Let no foreigner(A) who is bound to the Lord say,
    “The Lord will surely exclude me from his people.”(B)
And let no eunuch(C) complain,
    “I am only a dry tree.”

For this is what the Lord says:

“To the eunuchs(D) who keep my Sabbaths,
    who choose what pleases me
    and hold fast to my covenant(E)
to them I will give within my temple and its walls(F)
    a memorial(G) and a name
    better than sons and daughters;
I will give them an everlasting name(H)
    that will endure forever.(I)

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No foreigner who becomes a follower of[a] the Lord should say,
‘The Lord will certainly[b] exclude me from his people.’
The eunuch should not say,
‘Look, I am like a dried-up tree.’”

For this is what the Lord says:

“For the eunuchs who observe my Sabbaths
and choose what pleases me
and are faithful to[c] my covenant,
I will set up within my temple and my walls a monument[d]
that will be better than sons and daughters.
I will set up a permanent monument[e] for them that will remain.

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 56:3 tn Heb “who attaches himself to.”
  2. Isaiah 56:3 tn The infinitive absolute precedes the finite verb for emphasis.
  3. Isaiah 56:4 tn Heb “and take hold of” (so KJV); NASB “hold fast.”
  4. 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.
  5. Isaiah 56:5 tn Heb “name” (so KJV, NIV, NRSV).