Isaiah 55-57
New King James Version
An Invitation to Abundant Life
55 “Ho! (A)Everyone who thirsts,
Come to the waters;
And you who have no money,
(B)Come, buy and eat.
Yes, come, buy wine and milk
Without money and without price.
2 Why do you [a]spend money for what is not bread,
And your wages for what does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good,
And let your soul delight itself in abundance.
3 Incline your ear, and (C)come to Me.
Hear, and your soul shall live;
(D)And I will make an everlasting covenant with you—
The (E)sure mercies of David.
4 Indeed I have given him as (F)a witness to the people,
(G)A leader and commander for the people.
5 (H)Surely you shall call a nation you do not know,
(I)And nations who do not know you shall run to you,
Because of the Lord your God,
And the Holy One of Israel;
(J)For He has glorified you.”
6 (K)Seek the Lord while He may be (L)found,
Call upon Him while He is near.
7 (M)Let the [b]wicked forsake his way,
And the unrighteous man (N)his thoughts;
Let him return to the Lord,
(O)And He will have mercy on him;
And to our God,
For He will abundantly pardon.
8 “For(P) My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord.
9 “For(Q) as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways,
And My thoughts than your thoughts.
10 “For (R)as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven,
And do not return there,
But water the earth,
And make it bring forth and bud,
That it may give seed to the sower
And bread to the eater,
11 (S)So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth;
It shall not return to Me [c]void,
But it shall accomplish what I please,
And it shall (T)prosper in the thing for which I sent it.
12 “For(U) you shall go out with joy,
And be led out with peace;
The mountains and the hills
Shall (V)break forth into singing before you,
And (W)all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
13 (X)Instead of (Y)the thorn shall come up the cypress tree,
And instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree;
And it shall be to the Lord (Z)for a name,
For an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.”
Salvation for the Gentiles
56 Thus says the Lord:
“Keep justice, and do righteousness,
(AA)For My salvation is about to come,
And My righteousness to be revealed.
2 Blessed is the man who does this,
And the son of man who lays hold on it;
(AB)Who keeps from defiling the Sabbath,
And keeps his hand from doing any evil.”
3 Do not let (AC)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 (AD)eunuch say,
“Here I am, a dry tree.”
4 For thus says the Lord:
“To the eunuchs who keep My Sabbaths,
And choose what pleases Me,
And hold fast My covenant,
5 Even to them I will give in (AE)My house
And within My walls a place (AF)and a name
Better than that of sons and daughters;
I will give [d]them an everlasting name
That shall not be cut off.
6 “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—
7 Even them I will (AG)bring to My holy mountain,
And make them joyful in My (AH)house of prayer.
(AI)Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices
Will be (AJ)accepted on My altar;
For (AK)My house shall be called a house of prayer (AL)for all nations.”
8 The Lord God, (AM)who gathers the outcasts of Israel, says,
(AN)“Yet I will gather to him
Others besides those who are gathered to him.”
Israel’s Irresponsible Leaders
9 (AO)All you beasts of the field, come to devour,
All you beasts in the forest.
10 His watchmen are (AP)blind,
They are all ignorant;
(AQ)They are all dumb dogs,
They cannot bark;
[e]Sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber.
11 Yes, they are (AR)greedy[f] dogs
Which (AS)never[g] 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 (AT)drink;
(AU)Tomorrow will be (AV)as today,
And much more abundant.”
Israel’s Futile Idolatry
57 The righteous perishes,
And no man takes it to heart;
(AW)Merciful men are taken away,
(AX)While no one considers
That the righteous is taken away from [h]evil.
2 He shall enter into peace;
They shall rest in (AY)their beds,
Each one walking in his uprightness.
3 “But come here,
(AZ)You sons of the sorceress,
You offspring of the adulterer and the harlot!
4 Whom do you ridicule?
Against whom do you make a wide mouth
And stick out the tongue?
Are you not children of transgression,
Offspring of falsehood,
5 Inflaming yourselves with gods (BA)under every green tree,
(BB)Slaying the children in the valleys,
Under the clefts of the rocks?
6 Among the smooth (BC)stones of the stream
Is your portion;
They, they, are your lot!
Even to them you have poured a drink offering,
You have offered a grain offering.
Should I receive comfort in (BD)these?
7 “On(BE) a lofty and high mountain
You have set (BF)your bed;
Even there you went up
To offer sacrifice.
8 Also behind the doors and their posts
You have set up your remembrance;
For you have uncovered yourself to those other than Me,
And have gone up to them;
You have enlarged your bed
And [i]made a covenant with them;
(BG)You have loved their bed,
Where you saw their [j]nudity.
9 (BH)You went to the king with ointment,
And increased your perfumes;
You sent your (BI)messengers far off,
And even descended to Sheol.
10 You are wearied in the length of your way;
(BJ)Yet you did not say, ‘There is no hope.’
You have found the life of your hand;
Therefore you were not grieved.
11 “And (BK)of whom have you been afraid, or feared,
That you have lied
And not remembered Me,
Nor taken it to your heart?
Is it not because (BL)I have [k]held My peace from of old
That you do not fear Me?
12 I will declare your righteousness
And your works,
For they will not profit you.
13 When you cry out,
Let your collection of idols deliver you.
But the wind will carry them all away,
A breath will take them.
But he who puts his trust in Me shall possess the land,
And shall inherit My holy mountain.”
Healing for the Backslider
14 And one shall say,
(BM)“Heap it up! Heap it up!
Prepare the way,
Take the stumbling block out of the way of My people.”
15 For thus says the High and Lofty One
Who inhabits eternity, (BN)whose name is Holy:
(BO)“I dwell in the high and holy place,
(BP)With him who has a contrite and humble spirit,
(BQ)To revive the spirit of the humble,
And to revive the heart of the contrite ones.
16 (BR)For I will not contend forever,
Nor will I always be angry;
For the spirit would fail before Me,
And the souls (BS)which I have made.
17 For the iniquity of (BT)his covetousness
I was angry and struck him;
(BU)I hid and was angry,
(BV)And he went on [l]backsliding in the way of his heart.
18 I have seen his ways, and (BW)will heal him;
I will also lead him,
And restore comforts to him
And to (BX)his mourners.
19 “I create (BY)the fruit of the lips:
Peace, peace (BZ)to him who is far off and to him who is near,”
Says the Lord,
“And I will heal him.”
20 (CA)But the wicked are like the troubled sea,
When it cannot rest,
Whose waters cast up mire and dirt.
21 “There(CB) is no peace,”
Says my God, “for the wicked.”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 55:2 Lit. weigh out silver
- Isaiah 55:7 Lit. man of iniquity
- Isaiah 55:11 empty, without fruit
- Isaiah 56:5 Lit. him
- Isaiah 56:10 Or Dreaming
- Isaiah 56:11 Lit. strong of soul
- Isaiah 56:11 Lit. do not know satisfaction
- Isaiah 57:1 Lit. the face of evil
- Isaiah 57:8 Lit. cut
- Isaiah 57:8 Lit. hand, a euphemism
- Isaiah 57:11 remained silent
- Isaiah 57:17 Or turning back
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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