Isaiah 56
Holman Christian Standard Bible
A House of Prayer for All
56 This is what the Lord says:
Preserve justice and do what is right,(A)
for My salvation is coming soon,
and My righteousness will be revealed.(B)
2 Happy is the man who does this,
anyone who maintains this,
who keeps the Sabbath without desecrating it,
and keeps his hand from doing any evil.(C)
3 No foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord
should say,
“The Lord will exclude me from His people”;(D)
and the eunuch should not say,
“Look, I am a dried-up tree.”(E)
4 For the Lord says this:
“For the eunuchs who keep My Sabbaths,
and choose what pleases Me,
and hold firmly to My covenant,
5 I will give them, in My house and within My walls,
a memorial and a name
better than sons and daughters.
I will give each of them an everlasting name
that will never be cut off.(F)
6 And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord
minister to Him, love the name of Yahweh
and become His servants,
all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it
and who hold firmly to My covenant—
7 I will bring them to My holy mountain(G)
and let them rejoice in My house of prayer.
Their burnt offerings and sacrifices
will be acceptable on My altar,(H)
for My house will be called a house of prayer
for all nations.”(I)
8 This is the declaration of the Lord God,
who gathers the dispersed of Israel:
“I will gather to them still others
besides those already gathered.”(J)
Unrighteous Leaders Condemned
9 All you animals of the field and forest,
come and eat!
10 Israel’s[a] watchmen are blind, all of them,
they know nothing;
all of them are mute dogs,
they cannot bark;
they dream, lie down,
and love to sleep.
11 These dogs have fierce appetites;
they never have enough.
And they are shepherds
who have no discernment;
all of them turn to their own way,
every last one for his own gain.(K)
12 “Come, let me get some wine,
let’s guzzle some beer;
and tomorrow will be like today,
only far better!”(L)
Footnotes
- Isaiah 56:10 Or His, or Its
Isaiah 56
Living Bible
56 Be just and fair to all, the Lord God says. Do what’s right and good, for I am coming soon to rescue you. 2 Blessed is the man who refuses to work during my Sabbath days of rest, but honors them; and blessed is the man who checks himself from doing wrong.
3 And my blessings are for Gentiles, too, when they accept the Lord; don’t let them think that I will make them second-class citizens. And this is for the eunuchs too. They can be as much mine as anyone. 4 For I say this to the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths holy, who choose the things that please me and obey my laws: 5 I will give them—in my house, within my walls—a name far greater than the honor they would receive from having sons and daughters. For the name that I will give them is an everlasting one; it will never disappear.
6 As for the Gentiles, the outsiders who join the people of the Lord and serve him and love his name, who are his servants and don’t desecrate the Sabbath, and have accepted his covenant and promises, 7 I will bring them also to my holy mountain of Jerusalem and make them full of joy within my House of Prayer.
I will accept their sacrifices and offerings, for my Temple shall be called “A House of Prayer for All People”! 8 For the Lord God who brings back the outcasts of Israel says: I will bring others, too, besides my people Israel.
9 Come, wild animals of the field; come, tear apart the sheep; come, wild animals of the forest, devour my people.[a] 10 For the leaders of my people—the Lord’s watchmen, his shepherds—are all blind to every danger. They are featherbrained and give no warning when danger comes. They love to lie there, love to sleep, to dream. 11 And they are as greedy as dogs, never satisfied; they are stupid shepherds who only look after their own interest, each trying to get as much as he can for himself from every possible source.
12 “Come,” they say. “We’ll get some wine and have a party; let’s all get drunk. This is really living; let it go on and on, and tomorrow will be even better!”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 56:9 devour my people, implied.
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The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.