Isaiah 56

English Standard Version

Salvation for Foreigners

56 Thus says the Lord:
“Keep justice, and do righteousness,
^(A)for soon my salvation will come,
    and my righteousness be revealed.
²Blessed is the man who does this,
    and the son of man who holds it fast,
^(B)who keeps the Sabbath, not profaning it,
    and keeps his hand from doing any evil.”

³Let not ^(C)the foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord say,
    “The Lord will surely separate me from his people”;
and let not the eunuch say,
    “Behold, I am ^(D)a dry tree.”
⁴For thus says the Lord:
“To the eunuchs ^(E)who keep my Sabbaths,
    who choose the things that please me
    and hold fast my covenant,
⁵^(F)I will give in my house and within my walls
    a ^(G)monument and a name
    better than sons and daughters;
^(H)I will give them an everlasting name
    that shall not be cut off.

⁶“And ^(I)the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord,
    to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord,
    and to be his servants,
everyone ^(J)who keeps the Sabbath and does not profane it,
    and holds fast my covenant—
⁷^(K)these I will bring to ^(L)my holy mountain,
    and make them joyful in my house of prayer;
^(M)their burnt offerings and their sacrifices
    will be accepted on my altar;
for ^(N)my house shall be called a house of prayer
    for all peoples.”
⁸The Lord God,
    ^(O)who gathers the outcasts of Israel, declares,
^(P)“I will gather yet others to him
    besides those already gathered.”

Israel's Irresponsible Leaders

⁹^(Q)All you beasts of the field, come to devour—
    all you beasts in the forest.
¹⁰^(R)His watchmen are blind;
    they are all without knowledge;
they are all silent ^(S)dogs;
    they cannot bark,
dreaming, lying down,
    loving to slumber.
¹¹^(T)The dogs have a mighty appetite;
    they never have enough.
But ^(U)they are shepherds who have no understanding;
    they have all turned to their own way,
    ^(V)each to his own gain, one and all.
¹²^(W)“Come,” they say, “let me get wine;
    let us fill ourselves with strong drink;
^(X)and tomorrow will be like this day,
    great beyond measure.”

Isaiah 58

English Standard Version

True and False Fasting

58 “Cry aloud; do not hold back;
    ^(A)lift up your voice like a trumpet;
^(B)declare to my people their transgression,
    to the house of Jacob their sins.
²^(C)Yet they seek me daily
    and delight to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that did righteousness
    and did not forsake the judgment of their God;
they ask of me righteous judgments;
    they delight to draw near to God.
³^(D)‘Why have we fasted, and you see it not?
    Why have we humbled ourselves, and you take no knowledge of it?’
Behold, in the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure,^[a]
    ^(E)and oppress all your workers.
⁴Behold, you fast only to quarrel and to fight
    and to hit with a wicked fist.
Fasting like yours this day
    will not make your voice to be heard on high.
⁵^(F)Is such the fast that I choose,
    ^(G)a day for a person to humble himself?
Is it to bow down his head like a reed,
    and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him?
Will you call this a fast,
    and a day acceptable to the Lord?

⁶“Is not this the fast that I choose:
    ^(H)to loose the bonds of wickedness,
    to undo the straps ^(I)of the yoke,
to let the oppressed^[b] go free,
    and to break every yoke?
⁷Is it not ^(J)to share your bread with the hungry
    and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover him,
    ^(K)and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
⁸^(L)Then shall your light break forth like the dawn,
    ^(M)and your healing shall spring up speedily;
^(N)your righteousness shall go before you;
    ^(O)the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.
⁹Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;
    you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’
If you take away ^(P)the yoke from your midst,
    ^(Q)the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,
¹⁰^(R)if you pour yourself out for the hungry
    and satisfy the desire of the afflicted,
^(S)then shall your light rise in the darkness
    and your gloom be as the noonday.
¹¹And the Lord will guide you continually
    and satisfy your desire in scorched places
    and make your bones strong;
and you shall be ^(T)like a watered garden,
    like a spring of water,
    whose waters do not fail.
¹²^(U)And your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt;
    you shall raise up the foundations of many generations;
you shall be called the repairer of the breach,
    the restorer of streets to dwell in.

¹³^(V)“If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath,
    from doing your pleasure^[c] on my holy day,
and call the Sabbath a delight
    and the holy day of the Lord honorable;
if you honor it, not going your own ways,
    or seeking ^(W)your own pleasure,^[d] or talking idly;^[e]
¹⁴then you shall take delight in the Lord,
    ^(X)and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth;^[f]
^(Y)I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father,
    ^(Z)for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”