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Isaiah 55:5–9

5 hSurely you shall call a nation you do not know,

iAnd nations who do not know you shall run to you,

Because of the Lord your God,

And the Holy One of Israel;

jFor He has glorified you.”

6 kSeek the Lord while He may be lfound,

Call upon Him while He is near.

7 mLet the 2wicked forsake his way,

And the unrighteous man nhis thoughts;

Let him return to the Lord,

oAnd He will have mercy on him;

And to our God,

For He will abundantly pardon.

8 “For pMy thoughts are not your thoughts,

Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord.

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

So are My ways higher than your ways,

And My thoughts than your thoughts.

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Isaiah 55:5–9 — The New International Version (NIV)

Surely you will summon nations you know not,

and nations you do not know will come running to you,

because of the Lord your God,

the Holy One of Israel,

for he has endowed you with splendor.”

Seek the Lord while he may be found;

call on him while he is near.

Let the wicked forsake their ways

and the unrighteous their thoughts.

Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them,

and to our God, for he will freely pardon.

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,

neither are your ways my ways,”

declares the Lord.

“As the heavens are higher than the earth,

so are my ways higher than your ways

and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Isaiah 55:5–9 — English Standard Version (ESV)

Behold, you shall call a nation that you do not know,

and a nation that did not know you shall run to you,

because of the Lord your God, and of the Holy One of Israel,

for he has glorified you.

“Seek the Lord while he may be found;

call upon him while he is near;

let the wicked forsake his way,

and the unrighteous man his thoughts;

let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him,

and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

For my thoughts are not your thoughts,

neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.

For as the heavens are higher than the earth,

so are my ways higher than your ways

and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Isaiah 55:5–9 — King James Version (KJV 1900)

Behold, thou shalt call a nation that thou knowest not,

And nations that knew not thee shall run unto thee

Because of the Lord thy God,

And for the Holy One of Israel; for he hath glorified thee.

Seek ye the Lord while he may be found,

Call ye upon him while he is near:

Let the wicked forsake his way,

And the unrighteous man his thoughts:

And let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him;

And to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

For my thoughts are not your thoughts,

Neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.

For as the heavens are higher than the earth,

So are my ways higher than your ways,

And my thoughts than your thoughts.

Isaiah 55:5–9 — New Living Translation (NLT)

You also will command nations you do not know,

and peoples unknown to you will come running to obey,

because I, the Lord your God,

the Holy One of Israel, have made you glorious.”

Seek the Lord while you can find him.

Call on him now while he is near.

Let the wicked change their ways

and banish the very thought of doing wrong.

Let them turn to the Lord that he may have mercy on them.

Yes, turn to our God, for he will forgive generously.

“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord.

“And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.

For just as the heavens are higher than the earth,

so my ways are higher than your ways

and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.

Isaiah 55:5–9 — New Century Version (NCV)

You will call for nations that you don’t yet know.

And these nations that do not know you will run to you

because of the Lord your God,

because of the Holy One of Israel who honors you.”

So you should look for the Lord before it is too late;

you should call to him while he is near.

The wicked should stop doing wrong,

and they should stop their evil thoughts.

They should return to the Lord so he may have mercy on them.

They should come to our God, because he will freely forgive them.

The Lord says, “My thoughts are not like your thoughts.

Your ways are not like my ways.

Just as the heavens are higher than the earth,

so are my ways higher than your ways

and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.

Isaiah 55:5–9 — American Standard Version (ASV)

Behold, thou shalt call a nation that thou knowest not; and a nation that knew not thee shall run unto thee, because of Jehovah thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel; for he hath glorified thee.

Seek ye Jehovah while he may be found; call ye upon him while he is near: let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return unto Jehovah, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith Jehovah. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Isaiah 55:5–9 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)

Behold, thou shalt call a nation thou knowest not, and a nation that knew not thee shall run unto thee, because of Jehovah thy God, and the Holy One of Israel; for he hath glorified thee.

Seek ye Jehovah while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return unto Jehovah, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith Jehovah. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Isaiah 55:5–9 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

You will summon a nation that you don’t know, 

and a nation that doesn’t know you will run to you 

because of the Lord your God, 

because of the Holy One of Israel. 

He has honored you.” 

Seek the Lord while he may be found. 

Call on him while he is near. 

Let wicked people abandon their ways. 

Let evil people abandon their thoughts. 

Let them return to the Lord

and he will show compassion to them. 

Let them return to our God, 

because he will freely forgive them. 

“My thoughts are not your thoughts, 

and my ways are not your ways,” declares the Lord

“Just as the heavens are higher than the earth, 

so my ways are higher than your ways, 

and my thoughts are higher than your thoughts.” 

Isaiah 55:5–9 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

so you will summon a nation you do not know,

and nations who do not know you will run to you.

For the Lord your God,

even the Holy One of Israel,

has glorified you.”

Seek the Lord while He may be found;

call to Him while He is near.

Let the wicked one abandon his way

and the sinful one his thoughts;

let him return to the Lord,

so He may have compassion on him,

and to our God, for He will freely forgive.

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,

and your ways are not My ways.”

This is the Lord’s declaration.

“For as heaven is higher than earth,

so My ways are higher than your ways,

and My thoughts than your thoughts.

Isaiah 55:5–9 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

See, you shall call nations that you do not know,

and nations that do not know you shall run to you,

because of the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel,

for he has glorified you.

Seek the Lord while he may be found,

call upon him while he is near;

let the wicked forsake their way,

and the unrighteous their thoughts;

let them return to the Lord, that he may have mercy on them,

and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

For my thoughts are not your thoughts,

nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord.

For as the heavens are higher than the earth,

so are my ways higher than your ways

and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Isaiah 55:5–9 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)

Look! You shall call a nation that you do not know,

and a nation that does not know you shall run to you,

because of Yahweh your God,

and the holy one of Israel, for he has glorified you.”

Seek Yahweh while he lets himself be found;

call him while he is near.

Let the wicked forsake his way,

and the man of sin his thoughts.

And let him return to Yahweh, that he may take pity on him,

and to our God, for he will forgive manifold.

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,

and your ways are not my ways,”

declares Yahweh.

“For as the heavens are higher than the earth,

so my ways are higher than your ways,

and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Isaiah 55:5–9 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)

You 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.”

Turn to the Lord before it’s too late.

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

Let 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.

“My thoughts are not like your thoughts.

And your ways are not like my ways,”

announces the Lord.

“The heavens are higher than the earth.

And my ways are higher than your ways.

My thoughts are higher than your thoughts.

Isaiah 55:5–9 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)

Behold, you will call a nation you do not know,

And a nation which knows you not will run to you,

Because of the Lord your God, even the Holy One of Israel;

For He has glorified you.”

Seek the Lord while He may be found;

Call upon Him while He is near.

Let the wicked forsake his way

And the unrighteous man his thoughts;

And let him return to the Lord,

And He will have compassion on him,

And to our God,

For He will abundantly pardon.

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,

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

“For as the heavens are higher than the earth,

So are My ways higher than your ways

And My thoughts than your thoughts.


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