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Isaiah 56-58
Common English Bible
Isaiah 56-58
Common English Bible
Keepers of God’s Sabbath
56 The Lord says:
Act justly and do what is righteous,
because my salvation is coming soon,
and my righteousness will be revealed.
2 Happy is the one who does this,
the person who holds it fast,
who keeps the Sabbath, not making it impure,
and avoids doing any evil.
3 Don’t let the immigrant who has joined with the Lord say,
“The Lord will exclude me from the people.”
And don’t let the eunuch say,
“I’m just a dry tree.”
4 The Lord says:
To the eunuchs who keep my sabbaths,
choose what I desire,
and remain loyal to my covenant.
5 In my temple and courts, I will give them
a monument and a name better than sons and daughters.
I will give to them an enduring name
that won’t be removed.
6 The immigrants who have joined me,[a]
serving me and loving my name,[b] becoming my servants,[c]
everyone who keeps the Sabbath without making it impure,
and those who hold fast to my covenant:
7 I will bring them to my holy mountain,
and bring them joy in my house of prayer.
I will accept their entirely burned offerings and sacrifices on my altar.
My house will be known as a house of prayer for all peoples,
8 says the Lord God,
who gathers Israel’s outcasts.
I will gather still others to those I have already gathered.
Neglectful leaders
9 All you beasts of the field,
come and eat, all you beasts of the forest!
10 The lookouts are blind;
they all lack sense.
They are all mute dogs that can’t bark,
dreamers, loungers, loving to sleep.
11 But the dogs have monstrous appetites.
They never have enough.
They are shepherds who don’t understand.
All of them have turned to their own ways,
every last one greedy for profit.
12 “Come! I’ll get some wine!
Let’s drink beer!
Tomorrow will be like today, or even much better.”
57 The righteous person perishes,
and no one takes it to heart.
Loyal people are gathered together,
and no one understands that because of evil
the righteous one passed away.
2 They will find peace;
those who walk in straight paths
will find rest on their burial beds.
Accusations against idolators
3 Come here, you children of sorcery,
offspring of adultery and prostitution!
4 Whom are you mocking?
Against whom do you open your mouth wide
and stick out your tongue?
Aren’t you children of rebellion, offspring of lies,
5 who console yourselves with idols under every green tree,
who slaughter children in the valleys, under the rocky cliffs?
6 You belong with the smooth talkers[d] in the valley;
they, they are your lot.
For them you poured out a drink offering,
and presented a grain offering.
Should I condone these things?
7 On a very high mountain you made your bed.
You went up there to offer a sacrifice.
8 Behind the door and the doorpost
you placed your symbols.
You abandoned me and lay down,
making room in your bed
and making deals for yourself with them.[e]
You loved their bed;
you saw their nakedness.
9 You went down to Molech[f] with oil,
and you slathered on your ointments;
you sent your messengers far away,
sent them down to the underworld.[g]
10 Worn out by all your efforts,
yet you wouldn’t say, “This is useless.”
You found new strength;
therefore, you weren’t tired.
11 Whom did you dread and fear so that you lied,
didn’t remember me or give me a thought?
Isn’t it because I was silent and closed my eyes
that you stopped fearing me?
12 I will bring evidence about your righteousness and your actions;
they won’t help you.
13 When you cry out,
let those things you’ve gathered save you!
The wind will lift them all;
one breath will take them away.
but those taking refuge in me will inherit the land and possess my holy mountain.
Peace for the remorseful
14 It will be said: “Survey, survey; build a road!
Remove barriers from my people’s road!”
15 The one who is high and lifted up,
who lives forever, whose name is holy, says:
I live on high, in holiness,
and also with the crushed[h] and the lowly,
reviving the spirit of the lowly,
reviving the heart of those who have been crushed.[i]
16 I won’t always accuse,
nor will I be enraged forever.
It is my own doing that their spirit is exhausted—
I gave them breath!
17 I was enraged about their illegal profits;
I struck them; in rage I withdrew from them.
Yet they went on wandering wherever they wanted.
18 I have seen their ways, but I will heal them.
I will guide them,
and reward them with comfort.
And for those who mourn,
19 I will create reason for praise:[j]
utter prosperity to those far and near,
and I will heal them, says the Lord.
20 But the wicked are like the churning sea that can’t keep still.
They churn up from their waters muck and mud.
21 There is no peace, says my God, for the wicked.
Fasting from injustice
58 Shout loudly; don’t hold back;
raise your voice like a trumpet!
Announce to my people their crime,
to the house of Jacob their sins.
2 They seek me day after day,
desiring knowledge of my ways
like a nation that acted righteously,
that didn’t abandon their God.
They ask me for righteous judgments,
wanting to be close to God.
3 “Why do we fast and you don’t see;
why afflict ourselves and you don’t notice?”
Yet on your fast day you do whatever you want,
and oppress all your workers.
4 You quarrel and brawl, and then you fast;
you hit each other violently with your fists.
You shouldn’t fast as you are doing today
if you want to make your voice heard on high.
5 Is this the kind of fast I choose,
a day of self-affliction,
of bending one’s head like a reed
and of lying down in mourning clothing and ashes?
Is this what you call a fast,
a day acceptable to the Lord?
6 Isn’t this the fast I choose:
releasing wicked restraints, untying the ropes of a yoke,
setting free the mistreated,
and breaking every yoke?
7 Isn’t it sharing your bread with the hungry
and bringing the homeless poor into your house,
covering the naked when you see them,
and not hiding from your own family?
8 Then your light will break out like the dawn,
and you will be healed quickly.
Your own righteousness will walk before you,
and the Lord’s glory will be your rear guard.
9 Then you will call, and the Lord will answer;
you will cry for help, and God will say, “I’m here.”
If you remove the yoke from among you,
the finger-pointing, the wicked speech;
10 if you open your heart to the hungry,
and provide abundantly for those who are afflicted,
your light will shine in the darkness,
and your gloom will be like the noon.
11 The Lord will guide you continually
and provide for you, even in parched places.
He will rescue your bones.
You will be like a watered garden,
like a spring of water that won’t run dry.
12 They will rebuild ancient ruins on your account;
the foundations of generations past you will restore.
You will be called Mender of Broken Walls,
Restorer of Livable Streets.
13 If you stop trampling the Sabbath,
stop doing whatever you want on my holy day,
and consider the Sabbath a delight,
sacred to the Lord, honored,
and honor it instead of doing things your way,
seeking what you want and doing business as usual,
14 then you will take delight in the Lord.
I will let you ride on the heights of the earth;
I will sustain you with the heritage of your ancestor Jacob.
The mouth of the Lord has spoken.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 56:6 Or to the Lord
- Isaiah 56:6 Or serving him and loving the Lord’s name
- Isaiah 56:6 Or becoming his servants
- Isaiah 57:6 Or smooth things
- Isaiah 57:8 Heb uncertain
- Isaiah 57:9 Or the king
- Isaiah 57:9 Heb Sheol
- Isaiah 57:15 Or contrite
- Isaiah 57:15 Or contrite
- Isaiah 57:19 Heb uncertain
Isaiah 56-58
New International Version
Isaiah 56-58
New International Version
Salvation for Others
56 This is what the Lord says:
“Maintain justice(A)
and do what is right,(B)
for my salvation(C) is close at hand
and my righteousness(D) will soon be revealed.
2 Blessed(E) is the one who does this—
the person who holds it fast,
who keeps the Sabbath(F) without desecrating it,
and keeps their hands from doing any evil.”
3 Let no foreigner(G) who is bound to the Lord say,
“The Lord will surely exclude me from his people.”(H)
And let no eunuch(I) complain,
“I am only a dry tree.”
4 For this is what the Lord says:
“To the eunuchs(J) who keep my Sabbaths,
who choose what pleases me
and hold fast to my covenant(K)—
5 to them I will give within my temple and its walls(L)
a memorial(M) and a name
better than sons and daughters;
I will give them an everlasting name(N)
that will endure forever.(O)
6 And foreigners(P) who bind themselves to the Lord
to minister(Q) to him,
to love the name(R) of the Lord,
and to be his servants,
all who keep the Sabbath(S) without desecrating it
and who hold fast to my covenant—
7 these I will bring to my holy mountain(T)
and give them joy in my house of prayer.
Their burnt offerings and sacrifices(U)
will be accepted on my altar;
for my house will be called
a house of prayer for all nations.(V)”(W)
8 The Sovereign Lord declares—
he who gathers the exiles of Israel:
“I will gather(X) still others to them
besides those already gathered.”
God’s Accusation Against the Wicked
9 Come, all you beasts of the field,(Y)
come and devour, all you beasts of the forest!
10 Israel’s watchmen(Z) are blind,
they all lack knowledge;(AA)
they are all mute dogs,
they cannot bark;
they lie around and dream,
they love to sleep.(AB)
11 They are dogs with mighty appetites;
they never have enough.
They are shepherds(AC) who lack understanding;(AD)
they all turn to their own way,(AE)
they seek their own gain.(AF)
12 “Come,” each one cries, “let me get wine!(AG)
Let us drink our fill of beer!
And tomorrow will be like today,
or even far better.”(AH)
57 The righteous perish,(AI)
and no one takes it to heart;(AJ)
the devout are taken away,
and no one understands
that the righteous are taken away
to be spared from evil.(AK)
2 Those who walk uprightly(AL)
enter into peace;
they find rest(AM) as they lie in death.
3 “But you—come here, you children of a sorceress,(AN)
you offspring of adulterers(AO) and prostitutes!(AP)
4 Who are you mocking?
At whom do you sneer
and stick out your tongue?
Are you not a brood of rebels,(AQ)
the offspring of liars?
5 You burn with lust among the oaks(AR)
and under every spreading tree;(AS)
you sacrifice your children(AT) in the ravines
and under the overhanging crags.
6 The idols(AU) among the smooth stones of the ravines are your portion;
indeed, they are your lot.
Yes, to them you have poured out drink offerings(AV)
and offered grain offerings.
In view of all this, should I relent?(AW)
7 You have made your bed on a high and lofty hill;(AX)
there you went up to offer your sacrifices.(AY)
8 Behind 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,(AZ)
and you looked with lust on their naked bodies.(BA)
9 You went to Molek[a](BB) with olive oil
and increased your perfumes.(BC)
You sent your ambassadors[b](BD) far away;
you descended to the very realm of the dead!(BE)
10 You wearied(BF) yourself by such going about,
but you would not say, ‘It is hopeless.’(BG)
You found renewal of your strength,(BH)
and so you did not faint.
11 “Whom have you so dreaded and feared(BI)
that you have not been true to me,
and have neither remembered(BJ) me
nor taken this to heart?(BK)
Is it not because I have long been silent(BL)
that you do not fear me?
12 I will expose your righteousness and your works,(BM)
and they will not benefit you.
13 When you cry out(BN) for help,
let your collection of idols save(BO) you!
The wind will carry all of them off,
a mere breath will blow(BP) them away.
But whoever takes refuge(BQ) in me
will inherit the land(BR)
and possess my holy mountain.”(BS)
Comfort for the Contrite
14 And it will be said:
“Build up, build up, prepare the road!(BT)
Remove the obstacles out of the way of my people.”(BU)
15 For this is what the high and exalted(BV) One says—
he who lives forever,(BW) whose name is holy:
“I live in a high(BX) and holy place,
but also with the one who is contrite(BY) and lowly in spirit,(BZ)
to revive the spirit of the lowly
and to revive the heart of the contrite.(CA)
16 I will not accuse(CB) them forever,
nor will I always be angry,(CC)
for then they would faint away because of me—
the very people(CD) I have created.
17 I was enraged by their sinful greed;(CE)
I punished them, and hid(CF) my face in anger,
yet they kept on in their willful ways.(CG)
18 I have seen their ways, but I will heal(CH) them;
I will guide(CI) them and restore comfort(CJ) to Israel’s mourners,
19 creating praise on their lips.(CK)
Peace, peace,(CL) to those far and near,”(CM)
says the Lord. “And I will heal them.”
20 But the wicked(CN) are like the tossing sea,(CO)
which cannot rest,
whose waves cast up mire(CP) and mud.
21 “There is no peace,”(CQ) says my God, “for the wicked.”(CR)
True Fasting
58 “Shout it aloud,(CS) do not hold back.
Raise your voice like a trumpet.(CT)
Declare to my people their rebellion(CU)
and to the descendants of Jacob their sins.(CV)
2 For day after day they seek(CW) me out;
they seem eager to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that does what is right
and has not forsaken(CX) the commands of its God.
They ask me for just decisions
and seem eager for God to come near(CY) them.
3 ‘Why have we fasted,’(CZ) they say,
‘and you have not seen it?
Why have we humbled(DA) ourselves,
and you have not noticed?’(DB)
“Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please(DC)
and exploit all your workers.
4 Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife,(DD)
and in striking each other with wicked fists.
You cannot fast as you do today
and expect your voice to be heard(DE) on high.
5 Is this the kind of fast(DF) I have chosen,
only a day for people to humble(DG) themselves?
Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed(DH)
and for lying in sackcloth and ashes?(DI)
Is that what you call a fast,
a day acceptable to the Lord?
6 “Is not this the kind of fasting(DJ) I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice(DK)
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed(DL) free
and break every yoke?(DM)
7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry(DN)
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter(DO)—
when you see the naked, to clothe(DP) them,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?(DQ)
8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn,(DR)
and your healing(DS) will quickly appear;
then your righteousness[c](DT) will go before you,
and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.(DU)
9 Then you will call,(DV) and the Lord will answer;(DW)
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(DX) and malicious talk,(DY)
10 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,(DZ)
then your light(EA) will rise in the darkness,
and your night will become like the noonday.(EB)
11 The Lord will guide(EC) you always;
he will satisfy your needs(ED) in a sun-scorched land(EE)
and will strengthen(EF) your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,(EG)
like a spring(EH) whose waters never fail.
12 Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins(EI)
and will raise up the age-old foundations;(EJ)
you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,(EK)
Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.
13 “If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath(EL)
and from doing as you please on my holy day,
if you call the Sabbath a delight(EM)
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,(EN)
14 then you will find your joy(EO) in the Lord,
and I will cause you to ride in triumph on the heights(EP) of the land
and to feast on the inheritance(EQ) of your father Jacob.”
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.(ER)
Footnotes
- Isaiah 57:9 Or to the king
- Isaiah 57:9 Or idols
- Isaiah 58:8 Or your righteous One
Common English Bible (CEB)
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.