Isaiahchapter 56

12 verses · BSBIsaiah book hub →

1 This is what the LORD says: “Maintain justice and do what is right, for My salvation is coming soon, and My righteousness will be revealed.

2 Blessed 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.”

3 Let no foreigner who has joined himself to the LORD say, “The LORD will utterly exclude me from His people.” And let the eunuch not say, “I am but a dry tree.”

4 For this is what the LORD says: “To the eunuchs who keep My Sabbaths, who choose what pleases 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 that of sons and daughters. I will give them an everlasting name that will not be cut off.

6 And the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD to minister to Him, to love the name of the LORD, and to be His servants—all who keep the Sabbath without profaning it and who hold fast to My covenant—

7 I will bring them to My holy mountain and make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on My altar, for My house will be called a house of prayer for all the nations.”

8 Thus declares the Lord GOD, who gathers the dispersed of Israel: “I will gather to them still others besides those already gathered.”

9 Come, all you beasts of the field; eat greedily, all you beasts of the forest.

10 Israel’s watchmen are blind, they are all oblivious; they are all mute dogs, they cannot bark; they are dreamers lying around, loving to slumber.

11 Like ravenous dogs, they are never satisfied. They are shepherds with no discernment; they all turn to their own way, each one seeking his own gain:

12 “Come, let me get the wine, let us imbibe the strong drink, and tomorrow will be like today, only far better!”

Commentary on this chapter: read the Exposition

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Chapter summary

Justice and sabbath-keeping frame the opening oracle: Jehovah's salvation is near, and blessing rests on the one who keeps the sabbath and refrains from evil (vv.

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Justice and sabbath-keeping frame the opening oracle: Jehovah's salvation is near, and blessing rests on the one who keeps the sabbath and refrains from evil (vv. 1-2). Two excluded classes are welcomed in: the foreigner joined to Jehovah and the eunuch who calls himself "a dry tree." Covenant-keeping eunuchs receive in God's house "a name better than of sons and of daughters," and foreigners who minister to Jehovah are brought to his holy mountain, "for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples" (v. 7), the line Jesus quotes when cleansing the temple (Mark 11:17). Jehovah, who gathers Israel's outcasts, promises to gather still others (v. 8). The chapter pivots to indictment: Israel's watchmen are blind, "dumb dogs" that cannot bark, greedy shepherds bent on gain and strong drink (vv. 9-12).

Drawn from Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory, Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary, John Wesley, Notes on the Old Testament and John Calvin, Commentaries.

Context

Prophecy · Isaiah — Isaiah overview

A. 1–8 Eunuchs and Foreigners: a House of Prayer for All Peoples
B. 9–12 Blind Watchmen and Dumb Dogs That Cannot Bark

Top cross-references8 chapters ▾

Revelation 32 verses
- Revelation 3:5Like them, he who overcomes will be dressed in white. And I will never blot out his name from the Book of Life, but I will confess his name before My Father and His angels.
- Revelation 3:12The one who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will never again leave it. Upon him I will write the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God (the new Jerusalem that comes down out of heaven from My God), and My new name.
- Read Revelation 3 →
Romans 131 verse
- Romans 13:11And do this, understanding the occasion. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.
- Read Romans 13 →
Psalms 851 verse
- Psalms 85:9Surely His salvation is near to those who fear Him, that His glory may dwell in our land.
- Read Psalms 85 →
Isaiah 11 verse
- Isaiah 1:16Wash and cleanse yourselves. Remove your evil deeds from My sight. Stop doing evil!
- Read Isaiah 1 →

4 more chapters this one speaks with

Exodus 311 verse
- Exodus 31:13“Tell the Israelites, ‘Surely you must keep My Sabbaths, for this will be a sign between Me and you for the generations to come, so that you may know that I am the LORD who sanctifies you.
- Read Exodus 31 →
Isaiah 581 verse
- Isaiah 58:13If you turn your foot from breaking the Sabbath, from doing as you please on My holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight, and the LORD’s holy day honorable, if you honor it by not going your own way or seeking your own pleasure or speaking idle words,
- Read Isaiah 58 →
Ezekiel 201 verse
- Ezekiel 20:12I also gave them My Sabbaths as a sign between us, so that they would know that I am the LORD who sanctifies them.
- Read Ezekiel 20 →
1 Corinthians 61 verse
- 1 Corinthians 6:17But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with Him in spirit.
- Read 1 Corinthians 6 →

Cross-references from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge and OpenBible.info.