are not worms, but fly larvae or maggots. One of the most common is the Common Green Bottle Fly (Lucilia sericata), a blow fly that is common throughout the world and are used in maggot therapy.
Many other organisms (bacteria, flies, beetles, mites, moths, etc.) consume dead bodies. But the blow flies are among the most common.
Here's a photo of a Greenbottle Fly that I took in our yard.