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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)

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.”

Notas al pie

  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

God's People Will Include All Nations

56 The Lord says to his people, “Do what is just and right, for soon I will save you. I will bless those who always observe the Sabbath and do not misuse it. I will bless those who do nothing evil.”

A foreigner who has joined the Lord's people should not say, “The Lord will not let me worship with his people.”

A man who has been castrated should never think that because he cannot have children, he can never be part of God's people. (A)The Lord says to such a man, “If you honor me by observing the Sabbath and if you do what pleases me and faithfully keep my covenant, then your name will be remembered in my Temple and among my people longer than if you had sons and daughters. You will never be forgotten.”

And the Lord says to those foreigners who become part of his people, who love him and serve him, who observe the Sabbath and faithfully keep his covenant: (B)“I will bring you to Zion, my sacred hill,[a] give you joy in my house of prayer, and accept the sacrifices you offer on my altar. My Temple will be called a house of prayer for the people of all nations.”

The Sovereign Lord, who has brought his people Israel home from exile, has promised that he will bring still other people to join them.

Israel's Leaders Are Condemned

The Lord has told the foreign nations to come like wild animals and devour his people. 10 He says, “All the leaders, who are supposed to warn my people, are blind! They know nothing. They are like watch dogs that don't bark—they only lie around and dream. How they love to sleep! 11 They are like greedy dogs that never get enough. These leaders have no understanding. They each do as they please and seek their own advantage. 12 ‘Let's get some wine,’ these drunkards say, ‘and drink all we can hold! Tomorrow will be even better than today!’”

Notas al pie

  1. Isaiah 56:7 See 2.3.

Messages of Hope

Salvation Is Just Around the Corner

56 1-3 God’s Message:

“Guard my common good:
    Do what’s right and do it in the right way,
For salvation is just around the corner,
    my setting-things-right is about to go into action.
How fortunate are you who enter into these things,
    you men and women who embrace them,
Who keep Sabbath and don’t defile it,
    who watch your step and don’t do anything evil!
Make sure no outsider who now follows God
    ever has occasion to say, ‘God put me in second-class.
    I don’t really belong.’
And make sure no physically mutilated person
    is ever made to think, ‘I’m damaged goods.
    I don’t really belong.’”

4-5 For God says:

“To the mutilated who keep my Sabbaths
    and choose what delights me
    and keep a firm grip on my covenant,
I’ll provide them an honored place
    in my family and within my city,
    even more honored than that of sons and daughters.
I’ll confer permanent honors on them
    that will never be revoked.

6-8 “And as for the outsiders who now follow me,
    working for me, loving my name,
    and wanting to be my servants—
All who keep Sabbath and don’t defile it,
    holding fast to my covenant—
I’ll bring them to my holy mountain
    and give them joy in my house of prayer.
They’ll be welcome to worship the same as the ‘insiders,’
    to bring burnt offerings and sacrifices to my altar.
Oh yes, my house of worship
    will be known as a house of prayer for all people.”
The Decree of the Master, God himself,
    who gathers in the exiles of Israel:
“I will gather others also,
    gather them in with those already gathered.”

* * *

9-12 A call to the savage beasts: Come on the run.
    Come, devour, beast barbarians!
For Israel’s watchmen are blind, the whole lot of them.
    They have no idea what’s going on.
They’re dogs without sense enough to bark,
    lazy dogs, dreaming in the sun—
But hungry dogs, they do know how to eat,
    voracious dogs, with never enough.
And these are Israel’s shepherds!
    They know nothing, understand nothing.
They all look after themselves,
    grabbing whatever’s not nailed down.
“Come,” they say, “let’s have a party.
    Let’s go out and get drunk!”
And tomorrow, more of the same:
    “Let’s live it up!”

All Nations Will Be Part of God's People

56 The Lord said:
    Be honest and fair!
Soon I will come to save you;
my saving power will be seen
    everywhere on earth.

I will bless everyone
who respects the Sabbath
    and refuses to do wrong.

Foreigners who worship me
    must not say,
“The Lord won't let us
    be part of his people.”
Men who are unable
    to become fathers
must no longer say,
    “We are dried-up trees.”

(A) To them, I, the Lord, say:
    Respect the Sabbath,
    obey me completely,
    and keep our agreement.
Then you will be like monuments
in my temple with your names
    written on them.
This will be much better
    than having children,
because these monuments
    will stand there forever.

Foreigners will follow me.
They will love me and worship
    in my name;
they will respect the Sabbath
    and keep our agreement.
(B) I will bring them
    to my holy mountain,
where they will celebrate
    in my house of worship.
Their sacrifices and offerings
will always be welcome
    on my altar.
Then my house will be known
as a house of worship
    for all nations.
I, the Lord, promise
to bring together my people
    who were taken away,
and let them join the others.

God Promises To Punish Israel's Leaders

Come from the forest,
    you wild animals!
Attack and gobble up
    your victims.
10 You leaders of Israel
should be watchdogs,
    protecting my people.
But you can't see a thing,
    and you never warn them.
Dozing and daydreaming
    are all you ever do.
11 You stupid leaders are a pack
of hungry and greedy dogs
    that never get enough.
You are shepherds
who mistreat your own sheep
    for selfish gain.
12 You say to each other,
“Let's drink till we're drunk!
    Tomorrow we'll do it again.
We'll really enjoy ourselves.”