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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.

2 Why 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.

3 Listen 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.

4 I made him a witness to the nations.

He became a leader and commander over them.

5 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.”

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

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

7 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.

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.

10 The 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.

11 The 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.

13 Pine 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.”

NIrV

About New International Reader’s Version (1998)

The New International Reader’s Version (NIrV) was developed to help early readers understand the Bible. Begun in 1992, the NIrV is a simplification of the New International Version (NIV). The NIrV uses shorter words and sentences so that those with a typical fourth grade reading level can comprehend what they are reading. The chapters have been separated into shorter sections and most have titles that clearly indicate what the section is all about. The NIrV will be a valuable translation to those for whom English is a second language. The NIrV still relies on the best and oldest copies of the Hebrew and Greek manuscripts for its translation, guaranteeing that those who read it are getting the actual Word of God.

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Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL READER’S VERSION™. Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

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