Isaiah 55:6–7

Context

Isaiah 40–55 is a section that announces return and restoration to the people of Judah during the Babylonian exile (sixth century BC). Scholars commonly call this portion "Second Isaiah" (Deutero-Isaiah). The traditional reading regards the entire section as the prophecy of the prophet Isaiah. Chapter 55 is the final chapter of this section. It opens with an invitation to come and eat "without money and without price" (vv. 1–2) and with the everlasting covenant promised to David (v. 3), followed by the call of verses 6–7. Immediately afterward, verses 8–9 declare that God's thoughts are higher than human thoughts. Many commentators read these verses together with "he will abundantly pardon" in verse 7, taking them to mean that God's forgiveness surpasses human understanding. The Hebrew verb shuv, rendered "return," is the characteristic Old Testament term for repentance.

Interpretation

• Historical reading: The passage is understood as interweaving the exiles' return to the land with the turning of their hearts back to God.
• Reformed reading: Reformed interpretation emphasizes that this call to repentance rests on the covenant and grace set forth in the preceding verses. It holds that the very ability to seek God and call upon him is itself a grace that God first bestows.
• Wesleyan-Arminian reading: Wesleyan theology and Arminianism read the passage as an invitation open to all people, while also emphasizing the human responsibility to respond to that invitation.
• Jewish reading: The Talmud is reported to interpret "while he may be found" as the ten days from the New Year (Rosh Hashanah) to the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). In Jewish tradition the passage has also served as a prophetic reading (haftarah) in the liturgy for fast days.

Questions Concerning Application

The first question is whether the expressions "while he may be found" and "while he is near" may be read to mean that a time will come when the opportunity to seek God closes. Preachers at evangelistic meetings and revival meetings often cite this passage together with 2 Corinthians 6:2, "behold, now is the accepted time," using it as grounds for the urgency of deciding before death or the Second Coming. Others, however, point out that the context of the chapter is closer to invitation and comfort than to warning. From this perspective, using the passage to provoke fear amounts to quoting it out of context.

The second question is whether repentance is a condition for receiving forgiveness or a response to grace already given. Theological traditions differ in the emphasis they place in answering this question.

In the Korean Church

The passage is frequently quoted in sermons calling for repentance and in Lenten meditations. The Revised Common Lectionary (a table assigning Scripture readings for each Sunday according to the church year), which many denominations consult, is reported to include Isaiah 55:1–9 as a reading for the Third Sunday in Lent (Year C).

Related Passages

• Isaiah 55:10–11
• Ezekiel 18:30–32
• Joel 2:12–14
• Acts 3:19