Isaiah 55
1 Ye that thirst, go to the water, and
all that have no money, go and buy; and eat
and drink wine and fat without money or price.
2 Wherefore do ye value at the price
of money, and give your labour
aSee Col. 2. ult.for that which will not satisfy? hearken to me, and ye shall eat that which
is good, and your soul shall feast itself on good things.
3 Give heed with your ears, and follow
my ways: hearken to me, and your soul shall live in prosperity; and I will
make with you an everlasting covenant,
bActs 13. 34.
the sure mercies of David.
4 Behold, I have made him a testimony
among the Gentiles, a prince and commander to the Gentiles.
5 Nations which know thee not, shall
call upon thee, and peoples which are not acquainted with thee, shall flee to
thee for refuge, for the sake of the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel; for
he has glorified thee.
6 Seek ye the Lord, and when ye find
him, call upon him; and when he shall draw nigh to you,
7 let the ungodly leave his ways, and
the transgressor his counsels: and let him return to the Lord, and he shall
find mercy; for he shall abundantly pardon your sins.
8 For my counsels are not as your
counsels, nor are my ways as your ways, saith the Lord.
9 But as the heaven is distant from
the earth, so is my way distant from your ways, and your thoughts from my
mind. 10 For as rain shall come down,
or snow, from heaven, and shall not return until it have saturated the earth,
and it bring forth, and bud, and
c2 Cor. 9. 10.
give seed to the sower, and bread for food:
11 so shall my word be, whatever
shall proceed out of my mouth, it shall by no means turn back, until all the
things which I willed shall have been accomplished; and I will make thy ways
prosperous, and will effect my commands.
12 For ye shall go forth with joy,
and shall be taught with gladness: for the mountains and the hills shall exult
to welcome you with joy, and all the trees of the field shall applaud with
their branches. 13 And instead of the
bramble shall come up the cypress, and instead of the nettle shall come up the
myrtle: and the Lord shall be for a name, and for an everlasting sign, and
shall not fail.