Historical
Zion Will Be Secure
54 “Shout for joy, O barren one who has not given birth!
Give a joyful shout and cry out, you who have not been in labor!
For the children of the desolate one are more numerous
than the children of the married woman,” says the Lord.
2 Make your tent larger,
stretch your tent curtains farther out![a]
Spare no effort,
lengthen your ropes,
and pound your stakes deep.[b]
3 For you will spread out to the right and to the left;
your children will conquer[c] nations
and will resettle desolate cities.
4 Don’t be afraid, for you will not be put to shame.
Don’t be intimidated,[d] for you will not be humiliated.
You will forget about the shame you experienced in your youth;
you will no longer remember the disgrace of your abandonment.[e]
5 For your husband is the one who made you—
the Lord of Heaven’s Armies is his name.
He is your Protector,[f] the Holy One of Israel.[g]
He is called “God of the entire earth.”
6 “Indeed, the Lord will call you back
like a wife who has been abandoned and suffers from depression,[h]
like a young wife when she has been rejected,” says your God.
7 “For a short time I abandoned[i] you,
but with great compassion I will gather you.
8 In a burst[j] of anger I rejected you[k] momentarily,
but with lasting devotion I will have compassion on you,”
says your Protector,[l] the Lord.
9 “As far as I am concerned, this is like in Noah’s time,[m]
when I vowed that the waters of Noah’s flood[n] would never again cover the earth.
In the same way I have vowed that I will not be angry at you or shout at you.
10 Even if the mountains are removed
and the hills displaced,
my devotion will not be removed from you,
nor will my covenant of friendship[o] be displaced,”
says the Lord, the one who has compassion on you.
11 “O afflicted one, driven away,[p] and unconsoled!
Look, I am about to set your stones in antimony,
and lay your foundation with lapis lazuli.
12 I will make your pinnacles out of gems,[q]
your gates out of beryl,[r]
and your outer wall[s] out of beautiful[t] stones.
13 All your children will be followers of the Lord,
and your children will enjoy great prosperity.[u]
14 You will be reestablished when I vindicate you.[v]
You will not experience oppression;[w]
indeed, you will not be afraid.
You will not be terrified,[x]
for nothing frightening[y] will come near you.
15 If anyone dares to[z] challenge you, it will not be my doing!
Whoever tries to challenge you will be defeated.[aa]
16 Look, I create the craftsman,
who fans the coals into a fire
and forges a weapon.[ab]
I create the destroyer so he might devastate.
17 No weapon forged to be used against you will succeed;
you will refute everyone who tries to accuse you.[ac]
This is what the Lord will do for his servants—
I will vindicate them,”[ad]
says the Lord.
The Lord Gives an Invitation
55 “Hey,[ae] all who are thirsty, come to the water!
You who have no money, come!
Buy and eat!
Come! Buy wine and milk
without money and without cost.[af]
2 Why pay money for something that will not nourish you?[ag]
Why spend[ah] your hard-earned money[ai] on something that will not satisfy?
Listen carefully[aj] to me and eat what is nourishing![ak]
Enjoy fine food.[al]
3 Pay attention and come to me.
Listen, so you can live.[am]
Then I will make an unconditional covenantal promise to[an] you,
just like the reliable covenantal promises I made to David.[ao]
4 Look, I made him a witness to nations,[ap]
a ruler and commander of nations.”
5 Look, you will summon nations[aq] you did not previously know;
nations[ar] that did not previously know you will run to you,
because of the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel,[as]
for he bestows honor on you.
6 Seek the Lord while he makes himself available;[at]
call to him while he is nearby!
7 The wicked need to abandon their lifestyle[au]
and sinful people their plans.[av]
They should return[aw] to the Lord, and he will show mercy to them,[ax]
and to their God, for he will freely forgive them.[ay]
8 “Indeed,[az] my plans[ba] are not like[bb] your plans,
and my deeds[bc] are not like[bd] your deeds,” says the Lord,
9 “for just as the sky[be] is higher than the earth,
so my deeds[bf] are superior to[bg] your deeds
and my plans[bh] superior to your plans.
10 [bi] The rain and snow fall from the sky
and do not return,
but instead water the earth
and make it produce and yield crops,
and provide seed for the planter and food for those who must eat.
11 In the same way, the promise that I make
does not return to me, having accomplished nothing.[bj]
No, it is realized as I desire
and is fulfilled as I intend.”[bk]
12 Indeed you will go out with joy;
you will be led along in peace;
the mountains and hills will give a joyful shout before you,
and all the trees in the field will clap their hands.
13 Evergreens will grow in place of thorn bushes,
firs will grow in place of nettles;
they will be a monument to the Lord,[bl]
a permanent reminder that will remain.[bm]
The Lord Invites Outsiders to Enter
56 This is what the Lord says,
“Promote[bn] justice! Do what is right!
For I am ready to deliver you;
I am ready to vindicate you openly.[bo]
2 The people who do this will be blessed,[bp]
the people who commit themselves to obedience,[bq]
who observe the Sabbath and do not defile it,
who refrain from doing anything that is wrong.[br]
3 No foreigner who becomes a follower of[bs] the Lord should say,
‘The Lord will certainly[bt] exclude me from his people.’
The eunuch should not say,
‘Look, I am like a dried-up tree.’”
4 For this is what the Lord says:
“For the eunuchs who observe my Sabbaths
and choose what pleases me
and are faithful to[bu] my covenant,
5 I will set up within my temple and my walls a monument[bv]
that will be better than sons and daughters.
I will set up a permanent monument[bw] for them that will remain.
6 As for foreigners who become followers of[bx] the Lord and serve him,
who love the name of the Lord and want to be his servants—
all who observe the Sabbath and do not defile it,
and who are faithful to[by] my covenant—
7 I will bring them to my holy mountain;
I will make them happy in the temple where people pray to me.[bz]
Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar,
for my temple will be known as a temple where all nations may pray.”[ca]
8 The Sovereign Lord says this,
the one who gathers the dispersed of Israel:
“I will still gather them up.”[cb]
The Lord Denounces Israel’s Paganism
9 All you wild animals in the fields, come and devour,
all you wild animals in the forest!
10 All their watchmen[cc] are blind,
they are unaware.[cd]
All of them are like mute dogs,
unable to bark.
They pant,[ce] lie down,
and love to snooze.
11 The dogs have big appetites;
they are never full.[cf]
They are shepherds who have no understanding;
they all go their own way,
each one looking for monetary gain.[cg]
12 Each one says,[ch]
‘Come on, I’ll get some wine!
Let’s guzzle some beer!
Tomorrow will be just like today!
We’ll have everything we want!’[ci]
57 The godly[cj] perish,
but no one cares.[ck]
Honest people disappear,[cl]
when no one[cm] minds[cn]
that the godly[co] disappear[cp] because of[cq] evil.[cr]
2 Those who live uprightly enter a place of peace;
they rest on their beds.[cs]
3 “But approach, you sons of omen readers,
you offspring of adulteresses and prostitutes![ct]
4 At whom are you laughing?
At whom are you opening your mouth
and sticking out your tongue?
You are the children of rebels,
the offspring of liars,[cu]
5 you who inflame your lusts[cv] among the oaks[cw] and under every green tree,
who slaughter children near the streams under the rocky overhangs.[cx]
6 Among the smooth stones of the stream are the idols you love;
they, they are the object of your devotion.[cy]
You pour out liquid offerings to them,
you make an offering.
Because of these things how can I relent from judgment?[cz]
7 On every high, elevated hill you prepare your bed;
you go up there to offer sacrifices.
8 Behind the door and doorpost you put your symbols.[da]
Indeed,[db] you depart from me[dc] and go up
and invite them into bed with you.[dd]
You purchase favors from them;[de]
you love their bed,
and gaze longingly[df] on their naked bodies.[dg]
9 You take olive oil as tribute[dh] to your king,[di]
along with many perfumes.[dj]
You send your messengers to a distant place;
you go all the way to Sheol.[dk]
10 Because of the long distance you must travel, you get tired,[dl]
but you do not say, ‘I give up.’[dm]
You get renewed energy,[dn]
so you don’t collapse.[do]
11 Whom are you worried about?
Whom do you fear, that you would act so deceitfully
and not remember me
or think about me?[dp]
Because I have been silent for so long,[dq]
you are not afraid of me.[dr]
12 I will denounce your so-called righteousness and your deeds,[ds]
but they will not help you.
13 When you cry out for help, let your idols[dt] help you!
The wind blows them all away,[du]
a breeze carries them away.[dv]
But the one who looks to me for help[dw] will inherit the land
and will have access to[dx] my holy mountain.”
14 He says,[dy]
“Build it! Build it! Clear a way!
Remove all the obstacles out of the way of my people!”
15 For this is what the high and exalted one says,
the one who rules[dz] forever, whose name is holy:
“I dwell in an exalted and holy place,
but also with the discouraged and humiliated,[ea]
in order to cheer up the humiliated
and to encourage the discouraged.[eb]
16 For I will not be hostile[ec] forever
or perpetually angry,
for then man’s spirit would grow faint before me,[ed]
the life-giving breath I created.
17 I was angry because of their sinful greed;
I attacked them and angrily rejected them,[ee]
yet they remained disobedient and stubborn.[ef]
18 I have seen their behavior,[eg]
but I will heal them. I will lead[eh] them,
and I will provide comfort[ei] to them and those who mourn with them.[ej]
19 I am the one who gives them reason to celebrate.[ek]
Complete prosperity[el] is available both to those who are far away and those who are nearby,”
says the Lord, “and I will heal them.
20 But the wicked are like a surging sea
that is unable to be quiet;
its waves toss up mud and sand.
21 There will be no prosperity,” says my God, “for the wicked.”
The Lord Desires Genuine Devotion
58 “Shout loudly! Don’t be quiet!
Yell as loudly as a trumpet!
Confront my people with their rebellious deeds;[em]
confront Jacob’s family with their sin.[en]
2 They seek me day after day;
they want to know my requirements,[eo]
like a nation that does what is right
and does not reject the law of their God.
They ask me for just decrees;
they want to be near God.
3 They lament,[ep] ‘Why don’t you notice when we fast?
Why don’t you pay attention when we humble ourselves?’
Look, at the same time you fast, you satisfy your selfish desires,[eq]
you oppress your workers.[er]
4 Look, your fasting is accompanied by[es] arguments, brawls,
and fistfights.[et]
Do not fast as you do today,
trying to make your voice heard in heaven.
5 Is this really the kind of fasting I want?[eu]
Do I want a day when people merely humble themselves,[ev]
bowing their heads like a reed
and stretching out[ew] on sackcloth and ashes?
Is this really what you call a fast,
a day that is pleasing to the Lord?
6 No, this is the kind of fast I want:[ex]
I want you[ey] to remove the sinful chains,
to tear away the ropes of the burdensome yoke,
to set free the oppressed,[ez]
and to break every burdensome yoke.
7 I want you[fa] to share your food with the hungry
and to provide shelter for homeless, oppressed people.[fb]
When you see someone naked, clothe them!
Don’t turn your back on your own flesh and blood.[fc]
8 Then your light will shine like the sunrise;[fd]
your restoration will quickly arrive;[fe]
your godly behavior[ff] will go before you,
and the Lord’s splendor will be your rear guard.[fg]
9 Then you will call out, and the Lord will respond;
you will cry out, and he will reply, ‘Here I am.’
You must[fh] remove the burdensome yoke from among you
and stop pointing fingers and speaking sinfully.
10 You must[fi] actively help the hungry
and feed the oppressed.[fj]
Then your light will dispel the darkness,[fk]
and your darkness will be transformed into noonday.[fl]
11 The Lord will continually lead you;
he will feed you even in parched regions.[fm]
He will give you renewed strength,[fn]
and you will be like a well-watered garden,
like a spring that continually produces water.
12 Your perpetual ruins will be rebuilt;[fo]
you will reestablish the ancient foundations.
You will be called, ‘The one who repairs broken walls,
the one who makes the streets inhabitable again.’[fp]
13 You must[fq] observe the Sabbath[fr]
rather than doing anything you please on my holy day.[fs]
You must look forward to the Sabbath[ft]
and treat the Lord’s holy day with respect.[fu]
You must treat it with respect by refraining from your normal activities,
and by refraining from your selfish pursuits and from making business deals.[fv]
14 Then you will find joy in your relationship to the Lord,[fw]
and I will give you great prosperity,[fx]
and cause crops to grow on the land I gave to your ancestor Jacob.”[fy]
Know for certain that the Lord has spoken.[fz]
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