Isaiah 55
New King James Version
An Invitation to Abundant Life
55 “Ho! (A)Everyone who thirsts,
Come to the waters;
And you who have no money,
(B)Come, buy and eat.
Yes, come, buy wine and milk
Without money and without price.
2 Why do you [a]spend money for what is not bread,
And your wages for what does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good,
And let your soul delight itself in abundance.
3 Incline your ear, and (C)come to Me.
Hear, and your soul shall live;
(D)And I will make an everlasting covenant with you—
The (E)sure mercies of David.
4 Indeed I have given him as (F)a witness to the people,
(G)A leader and commander for the people.
5 (H)Surely you shall call a nation you do not know,
(I)And nations who do not know you shall run to you,
Because of the Lord your God,
And the Holy One of Israel;
(J)For He has glorified you.”
6 (K)Seek the Lord while He may be (L)found,
Call upon Him while He is near.
7 (M)Let the [b]wicked forsake his way,
And the unrighteous man (N)his thoughts;
Let him return to the Lord,
(O)And He will have mercy on him;
And to our God,
For He will abundantly pardon.
8 “For(P) My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord.
9 “For(Q) as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways,
And My thoughts than your thoughts.
10 “For (R)as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven,
And do not return there,
But water the earth,
And make it bring forth and bud,
That it may give seed to the sower
And bread to the eater,
11 (S)So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth;
It shall not return to Me [c]void,
But it shall accomplish what I please,
And it shall (T)prosper in the thing for which I sent it.
12 “For(U) you shall go out with joy,
And be led out with peace;
The mountains and the hills
Shall (V)break forth into singing before you,
And (W)all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
13 (X)Instead of (Y)the thorn shall come up the cypress tree,
And instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree;
And it shall be to the Lord (Z)for a name,
For an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 55:2 Lit. weigh out silver
- Isaiah 55:7 Lit. man of iniquity
- Isaiah 55:11 empty, without fruit
Isaiah 55
New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised
An Invitation to Abundant Life
55 Ho, everyone who thirsts,
come to the waters;
and you that have no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without price.
2 Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,
and your labour for that which does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good,
and delight yourselves in rich food.
3 Incline your ear, and come to me;
listen, so that you may live.
I will make with you an everlasting covenant,
my steadfast, sure love for David.
4 See, I made him a witness to the peoples,
a leader and commander for the peoples.
5 See, you shall call nations that you do not know,
and nations that do not know you shall run to you,
because of the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel,
for he has glorified you.
6 Seek the Lord while he may be found,
call upon him while he is near;
7 let the wicked forsake their way,
and the unrighteous their thoughts;
let them return to the Lord, that he may have mercy on them,
and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord.
9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
10 For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven,
and do not return there until they have watered the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
11 so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
and succeed in the thing for which I sent it.
12 For you shall go out in joy,
and be led back in peace;
the mountains and the hills before you
shall burst into song,
and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
13 Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress;
instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle;
and it shall be to the Lord for a memorial,
for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.
Isaiah 55
1599 Geneva Bible
55 1 An exhortation to come to Christ. 8 God’s counsels are not as man’s. 12 The joy of the faithful.
1 Ho, everyone that [a]thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and ye that have [b]no silver, come, buy and eat: come, I say, buy [c]wine and milk without silver and without money.
2 Wherefore do ye lay out silver, and not for bread? [d]and your labor without being satisfied? hearken diligently unto me, and eat that which is good, and let your soul delight in [e]fatness.
3 Incline your ears, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live, and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the [f]sure mercies of David.
4 Behold, I gave [g]him for a witness to the people, for a prince and a master unto the people.
5 Behold, thou shalt call a nation that thou knowest not, [h]and a nation that knew not thee, shall run unto thee because of the Lord thy God, and the Holy one of Israel: for he hath glorified thee.
6 Seek ye the Lord while he may be [i]found: call ye upon him while he is near.
7 Let the wicked [j]forsake his ways, and the unrighteous his own imaginations, and return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he is very ready to forgive.
8 For my [k]thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.
9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts above your thoughts.
10 Surely as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither but watereth the earth, and maketh it to bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread unto him that eateth,
11 So shall my [l]word be, that goeth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I will, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.
12 Therefore ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace; the [m]mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into joy, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
13 For thorns there shall grow fir trees; for nettles shall grow the myrrh tree, and it shall be to the Lord [n]for a name, and for an everlasting [o]sign that shall not be taken away.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 55:1 Christ by proposing his graces and gifts to his Church, exempteth the hypocrites which are full with their imagined works, and the Epicureans, which are full with their worldly lusts, and so thirst not after these waters.
- Isaiah 55:1 Signifying, that God’s benefits cannot be bought for money.
- Isaiah 55:1 By waters, wine, milk and bread, he meaneth all things necessary to the spiritual life, as these are necessary to this corporal life.
- Isaiah 55:2 He reproveth their ingratitude, which refuse those things that God offereth willingly, and in the meantime spare neither cost nor labor to obtain those which are nothing profitable.
- Isaiah 55:2 You shall be fed abundantly.
- Isaiah 55:3 The same covenant which through my mercy I ratified and confirmed to David, that it should be eternal, 2 Sam. 7:13; Acts 13:34.
- Isaiah 55:4 Meaning Christ, of whom David was a figure.
- Isaiah 55:5 To wit, the Gentiles, which before thou didst not receive to be thy people.
- Isaiah 55:6 When he offereth himself by the preaching of his word.
- Isaiah 55:7 Hereby he showeth that repentance must be joined with faith, and how we cannot call upon God aright, except the fruits of our faith appear.
- Isaiah 55:8 Although you are not soon reconciled one to another and judge me by yourselves, yet I am most easy to be reconciled, yea, I offer my mercies to you.
- Isaiah 55:11 If these small things have their effect, as daily experience showeth, much more shall my promise which I have made and confirmed, bring to pass the things which I have spoken for your deliverance.
- Isaiah 55:12 Read Isa. 44:23 and 49:13.
- Isaiah 55:13 To set forth his glory.
- Isaiah 55:13 Of God’s deliverance, and that he will never forsake his Church.
En Levende Bok: Det Nye Testamentet Copyright © 1978, 1988 by Biblica, Inc.®
Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition, copyright © 1989, 1995 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Geneva Bible, 1599 Edition. Published by Tolle Lege Press. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations in articles, reviews, and broadcasts.
