Isaiah 56
Salvation for Foreigners
1 Thus says the Lord:“Keep justice, and do righteousness,
a for soon my salvation will come,
and my righteousness be revealed.
2 Blessed is the man who does this,
and the son of man who holds it fast,
b who keeps the Sabbath, not profaning it,
and keeps his hand from doing any evil.”
3 Let not c the foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord say,
“The Lord will surely separate me from his people”;
and let not the eunuch say,
“Behold, I am d a dry tree.”
4 For thus says the Lord:
“To the eunuchs e who keep my Sabbaths,
who choose the things that please me
and hold fast my covenant,
5 f I will give in my house and within my walls
a g monument and a name
better than sons and daughters;
h I will give them an everlasting name
that shall not be cut off.
6 “And i the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord,
to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord,
and to be his servants,
everyone j who keeps the Sabbath and does not profane it,
and holds fast my covenant—
7 k these I will bring to l my holy mountain,
and make them joyful in my house of prayer;
m their burnt offerings and their sacrifices
will be accepted on my altar;
for n my house shall be called a house of prayer
for all peoples.”
8 The Lord God,
o who gathers the outcasts of Israel, declares,
p “I will gather yet others to him
besides those already gathered.”
Israel’s Irresponsible Leaders
9 q All you beasts of the field, come to devour—all you beasts in the forest.
10 r His watchmen are blind;
they are all without knowledge;
they are all silent s dogs;
they cannot bark,
dreaming, lying down,
loving to slumber.
11 t The dogs have a mighty appetite;
they never have enough.
But u they are shepherds who have no understanding;
they have all turned to their own way,
v each to his own gain, one and all.
12 w “Come,” they say, “let me get wine;
let us fill ourselves with strong drink;
x and tomorrow will be like this day,
great beyond measure.”
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