UST ISA Chapter 56

◄ ISA 56 ► ║ ═ ©

56 Yahweh says,

“Soon I will come to save you

and show that I act righteously.

So treat people fairly and do what is right.

2 I want you to treat Sabbath days as special

and make sure that you do not do anything wrong.

Everyone who does those things consistently

will have a good life.

3 Foreigners who want to worship me should not say,

‘Yahweh will certainly not let me belong to his people.’

Eunuchs should not say, ‘Yahweh will not accept me

because I cannot have any children.’

4 Instead, Yahweh says,

Suppose eunuchs treat Sabbath days as special.

Suppose they choose to do things that please me.

Suppose they honor the agreement I made with the Israelites.

5 If they do that, I will welcome them into the courts of my temple.

Their reputation will make people honor them

more than having sons and daughters would have.

They will always have a good reputation.

No one will destroy it.

6 Suppose foreigners want to worship me and obey me.

Suppose they devote themselves to me as my servants.

Suppose they treat Sabbath days as special by doing no work on those days.

Suppose they honor the agreement I made with the Israelites.

7 Then I will bring them to Mount Zion,

where I am present in a special way.

I will allow them to come happily to my temple,

where people pray to me.

I will accept the sacrifices that they burn on my altar

and the other sacrifices they offer.

I will do that because I want people to know

that my temple is a place where the people of all nations can pray to me.”

8 This is what Yahweh, the Lord, declares.

He is bringing back the people of Israel whom enemies took away.

He says, “I will bring even more people

to join the ones I have already brought back.”

9 Troubles of many kinds

should cause difficulty for the Israelites

so that they will realize they are doing things that are wrong.

10 None of the leaders are aware of the dangers that could harm the people.

It is as if they are blind.

They are all unable to warn the people,

like dogs that can not bark

and instead want to lie down and sleep and dream.

11 These leaders are greedy and continually want to get more wealth.

They are like shepherds who do not know how to care for their flocks,

Each one tries to do what benefits himself

and to make more money. They are all like that.

12 They say to each other, “Come on, let us get some wine

and beer, and let us get drunk!

Tomorrow will be as good as today,

or even much better!”