Isaiah 55-57
Complete Jewish Bible
55 “All you who are thirsty, come to the water!
You without money, come, buy, and eat!
Yes, come! Buy wine and milk
without money — it’s free!
2 Why spend money for what isn’t food,
your wages for what doesn’t satisfy?
Listen carefully to me, and you will eat well,
you will enjoy the fat of the land.
3 Open your ears, and come to me;
listen well, and you will live —
I will make an everlasting covenant with you,
the grace I assured David.
4 I have given him as a witness to the peoples,
a leader and lawgiver for the peoples.
5 You will summon a nation you do not know,
and a nation that doesn’t know you will run to you,
for the sake of Adonai your God,
the Holy One of Isra’el, who will glorify you.”
6 Seek Adonai while he is available,
call on him while he is still nearby.
7 Let the wicked person abandon his way
and the evil person his thoughts;
let him return to Adonai,
and he will have mercy on him;
let him return to our God,
for he will freely forgive.
8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
and your ways are not my ways,” says Adonai.
9 “As high as the sky is above the earth
are my ways higher than your ways,
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
10 For just as rain and snow fall from the sky
and do not return there, but water the earth,
causing it to bud and produce,
giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater;
11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth —
it will not return to me unfulfilled;
but it will accomplish what I intend,
and cause to succeed what I sent it to do.”
12 Yes, you will go out with joy,
you will be led forth in peace.
As you come, the mountains and hills
will burst out into song,
and all the trees in the countryside
will clap their hands.
13 Cypresses will grow in place of thorns,
myrtles will grow instead of briars.
This will bring fame to Adonai
as an eternal, imperishable sign.
56 Here is what Adonai says:
“Observe justice, do what is right,
for my salvation is close to coming,
my righteousness to being revealed.”
2 Happy is the person who does this,
anyone who grasps it firmly,
who keeps Shabbat and does not profane it,
and keeps himself from doing any evil.
3 A foreigner joining Adonai should not say,
“Adonai will separate me from his people”;
likewise the eunuch should not say,
“I am only a dried-up tree.”
4 For here is what Adonai says:
“As for the eunuchs who keep my Shabbats,
who choose what pleases me
and hold fast to my covenant:
5 in my house, within my walls,
I will give them power and a name
greater than sons and daughters;
I will give him an everlasting name
that will not be cut off.
6 “And the foreigners who join themselves to Adonai
to serve him, to love the name of Adonai,
and to be his workers,
all who keep Shabbat and do not profane it,
and hold fast to my covenant,
7 I will bring them to my holy mountain
and make them joyful in my house of prayer;
their burnt offerings and sacrifices
will be accepted on my altar;
for my house will be called
a house of prayer for all peoples.”
8 Adonai Elohim says,
he who gathers Isra’el’s exiles:
“There are yet others I will gather,
besides those gathered already.”
9 All you wild animals, come and devour,
yes, all you animals in the forest!
10 [Isra’el’s] watchmen are, all of them, blind;
they don’t know anything.
They are all dumb dogs, unable to bark,
lying there dreaming, loving to sleep.
11 Greedy dogs, never satisfied —
such are the shepherds, unable to understand;
they all turn to their own way,
each one intent on his own gain:
12 “Come, I’ll get some wine,
we’ll fill up on good, strong liquor!
Tomorrow will be like today;
in fact, it will be even better!”
57 The righteous person perishes,
and nobody gives it a thought.
Godly men are taken away,
and no one understands
that the righteous person is taken away
from the evil yet to come.
2 Yes, those who live uprightly
will have peace as they rest on their couches.
3 “But you, you witches’ children, come here,
you spawn of adulterers and whores!
4 Whom are you making fun of?
At whom are you laughing and sticking out your tongue?
Aren’t you rebellious children,
just a brood of liars?
5 You go into heat among the oak trees,
under every spreading tree.
You kill the children in the valleys
under the cracks in the rocks.
6 Your place is among the smooth stones in the vadi;
these, these are what you deserve;
you pour out drink offerings to them,
you offer grain offerings to them.
Should I calmly ignore these things?
7 You set up your bed on a high, lofty mountain;
you also went up there to offer sacrifices.
8 Behind door and doorpost
you set up your [lewd] memorial;
then, far from me, you uncovered your bed,
climbed up on it and opened it wide,
made an agreement with some of them,
whose bed you loved when you saw their hand beckoning.
9 You went to the king with scented oil;
you added to your perfumes;
you sent your envoys far away,
even down to Sh’ol.
10 Though worn out by so much travel,
you did not say, ‘All hope is gone’;
rather, finding your strength renewed,
you did not grow weak.
11 Of whom have you been so afraid,
so fearful that you lied?
But me you don’t remember,
you don’t give me a thought!
I have held my peace so long
that you no longer fear me.
12 I will expose your [so-called] ‘righteousness’;
and what you have done won’t help you.
13 When you cry, will those [idols] you gathered rescue you?
The wind will carry them all away,
a puff of air will take them off.
But whoever takes refuge in me will possess
the land and inherit my holy mountain.”
14 Then he will say,
“Keep building! Keep building! Clear the way!
Remove everything blocking my people’s path!”
15 For thus says the High, Exalted One
who lives forever, whose name is Holy:
“I live in the high and holy place
but also with the broken and humble,
in order to revive the spirit of the humble
and revive the hearts of the broken ones.
16 For I will not fight them forever
or always nurse my anger;
otherwise their spirits would faint before me,
the creatures I myself have made.
17 It was because of their flagrant greed
that I was angry and struck them;
I hid myself and was angry,
but they continued on their own rebellious way.
18 I have seen their ways, and I will heal them;
I will lead them and give comfort
to them and to those who mourn for them —
19 I will create the right words:
‘Shalom shalom to those far off
and to those nearby!’ says Adonai;
‘I will heal them!’”
20 But the wicked are like the restless sea —
unable to be still,
its waters toss up mud and dirt.
21 There is no shalom, says my God,
for the wicked.
Yeshayah 55-57
Orthodox Jewish Bible
55 Come, kol tzameh (all ye who are thirsty), come ye to the mayim and he that hath no kesef; come ye, buy, and eat; yes, come, buy yayin and cholov without kesef and without mekhir (price, cost).
2 Why do ye spend kesef for that which is not lechem? And your labor for that which satisfieth not? Pay heed diligently unto Me, and eat ye that which is tov, and let your nefesh delight itself in deshen (the best food, the fat of the land).
3 Incline your ozen, and come unto Me; hear, and your nefesh shall live; and I will make with you a Brit Olam, even the chasdei Dovid hane’emanim [see Ac 13:34 OJBC].
4 See, I have given him [Moshiach, Ac 13:34 OJAC] for an ed l’ummim (witness to the Nations), a Nagid and Metzavveh (commander) for the Nations.
5 Behold, thou shalt summon a Goy (People) that thou knowest not, and Goy that knew not thee shall run unto thee l’ma’an (for the sake of) Hashem Eloheicha and for Kadosh Yisroel; for He hath glorified thee.
6 Seek ye Hashem while He may be found, call ye upon Him while He is karov (near);
7 Let the rasha forsake his derech, and the ish aven his machshevot; and let him return unto Hashem, and He will have rachamim upon him; and to Eloheinu, for He will abundantly pardon.
8 For My machshevot are not your machshevot, neither are the darkhei (ways) of you the darkhei of Me, saith Hashem.
9 For as Shomayim is higher than ha’aretz, so are the darkhei of Me higher than the darkhei of you, and My machshevot than your machshevot.
10 For as the geshem cometh down, and the sheleg (snow) from Shomayim, and returneth not to there, but watereth ha’aretz, and maketh it yield forth v’hitzmicha (and sprout, spring up; Tzemach), that it may give zera to the zore’a (sower), and lechem to the eater;
11 So shall My Davar (the Word of Hashem) be that goeth forth out of My mouth; He shall not return unto Me reikam (empty, void) but He [the Davar Hashem, see Yn 1:1,14] shall do that which I please, and He [the Davar Hashem] shall accomplish the purpose whereto I sent Him.
12 For ye shall go out with simcha, and be led back with shalom; the harim and the geva’ot (hills) shall break forth into singing before you, and kol atzei hasadeh shall clap their hands.
13 Instead of the thornbush shall come up the cypress, and instead of the sirpad (nettle, prickly herb) shall come up the myrtle; and it shall be to Hashem for a Shem, for an ot olam lo yikaret (everlasting sign that shall not be cut off). [See Daniel 9:26]
56 Thus saith Hashem, Be shomer over mishpat, and do tzedakah (righteousness); for My Yeshuah (salvation) is near to come, and My tzedakah to be revealed.
2 Ashrei enosh that doeth this, and the ben adam that layeth hold on it; that is shomer Shabbos avoiding chillul Shabbos, and is shomer to keep his yad from doing kol rah.
3 Neither let the ben hanekhar, that hath joined himself to Hashem, speak, saying, Hashem hath utterly separated me from His people; neither let the saris say, See, I am an etz yavesh (dry tree).
4 For thus saith Hashem unto the sarisim that are shomer Shabbos over My Shabbatot, and choose the things that please Me, and hold fast to My Brit;
5 Even unto them will I give in Mine Bais [HaMikdash] within My chomot a yad vashem tov better than of banim and of banot; I will give them a Shem Olam, that shall not be yikaret (cut off).
6 Also the bnei hanekhar, that join themselves to Hashem to minister unto Him, and l’ahavah es Shem Hashem, to be His avadim, every one that is shomer Shabbos avoiding chillul Shabbos, and holding fast to My Brit;
7 Even them will I bring to My Har Kodesh, and make them have simcha in My Bais Tefillah; their olot and their zevakhim shall be accepted upon Mine Mizbe’ach; for Mine Bais shall be called Bais Tefillah l’khol HaAmim (House of Prayer for All Nations).
8 Thus says Adonoi Hashem, Who gathereth the Nidchei Yisroel (the outcasts of Israel, i.e., those being divinely gathered back from the Golus), Yet will I gather others, besides those that are already gathered [See Yn 10:16].
9 All ye animals of the wild, come to devour, yes, all ye animals in the ya’ar (forest).
10 His tzof (watchmen, sentinels, nevi’im) are ivrim (blind); they all lack da’as, they are all kelavim illemim (mute watchdogs) that cannot bark; lying around dreaming, they love to slumber [See Jer 6:17; Ezek 3:17 by contrast].
11 Yes, they are kelavim azei nefesh (hungry dogs) never satisfied, and they are ro’im (shepherds) with no da’as; they all look to their own way [See Isa 53:6], every one having his end fixated on his own gain.
12 Come ye, say they, I will get yayin, and we will fill ourselves with shekhar (strong drink); and makhar (tomorrow) shall be like this day, and gadol yeter me’od (and even much better).
57 The tzaddik perisheth, and no ish layeth it to lev; and anshei chesed are taken away, none considering that the tzaddik is taken away from the ra’ah (evil, calamity) to come.
2 He shall enter into shalom; they shall rest in their mishkevot (couches, i.e., tombs), each one walking in his nekhochah (uprightness, integrity, honesty).
3 But draw near to here, ye bnei onenah (you children of a sorceress), zera mena’ef (offspring of an adulterer) and she who plays the zonah.
4 At whom are you sneering? Against whom make ye a wide mouth, and draw out the leshon? Are ye not yeledim of peysha (rebellion), zera sheker?
5 Enflaming yourselves among [cult prostitution and Ba’al sympathetic magic in worshipping fertility] elim (oaks, big trees) under every spreading tree, slaughtering the yeladim in the valleys under the clefts of the rocks?
6 Among the smooth stones of the wadi is thy chelek; they are thy goral; even to them [the stone idols; see Jer. 3:9] hast thou poured nesekh, thou hast offered minchah. For these [provocations], should I relent?
7 Upon a lofty and high har hast thou set up thy mishkav (bed i.e., fertility rites); there wentest thou up to offer zevach.
8 Behind the delet also and the mezuzah (doorpost) hast thou set up thy zikron ([pornographic and idolatrous] memorial); deserting Me, thou hast uncovered thyself, and art gone up; thou hast enlarged thy mishkav (bed) and cut [a Brit] for thee with them [fertility cult idols]; thou lovedst their mishkav (bed) where thou hast looked on their yad [i.e., phallus].
9 And thou wentest to Melech [i.e., the pagan g-d Molech, the deity of sacrificed offspring and abortions]; with shemen thou didst increase thy perfumes, and didst send thy [political] envoys far, even down unto Sheol.
10 Thou art wearied in the length of thy derech; yet saidst thou not, It is hopeless; thou hast found the chayyat yad (life of hand, power) of thine; therefore thou wast not faint.
11 And of whom hast thou dreaded or feared, that thou hast lived a lie, and hast not remembered Me, nor laid it to thy lev (i.e., pondered it)? Have not I held My peace me’olam (even from of old), and thou fearest Me not?
12 I will preach thy tzedakah, and thy ma’asim, that they shall not profit thee.
13 When thou criest for help, let thy [idol] kibutzim (heaps, collections) save thee; but the ruach shall carry them all away; hevel shall take them; but he that putteth his trust in Me shall inherit eretz, and shall inherit My Har Kodesh;
14 And shall say, Build ye [a road], build ye [a road], prepare the Derech, remove the michshol (stumblingblock, obstacle) from the Derech Ami (the Way, Road of My People).
15 For thus saith the High and Exalted, Shokhen Ad (the One Who abideth forever, i.e., the Shekhinah) Kadosh Shmo; I dwell in marom v’kadosh (the high and holy place), with him also that is of a contrite and lowly ruach, to revive the ruach of the shefalim (humble, lowly ones) and to revive the lev nidka’im (contrite of heart).
16 For I will not contend l’olam (forever), neither will I lanetzach (always) be in wrath; for the ruach (spirit) would grow faint before Me, even the neshamot (souls) which I have made.
17 For the avon (iniquity) of his covetousness was I in wrath, and struck him [the wicked]; I hid, and was in wrath, and he [the wicked] went on shovav (backsliding) in the derech of his lev (heart).
18 I have seen the drakhim of him [the wicked], and will heal him; I will lead him also, and restore nichumim (comforts) unto him and to his avelim (mourners).
19 I create the [repentant] fruit of the lips; Shalom, shalom to him that is far off, and to him that is near, saith Hashem; and I will heal him.
20 But the resha’im are like the troubled yam (sea), when it cannot sheket (be quiet), whose mayim cast up mire and mud.
21 There is no shalom, saith Elohai, for the resha’im. [T.N. For deliverance ministry fasting is a key weapon, one that is needed in spiritual warfare in the last days as we see people getting demonized and needing deliverance.]
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2002, 2003, 2008, 2010, 2011 by Artists for Israel International