Isaiah 55
1 Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, 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 ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently to me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight 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 shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.
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 for a witness to the people, a leader and commander to the people.
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, thou shalt call a nation that thou knowest not, and nations that knew not thee shall run to thee because of the LORD thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel; for he hath glorified thee.
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 ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon 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 unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return to the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly 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, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.
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 the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than 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 rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not there, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give 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 shall my word be that proceedeth from my mouth: it shall not return to me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing 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 ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
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 shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree: and it shall be to the LORD for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be 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].”
