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Salvation for the Gentiles

56 Thus says the Lord:

“Keep justice, and do righteousness,
(A)For My salvation is about to come,
And My righteousness to be revealed.
Blessed is the man who does this,
And the son of man who lays hold on it;
(B)Who keeps from defiling the Sabbath,
And keeps his hand from doing any evil.”

Do not let (C)the son of the foreigner
Who has joined himself to the Lord
Speak, saying,
“The Lord has utterly separated me from His people”;
Nor let the (D)eunuch say,
“Here I am, a dry tree.”
For thus says the Lord:
“To the eunuchs who keep My Sabbaths,
And choose what pleases Me,
And hold fast My covenant,
Even to them I will give in (E)My house
And within My walls a place (F)and a name
Better than that of sons and daughters;
I will give [a]them an everlasting name
That shall not be cut off.

“Also the sons of the foreigner
Who join themselves to the Lord, to serve Him,
And to love the name of the Lord, to be His servants—
Everyone who keeps from defiling the Sabbath,
And holds fast My covenant—
Even them I will (G)bring to My holy mountain,
And make them joyful in My (H)house of prayer.
(I)Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices
Will be (J)accepted on My altar;
For (K)My house shall be called a house of prayer (L)for all nations.”
The Lord God, (M)who gathers the outcasts of Israel, says,
(N)“Yet I will gather to him
Others besides those who are gathered to him.”

Israel’s Irresponsible Leaders

(O)All you beasts of the field, come to devour,
All you beasts in the forest.
10 His watchmen are (P)blind,
They are all ignorant;
(Q)They are all dumb dogs,
They cannot bark;
[b]Sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber.
11 Yes, they are (R)greedy[c] dogs
Which (S)never[d] have enough.
And they are shepherds
Who cannot understand;
They all look to their own way,
Every one for his own gain,
From his own territory.
12 “Come,” one says, “I will bring wine,
And we will fill ourselves with intoxicating (T)drink;
(U)Tomorrow will be (V)as today,
And much more abundant.”

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 56:5 Lit. him
  2. Isaiah 56:10 Or Dreaming
  3. Isaiah 56:11 Lit. strong of soul
  4. Isaiah 56:11 Lit. do not know satisfaction

Rewards for Obedience to God

56 This is what the Lord says,
“Maintain justice and do righteousness,
For My salvation is soon to come,
And My righteousness and justice is soon to be revealed.(A)

“Blessed (happy, fortunate) is the man who does this,
And the son of man who takes hold of it,
Who keeps the Sabbath without profaning it,
And keeps his hand from doing any evil.”

Do not let the foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord say,
“The Lord will most certainly separate me from His people.”
And do not let the eunuch say, “Look, I am a dry tree.”

This is what the Lord says,

“To the eunuchs who keep My Sabbaths
And choose what pleases Me,
And hold firmly to My covenant,

To them I will give in My house and within My walls a memorial,
And a name better than that of sons and daughters;
I will give them an everlasting name which will not be cut off.


“Also the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord,
To minister to Him, and to love the name of the Lord,
To be His servants, everyone who keeps the Sabbath without profaning it
And holds fast to My covenant [by conscientious obedience];

All these I will bring to My holy mountain
And make them joyful in My house of prayer.
Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will [a]be accepted on My altar;
For My house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples.”

The Lord God, who gathers the dispersed of Israel, declares:
“I will gather yet others to them (Israel), to those [already] gathered.”


All you beasts of the field,
All you beasts (hostile nations) in the forest,
Come to eat.
10 
Israel’s watchmen are blind,
They are all without knowledge.
They are all mute dogs, they cannot bark;
Panting, lying down, they love to slumber.
11 
And the dogs are greedy; they [b]never have enough.
They are shepherds who have no understanding;
They have all turned to their own way,
Each one to his unlawful gain, without exception.
12 
“Come,” [they say,] “let us get wine, and let us fill ourselves with strong drink;
And tomorrow will be like today, very great indeed.”

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 56:7 Or win favor.
  2. Isaiah 56:11 Lit do not know satisfaction.

Blessings for All Nations

56 This is what the Lord says:

“Be just and fair to all.
    Do what is right and good,
for I am coming soon to rescue you
    and to display my righteousness among you.
Blessed are all those
    who are careful to do this.
Blessed are those who honor my Sabbath days of rest
    and keep themselves from doing wrong.

“Don’t let foreigners who commit themselves to the Lord say,
    ‘The Lord will never let me be part of his people.’
And don’t let the eunuchs say,
    ‘I’m a dried-up tree with no children and no future.’
For this is what the Lord says:
I will bless those eunuchs
    who keep my Sabbath days holy
and who choose to do what pleases me
    and commit their lives to me.
I will give them—within the walls of my house—
    a memorial and a name
    far greater than sons and daughters could give.
For the name I give them is an everlasting one.
    It will never disappear!

“I will also bless the foreigners who commit themselves to the Lord,
    who serve him and love his name,
who worship him and do not desecrate the Sabbath day of rest,
    and who hold fast to my covenant.
I will bring them to my holy mountain of Jerusalem
    and will fill them with joy in my house of prayer.
I will accept their burnt offerings and sacrifices,
    because my Temple will be called a house of prayer for all nations.
For the Sovereign Lord,
    who brings back the outcasts of Israel, says:
I will bring others, too,
    besides my people Israel.”

Sinful Leaders Condemned

Come, wild animals of the field!
    Come, wild animals of the forest!
    Come and devour my people!
10 For the leaders of my people—
    the Lord’s watchmen, his shepherds—
    are blind and ignorant.
They are like silent watchdogs
    that give no warning when danger comes.
They love to lie around, sleeping and dreaming.
11     Like greedy dogs, they are never satisfied.
They are ignorant shepherds,
    all following their own path
    and intent on personal gain.
12 “Come,” they say, “let’s get some wine and have a party.
    Let’s all get drunk.
Then tomorrow we’ll do it again
    and have an even bigger party!”

Foreigners Keeping Shabbat

56 Thus says Adonai:

“Preserve justice,
do righteousness.
For My salvation is about to come,
and My righteousness to be revealed.
Blessed is the one who does this,
the son of man who takes hold of it,
who keeps from profaning Shabbat,
and keeps his hand from doing any evil.
Do not let a son of a foreigner who has joined himself to Adonai[a] say,
Adonai will surely exclude me from His people.”
Nor let the eunuch say,
    ‘Behold, I am a dry tree.’”
For thus says Adonai,
“To the eunuchs who keep My Shabbatot,
    who choose what pleases Me,
    and hold fast My covenant:
I will give to them in My House and within My walls
    a memorial and a name[b]
    better than sons and daughters.
I will give them an everlasting name
    that will not be cut off.
Also the foreigners who join themselves to Adonai, to minister to Him,
and to love the Name of Adonai,
and to be His servants—
all who keep from profaning Shabbat,
and hold fast to My covenant—
these I will bring to My holy mountain,
and let them rejoice in My House of Prayer.
Their burnt offerings and sacrifices
    will be acceptable on My altar.
For My House will be called
    a House of Prayer for all nations.”[c]
Adonai Elohim,
    who gathers the dispersed of Israel, declares,
“I will gather still others to him,
    to those already gathered.”

All you beasts of the field, come to eat,
all you beasts in the forest.
10 His watchmen are all blind.
All of them know nothing.
All of them are mute dogs unable to bark,
dreamers lying down, lovers of slumber,
11 and the dogs are greedy—
    they never have enough.
They are shepherds with no discernment.
They have all turned to their own way,
    each to his own gain, one and all.
12 “Come, let’s get wine, let’s guzzle strong drink.
Tomorrow will be like today,
    only even better!”

Salvation for Others

56 This is what the Lord says:

“Maintain justice(A)
    and do what is right,(B)
for my salvation(C) is close at hand
    and my righteousness(D) will soon be revealed.
Blessed(E) is the one who does this—
    the person who holds it fast,
who keeps the Sabbath(F) without desecrating it,
    and keeps their hands from doing any evil.”

Let no foreigner(G) who is bound to the Lord say,
    “The Lord will surely exclude me from his people.”(H)
And let no eunuch(I) complain,
    “I am only a dry tree.”

For this is what the Lord says:

“To the eunuchs(J) who keep my Sabbaths,
    who choose what pleases me
    and hold fast to my covenant(K)
to them I will give within my temple and its walls(L)
    a memorial(M) and a name
    better than sons and daughters;
I will give them an everlasting name(N)
    that will endure forever.(O)
And foreigners(P) who bind themselves to the Lord
    to minister(Q) to him,
to love the name(R) of the Lord,
    and to be his servants,
all who keep the Sabbath(S) without desecrating it
    and who hold fast to my covenant—
these I will bring to my holy mountain(T)
    and give them joy in my house of prayer.
Their burnt offerings and sacrifices(U)
    will be accepted on my altar;
for my house will be called
    a house of prayer for all nations.(V)(W)
The Sovereign Lord declares—
    he who gathers the exiles of Israel:
“I will gather(X) still others to them
    besides those already gathered.”

God’s Accusation Against the Wicked

Come, all you beasts of the field,(Y)
    come and devour, all you beasts of the forest!
10 Israel’s watchmen(Z) are blind,
    they all lack knowledge;(AA)
they are all mute dogs,
    they cannot bark;
they lie around and dream,
    they love to sleep.(AB)
11 They are dogs with mighty appetites;
    they never have enough.
They are shepherds(AC) who lack understanding;(AD)
    they all turn to their own way,(AE)
    they seek their own gain.(AF)
12 “Come,” each one cries, “let me get wine!(AG)
    Let us drink our fill of beer!
And tomorrow will be like today,
    or even far better.”(AH)