Isaiah 56 (LSB)

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Chapter Text

56:1 Thus says Yahweh, “Keep justice and do righteousness, For My salvation is about to come And My righteousness to be revealed.

56:2 How blessed is the man who does this, And the son of man who takes hold of it, Who keeps from profaning the sabbath, And keeps his hand from doing any evil.”

56:3 Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to Yahweh say, “Yahweh will surely separate me from His people.” Nor let the eunuch say, “Behold, I am a dry tree.”

56:4 For thus says Yahweh, “To the eunuchs who keep My sabbaths, And choose what pleases Me, And hold fast My covenant,

56:5 To them I will give in My house and within My walls a memorial, And a name better than that of sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name which will not be cut off.

56:6 “Also the foreigners who join themselves to Yahweh, To minister to Him, and to love the name of Yahweh, To be His slaves, every one who keeps from profaning the sabbath And takes hold of My covenant,

56:7 Even those I will bring to My holy mountain And make them glad in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be acceptable on My altar; For My house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples.”

56:8 Lord Yahweh, who gathers the banished of Israel, declares, “Yet others I will gather to them, to those already gathered.”

56:9 All you beasts of the field, All you beasts in the forest, Come to eat.

56:10 His watchmen are blind; All of them know nothing. All of them are mute dogs unable to bark, Dreamers lying down, who love to slumber;

56:11 And the dogs have a strong appetite; they do not know satisfaction. And they are shepherds who do not know understanding; They have all turned to their own way, Each one to his greedy gain, to the last one.

56:12 “Come,” they say, “let us take wine, and let us drink heavily of strong drink; And tomorrow will be like today—beyond exceedingly great.”

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "called", "thus", "says", "yahweh", "keep", "justice", "righteousness", and "salvation". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "called" and "thus", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The local LSB text gives this verse as the immediate unit, so "called" and "thus" carries the first interpretive weight. In Isaiah context, the local focus is the Holy One of Israel, judgment and restoration, the servant of the LORD, and Zion's hope.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "called" and "thus" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.