6 aSeek the Lord while He may be found;

bCall upon Him while He is near.

7 aLet the wicked forsake his way

And the unrighteous man his bthoughts;

And let him creturn to the Lord,

And He will have dcompassion on him,

And to our God,

For He will eabundantly pardon.

8 “For My thoughts are not ayour thoughts,

Nor are byour ways My ways,” declares the Lord.

9 “For aas the heavens are higher than the earth,

So are My ways higher than your ways

And My thoughts than your thoughts.

10 “For as the arain and the snow come down from heaven,

And do not return there without watering the earth

And making it bear and sprout,

And furnishing bseed to the sower and bread to the eater;

11 So will My aword be which goes forth from My mouth;

It will bnot return to Me empty,

Without caccomplishing what I desire,

And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.

12 “For you will go out with ajoy

And be led forth with bpeace;

The cmountains and the hills will break forth into shouts of joy before you,

And all the dtrees of the field will clap their hands.

13 “Instead of the athorn bush the bcypress will come up,

And instead of the cnettle the myrtle will come up,

And 1it will be a 2dmemorial to the Lord,

For an everlasting esign which fwill not be cut off.”

Chapter 56

Rewards for Obedience to God

1 Thus says the Lord,

“aPreserve justice and do righteousness,

For My bsalvation is about to come

And My righteousness to be revealed.

2 “How ablessed is the man who does this,

And the son of man who btakes hold of it;

Who ckeeps from profaning the sabbath,

And keeps his hand from doing any evil.”

3 Let not the aforeigner who has joined himself to the Lord say,

“The Lord will surely separate me from His people.”

Nor let the beunuch say, “Behold, I am a dry tree.”

4 For thus says the Lord,

“To the eunuchs who akeep My sabbaths,

And choose what pleases Me,

And bhold fast My covenant,

5 To them I will give in My ahouse and within My bwalls a memorial,

And a name better than that of sons and daughters;

I will give 1them an everlasting cname which dwill not be cut off.

6 “Also the aforeigners who join themselves to the Lord,

To minister to Him, and to love the name of the Lord,

To be His servants, every one who bkeeps from profaning the sabbath

And holds fast My covenant;

7 Even athose I will bring to My bholy mountain

And cmake them joyful in My house of prayer.

Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be acceptable on dMy altar;

For eMy house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples.”

8 The Lord 1God, who agathers the dispersed of Israel, declares,

“Yet bothers I will gather to 2them, to those already gathered.”