Isaiah 55
55
God Gives “Food” That Really Satisfies
1“All you people who are thirsty, come!
Here is water for you to drink.
Don’t worry if you have no money.
Come, eat and drink until you are full!
You don’t need money.
The milk and wine are free.
2Why waste your money on something that is not real food?
Why should you work for something that does not really satisfy you?
Listen closely to me and you will eat what is good.
You will enjoy the food that satisfies your soul.
3Listen closely to what I say.
Listen to me so that you will live.
I will make an agreement with you that will last forever.
It will be an agreement you can trust, like the one I made with David—
a promise to love him and be loyal to him forever.
4I made David a witness of my power for all nations.
I promised him that he would become a ruler and commander of many nations.”
5There are nations in places you don’t know,
but you will call for them to come.
They don’t know you,
but they will run to you.
This will happen because the Lord, your God, wants it.
It will happen because the Holy One of Israel honors you.
6So you should look for the Lord
before it is too late.
You should call to him now,
while he is near.
7Evil people should stop living evil lives.
They should stop thinking bad thoughts.
They should come to the Lord again,
and he will comfort them.
They should come to our God
because he will freely forgive them.
People Cannot Understand God
8The Lord says, “My thoughts are not like yours.
Your ways are not like mine.
9Just as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so my ways are higher than your ways,
and my thoughts are higher than your thoughts.
10“Rain and snow fall from the sky
and don’t return until they have watered the ground.
Then the ground causes the plants to sprout and grow,
and they produce seeds for the farmer and food for people to eat.
11In the same way, my words leave my mouth,
and they don’t come back without results.
My words make the things happen that I want to happen.
They succeed in doing what I send them to do.
12“So you will go out from there with joy.
You will be led out in peace.
When you come to the mountains and hills, they will begin singing.
All the trees in the fields will clap their hands.
13Large cypress trees will grow where there were thornbushes.
Myrtle trees will grow where there were weeds.
All this will happen to make the Lord known,
to be a permanent reminder of his goodness and power.”
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© 1987, 2004 Bible League International
Isaiah 55
55
Come to the Lord
1“Come, everyone who is thirsty,#Ps 42:1–2; 63:1; 143:6; Is 41:17; 44:3; Jn 4:14; 7:37; Rv 21:6
come to the water;
and you without silver,
come, buy, and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without silver and without cost!
2Why do you spend silver on what is not food,
and your wages on what does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good,
and you will enjoy the choicest of foods.#55:2 Lit enjoy fatness
3Pay attention and come to me;
listen, so that you will live.
I will make a permanent covenant with you#Gn 9:16; 17:7; 2Sm 23:5; Is 24:5; 59:21; 61:8
on the basis of the faithful kindnesses of David.#55:3 Or with you, the faithful acts of kindness shown to David#Ac 13:34
4Since I have made him a witness to the peoples,#Ps 18:43
a leader and commander for the peoples,#Ezk 34:24; 37:24–25; Dn 9:25; Mc 5:2
5so you will summon a nation you do not know,#Is 45:14,22–24; 49:6
and nations who do not know you will run to you.#Zch 8:22
For the Lord your God,
even the Holy One of Israel,#Is 1:4
has glorified you.”#Is 60:9
6Seek the Lord while he may be found;
call to him while he is near.#Ps 32:6; Am 5:4
7Let the wicked one abandon his way
and the sinful one his thoughts;#Ps 33:10; Is 32:7; 59:7; 65:2
let him return to the Lord,
so he may have compassion on him,
and to our God, for he will freely forgive.#Is 1:18; 43:25; 44:22
8“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
and your ways are not my ways.”
This is the Lord’s declaration.
9“For as heaven is higher than earth,#Ps 103:11
so my ways are higher than your ways,
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
10For just as rain and snow fall from heaven
and do not return there
without saturating the earth
and making it germinate and sprout,
and providing seed to sow
and food to eat,#2Co 9:10
11so my word that comes from my mouth
will not return to me empty,
but it will accomplish what I please
and will prosper in what I send it to do.”#Is 45:23; 46:10; 53:10
12You will indeed go out with joy
and be peacefully guided;
the mountains and the hills will break into singing before you,
and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.#Ps 98:8; Is 44:23
13Instead of the thornbush, a cypress will come up,
and instead of the brier, a myrtle will come up;#Is 35:1–2; 41:19; 60:13
this will stand as a monument for the Lord,#Is 63:12–14; Jr 33:9
an everlasting sign that will not be destroyed.
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© 2017 Holman Bible Publishers