Isaiah 56:6
in Isaiah 56And 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—
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Also the foreigners that join themselves to Jehovah, to minister unto him, and to love the name of Jehovah, to be his servants, every one that keepeth the sabbath from profaning it, and holdeth fast my covenant;
KJV
Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the Lord, to serve him, and to love the name of the Lord, to be his servants, every one that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant;
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This verse in Isaiah 56
Commentary
10 notes on this verseThe sons of the stranger - The Gentiles. That join themselves to the Lord - Who shall enter into the Christian covenant by baptism and faith in Christ, as the Jews and proselytes did by circumcision. To serve him - To live according to the Gospel, and ever do that which is right in the sight of the Lord. To love the name of the Lord - The name of Jesus, the Christ, the Savior of sinners, the Anointed of God, and the Giver of the Holy Spirit to his followers.
This site's exposition
And the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD
The promise widens from the eunuch to every foreigner who joins himself to the LORD. They “hold fast to My covenant”, the grip named of the eunuch in verse 4. Solomon's prayer at 1 Kings 8:41-43 asked the same for the foreigner who comes to the temple, at its dedication.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
"And the sons of the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord, … these I will bring to my holy mountain and make them joyful in my house of prayer." These words refer to the church of the Gentiles, as the Lord himself explained to …
(v. 6, 7.) And the sons of the stranger, who adhere to the Lord, to serve Him and love His name, to be His servants: everyone who keeps the Sabbath from defiling it, and holds fast (or holding) to my covenant, I will bring them to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer. LXX: And to the foreigners who have joined themselves to the Lord to serve Him and love His name, to be His servants ÷ both men and women ÷ and all who keep my Sabbaths without profaning them, and hold fast (or holding) to my covenant, I will bring them to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer. After eunuchs pass over to foreigners, whom he had previously mentioned, he also promises rewards to them: that if they serve him, and pass from servitude to the love of that name, they will be his servants: such was also the Apostle Paul, writing at the beginning of his Epistles: Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ (Rom, I, 1). And Moses, a servant of God (Heb. III). But what was added in the Septuagint: and female servants, we have marked with an asterisk. For it cannot happen that there be any diversity of sex in spiritual gifts: since in Christ Jesus there is no male or female; but all are one in him (John 17). We have already spoken about the Sabbath and the eternal covenant. Therefore, whoever does these things, God will bring him to his holy mountain, and he will be filled with joy in his house of prayer. The holy mountain, or the teachings of truth, and the confession of the Trinity: or the Lord himself, to whom in the last times (according to this same Isaiah and the prophet Micah) many nations will come together (Isaiah 2, Micah 4). The Church is the house of prayer, which is divided throughout the whole world, and not the Temple of the Jews, which was confined to the narrow confines of the land of Judea.
As if you did not know that all human beings come from Adam and that it is written that the nations will believe in Christ, as it is said, "My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations." … The saints were …
The Medieval Church2 voices
Heresies and schism spring from the source of evils and, therefore, whoever comes to unity returns from vice to nature; for just as it is natural for many to become one, so is it a vice to avoid the sweetness of brotherly love. Let us, …
And as to foreigners: and the children of the stranger, that is, I will give them the privileges in which the Jews glory, to worship him, as to special worship, and to love his name, like children, to be his servants, and to glory in …
3 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Observe, Serving him and loving him go together; for those that love him truly will serve him faithfully, and that obedience is most acceptable to him, as well as most pleasant to us, which flows from a principle of love, for then his commandments are not grievous, 1 John
Also the sons of the stranger that join themselves to the Lord,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Also the sons of the stranger - (see the note at Isa 56:3). The conditions on which they should be admitted to the same privileges are specified, and are the following: 1. They were to ‘join themselves to the Lord’ (see the note at Isa 56:3). 2. This should be with a purpose to ‘serve him.’ Their aim and design should be to keep his commandments and to do his will. 3. They were to ‘love the name of the Lord;’ that is, to love Yahweh himself, for the ‘name’ of the Lord is often used as denoting the Lord himself. 4. They were to keep his sabbaths (see the notes at Isa 56:4). 5. They were to take hold of his covenant (see the notes at Isa 56:4). On these conditions the sons of the foreigner were to be admitted to all the privileges of the children of God, and to be united with all who love and serve him.
The words behind it
19 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּבְנֵ֣י | uvenei | and [the] sons of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| הַנֵּכָ֗ר | hanekhar | <the> foreignness | H5236 → | 36 times |
| הַנִּלְוִ֤ים | hanilvim | who join themselves | H3867 → | 26 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | to | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| יְהוָה֙ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| לְשָׁ֣רְת֔וֹ | leshareto | to serve him | H8334 → | 97 times |
| וּֽלְאַהֲבָה֙ | uleahavah | and to love | H157 → | 211 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| שֵׁ֣ם | shem | [the] name of | H8034 → | 864 times |
| יְהוָ֔ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| לִהְי֥וֹת | lihyot | to become | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| ל֖וֹ | lo | of him | ||
| לַעֲבָדִ֑ים | laavadim | <into> servants | H5650 → | 799 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | every | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| שֹׁמֵ֤ר | shomer | [one who] keeps | H8104 → | 468 times |
| שַׁבָּת֙ | shabat | [the] sabbath | H7676 → | 110 times |
| מֵֽחַלְּל֔וֹ | mechalelo | from profaning it | H2490 → | 143 times |
| וּמַחֲזִיקִ֖ים | umachazikim | and [those who] keep hold | H2388 → | 291 times |
| בִּבְרִיתִֽי׃ | bivriti | on covenant my | H1285 → | 284 times |
וּבְנֵ֣יand [the] sons of
uveneiH1121 →4930 times
הַנֵּכָ֗ר<the> foreignness
hanekharH5236 →36 times
הַנִּלְוִ֤יםwho join themselves
hanilvimH3867 →26 times
עַל־to
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
יְהוָה֙Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
לְשָׁ֣רְת֔וֹto serve him
lesharetoH8334 →97 times
וּֽלְאַהֲבָה֙and to love
uleahavahH157 →211 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
שֵׁ֣ם[the] name of
shemH8034 →864 times
יְהוָ֔הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
לִהְי֥וֹתto become
lihyotH1961 →3559 times
ל֖וֹof him
lo
לַעֲבָדִ֑ים<into> servants
laavadimH5650 →799 times
כָּל־every
kol-H3605 →5413 times
שֹׁמֵ֤ר[one who] keeps
shomerH8104 →468 times
שַׁבָּת֙[the] sabbath
shabatH7676 →110 times
מֵֽחַלְּל֔וֹfrom profaning it
mechaleloH2490 →143 times
וּמַחֲזִיקִ֖יםand [those who] keep hold
umachazikimH2388 →291 times
בִּבְרִיתִֽי׃on covenant my
bivritiH1285 →284 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
James 2:5Listen, my beloved brothers: Has not God chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom He promised those who love Him?
it leads to
- Matthew 5:3
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
- Luke 6:20
Looking up at His disciples, Jesus said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.
- Revelation 2:9
I know your affliction and your poverty—though you are rich! And I am aware of the slander of those who falsely claim to be Jews, but are in fact a synagogue of Satan.
- Matthew 5:3
Through
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 leads to
- Jeremiah 17:21–27
This is what the LORD says: Take heed for yourselves; do not carry a load or bring it through the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day.
- Psalms 92:1–2
It is good to praise the LORD, and to sing praises to Your name, O Most High,
- Isaiah 56:2–6
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.”
- Nehemiah 13:15–22
In those days I saw people in Judah treading winepresses on the Sabbath and bringing in grain and loading it on donkeys, along with wine, grapes, and figs. All kinds of goods were being…
- Revelation 1:10
On the Lord’s day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet,
- Jeremiah 17:21–27
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies3
About Isaiah
This page draws on 11 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Isaiah; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Cassiodorus, EXPOSITION OF ROMANS 3; Ephrem the Syrian, COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 56:7; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Isaiah; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Leander of Seville, HOMILIES ON THE TRIUMPH OF THE CHURCH; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.