Isaiah 56
56
1 The LORD says:
“Maintain justice
and do what is right,
for my salvation is near
and my righteousness will soon be revealed.
2Blessed is the man who does this,
and the son of man who holds it fast;
who keeps the Sabbath without profaning it
and keeps his hand from doing any evil.”
3Let no foreigner who has joined himself to the LORD speak, saying,
“The LORD will surely separate me from his people.”
Do not let the eunuch say, “Behold, I am a dry tree.”
4 For the LORD says, “To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths,
choose the things that please me,
and hold fast to my covenant,
5 I will give them in my house and within my walls a memorial and a name better than of sons and of daughters.
I will give them an everlasting name that will not be cut off.
6 Also the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD
to serve him,
and to love the LORD’s name,
to be his servants,
everyone who keeps the Sabbath from profaning it,
and holds fast my covenant,
7 I will bring these to my holy mountain,
and make them joyful in my house of prayer.
Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar;
for my house will be called a house of prayer for all peoples.”
8 The Lord GOD, who gathers the outcasts of Israel, says,
“I will yet gather others to him,
in addition to his own who are gathered.”
9 All you animals of the field,
come to devour,
all you animals in the forest.
10 His watchmen are blind.
They are all without knowledge.
They are all mute dogs.
They can’t bark—
dreaming, lying down, loving to slumber.
11Yes, the dogs are greedy.
They can never have enough.
They are shepherds who can’t understand.
They have all turned to their own way,
each one to his gain, from every quarter.
12“Come,” they say, “I will get wine,
and we will fill ourselves with strong drink;
and tomorrow will be as today,
great beyond measure.”
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Isaiah 56
56
The Lord Invites Outsiders to Enter
1 This is what the Lord says,
“Promote#tn Heb “guard”; KJV “Keep”; NAB “Observe”; NASB “Preserve”; NIV, NRSV “Maintain.” justice! Do what is right!
For I am ready to deliver you;
I am ready to vindicate you openly.#tn Heb “for near is my deliverance to enter, and my vindication [or “righteousness”] to be revealed.”
2 The people who do this will be blessed,#tn Heb “blessed is the man who does this.”
the people who commit themselves to obedience,#tn Heb “the son of mankind who takes hold of it.”
who observe the Sabbath and do not defile it,
who refrain from doing anything that is wrong.#tn Heb and who keeps his hand from doing any evil.”
3 No foreigner who becomes a follower of#tn Heb “who attaches himself to.” the Lord should say,
‘The Lord will certainly#tn The infinitive absolute precedes the finite verb for emphasis. exclude me from his people.’
The eunuch should not say,
‘Look, I am like a dried-up tree.’”
4 For this is what the Lord says:
“For the eunuchs who observe my Sabbaths
and choose what pleases me
and are faithful to#tn Heb “and take hold of” (so KJV); NASB “hold fast.” my covenant,
5 I will set up within my temple and my walls a monument#tn Heb “a hand and a name.” For other examples where יָד (yad) refers to a monument, see HALOT 388 s.v.
that will be better than sons and daughters.
I will set up a permanent monument#tn Heb “name” (so KJV, NIV, NRSV). for them that will remain.
6 As for foreigners who become followers of#tn Heb “who attach themselves to.” the Lord and serve him,
who love the name of the Lord and want to be his servants –
all who observe the Sabbath and do not defile it,
and who are faithful to#tn Heb “and take hold of”; NAB “hold to”; NIV, NRSV “hold fast.” my covenant –
7 I will bring them to my holy mountain;
I will make them happy in the temple where people pray to me.#tn Heb “in the house of my prayer.”
Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar,
for my temple will be known as a temple where all nations may pray.”#tn Heb “for my house will be called a house of prayer for all the nations.”
8 The sovereign Lord says this,
the one who gathers the dispersed of Israel:
“I will still gather them up.”#tn The meaning of the statement is unclear. The text reads literally, “Still I will gather upon him to his gathered ones.” Perhaps the preposition -לְ (lamed) before “gathered ones” introduces the object of the verb, as in Jer 49:5. The third masculine singular suffix on both עָלָיו (’alayv) and נִקְבָּצָיו (niqbatsayv) probably refers to “Israel.” In this case one can translate literally, “Still I will gather to him his gathered ones.”
The Lord Denounces Israel’s Paganism
9 All you wild animals in the fields, come and devour,
all you wild animals in the forest!
10 All their watchmen#sn The “watchmen” are probably spiritual leaders, most likely prophets and priests, responsible for giving the people moral direction. are blind,
they are unaware.#tn Heb “they do not know”; KJV “they are all ignorant”; NIV “they all lack knowledge.”
All of them are like mute dogs,
unable to bark.
They pant,#tn The Hebrew text has הֹזִים (hozim), which appears to be derived from an otherwise unattested verbal root הָזָה (hazah). On the basis of alleged cognates, BDB 223 s.v. הָזָה offers the definition “dream, rave” while HALOT 243 s.v. הזה lists “pant.” In this case the dog metaphor of the preceding lines continues. The reference to dogs at the beginning of v. 11 favors the extension of the metaphor. The Qumran scroll 1QIsaa has חזים (“seers”) here. In this case the “watchmen” are directly identified as prophets and depicted as lazy. lie down,
and love to snooze.
11 The dogs have big appetites;
they are never full.#sn The phrase never full alludes to the greed of the leaders.
They are shepherds who have no understanding;
they all go their own way,
each one looking for monetary gain.#tn Heb “for his gain from his end.”
12 Each one says,#tn The words “each one says” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
‘Come on, I’ll get some wine!
Let’s guzzle some beer!
Tomorrow will be just like today!
We’ll have everything we want!’#tn Heb “great, [in] abundance, very much,” i.e., “very great indeed.” See HALOT 452 s.v. יֶתֶר.
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