Isaiah 55
1 “Behold, every thirsty one, Come to the waters, And he who has no money, Come, buy and eat, Indeed, come, buy wine and milk Without money and without price.
“All you [people who are in exile], listen to me! [It is as though] [MET] you are thirsty, so come and get water from me! [It is as though] you have no money, but you can come and get things from me [that are like] wine and milk! You can get [what you need from me], [and] you will not need to give me any money for them!
2 Why do you weigh money for that which is not bread? And your labor for that which is not for satiety? Listen diligently to Me, and eat good, And your soul delights itself in fatness.
[What you really need is to have a close relationship with me], so (why do you spend money to buy things that do not supply what you really need?/you should not spend money to buy things that do not supply what you really need.) [RHQ] (Why do you work hard to get money to buy things that do not (satisfy your [inner beings]/cause you to be happy)?) [RHQ] Pay attention to what I say and acquire what is really good [MET]! If you do that, then you will truly be happy [MET].
3 Incline your ear, and come to Me, Hear, and your soul lives, And I make a perpetual covenant for you, The kind blessings of David that are steadfast.
Listen to me and come to me; pay attention to me, and if you do that, you will have new life in your souls. I will make an agreement with you that will last forever to faithfully love you like I loved [King] David.
4 Behold, I have given him [as] a witness to peoples, A leader and commander to peoples.
By what he did, I showed [my power to many] people-groups; I caused him to be a leader and commander [DOU] over [the people of many nations].
5 Behold, a nation you do not know, you call, And a nation who does not know you runs to you, For the sake of your God YHWH, And for the Holy One of Israel, Because He has beautified you.”
And similarly, you will summon people of other nations to come to you, nations that previously you have not heard about, and they had not heard about you; and they will come to you quickly because [they will have heard that I], Yahweh, your God, the Holy One of Israel, have honored you.
6 Seek YHWH while He may be found, Call Him while He is near,
Seek [to know] me while it is still possible for you to do that; call to me while I am near!
7 Let the wicked forsake his way, And the man of iniquity his thoughts, And he returns to YHWH, And He pities him, And to our God, For He multiplies to pardon.
Wicked [people] should abandon their wicked behavior, and evil people should stop thinking what is evil. They should turn to me, and if they do that, I will act mercifully toward them; they should turn to me, their God, because I will fully pardon them [for all the wicked things that they have done].
8 “For My thoughts [are] not your thoughts, Nor your ways My ways,” A declaration of YHWH,
I, Yahweh, declare that what I think is not the same as what you think, and what I do is very different from what you do.
9 “For [as] high [as] the heavens have been above the earth, So high have been My ways above your ways, And My thoughts above your thoughts.
Just as the sky is far above the earth, what I do is far greater than what you do, and what I think is much greater than what you think.
10 For as the shower comes down, And the snow from the heavens, And does not return there, But has watered the earth, And has caused it to yield, and to spring up, And has given seed to the sower, and bread to the eater,
Rain and snow come down from the sky, and they cause the ground to be moist before the moisture returns [to the sky and produces more clouds]. When the ground becomes moist, it causes plants to sprout and grow, with the result that the soil produces seed for the farmer [to plant] and [grain to produce flour to make] bread for people to eat.
11 So is My word that goes out of My mouth, It does not return to Me empty, But has done that which I desired, And prosperously effected that [for] which I sent it.
And similarly the things that I promise to do, I will [always] cause to happen; my promises will [always] be fulfilled [LIT]. They will accomplish the things that I gave them to accomplish [DOU].
12 For you go forth with joy, And you are brought in with peace, The mountains and the hills Break forth before you [with] singing, And all trees of the field clap the hand.
You will leave [Babylon] joyfully, you will have peace as I lead you out. [It will be as though] the hills and mountains will sing joyfully, and the trees in the fields will clap their hands.
13 Instead of the thorn comes up fir, Instead of the brier comes up myrtle, And it has been to YHWH for a name, For a perpetual sign—it is not cut off!”
Instead of thornbushes and briers, pine/cypress [trees] and myrtle [trees] will grow [in your land]. As a result of that, people will honor me much more; and what I do will remind everyone that [I do what I have promised].”
