Isaiah 56
1 Thus says the Lord: Preserve judgment, and accomplish justice. For my salvation is close to its arrival, and my justice is close to being revealed.
Yahweh says [to all the people of Judah], “Do the things that are fair and just, because I will soon come to rescue [DOU] you.
2 Blessed is the man who does this, and the son of man who holds to this, keeping the Sabbath and not profaning it, guarding his hands and not doing any evil.
I will bless those who faithfully obey my laws about the Sabbath/rest days. I will bless those who (keep sacred/honor) my Sabbath/rest days, and who do not do any work on those days, and who refrain from [MTY] doing anything that is evil.
3 And let not the son of the new arrival, who adheres to the Lord, speak, saying, “The Lord will divide and separate me from his people.” And let not the eunuch say, “Behold, I am a dry tree.”
And foreigners who have believed in me should not say, ‘Yahweh will surely not allow me to belong to his people.’ And eunuchs should not say, ‘[Because I am unable to have children, I cannot belong to Yahweh]; I am like [MET] a tree that has completely withered.’
4 For thus says the Lord to the eunuchs: They will keep my Sabbaths, and they will choose the things that I will, and they will hold to my covenant.
They should not say that, because [I], Yahweh, say this to the eunuchs who obey my laws about the Sabbath, and who choose to do the things that please me, and who obey all [the other laws of] the agreement that I [made with the Israeli people]:
5 I will give them a place in my house, within my walls, and a name better than sons and daughters. I will give them an everlasting name, which will never perish.
I will cause to be put inside the walls of my temple a monument [DOU] to them; because of that monument, they will be honored more than they would have if they had children; they will be honored forever.
6 And the sons of the new arrival, who adhere to the Lord so as to worship him and to love his name, shall be his servants: all who keep the Sabbath without profaning it, and who hold to my covenant.
I will also bless those who are not Israelis, who (join themselves to/believe in) me, and who serve me and worship and love me, and who obey my laws about the Sabbath, and who faithfully obey [all the other laws of] the agreement that I [made with the Israeli people].
7 I will lead them to my holy mountain, and I will gladden them in my house of prayer. Their holocausts and their victims will be pleasing to me upon my altar. For my house will be called the house of prayer for all peoples.
I will bring them to my sacred hill [in Jerusalem], I will cause them to be [very] joyful in my temple where people pray to me, and I will accept the sacrifices that they completely burn [on my altar] and other sacrifices that they offer. I will do those things for them because I want my temple to be a building where people of all nations pray to me.
8 The Lord God, who gathers the dispersed of Israel, says: Even now, I will gather his congregation to him.
[I], Yahweh, the Lord, the one who will bring back the people of Israel who have been (forced to go/exiled) to other countries, say this: 'I will bring [from other countries] many more people to join those Israelis whom I have brought back.'”
9 All beasts of the field, all the beasts of the forest: approach and devour!
“You [surrounding nations have armies that are like] [MET] animals in the forest; come and attack/destroy [Israel]!
10 His watchmen are all blind. They are all ignorant. They are mute dogs without the ability to bark, seeing empty things, sleeping and loving dreams.
The Israeli leaders [should be like] watchdogs to protect the people, but [it is as though] they are blind. They are stupid. They are all [like] [MET] dogs that cannot bark. [Good watchdogs bark when strangers approach], [but the Israeli leaders do not warn the people that their enemies are coming]. Instead, they just want to lie down and sleep and dream.
11 And these very imprudent dogs have never known satisfaction. The shepherds themselves do not know understanding. All have turned aside in their own way, each one to his own avarice, from the highest even to the least:
[And they are like] greedy dogs; they never get all that they want. They are [supposed to lead the people, like good] shepherds [lead their flocks], but they are ignorant, and they each do whatever they want to do.
12 “Come, let us take wine, and be filled by inebriation. And as it is today, so shall it be tomorrow and for a long time.”
They say to each other, ‘Come, let’s go and get some wine and [other] alcoholic/strong drinks, and let’s become drunk! And tomorrow we will enjoy drinking even more!’”
