Isaiah 55

The Lord Invites His People to Come to Him

55“Come, all of you who are thirsty.

Come and drink the water I offer to you.

You who do not have any money, come.

Buy and eat the grain I give you.

Come and buy wine and milk.

You will not have to pay anything for it.

²Why spend money on what is not food?

Why work for what does not satisfy you?

Listen carefully to me.

Then you will eat what is good.

You will enjoy the richest food there is.

³Listen and come to me.

Pay attention to me.

Then you will live.

I will make a covenant with you that will last forever.

I will give you my faithful love.

I promised it to David.

⁴I made him a witness to the nations.

He became a leader and commander over them.

⁵You too will send for nations you do not know.

Even though they do not know you,

they will hurry and come to you.

That is what I will do. I am the Lord your God.

I am the Holy One of Israel.

I have honored you.”

⁶Turn to the Lord before it’s too late.

Call out to him while he’s still ready to help you.

⁷Let the one who is evil stop doing evil things.

And let him quit thinking evil thoughts.

Let him turn to the Lord.

The Lord will show him his tender love.

Let him turn to our God.

He is always ready to forgive.

⁸“My thoughts are not like your thoughts.

And your ways are not like my ways,”

announces the Lord.

⁹“The heavens are higher than the earth.

And my ways are higher than your ways.

My thoughts are higher than your thoughts.

¹⁰The rain and the snow

come down from the sky.

They do not return to it

without watering the earth.

They make plants come up and grow.

The plants produce seeds for farmers.

They also produce food for people to eat.

¹¹The words I speak are like that.

They will not return to me without producing results.

They will accomplish what I want them to.

They will do exactly what I sent them to do.

¹²“My people, you will leave Babylonia with joy.

You will be led out of it in peace.

The mountains and hills

will burst into song as you go.

And all of the trees in the fields

will clap their hands.

¹³Pine trees will grow where there used to be bushes that had thorns on them.

And myrtle trees will grow where there used to be thorns.

That will bring me great fame.

It will be a lasting reminder of what I can do.

It will not be forgotten.”