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Isaiah 56-59
English Standard Version
Isaiah 56-59
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.
2 Blessed 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.”
3 Let 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.”
4 For 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.”
8 The 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.”
Israel's Futile Idolatry
57 The righteous man perishes,
and no one lays it to heart;
(Y)devout men are taken away,
while no one understands.
For the righteous man is taken away from calamity;
2 (Z)he enters into peace;
they rest (AA)in their beds
who walk in their uprightness.
3 But you, draw near,
sons of the sorceress,
(AB)offspring of the adulterer and the loose woman.
4 Whom are you mocking?
Against whom (AC)do you open your mouth wide
and stick out your tongue?
Are you not children of (AD)transgression,
(AE)the offspring of deceit,
5 you who burn with lust among (AF)the oaks,[a]
under every green tree,
(AG)who slaughter your children in the valleys,
under the clefts of the rocks?
6 Among the smooth stones of (AH)the valley is your portion;
they, they, are your lot;
to them you have poured out a drink offering,
you have brought a grain offering.
Shall I relent for these things?
7 (AI)On a high and lofty mountain
you have set your bed,
and there you went up to offer sacrifice.
8 Behind the door and the doorpost
you have set up your memorial;
for, deserting me, (AJ)you have uncovered your bed,
you have gone up to it,
(AK)you have made it wide;
and you have made a covenant for yourself with them,
you have loved their bed,
you have looked on nakedness.[b]
9 You journeyed to the king with oil
and multiplied your perfumes;
(AL)you sent your envoys far off,
and sent down even to Sheol.
10 You were wearied with the length of your way,
(AM)but you did not say, “It is hopeless”;
you found new life for your strength,
and so you were not faint.[c]
11 (AN)Whom did you dread and fear,
(AO)so that you lied,
and did not remember me,
did not lay it to heart?
(AP)Have I not held my peace, even for a long time,
and you do not fear me?
12 I will declare your righteousness and your deeds,
but they will not profit you.
13 (AQ)When you cry out, let your collection of idols deliver you!
The wind will carry them all off,
a breath will take them away.
(AR)But he who takes refuge in me shall possess the land
and shall inherit (AS)my holy mountain.
Comfort for the Contrite
14 And it shall be said,
(AT)“Build up, build up, prepare the way,
remove every obstruction from my people's way.”
15 For thus says (AU)the One who is high and lifted up,
who inhabits eternity, whose name is (AV)Holy:
(AW)“I dwell in the high and holy place,
and also (AX)with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit,
(AY)to revive the spirit of the lowly,
and to revive the heart of the contrite.
16 (AZ)For I will not contend forever,
nor will I always be angry;
for the spirit would grow faint before me,
and the breath of life that I made.
17 Because of the iniquity of his (BA)unjust gain I was angry,
I struck him; I hid my face and was angry,
but he went on backsliding in the way of his own heart.
18 I have seen his ways, (BB)but I will heal him;
I will lead him (BC)and restore comfort to him and his mourners,
19 (BD)creating (BE)the fruit of the lips.
(BF)Peace, peace, (BG)to the far and to the near,” says the Lord,
(BH)“and I will heal him.
20 (BI)But the wicked are like the tossing sea;
for it cannot be quiet,
and its waters toss up mire and dirt.
21 (BJ)There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.”
True and False Fasting
58 “Cry aloud; do not hold back;
(BK)lift up your voice like a trumpet;
(BL)declare to my people their transgression,
to the house of Jacob their sins.
2 (BM)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 (BN)‘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,[d]
(BO)and oppress all your workers.
4 Behold, 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 (BP)Is such the fast that I choose,
(BQ)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:
(BR)to loose the bonds of wickedness,
to undo the straps (BS)of the yoke,
to let the oppressed[e] go free,
and to break every yoke?
7 Is it not (BT)to share your bread with the hungry
and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover him,
(BU)and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
8 (BV)Then shall your light break forth like the dawn,
(BW)and your healing shall spring up speedily;
(BX)your righteousness shall go before you;
(BY)the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.
9 Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;
you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’
If you take away (BZ)the yoke from your midst,
(CA)the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,
10 (CB)if you pour yourself out for the hungry
and satisfy the desire of the afflicted,
(CC)then shall your light rise in the darkness
and your gloom be as the noonday.
11 And the Lord will guide you continually
and satisfy your desire in scorched places
and make your bones strong;
and you shall be (CD)like a watered garden,
like a spring of water,
whose waters do not fail.
12 (CE)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 (CF)“If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath,
from doing your pleasure[f] 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 (CG)your own pleasure,[g] or talking idly;[h]
14 then you shall take delight in the Lord,
(CH)and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth;[i]
(CI)I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father,
(CJ)for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
Evil and Oppression
59 Behold, (CK)the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save,
or his ear dull, that it cannot hear;
2 (CL)but your iniquities have made a separation
between you and your God,
and your sins have hidden his face from you
so that he does not hear.
3 (CM)For your hands are defiled with blood
and your fingers with iniquity;
your lips have spoken lies;
your tongue mutters wickedness.
4 (CN)No one enters suit justly;
no one goes to law honestly;
they rely on empty pleas, they speak lies,
(CO)they conceive mischief and give birth to iniquity.
5 They hatch adders' eggs;
they weave the spider's web;
he who eats their eggs dies,
and from one that is crushed a viper is hatched.
6 (CP)Their webs will not serve as clothing;
men will not cover themselves with what they make.
Their works are works of iniquity,
and deeds of violence are in their hands.
7 (CQ)Their feet run to evil,
and they are swift to shed innocent blood;
their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity;
desolation and destruction are in their highways.
8 The way of peace they do not know,
and there is no justice in their paths;
they have made their roads crooked;
(CR)no one who treads on them knows peace.
9 Therefore justice is far from us,
and righteousness does not overtake us;
(CS)we hope for light, and behold, darkness,
and for brightness, but we walk in gloom.
10 (CT)We grope for the wall like the blind;
we grope like those who have no eyes;
we stumble at noon as in the twilight,
(CU)among those in full vigor we are like dead men.
11 We all growl like bears;
(CV)we moan and moan like doves;
(CW)we hope for justice, but there is none;
for salvation, but it is far from us.
12 For our transgressions are multiplied before you,
and our sins testify against us;
for our transgressions are with us,
and we know our iniquities:
13 transgressing, and denying the Lord,
and turning back from following our God,
(CX)speaking oppression and revolt,
conceiving and uttering from the heart lying words.
Judgment and Redemption
14 (CY)Justice is turned back,
and righteousness stands far away;
for truth has stumbled in the public squares,
and uprightness cannot enter.
15 Truth is lacking,
and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey.
The Lord saw it, and it displeased him[j]
that there was no justice.
16 (CZ)He saw that there was no man,
and wondered that there was no one to intercede;
then his own arm brought him salvation,
and his righteousness upheld him.
17 (DA)He put on righteousness as a breastplate,
and a helmet of salvation on his head;
he put on garments of vengeance for clothing,
and wrapped himself in (DB)zeal as a cloak.
18 (DC)According to their deeds, so will he repay,
wrath to his adversaries, repayment to his enemies;
(DD)to the coastlands he will render repayment.
19 (DE)So they shall fear the name of the Lord from the west,
and his glory from the rising of the sun;
(DF)for he will come like a rushing stream,[k]
which the wind of the Lord drives.
20 (DG)“And (DH)a Redeemer will come to Zion,
to those in Jacob who turn from transgression,” declares the Lord.
21 “And as for me, (DI)this is my covenant with them,” says the Lord: “My Spirit that is upon you, (DJ)and my words that I have put in your mouth, shall not depart out of your mouth, or out of the mouth of your offspring, or out of the mouth of your children's offspring,” says the Lord, “from this time forth and forevermore.”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 57:5 Or among the terebinths
- Isaiah 57:8 Or on a monument (see 56:5); Hebrew on a hand
- Isaiah 57:10 Hebrew and so you were not sick
- Isaiah 58:3 Or pursue your own business
- Isaiah 58:6 Or bruised
- Isaiah 58:13 Or business
- Isaiah 58:13 Or pursuing your own business
- Isaiah 58:13 Hebrew or speaking a word
- Isaiah 58:14 Or of the land
- Isaiah 59:15 Hebrew and it was evil in his eyes
- Isaiah 59:19 Hebrew a narrow river
Isaiah 56-59
New International Version
Isaiah 56-59
New International Version
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.
2 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.”
3 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.”
4 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)—
5 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)
6 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—
7 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)
8 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
9 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)
57 The righteous perish,(AI)
and no one takes it to heart;(AJ)
the devout are taken away,
and no one understands
that the righteous are taken away
to be spared from evil.(AK)
2 Those who walk uprightly(AL)
enter into peace;
they find rest(AM) as they lie in death.
3 “But you—come here, you children of a sorceress,(AN)
you offspring of adulterers(AO) and prostitutes!(AP)
4 Who are you mocking?
At whom do you sneer
and stick out your tongue?
Are you not a brood of rebels,(AQ)
the offspring of liars?
5 You burn with lust among the oaks(AR)
and under every spreading tree;(AS)
you sacrifice your children(AT) in the ravines
and under the overhanging crags.
6 The idols(AU) among the smooth stones of the ravines are your portion;
indeed, they are your lot.
Yes, to them you have poured out drink offerings(AV)
and offered grain offerings.
In view of all this, should I relent?(AW)
7 You have made your bed on a high and lofty hill;(AX)
there you went up to offer your sacrifices.(AY)
8 Behind your doors and your doorposts
you have put your pagan symbols.
Forsaking me, you uncovered your bed,
you climbed into it and opened it wide;
you made a pact with those whose beds you love,(AZ)
and you looked with lust on their naked bodies.(BA)
9 You went to Molek[a](BB) with olive oil
and increased your perfumes.(BC)
You sent your ambassadors[b](BD) far away;
you descended to the very realm of the dead!(BE)
10 You wearied(BF) yourself by such going about,
but you would not say, ‘It is hopeless.’(BG)
You found renewal of your strength,(BH)
and so you did not faint.
11 “Whom have you so dreaded and feared(BI)
that you have not been true to me,
and have neither remembered(BJ) me
nor taken this to heart?(BK)
Is it not because I have long been silent(BL)
that you do not fear me?
12 I will expose your righteousness and your works,(BM)
and they will not benefit you.
13 When you cry out(BN) for help,
let your collection of idols save(BO) you!
The wind will carry all of them off,
a mere breath will blow(BP) them away.
But whoever takes refuge(BQ) in me
will inherit the land(BR)
and possess my holy mountain.”(BS)
Comfort for the Contrite
14 And it will be said:
“Build up, build up, prepare the road!(BT)
Remove the obstacles out of the way of my people.”(BU)
15 For this is what the high and exalted(BV) One says—
he who lives forever,(BW) whose name is holy:
“I live in a high(BX) and holy place,
but also with the one who is contrite(BY) and lowly in spirit,(BZ)
to revive the spirit of the lowly
and to revive the heart of the contrite.(CA)
16 I will not accuse(CB) them forever,
nor will I always be angry,(CC)
for then they would faint away because of me—
the very people(CD) I have created.
17 I was enraged by their sinful greed;(CE)
I punished them, and hid(CF) my face in anger,
yet they kept on in their willful ways.(CG)
18 I have seen their ways, but I will heal(CH) them;
I will guide(CI) them and restore comfort(CJ) to Israel’s mourners,
19 creating praise on their lips.(CK)
Peace, peace,(CL) to those far and near,”(CM)
says the Lord. “And I will heal them.”
20 But the wicked(CN) are like the tossing sea,(CO)
which cannot rest,
whose waves cast up mire(CP) and mud.
21 “There is no peace,”(CQ) says my God, “for the wicked.”(CR)
True Fasting
58 “Shout it aloud,(CS) do not hold back.
Raise your voice like a trumpet.(CT)
Declare to my people their rebellion(CU)
and to the descendants of Jacob their sins.(CV)
2 For day after day they seek(CW) me out;
they seem eager to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that does what is right
and has not forsaken(CX) the commands of its God.
They ask me for just decisions
and seem eager for God to come near(CY) them.
3 ‘Why have we fasted,’(CZ) they say,
‘and you have not seen it?
Why have we humbled(DA) ourselves,
and you have not noticed?’(DB)
“Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please(DC)
and exploit all your workers.
4 Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife,(DD)
and in striking each other with wicked fists.
You cannot fast as you do today
and expect your voice to be heard(DE) on high.
5 Is this the kind of fast(DF) I have chosen,
only a day for people to humble(DG) themselves?
Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed(DH)
and for lying in sackcloth and ashes?(DI)
Is that what you call a fast,
a day acceptable to the Lord?
6 “Is not this the kind of fasting(DJ) I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice(DK)
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed(DL) free
and break every yoke?(DM)
7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry(DN)
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter(DO)—
when you see the naked, to clothe(DP) them,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?(DQ)
8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn,(DR)
and your healing(DS) will quickly appear;
then your righteousness[c](DT) will go before you,
and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.(DU)
9 Then you will call,(DV) and the Lord will answer;(DW)
you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.
“If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
with the pointing finger(DX) and malicious talk,(DY)
10 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,(DZ)
then your light(EA) will rise in the darkness,
and your night will become like the noonday.(EB)
11 The Lord will guide(EC) you always;
he will satisfy your needs(ED) in a sun-scorched land(EE)
and will strengthen(EF) your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,(EG)
like a spring(EH) whose waters never fail.
12 Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins(EI)
and will raise up the age-old foundations;(EJ)
you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,(EK)
Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.
13 “If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath(EL)
and from doing as you please on my holy day,
if you call the Sabbath a delight(EM)
and the Lord’s holy day honorable,
and if you honor it by not going your own way
and not doing as you please or speaking idle words,(EN)
14 then you will find your joy(EO) in the Lord,
and I will cause you to ride in triumph on the heights(EP) of the land
and to feast on the inheritance(EQ) of your father Jacob.”
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.(ER)
Sin, Confession and Redemption
59 Surely the arm(ES) of the Lord is not too short(ET) to save,
nor his ear too dull to hear.(EU)
2 But your iniquities have separated(EV)
you from your God;
your sins have hidden his face from you,
so that he will not hear.(EW)
3 For your hands are stained with blood,(EX)
your fingers with guilt.(EY)
Your lips have spoken falsely,(EZ)
and your tongue mutters wicked things.
4 No one calls for justice;(FA)
no one pleads a case with integrity.
They rely(FB) on empty arguments, they utter lies;(FC)
they conceive trouble and give birth to evil.(FD)
5 They hatch the eggs of vipers(FE)
and spin a spider’s web.(FF)
Whoever eats their eggs will die,
and when one is broken, an adder is hatched.
6 Their cobwebs are useless for clothing;
they cannot cover themselves with what they make.(FG)
Their deeds are evil deeds,
and acts of violence(FH) are in their hands.
7 Their feet rush into sin;
they are swift to shed innocent blood.(FI)
They pursue evil schemes;(FJ)
acts of violence mark their ways.(FK)
8 The way of peace they do not know;(FL)
there is no justice in their paths.
They have turned them into crooked roads;(FM)
no one who walks along them will know peace.(FN)
9 So justice is far from us,
and righteousness does not reach us.
We look for light, but all is darkness;(FO)
for brightness, but we walk in deep shadows.
10 Like the blind(FP) we grope along the wall,
feeling our way like people without eyes.
At midday we stumble(FQ) as if it were twilight;
among the strong, we are like the dead.(FR)
11 We all growl like bears;
we moan mournfully like doves.(FS)
We look for justice, but find none;
for deliverance, but it is far away.
12 For our offenses(FT) are many in your sight,
and our sins testify(FU) against us.
Our offenses are ever with us,
and we acknowledge our iniquities:(FV)
13 rebellion(FW) and treachery against the Lord,
turning our backs(FX) on our God,
inciting revolt and oppression,(FY)
uttering lies(FZ) our hearts have conceived.
14 So justice(GA) is driven back,
and righteousness(GB) stands at a distance;
truth(GC) has stumbled in the streets,
honesty cannot enter.
15 Truth(GD) is nowhere to be found,
and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey.
The Lord looked and was displeased
that there was no justice.(GE)
16 He saw that there was no one,(GF)
he was appalled that there was no one to intervene;(GG)
so his own arm achieved salvation(GH) for him,
and his own righteousness(GI) sustained him.
17 He put on righteousness as his breastplate,(GJ)
and the helmet(GK) of salvation on his head;
he put on the garments(GL) of vengeance(GM)
and wrapped himself in zeal(GN) as in a cloak.
18 According to what they have done,
so will he repay(GO)
wrath to his enemies
and retribution to his foes;
he will repay the islands(GP) their due.
19 From the west,(GQ) people will fear the name of the Lord,
and from the rising of the sun,(GR) they will revere his glory.(GS)
For he will come like a pent-up flood
that the breath(GT) of the Lord drives along.[d]
20 “The Redeemer(GU) will come to Zion,(GV)
to those in Jacob who repent of their sins,”(GW)
declares the Lord.
21 “As for me, this is my covenant(GX) with them,” says the Lord. “My Spirit,(GY) who is on you, will not depart from you,(GZ) and my words that I have put in your mouth(HA) will always be on your lips, on the lips of your children and on the lips of their descendants—from this time on and forever,” says the Lord.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 57:9 Or to the king
- Isaiah 57:9 Or idols
- Isaiah 58:8 Or your righteous One
- Isaiah 59:19 Or When enemies come in like a flood, / the Spirit of the Lord will put them to flight
English Standard Version (ESV) 
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.