Isaiah 56–58

Salvation for Others

56This is what the Lord says:

“Maintain justice^c

and do what is right,^d

for my salvation^e is close at hand

and my righteousness^f will soon be revealed.

²Blessed^g is the one who does this—

the person who holds it fast,

who keeps the Sabbath^h without desecrating it,

and keeps their hands from doing any evil.”

³Let no foreignerⁱ who is bound to the Lord say,

“The Lord will surely exclude me from his people.”^j

And let no eunuch^k complain,

“I am only a dry tree.”

⁴For this is what the Lord says:

“To the eunuchs^l who keep my Sabbaths,

who choose what pleases me

and hold fast to my covenant^m—

⁵to them I will give within my temple and its wallsⁿ

a memorial^o and a name

better than sons and daughters;

I will give them an everlasting name^p

that will endure forever.^q

⁶And foreigners^r who bind themselves to the Lord

to minister^s to him,

to love the name^t of the Lord,

and to be his servants,

all who keep the Sabbath^u without desecrating it

and who hold fast to my covenant—

⁷these I will bring to my holy mountain^v

and give them joy in my house of prayer.

Their burnt offerings and sacrifices^w

will be accepted on my altar;

for my house will be called

a house of prayer for all nations.^x”^y

⁸The Sovereign Lord declares—

he who gathers the exiles of Israel:

“I will gather^z still others to them

besides those already gathered.”

God’s Accusation Against the Wicked

⁹Come, all you beasts of the field,^a

come and devour, all you beasts of the forest!

¹⁰Israel’s watchmen^b are blind,

they all lack knowledge;^c

they are all mute dogs,

they cannot bark;

they lie around and dream,

they love to sleep.^d

¹¹They are dogs with mighty appetites;

they never have enough.

They are shepherds^e who lack understanding;^f

they all turn to their own way,^g

they seek their own gain.^h

¹²“Come,” each one cries, “let me get wine!ⁱ

Let us drink our fill of beer!

And tomorrow will be like today,

or even far better.”^j

57The righteous perish,^k

and no one takes it to heart;^l

the devout are taken away,

and no one understands

that the righteous are taken away

to be spared from evil.^m

²Those who walk uprightlyⁿ

enter into peace;

they find rest^o as they lie in death.

³“But you—come here, you children of a sorceress,^p

you offspring of adulterers^q and prostitutes!^r

⁴Who are you mocking?

At whom do you sneer

and stick out your tongue?

Are you not a brood of rebels,^s

the offspring of liars?

⁵You burn with lust among the oaks^t

and under every spreading tree;^u

you sacrifice your children^v in the ravines

and under the overhanging crags.

⁶The idols^w among the smooth stones of the ravines are your portion;

indeed, they are your lot.

Yes, to them you have poured out drink offerings^x

and offered grain offerings.

In view of all this, should I relent?^y

⁷You have made your bed on a high and lofty hill;^z

there you went up to offer your sacrifices.^a

⁸Behind your doors and your doorposts

you have put your pagan symbols.

Forsaking me, you uncovered your bed,

you climbed into it and opened it wide;

you made a pact with those whose beds you love,^b

and you looked with lust on their naked bodies.^c

⁹You went to Molek^ad with olive oil

and increased your perfumes.^e

You sent your ambassadors^bf far away;

you descended to the very realm of the dead!^g

¹⁰You wearied^h yourself by such going about,

but you would not say, ‘It is hopeless.’ⁱ

You found renewal of your strength,^j

and so you did not faint.

¹¹“Whom have you so dreaded and feared^k

that you have not been true to me,

and have neither remembered^l me

nor taken this to heart?^m

Is it not because I have long been silentⁿ

that you do not fear me?

¹²I will expose your righteousness and your works,^o

and they will not benefit you.

¹³When you cry out^p for help,

let your collection of idols save^q you!

The wind will carry all of them off,

a mere breath will blow^r them away.

But whoever takes refuge^s in me

will inherit the land^t

and possess my holy mountain.”^u

Comfort for the Contrite

¹⁴And it will be said:

“Build up, build up, prepare the road!^v

Remove the obstacles out of the way of my people.”^w

¹⁵For this is what the high and exalted^x One says—

he who lives forever,^y whose name is holy:

“I live in a high^z and holy place,

but also with the one who is contrite^a and lowly in spirit,^b

to revive the spirit of the lowly

and to revive the heart of the contrite.^c

¹⁶I will not accuse^d them forever,

nor will I always be angry,^e

for then they would faint away because of me—

the very people^f I have created.

¹⁷I was enraged by their sinful greed;^g

I punished them, and hid^h my face in anger,

yet they kept on in their willful ways.ⁱ

¹⁸I have seen their ways, but I will heal^j them;

I will guide^k them and restore comfort^l to Israel’s mourners,

¹⁹creating praise on their lips.^m

Peace, peace,ⁿ to those far and near,”^o

says the Lord. “And I will heal them.”

²⁰But the wicked^p are like the tossing sea,^q

which cannot rest,

whose waves cast up mire^r and mud.

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

True Fasting

58“Shout it aloud,^u do not hold back.

Raise your voice like a trumpet.^v

Declare to my people their rebellion^w

and to the descendants of Jacob their sins.^x

²For day after day they seek^y me out;

they seem eager to know my ways,

as if they were a nation that does what is right

and has not forsaken^z the commands of its God.

They ask me for just decisions

and seem eager for God to come near^a them.

³‘Why have we fasted,’^b they say,

‘and you have not seen it?

Why have we humbled^c ourselves,

and you have not noticed?’^d

“Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please^e

and exploit all your workers.

⁴Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife,^f

and in striking each other with wicked fists.

You cannot fast as you do today

and expect your voice to be heard^g on high.

⁵Is this the kind of fast^h I have chosen,

only a day for people to humbleⁱ themselves?

Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed^j

and for lying in sackcloth and ashes?^k

Is that what you call a fast,

a day acceptable to the Lord?

⁶“Is not this the kind of fasting^l I have chosen:

to loose the chains of injustice^m

and untie the cords of the yoke,

to set the oppressedⁿ free

and break every yoke?^o

⁷Is it not to share your food with the hungry^p

and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter^q—

when you see the naked, to clothe^r them,

and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?^s

⁸Then your light will break forth like the dawn,^t

and your healing^u will quickly appear;

then your righteousness^av will go before you,

and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.^w

⁹Then you will call,^x and the Lord will answer;^y

you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.

“If you do away with the yoke of oppression,

with the pointing finger^z and malicious talk,^a

¹⁰and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry

and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,^b

then your light^c will rise in the darkness,

and your night will become like the noonday.^d

¹¹The Lord will guide^e you always;

he will satisfy your needs^f in a sun-scorched land^g

and will strengthen^h your frame.

You will be like a well-watered garden,ⁱ

like a spring^j whose waters never fail.

¹²Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins^k

and will raise up the age-old foundations;^l

you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,^m

Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.

¹³“If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbathⁿ

and from doing as you please on my holy day,

if you call the Sabbath a delight^o

and the Lord’s holy day honorable,

and if you honor it by not going your own way

and not doing as you please or speaking idle words,^p

¹⁴then you will find your joy^q in the Lord,

and I will cause you to ride in triumph on the heights^r of the land

and to feast on the inheritance^s of your father Jacob.”

For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.^t