Isaiah 56–58

Salvation for All Who Obey

56Thus says Yahweh:

“Observe justice

and do righteousness,

for my salvation is close to coming,

and my justice to being revealed.

²Happy is the man who does this,

and the son of humankind who keeps hold of it,

who keeps the Sabbath so as not to profane^a it,

and who keeps his hand from doing any^b evil.”

³And do not let the foreigner^c who joins himself to Yahweh say, “Surely Yahweh will separate me from his people.”

And do not let the eunuch say, “Look! I am a dry tree!”

⁴For thus says Yahweh, “To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths,

and choose that in which I delight,

and who keep hold of my covenant.

⁵And I will give them a monument and a name in my house and within my walls,

better than sons and daughters;

I will give him an everlasting name

that shall not be cut off.

⁶And the foreigners^d who join themselves to Yahweh to serve him

and to love the name of Yahweh, to become his servants,

every one who keeps the Sabbath, so as not to profane^e it,

and those who keep hold of my covenant,

⁷I will bring them to my holy mountain;^f

I will make them merry in my house of prayer.

their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted^g on my altar,

for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples,”

⁸declares^h the Lord Yahweh, who gathersⁱ the scattered ones of Israel (still I will gather to^j him, to his gathered ones).

Wicked Leaders

⁹All wild animals in the field, come,

to devour,^k all wild animals in the forest!

¹⁰His watchmen are blind,

none of them know.

They are all dumb dogs;

they are unable to bark,

panting, lying down,

loving to slumber.

¹¹And the dogs have a greedy appetite;^l

they are never satisfied.^m

And they are the shepherds!

They do not haveⁿ understanding.

They all turn to their own way,

each one for his own gain, every one of them.^o

¹²“Come, let me take wine,

and let us carouse with intoxicating drink,

and tomorrow will be like today,

very great indeed.”^p

Idolatry is Adultery

57The righteous one perishes, and there is no one who takes^a it to heart.

And men of faithfulness are gathered, while there is no one who understands,

for the righteous is gathered from the presence of wickedness.

²he enters into peace;

they will rest on their beds,

walking straight ahead of him.

³“But^b you, come near here, you children of a soothsayer,

offspring of an adulterer and she who commits fornication.

⁴At whom do you make fun?

At whom do you open^c your mouth and stick out^d your tongue?

Are you not children of transgression,

offspring of deception,

⁵who burn with lust among the oaks,

under every leafy tree,

who slaughter children in the valleys,

under the clefts of the rocks?

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

they, they are your lot;

indeed, to them you have poured out a drink offering,

you have brought a food offering.

Shall I relent concerning these things?

⁷You have set your bed upon a high and lofty mountain;

indeed, you went up there to slaughter sacrifice.

⁸And you have set your symbol behind the door and the doorpost;

for you depart^e from me, and you go up;

you make your bed wide, and you make a deal with^f them,

you have loved their bed; you have seen their genitals.^g

⁹And you climbed down to the king with oil,

and you made your perfumes numerous,

and you sent your envoys far away,^h

and you sent down deepⁱ to Sheol.

¹⁰You grow weary by the greatness of your way,

but you did not say, ‘Despairing!’

You found the renewal^j of your strength,^k

therefore you do not grow weak.

¹¹And of whom were you afraid and feared, that you deceived

and did not remember me?

Did you not place it on your heart?

Have I not been silent, even from long ago,

and so you do not fear me?

¹²I myself will declare your righteousness and your works,

but^l they will not benefit you.

¹³When you cry,^m let your collection deliver you,

and the wind will carry all of them away;

a breath will take them away.

Butⁿ he who takes refuge in me shall take possession of the land,

and he shall inherit my holy mountain.”^o

Peace for the Contrite

¹⁴And one shall say, “Build up, build up! Clear the way!

Remove the obstacles^p from the way of my people!”

¹⁵For thus says the high and lofty one who resides forever, and whose name is holy:

“I reside in a high and holy place,

and with the contrite^q and humble of spirit,

to revive the spirit of the humble,

and to revive the heart of the contrite.^r

¹⁶For I will not attack forever,

and I will not be angry forever,

for the spirit will grow faint before me,

and the breaths that I myself I have made.

¹⁷I was angry because of his sin of gain, and I struck him;

I hid and I was angry, but^s he walked apostate, in the ways^t of his heart.

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

and I will lead him and give him and his mourners comfort as a recompense,

¹⁹creating fruit of lips.

Peace, peace to the far and near,” says Yahweh, “and I will heal him.

²⁰But^v the wicked are like the churning sea,

that is not able to keep quiet,

and its waters toss up mire and mud.

²¹There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.”

True Fasts and Sabbaths

58“Call with the throat; you must not keep back!

lift up your voice like a trumpet,

and declare^a to my people their rebellion,

and to the house of Jacob their sins.

²Yet^b they seek me day by day,

and they desire the knowledge of my ways

like a nation that practiced^c righteousness,

and had not forsaken the judgment of its God;

they ask me for righteous judgments,^d

they desire the closeness of God.

³‘Why do we fast, and you do not see it?

We humiliate our soul, and you do not notice it?’

Look! You find delight on the day of your fast,

and you oppress all your workers!

⁴Look! You fast to quarrel and strife,

and to strike with a wicked fist.^e

You shall not fast as you do today,^f

to make your voice heard^g on the height.

⁵Is the fast I choose like this,

a day for humankind to humiliate himself^h?

To bow his head like a reed,

and makeⁱ his bed on sackcloth and ashes;

you call this a fast

and a day of pleasure to Yahweh?

⁶Is this not the fast I choose: to release the bonds of injustice,

to untie the ropes of the yoke,

and to let the oppressed go free,

and tear^j every yoke to pieces?

⁷Is it not to break your bread for the hungry?

You must bring home^k the poor, the homeless.

When you see the naked, you must cover him,

and you must not hide yourself from your relatives.^l

⁸Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,

and your healing shall grow quickly.

And your salvation shall go before you;

the glory of Yahweh will be your rear guard.

⁹Then you shall call, and Yahweh himself will answer.

You shall cry for help, and he will say, ‘Here I am!’

If you remove from among you the yoke,

the finger-pointing^m and evil speech,ⁿ

¹⁰if^o you offer your soul to the hungry,

and you satisfy the appetite of the afflicted,

then^p your light shall rise in the darkness,

and your darkness will be like noon.

¹¹And Yahweh will lead you continually, and satisfy your soul in a barren land,

and he will strengthen your bones,

and you shall be like a well-watered garden,

and like a spring of water whose water does not fail.

¹²And they shall rebuild ancient ruins from you;

you shall erect the foundations of many generations,^q

and you shall be called^r the bricklayer of the breach,

the restorer of paths to live in.

¹³If you hold your foot back from the Sabbath,

from doing your affairs on my holy day,^s

if^t you call the Sabbath a pleasure,

the holy day of Yahweh honorable,

if^u you honor him more than^v doing your ways,

than finding your affairs^w and speaking a word,

¹⁴then you shall take your pleasure in^x Yahweh,

and I will make you ride upon the heights of the earth,

and I will feed you the heritage of Jacob your ancestor,^y

for the mouth of Yahweh has spoken.”