Isaiah 56
New English Translation
The Lord Invites Outsiders to Enter
56 This is what the Lord says,
“Promote[a] justice! Do what is right!
For I am ready to deliver you;
I am ready to vindicate you openly.[b]
2 The people who do this will be blessed,[c]
the people who commit themselves to obedience,[d]
who observe the Sabbath and do not defile it,
who refrain from doing anything that is wrong.[e]
3 No foreigner who becomes a follower of[f] the Lord should say,
‘The Lord will certainly[g] exclude me from his people.’
The eunuch should not say,
‘Look, I am like a dried-up tree.’”
4 For this is what the Lord says:
“For the eunuchs who observe my Sabbaths
and choose what pleases me
and are faithful to[h] my covenant,
5 I will set up within my temple and my walls a monument[i]
that will be better than sons and daughters.
I will set up a permanent monument[j] for them that will remain.
6 As for foreigners who become followers of[k] the Lord and serve him,
who love the name of the Lord and want to be his servants—
all who observe the Sabbath and do not defile it,
and who are faithful to[l] my covenant—
7 I will bring them to my holy mountain;
I will make them happy in the temple where people pray to me.[m]
Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar,
for my temple will be known as a temple where all nations may pray.”[n]
8 The Sovereign Lord says this,
the one who gathers the dispersed of Israel:
“I will still gather them up.”[o]
The Lord Denounces Israel’s Paganism
9 All you wild animals in the fields, come and devour,
all you wild animals in the forest!
10 All their watchmen[p] are blind,
they are unaware.[q]
All of them are like mute dogs,
unable to bark.
They pant,[r] lie down,
and love to snooze.
11 The dogs have big appetites;
they are never full.[s]
They are shepherds who have no understanding;
they all go their own way,
each one looking for monetary gain.[t]
12 Each one says,[u]
‘Come on, I’ll get some wine!
Let’s guzzle some beer!
Tomorrow will be just like today!
We’ll have everything we want!’[v]
Footnotes
- Isaiah 56:1 tn Heb “guard”; KJV “Keep”; NAB “Observe”; NASB “Preserve”; NIV, NRSV “Maintain.”
- Isaiah 56:1 tn Heb “for near is my deliverance to enter, and my vindication [or “righteousness”] to be revealed.”
- Isaiah 56:2 tn Heb “blessed is the man who does this.”
- Isaiah 56:2 tn Heb “the son of mankind who takes hold of it.”
- Isaiah 56:2 tn Heb and who keeps his hand from doing any evil.”
- Isaiah 56:3 tn Heb “who attaches himself to.”
- Isaiah 56:3 tn The infinitive absolute precedes the finite verb for emphasis.
- Isaiah 56:4 tn Heb “and take hold of” (so KJV); NASB “hold fast.”
- Isaiah 56:5 tn Heb “a hand and a name.” For other examples where יָד (yad) refers to a monument, see HALOT 388 s.v.
- Isaiah 56:5 tn Heb “name” (so KJV, NIV, NRSV).
- Isaiah 56:6 tn Heb “who attach themselves to.”
- Isaiah 56:6 tn Heb “and take hold of”; NAB “hold to”; NIV, NRSV “hold fast.”
- Isaiah 56:7 tn Heb “in the house of my prayer.”
- Isaiah 56:7 tn Heb “for my house will be called a house of prayer for all the nations.”
- Isaiah 56:8 tn The meaning of the statement is unclear. The text reads literally, “Still I will gather upon him to his gathered ones.” Perhaps the preposition ל (lamed) before “gathered ones” introduces the object of the verb, as in Jer 49:5. The third masculine singular suffix on both עָלָיו (ʿalayv) and נִקְבָּצָיו (niqbatsayv) probably refers to “Israel.” In this case one can translate literally, “Still I will gather to him his gathered ones.”
- Isaiah 56:10 sn The “watchmen” are probably spiritual leaders, most likely prophets and priests, responsible for giving the people moral direction.
- Isaiah 56:10 tn Heb “they do not know”; KJV “they are all ignorant”; NIV “they all lack knowledge.”
- Isaiah 56:10 tn The Hebrew text has הֹזִים (hozim), which appears to be derived from an otherwise unattested verbal root הָזָה (hazah). On the basis of alleged cognates, BDB 223 s.v. הָזָה offers the definition “dream, rave” while HALOT 243 s.v. הזה lists “pant.” In this case the dog metaphor of the preceding lines continues. The reference to dogs at the beginning of v. 11 favors the extension of the metaphor. The Qumran scroll 1QIsaa has חזים (“seers”) here. In this case the “watchmen” are directly identified as prophets and depicted as lazy.
- Isaiah 56:11 sn The phrase never full alludes to the greed of the leaders.
- Isaiah 56:11 tn Heb “for his gain from his end.”
- Isaiah 56:12 tn The words “each one says” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
- Isaiah 56:12 tn Heb “great, [in] abundance, very much,” i.e., “very great indeed.” See HALOT 452 s.v. יֶתֶר.
Isaiah 56
World English Bible
56 Yahweh says,
“Maintain justice
and do what is right,
for my salvation is near
and my righteousness will soon be revealed.
2 Blessed is the man who does this,
and the son of man who holds it fast;
who keeps the Sabbath without profaning it
and keeps his hand from doing any evil.”
3 Let no foreigner who has joined himself to Yahweh speak, saying,
“Yahweh will surely separate me from his people.”
Do not let the eunuch say, “Behold, I am a dry tree.”
4 For Yahweh says, “To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths,
choose the things that please me,
and hold fast to my covenant,
5 I will give them in my house and within my walls a memorial and a name better than of sons and of daughters.
I will give them an everlasting name that will not be cut off.
6 Also the foreigners who join themselves to Yahweh
to serve him,
and to love Yahweh’s name,
to be his servants,
everyone who keeps the Sabbath from profaning it,
and holds fast my covenant,
7 I will bring these to my holy mountain,
and make them joyful in my house of prayer.
Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar;
for my house will be called a house of prayer for all peoples.”
8 The Lord Yahweh, who gathers the outcasts of Israel, says,
“I will yet gather others to him,
in addition to his own who are gathered.”
9 All you animals of the field,
come to devour,
all you animals in the forest.
10 His watchmen are blind.
They are all without knowledge.
They are all mute dogs.
They can’t bark—
dreaming, lying down, loving to slumber.
11 Yes, the dogs are greedy.
They can never have enough.
They are shepherds who can’t understand.
They have all turned to their own way,
each one to his gain, from every quarter.
12 “Come,” they say, “I will get wine,
and we will fill ourselves with strong drink;
and tomorrow will be as today,
great beyond measure.”
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