Isaiah 56–58

A HOUSE OF PRAYER FOR ALL

56This 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

²Happy is the person who does this,

the son of man who holds it fast,

who keeps the Sabbath without desecrating it,

and keeps his hand from doing any evil.^c

³No 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

⁴For the Lord says this:

“For the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths,

and choose what pleases me,

and hold firmly to my covenant,

⁵I 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

⁶As for the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord

to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord,

and to become his servants—

all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it

and who hold firmly to my covenant—

⁷I 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

⁸This 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

⁹All you animals of the field and forest,

come and eat!

¹⁰Israel’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.

¹¹These 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 profit.^k

¹²“Come, let me get some wine,

let’s guzzle some beer;

and tomorrow will be like today,

only far better!”^l

57The righteous person perishes,

and no one takes it to heart;

the faithful are taken away,

with no one realizing

that the righteous person is taken away

because of^A evil.

²He will enter into peace—

they will rest on their beds^B—

everyone who lives uprightly.

PAGAN RELIGION DENOUNCED

³But come here,

you witch’s sons,

offspring of an adulterer and a prostitute!^C

⁴Who are you mocking?

Who are you opening your mouth

and sticking out your tongue at?

Isn’t it you, you rebellious children,^m

you offspring of liars,

⁵who burn with lust among the oaks,

under every green tree,ⁿ

who slaughter children in the wadis

below the clefts of the rocks?^o

⁶Your portion is among the smooth stones of the wadi;

indeed, they are your lot.

You have even poured out a drink offering to them;

you have offered a grain offering;

should I be satisfied with these?

⁷You have placed your bed

on a high and lofty mountain;^a

you also went up there to offer sacrifice.

⁸You have set up your memorial

behind the door and doorpost.

For away from me, you stripped,

went up, and made your bed wide,^b

and you have made a bargain^D for yourself with them.

You have loved their bed;

you have gazed on their genitals.^EF

⁹You went to the king with oil

and multiplied your perfumes;

you sent your envoys far away^c

and sent them down even to Sheol.

¹⁰You became weary on your many journeys,

but you did not say, “It’s hopeless!”^d

You found a renewal of your strength;^G

therefore you did not grow weak.

¹¹Who was it you dreaded and feared,

so that you lied and didn’t remember me

or take it to heart?

I have kept silent for a long time, haven’t I?^Ae

So you do not fear me.

¹²I will announce your righteousness,

and your works—they will not profit you.

¹³When you cry out,

let your collection of idols rescue you!

The wind will carry all of them off,

a breath will take them away.

But whoever takes refuge in me

will inherit the land^f

and possess my holy mountain.^g

HEALING AND PEACE

¹⁴He said,

“Build it up, build it up, prepare the way,

remove every obstacle from my people’s way.”^h

¹⁵For the High and Exalted One,

who lives forever, whose name is holy,ⁱ says this:

“I live in a high and holy place,

and with the oppressed and lowly of spirit,^j

to revive the spirit of the lowly

and revive the heart of the oppressed.^k

¹⁶For I will not accuse you forever,

and I will not always be angry;^l

for then the spirit would grow weak before me,

even the breath, which I have made.

¹⁷Because of his sinful greed I was angry,^m

so I struck him; I was angry and hid;

but he went on turning back to the desires of his heart.

¹⁸I have seen his ways, but I will heal him;

I will lead him and restore comfort

to him and his mourners,ⁿ

¹⁹creating words of praise.”^Bo

The Lord says,

“Peace, peace to the one who is far or near,^p

and I will heal him.

²⁰But the wicked are like the storm-tossed sea,^q

for it cannot be still,

and its water churns up mire and muck.

²¹There is no peace for the wicked,”

says my God.^r

TRUE FASTING

58“Cry out loudly, don’t hold back!

Raise your voice like a trumpet.

Tell my people their transgression

and the house of Jacob their sins.

²They seek me day after day

and delight to know my ways,

like a nation that does what is right

and does not abandon the justice of their God.

They ask me for righteous judgments;

they delight in the nearness of God.”^s

³“Why have we fasted, but you have not seen?^t

We have denied ourselves, but you haven’t noticed!”^A

“Look, you do as you please on the day of your fast,

and oppress all your workers.^u

⁴You fast with contention and strife

to strike viciously with your fist.

You cannot fast as you do today,

hoping to make your voice heard on high.

⁵Will the fast I choose be like this:

A day for a person to deny himself,

to bow his head like a reed,

and to spread out sackcloth and ashes?^a

Will you call this a fast

and a day acceptable to the Lord?

⁶Isn’t this the fast I choose:

To break the chains of wickedness,^b

to untie the ropes of the yoke,

to set the oppressed free,

and to tear off every yoke?^c

⁷Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,^d

to bring the poor and homeless into your house,

to clothe the naked when you see him,^e

and not to ignore your own flesh and blood?^Bf

⁸Then your light will appear like the dawn,

and your recovery will come quickly.^g

Your righteousness will go before you,^h

and the Lord’s glory will be your rear guard.ⁱ

⁹At that time, when you call, the Lord will answer;^j

when you cry out, he will say, ‘Here I am.’

If you get rid of the yoke among you,

the finger-pointing and malicious speaking,^k

¹⁰and if you offer yourself^C to the hungry,

and satisfy the afflicted one,

then your light will shine in the darkness,^l

and your night will be like noonday.

¹¹The Lord will always lead you,

satisfy you in a parched land,

and strengthen your bones.

You will be like a watered garden^m

and like a spring whose water never runs dry.ⁿ

¹²Some of you will rebuild the ancient ruins;^o

you will restore the foundations laid long ago;^p

you will be called the repairer of broken walls,

the restorer of streets where people live.

¹³“If you keep from desecrating the Sabbath,^q

from doing whatever you want on my holy day;

if you call the Sabbath a delight,

and the holy day of the Lord honorable;

if you honor it, not going your own ways,^r

seeking your own pleasure, or talking business;^AB

¹⁴then you will delight in the Lord,^s

and I will make you ride over the heights of the land,^t

and let you enjoy the heritage of your father Jacob.”

For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.^u