56Isaiah 56

God's People Will Include All Nations

1The Lord says to his people, “Do what is just and right, for soon I will save you.Select Isaiah 56:1

2I will bless those who always observe the Sabbath and do not misuse it. I will bless those who do nothing evil.”Select Isaiah 56:2

3A foreigner who has joined the Lord's people should not say, “The Lord will not let me worship with his people.” A man who has been castrated should never think that because he cannot have children, he can never be part of God's people.Select Isaiah 56:3

4The Lord says to such a man, “If you honor me by observing the Sabbath and if you do what pleases me and faithfully keep my covenant,Select Isaiah 56:4

5then your name will be remembered in my Temple and among my people longer than if you had sons and daughters. You will never be forgotten.”Select Isaiah 56:5

6And the Lord says to those foreigners who become part of his people, who love him and serve him, who observe the Sabbath and faithfully keep his covenant:Select Isaiah 56:6

7“I will bring you to Zion, my sacred hill, give you joy in my house of prayer, and accept the sacrifices you offer on my altar. My Temple will be called a house of prayer for the people of all nations.”Select Isaiah 56:7

8The Sovereign Lord, who has brought his people Israel home from exile, has promised that he will bring still other people to join them.Select Isaiah 56:8

Israel's Leaders Are Condemned

9The Lord has told the foreign nations to come like wild animals and devour his people.Select Isaiah 56:9

10He says, “All the leaders, who are supposed to warn my people, are blind! They know nothing. They are like watch dogs that don't bark—they only lie around and dream. How they love to sleep!Select Isaiah 56:10

11They are like greedy dogs that never get enough. These leaders have no understanding. They each do as they please and seek their own advantage.Select Isaiah 56:11

12‘Let's get some wine,’ these drunkards say, ‘and drink all we can hold! Tomorrow will be even better than today!’”Select Isaiah 56:12