Isaiah 55:10–11

Context

Chapters 40–55 of Isaiah promise comfort and return to the people during the Babylonian exile, the period when the Israelites had lost their nation and been carried off to live in Babylonia. Chapter 55 concludes this section. God calls "every one that thirsteth" (v. 1) and urges the wicked to forsake his way and return (vv. 6–7). He then declares that his thoughts and ways are higher than those of human beings (vv. 8–9). Verses 10–11 give the grounds for this declaration, using the image of rain and snow to show that the promises God has made will surely be fulfilled. The verses that immediately follow (vv. 12–13) move to a scene in which the people "go out with joy," a song of return from exile.

Interpretation

• Reading in historical context: On this reading, the "word" refers above all to the specific promise to restore the exiled people. Some scholars see it as paired with Isaiah 40:8, "the word of our God shall stand for ever," so that the two passages form a frame enclosing chapters 40–55 as a whole.
• Reading that emphasizes the efficacy of the word: Various Protestant traditions read this passage as grounds for the conviction that the word proclaimed through Scripture and preaching, accompanied by the work of the Holy Spirit, will surely bear fruit. The Reformed tradition in particular regards the proclamation of the word as a means of grace, and this passage is cited as one of the grounds for that view.
• Reading that focuses on the imagery: This reading highlights the point that, just as rain gives seed and bread, the word also brings forth life. It also draws out a theme of patient waiting: even when the word does not produce immediate results, it will bear fruit in due time.

Questions of Application

There is no major interdenominational controversy over this passage. Interpretations differ, however, on whether "it shall accomplish that which I please" means that everyone who hears the word will come to believe. Calvinism tends to read the passage in the context of the doctrine of predestination, holding that what God has decreed will surely come to pass. Wesleyan theology holds that the word works through prevenient grace (grace given before a person responds) but that a person may also resist that grace. Some also caution that citing the passage merely as a guarantee of evangelistic success obscures its original context of return from exile.

With regard to translation, the New Korean Revised Version revised the Korean Revised Version's rendering, "it shall accomplish my purpose and prosper in the work I commanded and sent," to "it shall accomplish the purpose in which I delight and prosper in that for which I sent it." The Hebrew word dabar means both "word" and "thing" or "deed," and it is sometimes explained that the original text therefore carries the overlapping sense that God's word itself accomplishes his work.

In the Korean Church

The passage is frequently cited in sermons encouraging evangelism and missions, and in settings that affirm confidence in the ministry of the word.

Related Passages

• Isaiah 40:8
• Isaiah 55:6–7
• Jeremiah 23:29
• Hebrews 4:12
• 1 Corinthians 3:6–7