Isaiah 56

1 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.

This is what the Lord says: Follow the law, and do what is right, for my salvation will soon arrive, and my goodness will be revealed.

2 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.

Blessed is everyone who does this—those who keep to it, who observe the Sabbath without violating it, and who don't do anything wrong.

3 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.’

Don't allow foreigners who have dedicated themselves to the Lord say, “The Lord will definitely exclude me from his people.” And don't allow eunuchs to say, “Look at me—I'm as worthless as a dried-up tree because I'm childless.”

4 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]:

For this is what the Lord says: To the eunuchs who observe my Sabbaths, who choose to do what pleases me, and to keep my agreement,

5 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.

I will give them, in my house and within my walls, a place to remember them and a reputation better than that of sons and daughters. I will give them an everlasting reputation that will never fade.

6 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].

About the foreigners who have dedicated themselves to the Lord, who worship him, who love the Lord, and who are his servants, everyone who observes the Sabbath without violating it and who keep to my agreement—

7 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.

I will bring these foreigners to my holy mountain and make them happy in my house of prayer. I will accept their burnt offerings and sacrifices, because my Temple will be called a house of prayer for all nations.

8 [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.'”

This is what the Lord God says, who brought back the scattered people of Israel: I will bring back still others to join you.

9 “You [surrounding nations have armies that are like] [MET] animals in the forest; come and attack/destroy [Israel]!

Come, wild animals, wild animals of the countryside and forests, come and eat my people!

10 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.

For all the watchmen are blind. None of them know what's going on. They're all silent—they can't bark. They spend their time lying down, dreaming, loving to sleep.

11 [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.

They're greedy dogs that are never satisfied. They're sheepdogs who don't know their job. All of them go their own way, each of them looking out for themselves.

12 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!’”

“Come on,” they say, “I'll get some wine and let's get drunk! We'll do this today, and tomorrow we'll drink so much more!”